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1. SPEAKING Describe the photo. What do you think happened? Use the words below to help you.
carry dry land leave lift (v) tsunami wave (n)
2. Read the text and check your answers from exercise 1.
The Tohoku earthquake in 2011 was the most powerful earthquake ever in Japan and the fifth most powerful in the world. The earthquake happened 70 km from the coast, but it caused one of the biggest tsunamis ever recorded. The wave was over 40 m high and was large enough to travel 10 km inland in some places. The worst damage was in coastal towns where the land was flat. Some people managed to go to places high enough to be safe, but others weren't so lucky and didn't have enough time to escape. More than 18,000 people lost their lives. The wave also damaged the nuclear power station at Fukushima. Some people say that the power station was too close to the sea. The Prime Minister of Japan said, 'In the 65 years since the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan.
3. Read the Learn this! box. Then study the highlighted superlative forms in the text and match them with the rules.
LEARN THIS! Superlative adjectivesa. We add -est to short adjectives. rich – richer – richest slow – slower – slowest b. Sometimes the spelling changes. foggy – foggier – the foggiest hot – hotter – the hottest c. We put the most before long adjectives. dangerous – more dangerous – the most dangerous d. There are a few irregular comparative forms. good – better – the best bad – worse – the worst far – further – the furthest e. We can use of after superlative adjectives. the sunniest day of the week f. We use in (not of) with nouns for groups or places. the tallest boy in the class the biggest lake in the world |
4. Complete these earthquake facts using the superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. The largest (large) earthquake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960 (magnitude 9.5)
2. _____ (deadly) earthquake happened in 2004 in Indian Ocean. About 230,000 people died.
3. _____ (deep) earthquake recorded occurred 450 km below the surface of the Earth.
4. Antarctica is the continent with (small) _____number of earthquakes.
5. The (destructive) _____ earthquake ever recorded was in 1906 in San Francisco.
| ⇒ Grammar Builder 4D (Part 1) Superlative adjectives: page 114 |
5. Study the underlined examples of too and enough in the text in exercise 2. Complete the Learn this! box with after and before.
| ⇒ Grammar Builder 4D (Part 2) too and enough: page 114 |
LEARN THIS! too and enougha. too comes (1) _____ an adjective. too small b. enough comes (2) _____ an adjective. not small enough c. enough comes (3) _____ a noun. (not) enough money d. We often use an infinitive with to after too + adjective or adjective + enough. He's too young/ old enough to join the army. |
6. Rewrite the sentences using the adjective in brackets and too or enough.
1. He isn't tall enough to reach the shelf. (short)
He's too short to reach the shelf.
2. Skiing holidays aren't cheap enough for me. (expensive)
3. My dad's old car is too dangerous to drive. (safe)
4. The storm was too weak to cause much damage. (strong)
5. My shoes aren’t clean enough to wear to the party. (dirty)
7. SPEAKING Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions using superlative form of the adjectives
1. what/ interesting subject/ at school/?
What's the most interesting subject at school?
2. who/ attractive actor/ in the world/?
3. what/ funny comedy/ on TV/?
4. what/ interesting city/ in your country/?
5. which/ good film/ you’ve seen/?
