UNIT 28

Gomparatives
Superlatives
hunch
[hnnc]
gobba
ticket
['tikir]
bigtietto
Don't you
think, madam, that it
would be wiser to leave those
pretty
things to younger
and
lovelier girls?
K
7tg
You must be the luckiest man in
town with a hunch as big as that,
sir! I've never seen a bigger one, I
must say!
locabulary
sonny
['snni]
idiot
['idiat]
f igliolo
idiota
The trouble with Fatty
I
is that he can't keep his mouth shut,
2
even if his remarks
are not so silly as
you might think they^ are.
But not everylody
is so unimaginative
3
as the old lady or the hunchback who
showed their complete lack of sense of humour in the most violent way. Some
time ago Fatty wai in a bus; a
gentleman noticed him and whispered into his little
boy's ear:
"People
as fat as that should
get
two tickets, don't
you
think so, son-
ny?" Fatty, who had overheard the
gentleman's remark, promptly retorted:
"Quite true, sir, but idiots should also
get
two tickets, don't you
think so, sir?"
The
gentleman paused for a moment, then he added:
"Fancy
what it would cost
you, sir, since
you would have to
get four tickets!"
Fatty found the
gentleman's
joke
one of the funniest he had ever heard, and burst
into laughter.
n
We must admit that Fatty possesses a great sense of humour,
mustn't we?
Questions
1. Who is Fatty?
2. What should he worry more about?
3. What had he better do?
4. Who did he run across
yesterday?
5. What did he tell the hunchback?
6. What did Fatty consider himself for a moment?
7. Who did he notice a few weeks ago?
8. Where did the lady's umbrella crash after Fatty's remark?
9. What's the trouble with Fatty?
10. Where was Fatty some time ago?
11. What did a gentleman whisper into his little boy's ear?
12. What did Fatty promptly retort?
13. What did the gentleman add after a pause?
14. How did Fatty find the gentleman's
joke?
Uocabulary
hunchback
['hnncbrek]
consequence
['kcnsikuens]
violent
['vaialent]
prompt
[prcmptJ
to point (at)
lpcintl
to run
(ran run)
across
gobbo
conseguenza
violento
pronto
additare
imbattersi
to spare
[spea*]
to display
[di'splei]
to crash
lkrreJl
to retort
[ri'tc:t]
to overhear
overheard
overheard
to possess
[pa'zesl
to fancy
['fansi]
nsparmrare
esporre
sfasciarsi
ribattere
udire
per caso
a
possedere
immaginare
1. The trouble with Fatty
=
ll guaio di Fatty. 2. to keep
3. unimaginative ['rni'mre$inativ] =
privo di immaginazione.
['la:fta*] =
scoPPiare a ridere'
494
one's mouth shut
=
tener chiusa la bocca.
4. to burst
(burst burst)
[ba:st]
into laughter
joke
[euk]
wing
luinl
to withdraw
withdrew
withdrawn
luidrc:
ui'dru:
ui'drc:nJ
Affinities.
barzelletta
ala
ritirarsi
cross
[krcs]
obstinate
['cbstinitJ
polite
[pe'lait]
clearly
['kliali]
patiently
['peirfantli]
indeed
[in'di:dJ
arrabbiato
ostinato
cortese
chiaramente
pazientemente
(per)
davvero
1. lt's a very good talker
=
Sa parlare benissimo. 2,
usato al telefono, 3.
"Number
gngagedt'
=
"Occupato"
divertente
496
Hello significa tanto ciao, sa/ye, quando pronto,
(di numero telefonico). 4, as funny
=
altrettanto
CO\TVER,SATION
Simon
Susan
Simon
Do you want to hear a
joke,
Susan?
Only if it is an extremely funny one.
It's the most amusing
joke
I've heard in years.
Here it is:
"It's a very good
talker",
t
said the man in the pet shop after selling a parrot
to
a
gentleman,
"the most talkative bird we've ever had in the shop,,. ut when the
gentleman got home, the parrot
withdrew into the most obstinate silence. so the
gentleman
decided to teach it. He began with
"Hello',
2
a very easy word to
repeat, the
gentleman
thought.
"Hello,
hello, hello!", said the gentleman
standing in front of the parrot
and
speaking as clearly as possible. The parrot put its head under its wing and said
nothing.
"Hello,
hello, hello!" The parrot
still said nothing.
"Hello,
hello, HELLo!", shouted the gentleman,
less patiently
than before.
At last the parrot looked uo.
"Number engaged",
3
he said in a very cross way,
and
put his head back under his wing.
Susan Very funny indeed! Listen to this one now: it's shorter than yours,
but as fun-
ny,
o
I hope.
Jack had two apples and gave the smaller one to his little brother Fred.
ttYou
are rude, Jack", said Fred.
