SPECIAL PROBLEMS
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
COMPARISONS
Here is a list of the ten most frequently used adjectives in advertising:
Clean delicious free fresh full good new special sure wonderful
ASSIGNMENT 1
· - Write the comparative and superlative form of each adjective.
· - Decide what you think the five most frequently used adjectives are.
· - Which could be used to describe - products: computer products, electric
appliances, kitchen gadgets, pet food, health, fitness and beauty products;
- services: counselling, insurance, medical services.
ASSIGNMENT 2
Read this report comparing the use of on online investment facilities in Canada and the
US. Choose the correct form in italics.
Nearly half (48%) of Canadian Internet users who have been on line for less than/that a year have
already banked online, while just 13% of American Internet newcomers have done so. Active
Internet users in Canada and the United States who have not yet banked online agreed that they
favoured more/most traditional methods of banking and have concerns about privacy or security.
15% of active Canadian Internet users have invested online compared to 10% of American users. In
both Canada and the United States, the bigger/biggest users of online banking are aged 18 to 34.
Internet users aged 55 and older are less/the least likely to do finances over the web.
Clearly the use of online banking and investing will only increase in the future as the younger/
youngest generation, who are the more/most comfortable using the web for these purposes, ages
and moves into more/most complex financial dealings.
While are more/most likely to take their finances online, active Internet users in the United States
are far more likely/likelier to shop online than/as Canadian Internet users, and subscribe to three
times as/so many online newsletters than/as their Canadian counterparts. For example, more/most
American Internet users (77%) have bought a product or service online than/as Canadian Internet
users (68%). In the last year, American online shoppers have made more/most than twice as many
online buys as/than Canadians – 14 purchases compared to 6.5.
PIE CHART
ASSIGNMENT 3
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· Use the information above about spending on different types of advertising to help you complete the sentences with expressions from the box.
| a little less quite a lot more as than as three times as much far more the same amount than than as twice as much |
1 Today advertisers spend about ____on Internet advertising ____they did in 2000.
2 There is about ____spent on magazine advertising now____there was in 2000.
3 Thereis____spent on cable TV advertising____there was in 2000.
4 Advertisers now spend____on radio advertising____they did in 2000.
5 Today there is exactly____spent on outdoor advertising____there was in 2000.
6 In 2000 there was____spent on direct mail advertising____there is today.
BAR CHART
ASSIGNMENT 5
· Complete the table, as in the example, and fill in the gaps in the description of the chart with the correct adjectives and adverbs. There are several words for each gap. Consult the dictionary.
| steady - steadily drastic - drastically slight - rapid - sharp - tremendous - considerable - significant - temporary - permanent - dramatic - moderate - constant - slow - seeming - virtual - gradual - annual - apparent - approximate - relative - scarce - obvious - evident - regular - sudden - final - stubborn - prompt - marvellous - |
Sales started high in January, and
rose____throughout the first
quarter of the year. Then there was
a____drop in April when our
Los Angeles distributors went out
of business. Sales rose____
throughout May and June, as the
US market began to recover, but
fellagain____in July when there
was a fire in our warehouse in
Mexico City. From this low point, sales rose fairly____until the end of the year, with a____
increase in December corresponding with the Christmas promotion period.
PREFIXES
withthemeaning «NOT »
RULES:
un- is used with many different words, e.g. un deniable, un usual, un beaten
im- is used before words beginning with m or p, e.g. im possible, im modest
il- is used before words beginning with l, e.g. il legal, il logical
ir- is only used before words beginning with r, e.g. ir regular, ir responsible
dis- is used before a limited number of words, e.g. dis similar, dis proportionate
in- is used before a limited number of words, e.g in correct, in significant
N.B.The prefix in- does not always have a negative meaning – often it gives the idea of inside or
into, e.g. in ternal im port, in sert, in come
ASSIGNMENT 6
· Make the following adjectives opposite using negative prefixes. Consult the dictionary.
In-, im-, ir-, dis-, un-
| – proportionate --relevant --permanent --possible --explainable --agreeable --efficient --disputable --frequent --elastic --steady --achievable --temporary --responsive --perceptible --considerable --vulnerable --definite --reversible --understandable --effective --satisfactory --significant --important --correct --variable --predictable --visible --numerable --accountable |
· Combine appropriate adjectives with the nouns below:
results, data, product, competition, level, profit, figures, trend, feature, numbers, information, prospects, report, survey, effect, achievement, advantages, disadvantages,
rate, situation, peak, range, position, improvement, comparison, demand, supply, outcome, losses, movements, consequences, conclusion, evidence, cause, sum ups, point, estimate, leader, gap, scores, difference, zero level, quarter, debt, changes.
