LESSON 3C-

READING COMPREHENSION
All About China

The most populated country in the world with 1.3 billion people (2016) is China, found
on the continent of Asia, situated on its southeast coast. It is the fourth largest in size
with only Russia, Canada and the United States being larger. It is 3.6 million square
miles and occupies one-fourteenth the land area of Earth stretching over 3,000 miles
east to west as well as north to south.

China borders many countries. Its border to the north in Mongolia; the northwest with
Kazakhstan; the west with Kyrgyzstan and others; the southwest with Nepal and India;
the south with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and others; and to its east is the China Sea
and Taiwan, North and South Korea, and Japan. China's terrain includes mountains,
high plateaus, sandy deserts, and dense forests.
Its official name is the People's Republic of China and the country is separated into 33
administrative units and not states like the United Sates. The capital of China is Beijing
and it is the economic, cultural, and communications center of the country, with
Shanghai is the center of industry, and the leading commercial center and port is Hong
Kong.

It is a communist country meaning it is a one-party state and people do not vote in

elections. There are no political parties and the country is ruled be a very powerful
central government. In addition, citizens have less economic and personal freedoms
when compared with the United States. For example, in China a citizen may not visit
certain web sites on the Internet, protest in public, or start a business as easily as
citizens in America.

There is a large workforce in China and the government is beginning to lift some
restrictions due to this fact and the availability lots of natural resources can be found
in the country. Much of the work in China relies on many of the products exported to
other countries in the world.

China was once ruled by a series of emperors, supreme leaders of a country who have
control over a nation and undisputed power. The last emperor was overthrown in
1912 and China became a republic, though communism began following a civil war in
1949. Before the 1900s, its history was divided into dynasties, which are periods of
time when an emperor or rulers of the same family are the leaders of a country. There
has been a total of 13 dynasties. The first was the Xia Dynasty beginning in 2070 BC
and lasting 470 years.
China is home to many landmarks and attractions including the Giant Panda, Chinese
alligator, snow leopard, and red panda. The Great Pandas are deeply loved by the
Chinese and are a Natural Treasure. Only 2,000 of the endangered animals are alive in
the world. Its two main rivers are the 3rd and 4th longest in the world-the Yangtze at
3,915 miles and the Yellow at 3,395 miles. In addition, the tallest mountain in the
world, Mount Everest, is located on the border of Nepal and China.

Other attractions include the Great Wall of China, built to prevent invasions, it is 3,100
miles long and has been standing for over 2,300 years. The Terracotta Army includes
life-sized models representing the army that united China and was underground for
2,000 years until it was discovered in 1974.

Finally, with its long history and huge population, there is much more to learn and
explore about China, including its alphabet of 50,000 characters and its biggest
celebration, Chinese New Year, where everyone turns one year older on the same day
each year in January. China's influence on the world will continue for many centuries
and longer.
READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE
Choose the right answer for each question
1) All the following describes China's terrain EXCEPT:
A: Mountains
B: High plateaus
C: Dense forests
D: Frozen deserts

2) Shanghai is the center of which of the following in China?

A: Economic
B: Cultural
C: Industry
D: Communications

3) Which of the following is difficult for citizens in China to do?

A: Visit all web sites
B: Protest in public
C: Start a business
D: All the above

4) Which of the following cities is the capital of China?

A: Beijing
B: Shanghai
C: Hong Kong
D: Taiwan

5) Which of the following once were the leaders of the China?

A: Presidents
B: Emperors
C: Kings and Queens
D: Prime Ministers

6) Which of the following countries border the eastern region of China?

