Friday 31st May

More on Comparatives and Superlatives:

An Interview at the Shopping Mall

Interviewer: Good evening, I hope you don't mind answering a few questions.
Alice: How long will it take?

Interviewer: Just a few questions.
Alice: I guess I can manage to answer a few questions. Go ahead.

Interviewer: I'd like to ask your opinion about consumer electronics. As far as consumer electronics is concerned, which is the most reliable brand?
Alice: I'd say that Samsung is the most reliable brand.

Interviewer: Which brand is the most expensive?
Alice: Well, Samsung is also the most expensive brand. I guess that's why it's the best.

Interviewer: Which brand do you think is the worst?
Alice: I think LG is the worst. I really can't remember using any of their products that I liked.

Interviewer: And which brand is the most popular with young people?
Alice: That's a difficult one to answer for me. I think that Sony is probably the most popular with young people.

Interviewer: One last question, Have you tried using any HP products?
Alice: No, I haven't. Are they good?

Interviewer: I enjoy using them. But I didn't stop you to tell you what I think. Thank you for your time.
Alice: Not at all.

Questions:

Which brand is the most reliable?

• Samsung
• LG
• Sony

Which brand is the most expensive?

• Samsung
• LG
• Sony

Which brand does she think is the worst?

• Samsung
• LG
• Sony

Which brand is she unfamiliar with?

• Sony
• LG
• HP

Which brand is the most popular with young people?

• Sony
• LG

Vocabulary Exercise

Housing Crisis in the UK

There is currently a housing crisis in the UK, where there aren't enough homes for people to live in and the homes that are being built are getting smaller and smaller. People have to become 'creative' with their space in order to have enough room for their family and belongings.

Jen and Neil discuss the growing number of people who are living in small houses.

Which European country's homes are almost 80% bigger than those in the UK?

a) Ireland

b) The Netherlands

c) Denmark

Listen to the program to find out the answer:

Useful Vocab:

housing crisis

shortage of houses / high prices of houses available to buy

to get a foot on the property ladder

to buy your first house

on the market

available to buy

room to swing a cat

lots of space

to squeeze

here: to push into a small space

minimalist

having no more than what is necessary

to de-clutter

getting rid of things you don't need

2) Now watch the news article on tight living spaces in Hong Kong and answer the following questions:

1. What is Gary Chang's job?
2. Who does Gary live with?
3. How big is his apartment?
4. How does Gary make his apartment multi-functional?
5. Where is the kitchen?
6. Why has he designed his apartment like this?
7. What does Maple Ma use to cook? What does this appliance allow her to do?
8. What does Mr Chang believe?

Homework for next lesson:

Write an advertisement for an estate agent advertising a tiny apartment in London. It is a studio apartment with one single bed and one bathroom, with a small kitchenette. Make sure you include lots of detail but use positive vocabulary to try and sell the apartment. Use this website to get some ideas of the kind of language used.