· Translate the following word-combinations into English:
несущественный доход, удовлетворительные результаты, неопределенные перспективы,, неуместнoeсравнение, oчевидные потери, неощутимая paзница, непредсказуемый результат, ежегодное обозрение, мощная конкуренция, неверные данные, непревзойденный лидер, постоянный разрыв, неизменный спрос, необъяснимый нулевой уровень, необратимые последствия, непонятная причина, доминирующая тенденция, пограничные изменения, неблагоприятное воздействие, неожиданная оценка, неоспоримые достижения, суммарный нисходящий тренд, ежеквартальные показатели, временное улучшение, неисчислимые достоинства
VERBS
TENSES
revision
RULES:
COMPARE:
Present Continuous
House prices arerising at the moment, so it's a good time to sell.
(Thefocusison now – it'snotimportantwhenthesituationbegan).
Present Perfect Continuous
House prices havebeenrising steadily since January – if you wait a bit longer you might get a
better price.
(The focusison incomplete action – whichstartedat a certainpoint in the past and maycarryon
intothefuture).
Present Perfect
House prices haverisen dramatically and my flat hasdoubled in value.
(The focus isonthe result – theincreaseinvalue).
N.B. Present Perfect is used to talk about past events when no specific time is given.
However, if we go on to give more specific information about the subject and start
talking about a specific date, we have to use the Past Simple.
ASSIGNMENT 7
· Open the brackets and put the verbs into the correct tense form.
Devco(to announce) that they are going to buy their competitors QXT. QXT (to be) in serious
financial problems for over a year – last quarter's profits (to be) down again by 60%. In a statement released earlier today Devco's CEO, Alfonso Fuego, (to say): “We (to have) a lot of
support from QXT shareholders and I (to assure) them at the shareholders' meeting last week that
Devco (to do) everything to turn the situation around within at most six months. QXT members
(to be) so confident. In a meeting last Friday they (to reveal) that they (to be worried) about their
jobs since news of a possible takeover (to leak) to the press earlier this year.
| VERBS (COMBINATIONS) USED TO DESCRIBE TRENDS |
| to increase to fall to decline to take off to climb to slump to improve to rise to descend to jump to shoot up to dip to level off to plunge to recover to revive to revive to double to fluctuate to remain to stable to grow to progress to go down to alternate to top to worsen to deteriorate to decrease to go up to stabilize to peak to reach a high to hit a low to vary to slide to collapse to soar to enhance to maintain to stay at the same level to treble to quadruple |
ASSIGNMENT 8
· Put the verbs into the correct column in the table, as in the examples.
· Consult the dictionary.
| UPDOWNUP - DOWNNOCHANGES increase go down fluctuate remain stable |
GRAPHS AND CHARTS
TESTS
ASSIGNMENT 10
· Read the report below about a company’s sales.
· For each sentence 1 – 7 choose one letter – A, B or C.
Business at Shanghai International is breaking all records. Shanghai International is a joint venture between a British firm, whose headquarters are just outside London, and a Chinese firm based in Shanghai. The company produces paint and has benefited enormously from the development of shipbuilding in China. Last year was the best yet for the company, with total sales up by 50% in quantity and 60% in value on the previous year. Shanghai International now sells eight times more paint than when it started in 2005, and is growing faster than any other paint production operation in South-East Asia. Sales have doubled since it moved to a new factory two years ago, and the possibility of further expansion is already being discussed, with plants to build a plant in Dalian, in the north of China.
Shanghai International now provides China' s biggest shipbuilding companies with more than 50% of their paint requirements. To deal with the sharp rise in production, the company has recently built two new warehouses at the present factory site.
1 The companies which own Shanghai International are from different countries.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
2 Shanghai International supplies paint to a number of different countries.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
3 Last year, Shanghai International sold 60% more paint than in the year before.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
4 Shanghai International moved to a new site because the old factory was too small.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
5 Shanghai International is considering setting up a new operation in northern China.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
6 Shanghai International supplies China's biggest shipbuilders with all the paint they need.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
7 The company has added two new warehouses as a result of the increase in production.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn't say
· For each sentence below the charts choose one letter A – H.
· Do not use any letter more than once.