"Why7"
asked Jack.
"Because
you've given me the smaller apple. If I have two apples, I'm polite;
I
always give the larger one away and keep the smaller one,'.
"well,
why are
you
cross?" asked Jack.
"You've
got the sma[er one, haven't
you?"
Simon Very good indeed!
Uocabulary
BIGGER AI{D BETTER
Witliom I was more than a little annoyed when I showed an American around
I
last
week.
Why? The Americans take a
great interest in sightseeing.
2
This one was from Texas, and extremely rude. Every time I showed him
something interesting, he said they had something similar that was bigger and
better in Texas.
Mary Oh no, not one of those! They are the most annoying kind of tourist. What
did you show him?
Mary
William
William
Mary
William
William
Quite
so. The next place I took him
ed? Not at all. He said that Nelson,
deserved a taller column.
Less than I had planned to show him in the first place, because he was so bor-
ing. In the end I managed to turn the tables on him' in the best possible way.
How did
you
do that?
The easiest thing to do is to start the story from the beginning. We went to
London on the motorway, and he said they had longer and wider country lanes
in Texas. When we arrived at the Houses of Parliament he said that Big Ben
vas not as tall as he expected.
Mary Oh dear! Boasting is the thing
you
appreciate least when you
show someone
around.
Mary And how did you
turn the tables on him?
William You know the old battle cruiser, HMS Belfast,
o
Tower Bridge?
Mary Did you
show it to the Texan?
William Yes,
And
I said it was nothing special,
just
an
boat.
s
He was astonished, and said he had never
to was Trafalgar Square.
'Was
he impress-
one of the
greatest men in British history,
which is on the Thames by
ordinary river police patrol
seen such a big patrol boat.
And I said there were lots of them on the Thames, some even bigger than that
one.
Uocabulary
motolway
['mautauei]
lane
[ein]
column
['kclem]
cruiser
['kruza*]
similar
['simile*]
autostrada
sentiero
colonna
incrociatore
simile
annoy
[a'nci]
plan
[plan]
boast
lbaust]
impress
[im'pres]
deserue
[di'za:v]
astonish
[as'tcnirf]
seccare
progettare
vantarsi
impressionare
meritare
stupire
to
to
to
to
to
to
1. to show around
=
portare in giro. 2. to taks a
groat intorest In slghtseelng
['sait'si:i!]
=
mostrare
grande interesse
per un giro turistico. 3. to turn the tables
(on)
=
63pouolgere la situazione
(a proprio van-
taggio). 4. HMS Belfasl
=
Belfast
-
Nave di Sua Maest (Her Majesty's Ship). 5. rlver pollce patrol boat
=
imbarcazione di
pattuglia della polizia fluviale.
497
ORRL DRILIs
The passage below is for comprehension. Unknown words are to be looked up in a
dictionary.
GOOD TASTE
Mr and Mrs Spencer are newly-weds
I
and they are having their first arguments. lnevitably, the
arguments are about decorating their new house. lt is a very important matter. Mr Spencer does
not appreciate his wife's taste. Because she is older than he is (and, incidentally, of stronger
character), she usually gets her way.
2
ln this case they are arguing about the decor for the dining room. Mrs Spencer wants a floral
wallpaper, she thinks tha floral patterns are prettier than geometric ones. Mr Spencer, who is
an architect, has a natural inclination for geometry
For Mrs Spencer her home is more important than anything else.
'This
is why she and her hus.
band have consulted Mr Scott, the most talented interior designer
a
in their town.
Mr Scott's showroom
5
does not have as many wallpaper, curtain and carpet samples as the
department store

down the street. However, everybody can see that his samples aie more ex-
clusive and in better taste than those. He shows Mr and Mrs Spencer a floral wallpaper from a
pattrn-book
7
and holds some curtain fabric against it to show how well they match. Mr
Spencer disagrees. Mr Scott says that the wallpaper is the loveliest in the pattern-book.
Eventually a compromise is reached. Mrs Spencer looks through
o
the book and finds a
wallpaper with flowers in straight lines. Then they discuss the carpet. Mrs Spencer wants a
carpet that will last as long as possibile a4d that will need as little vacuum cleaning
e
as possi-
ble. They decide on an expensive Wilton.
"
Then they leave the showroom, terribly pleased with
themselves. They have completed the decoration of their house. They go home and sit in their
empty sitting-room.
@stions
U^at are Mr and Mrs Spencer?
2. What are their arguments about, in blv?
3. What are they arguing about in this ?
4. What does Mrs Spencer want for the ing-room?
5. What does she think of floral patterns?
6. What has Mr Spencer a natural inclination for?
7. Why have Mr and Mrs Spencer consulted Mr Scott?
8. What does Mr Scott show Mr and Mrs Spencer?
9. What does he say about the wallpaper he is showing them?
10. What does Mrs Spencer choose in the end?
1. nowly.weds
['nju:liueds]
(coll.)