A: Mongolia and Kazakhstan
B: Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam
C: Taiwan, North and South Korea, Japan
D: Nepal, India, Kyrgyzstan

GRAMMAR LESSON 1 – COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

What is a Consumer Society?
A consumer is a person who buys things, and a consumer society is a society that
encourages people to buy and use goods.1 Some people think that a consumer society
provides people with better lives. People in consumer societies tend to live more
comfortably. They eat a wider variety of food. They go to restaurants more often. They
also buy a lot of products, maybe more than they need.Products such as TVs, cell
phones, and computers used to be luxuries.2 To d ay people can buy these things more
easilythan ever before. The market for these goods is growing faster all the time.
Consumer societies encourage people to buy bigger andbetter products.For example,
“smarter” phones come out every year. In a consumer society, people are often buying
newer and more advanced products. This creates a lot of waste. Nowadays, many
people are thinking more seriously about the effects of consumer societies on the
environment, and they are trying to become more responsible consumers.

1goods: items that can be bought or sold

2luxury: something that is expensive but not necessary.

EXERCISE 1
Read each statement. Write T for true and F for false.

1. Everyone agrees that consumer products improve their lives. False

2. These days, consumer goods are hard to find. False
3. Many people want luxury products these days. True
4. Consumer societies help the environment. False

EXERCISE 2
Find these sentences in the article from exercise 1. Write the missing words.
1- . They eat a wider variety of food.
2- . . ., and they are trying to become more responsible consumers.
Adjectives can compare two things or more than two things. When we make these
comparisons, we use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

Comparatives
One way to describe nouns (people, objects, animals, etc.) is by comparing them to
something else. When comparing two things, you’re likely to use adjectives like
smaller, bigger, taller, more interesting, and less expensive. Notice the -er ending, and
the words more and less. A mistake that both native speakers and non-native speakers
make is using incorrectly formed comparative adjectives. See the sentences below for
an illustration of this common error:
Russia is larger than China. (correct)
Russia is more large than China. (inocrrect)
To make the comparative form of adjectives (like 'bigger' or 'more expensive'), first we
need to know how many syllables are in the adjective.
Adjectives with one syllable
Usually if an adjective has only one syllable, we add 'er' to make the comparative
form.
clean → cleaner
cold → colder
small → smaller
young → younger
tall → taller
There are some spelling changes. If there is one vowel followed by one consonant at
the end of the adjective, we often double the consonant.
wet → wetter
big → bigger
hot → hotter
thin → thinner
If the adjective ends in 'y', this often changes to 'i'.
dry → drier
If the adjective ends in 'e', we don't add another 'e', just 'r'.
nice → nicer
large → larger
There are a few adjectives that we have to use 'more' with, even though they only
have one syllable. We CAN'T add 'er'.
fun → more fun (NOT funner)
real → more real (NOT realer)
right → more right (NOT righter)
wrong → more wrong (NOT wronger)

EXERCISE 1
Type the correct comparative form of each word.
tall -> Taller
short -> Shorter
clean -> Cleaner
big -> Bigger
cute -> Cuter
wise -> Wiser
young -> Younger
sad -> Sadder
old -> Older
fast -> Faster
high -> Higger
large -> Lager
wet -> Wetter
soft -> Softer
smart -> Smarter
new -> Newer

Adjectives with two syllables

For adjectives with two syllables we generally use more.
careful → more careful
bored → more bored
But some two syllable adjectives can take 'er'. It's also fine to use 'more' (for the
comparative).
clever → cleverer / more clever
simple → simpler / more simple
narrow → narrower / more narrow
quiet → quieter / more quiet
Adjectives with two syllables that end in 'y' usually can add 'er' (y generally changes
to i). It's also fine to use 'more', but it`s not that common.
dirty → dirtier / more dirty
pretty → prettier / more pretty
happy → happier / more happy
ugly → uglier / more ugly
EXERCISE 2
Type the correct comparative form of each word.
pretty -> Prettier
ugly -> Unglier
busy -> Busier
easy -> Easier
fluffy -> Flueffier
happy -> More happy
heavy -> Heavier
peppy -> Peppier
cheesy -> Cheesier
salty -> Saltier
friendly -> Friendlier
noisy -> Noisier
hairy -> Hairier
merry -> Merrier
funny -> Funnier
Adjectives with more than two syllables
Adjectives with more than two syllables can only make their comparative by using
'more' and their superlative by using 'most'.
beautiful → more beautiful
intelligent → more intelligent
interesting → more interesting
expensive → more expensive
EXERCISE 3
Type the correct comparative form of each word.
adventurous -> more adventurous
comfortable -> more comfortable
detailed -> more detailed
disgusting -> more disgusting
famous -> more famous
entertaining -> more entertaining
intelligent -> more intelligent
serious -> more serious
interesting -> more interesting
dangerous -> more dangerous
curious -> more curious
pertinent -> more pertinent
insane -> more insane
unbelievable -> more unbelievable
exciting -> more exciting

