ACTIVE GRAMMAR Contrast: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

ACTIVE GRAMMAR:
A Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of each adjective. Contrast: Comparative and
1. New York is (large) the largest city in the United States, but Mexico
Superlative Adjectives
City is (large) larger than New York City.
2. At this time, China is (populated) more populated than India. By 2025, India will A
probably be (populated) the most populated country in the world. • Review the ­difference between
3. Shanghai has (long) the longest subway system in the world, but Beijing has
­comparative and ­superlative
(busy) the busiest subway system in the world. ­adjectives. ­(Comparatives
the most popular
compare two things to each other.
4. Coffee is (popular) hot beverage in the United States. In many
more popular than Superlatives compare one thing to
countries, tea is (popular) coffee.
a group of things.)
Maria has two brothers and • Ask students to ­complete the task
B LET’S TALK. In a small group, complete the sentences about five sisters. She has the most
individually.
brothers and sisters.
yourself. Then, compare yourself to other students. Answers will vary.
• Then, check the ­answers by asking

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1. I have brothers and sisters. 4. I live about miles from school. ­students to ­dictate them to you as
2. My house has TVs. 5. I can speak languages. you write them on the board.

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3. I get up at in the morning. 6. I sleep hours a night.
B

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C Discuss these questions. Use adjectives in some of your answers. • Have students ­complete the
sentences on their own.

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1. What is the best soccer team in the world?
• Then, have students work in groups
2. What is the busiest road in your area?
to ­discuss their sentences.
3. Who is the most famous leader in the world?
c • Ask volunteers from each group to
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4. What is the best movie this year? read ­sentences from other ­students
in their group.
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5. Which coffee is the tastiest?
6. What is the most interesting place to visit in your area?
C
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7. What is the most difficult language to learn?

• Appoint one student to lead
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Brazil has the best soccer team No way! Italy is better than Spain has the strongest team the discussion.
in the world. Brazil. this year.
• Encourage students to disagree with
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each other.
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Around the World 105

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TEACHING TIP
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While students are discussing the topics

in Exercise C, make note of correct and
incorrect sentences. At the end of the
discussion, read the sentences aloud
and ask students to say which are
correct and which are incorrect. Write
the incorrect sentences on the board
and ask volunteers to correct them.

Around the World 105

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 THE BIG PICTURE Three Cities
THE BIG PICTURE:
Three Cities A Discuss these questions.
1. What is the largest city in your native country?
A 2. Are cities diverse in your country?
Ask students to work in groups and
discuss the questions about their own 3. Is unemployment high or low in your country?
countries. Encourage them to ask 4. How do most people commute to work?
each other questions and elaborate
Los Angeles
on their answers.
B Listen and complete the chart with information you hear about New York City. 35

B 35 Chicago Los Angeles New York

• Review the categories on the left- Population 2,704,958 3,976,322 8,537,673
hand side of the chart. Explain any
Percentage of Hispanic origin 29.1% 48.2% 29%
new words.
Unemployment rate 5.2% 5.1% 4.6%

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• Read the numbers in the column
Median household income $50,434 $51,538 $55,191
for Chicago. Ask volunteers to read
the numbers in the ­column for Median home price $218,000 $605,000 $425,000

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Los Angeles so that students can Average commute time 34.1 minutes 30.1 minutes 39.9 minutes

ar
practice ­pronouncing and ­listening Percentage of people who drive to work 79.1% 72.3% 56.9%
to large numbers.
Yearly rainfall 36.9 inches 12.9 inches 49.9 inches

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• Play the audio and have students Yearly snowfall 36.7 inches None 25.1 inches
take notes.
Sunny days per year 189 284 224
• Play the audio again so students can
fill in the chart. c
hi
• Review all the information with the New York
ap

class. Ask which facts students find

most surprising or interesting.
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• Ask students to make ­sentences

about the facts in the chart by ­using
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more / less / fewer and as___as.

For example: Los Angeles isn’t as
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­populated as New York. Chicago

has fewer sunny days per year than
New York.
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106 Unit 7
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TEACHING TIP
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For extra listening practice, ask

­students to close their books. Write
the categories from the left side and
the top of the chart on the board and
ask students to copy these in their
notebooks. Dictate the numbers for
each column and have students write
them in the correct category. Then,
students can open their books to check
their answers.

106 Unit 7

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