=
sposi di recente. 2. to get one's way
=
averla vinta. 3. anythlng
else
-
qualsiasi altra cosa.4. lnteflordeslgner
[di'zaine*]
=
designer di interni, arredatore.5. showroom
[Jaurum]
=
sala d'esposizione. 6. dspafimont stor
=
grande magazzino. 7. pattern-boot
=
"".-
pionario. 8. to look through
=
esaminare, scorrere. L vacuum cleanlng
=
pulitura
con aspirapolvere.
10. Gli Wilton carpets (tappeti Wilton) sono i rinomati tappeti che vengono fabbricati a Wilton, nella contea di
Wiltshire. La Royal Carpet Factory di Wilton cominci a produrre nel 1655.
498
GRRfVIfVIRR
COMPARATIVO DI UGUAGLIANZA
Il comparativo di uguaglianza si ottiene in inglese con:
a) as... as, nel caso di aggettivi ed avverbi;
b) as much... as, nel caso di nomi singolari;
c) as many... as, nel caso di nomi plurali;
d) as much as, in assenza di aggettivi o nomi;
e) so... as, so much... as, so many... as, se la frase negativa.
I am as happy as
you (are)
Sono felice quanto te
I am not so happy as
you (are)
Non sono felice quanto te
We bought as many books as they
(did)
Comprammo tanti libri quanti loro
Eat as much as
you like Mangia quanto vuoi
OSSERVAZIONI
l) Si osservi che il secondo termine di paragone va nello stesso caso del primo. qualora
sia
pronome personale. Pu inoltre essere seguito da opportuno ausiliare
(to do in assenza
di alrri).
We aren't so lucky as they (are) Non siamo fortunati come loro
He earns as much as I (do) Guadagna come me
2) As, as much e as many traducono inoltre altrettanto usato dinanzi ad aggettivo, svver-
bio o nome.
Her sister is as beautiful
He spent as much money
He bought as many books
He spent as,much
3) Si osservino le seguenti espressioni:
as much as possible
as little as possible
rs soon as possible
as early as possible
as fast as possible
Sua sorelia altrettanto- bella
Spese altrcttanto danaro
Compr altrettanti libri
Spese altrettanto
il pi possibile
il meno possibile
il pi presto possibile
il pi presto possibile
il pi velocemente possibile
COMPARATIVO DI MAGGIORANZA
Il comparativo di maggioranza si ottiene in inglese in due modi:
a) con il suffisso -er unito all'aggettivo,
pi than ed il secondo termine di paragone;
b) con more
posto dinanzi ad aggettivi, awerbi o nomi, pi than ed il secondo termine di
paragone.
499
OSSERVAZIONI
l) Gli aggettivi che si legano al suffisso -er sono i seguenti:
a) aggettivi monosillabi (eccetto right, wrong e real);
big
grosso bigger
f
grasso fatter
brave coraggioso braver
b) aggettivi terminanti in -y;
happy felice
lively vivace
gay gaio
c) aggettivi terminanti in -ovy, -le, -er;
narrow stretto
humble umile
clever bravo, abile
d) gli aggettivi commotr, handsoffi, pleasant
common comune
handsome bello
pleasant piacevole
quiet quieto
happier
livelier
gayer
narrower
humbler
cleverer
e quiet.
commoner
handso4er
pleasanter
quieter
r
plu grosso
pi grasso
pi coraggioso
pi felice
pi vivace
pi gaio
pi
stretto
pi umile
pi bravo, pi abile
pi comune
pi
bello
pi piacevole
pi quieto
e)
gli
aggettivi trisillabici che rappresentano le forme negative degli aggettivi dei paragrafi
b), c) e d) (unhappy, ignoble, ecc.).
They are unhappier than we are Sono pi infelici di noi
His look was unpleasanter than usual [l suo aspetto era pi
spiacevole del solito
2) More (seguito da than) viene usato in tutti gli altri casi (aggettivi
di pi di una sillaba,
nomi, ecc.).
He is more intelligent than I (am) pi intelligente di me
He smokes more than I (do) Fuma pi di me
3'1 Il secondo termine di
paragone che segue than va nello stesso caso del primo, qualora
sia pronome personale. Pu inoltre essere seguito da opportuno ausiliare (to do in assenza
di altri).
You work harder than I
(do)
You are luckier than I
(am)
4) Nell'aggiunta del suffisso -r va osservato
dell'oggettivo (qualora questa
sia preceduta
della y in i (qualora questa sia preceduta da
Your car is bigger than mine
She is prettier than her sister
5)
Qualora
la comporozione awenga
fra
due aggettivi, si usa more con qualsiasi tipo di
aggettivi
(od awerb)
He is more silly than funny pi
sciocco che divertente
500
Tu
Sei
lavori di pi di me
pi fortunato di me
il raddoppiamento della consononte
finole
da unica consonante), e la trasformazione
consonante).