Irregular adjectives
There are also some irregular adjectives. We just need to learn these forms.
good → better
bad → worse
 far → further
little → less
much → more
EXERCISE 4
Make the comparative form. If it's possible, use 'er'. If not, use 'more'.
1) Dogs are__more intelligent___(intelligent) than rabbits.
2) Lucy is___older____(old) than Ellie.
3) Russia is far___larger____(large) than the UK.
4) My Latin class is___more boring___(boring) than my English class.
5) In the UK, the streets are generally___narrower___(narrow) than in the USA.
6) London is__busyer____(busy) than Glasgow.
7) Julie is___more quiet___(quiet) than her sister.
8) Amanda is___more ambitious___(ambitious) than her classmates.
9) My garden is a lot___more colourful___(colourful) than this park.
10) His house is a bit__more comfortable___(comfortable) than a hotel.

USING COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons:

This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.

I'm feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden.

Comparative structures: things or people that are the same

First, we can use 'as ... as' with a normal adjective (not a comparative) to say two
things are the same:

 John is as tall as Luke (= they are the same height).

 The red shirt is as expensive as the blue shirt (= they are the same price).

We can use 'not as ... as' to say that two things are not the same.

 Lucy is not as tall as Helena (= Helena is taller than Lucy).

 Paris is not as big as London (= London is bigger than Paris).
 Comparative Structures: one thing or person is more than another thing or person

We can say that something is more than another thing by using a comparative
adjective with 'than'.

 Russia is bigger than China.

 Luke is taller than Lucy.
 Your book is more interesting than my book.

When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two
comparatives with and:

 The balloon got bigger and bigger.

 Everything is getting more and more expensive.
 Grandfather is looking older and older.

We often use “the” with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on
another:

The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.

(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)

The higher they climbed, the colder it got.

(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)

EXERCISE 5

Match the phrases to make ten sentences.

1- If you practise more, _4__ older than me.

2- We've invited six friends for dinner, so
3- The Beatles are not bad, but
4- My brother is ten years
5- Brazil's economy is now
6- Travelling by train is
7- Computers these days are getting
8- As the story went on, it became
9- The harder I work,
10- The higher the plane went,
__5_ bigger than Britain`s.
__3_ I prefer more modern music.
__7_ smaller and smaller.
__9_ the more tax I have to pay.
__10_ the more frightened I became.
__2_ we need a larger table.
__8_ more and more interesting.
__6_ more dangerous than flying.
__1_ your English will get better.
 EXERCISE 6

Choose the correct answer.

1- I think London is _____than New York.

a) more expensive
b) expensiver

2-Are you a ____ student than your sister?

a) better
b) more good

3- Is the North Sea ______ the Mediterranean Sea?

a) bigger than
b) bigger

4- My dad's____than your dad!

a) funny
b) funnier

5- Crocodiles are more dangerous ____dolphins.

a) than
b) as

6- Physics is___than chemistry.

a) badder
b) worse

7- Cars are____than motorbikes.

a) safer
b) more safer

8- Australia is____ than Ireland.

a) hotter
b) more hotter