La tua automobile pi grossa della mia
.\
E pi graziosa di sua sorella
COMPARATIVO DI MINORANZA
Il comparativo di minoranza si ottiene in inglese
premettendo less ad aggettivi, avverbi o
nomi. Davanti a nome plurale si zsa fewer
Qti
pochi, pi poche), anzich /ess. Il secondo
termine di paragone introdotto da than
(pi il caso del
primo termine, se pronome).
Less e
fewer
possono inoltre essere usati soli.
I eat less than
you (do) Mangio meno di te
This time there are fewer than last time
Quesia
volta ce ne sono meno dell'ultima
volta
I was less tired than she (was) Ero meno stanca di lei
I have less time than you
to enjoy myself Ho meno tempo di te
per divertirmi
I studied fewer years than you (did)
Studiai meno anni di te
OSSERVAZIONE
Il comparativo di minoranza non molto usato dagli Inglesi. Ad esso viene preferito
comparativo di uguaglianzo, usato in frase negativa.
I was not so tired as she (was)
I haven't so much time as
you to enjoy
myself
I didn't study so many years
as
you (did)
I didn't eat so much as he (did)
Ero meno stanca
Ho meno tempo
Studiai meno anni di te
Mangiai meno di lui
di lei
di te per divertirmi
SUPERLATIVO ASSOLUTO
Il superlativo assoluto si ottiene
premettendo very all'aggettivo o all'ovverbio. Allo scopo
di ottenere moggior enfasi si
possono inoltre usare i seguenti awerbi:
qte
Qtroprio,
del
tutto), extremely (estremamenfe), awfully
(terribilmente\ e terbly
(terribilmente).
He is a very nice boy
She is quite well now
The translation was extremely hard
He was extremely depressed
I'm awfully sorry
It's terribly cold
They are awfully kind
He is terribly rude
OSSERVAZIONE
Anche most, generalmente
usato per
talvolta essere impiegato per formare
This is a most useful book
He was most polite to me
The news was most interesting
I shall most certainly go
un ragazzo simpaticissimo
Sta benissimo (benone) ora
La traduzione era difficilissima
Era estremamente depresso
Mi dispiace moltissimo
Fa un freddo cane
Sono gentilissimi
sgarbatissimo
formare il superlativo relativo di maggioronzs, pu
il superlativo ossoluto.
Questo
un libro utilissimo
Fu molto cortese con me
Le notizie furono interessantissime
Andr senz'altro
501
SUPERLATIVO RELATIVO
MAGGIORANZA
n superlativo relativo di maggiorainza si ottiene in due modi:
a) con il suffisso -est unito all'aggettivoi
b) con most, che precede l'aggettivo.
OSSERVAZIONI
1) Le stesse regole che condizionano I'uso di -er oppure di more nella formazione del
comparativo di maggioranza vanno seguite nella formazione del superlativo relativo di
maggioranzo.
I superlativi in -est subiscono modificazioni ortografiche allo stesso modo dei comparativi
in -er (the biggest, the
fattest,
the thinnest, the happiest, the luckiest, the
prettiest).
big
happy
narrow
common
interesting
boring
grosso
felice
stretto
comune
interessante
noioso
Bob is the fattest of my friends
She was the thinnest in her class
That was the funniest film I've ever seen
in my life
That was the most boring film I've ever
seen
He is the least learned of all
It was the least exciting of the books I
read that year
He is the most ignorant of all
It was the most boring book I read
502
the biggest il pi grosso
the happiest il pi felice
the narrowest il pi stretto
the commonest il pi comune
the most interesting il pi interessante
the most boring il pi noioso
Bob il pi grasso dei miei amici
Era la piu magra della sua classe
Quello
fu il film pi divertente che abbia
mai visto in vita mia
Quello
fu il film pi noioso che abbia
mai visto
il meno colto di tutti
Fu il meno emozionante dei libri che lessi
quell'anno
il pi ignorante (il meno colto) di rutti
Fu il libro pi noioso (il meno emo-
zionante) che lessi
2) A differenza del comparativo, il superlativo relativo di maggioranea seguito da of
(specificazione'y, in (luogo), o dal pronome relativo that (che normalmente omesso se
complemento oggetto\.
MINORANZA
Il superlativo relativo di minoranza si ottiene con the least premesso
all'aggettivo, seguito
da of, in o that.
OSSERVAZIONE
Anzich il superlativo relatiyo di minoranza che non molto usato, gli Inglesi usano mag-
giormente il superlativo relativo di maggioranea di opposto significato.
ORRL RND URITTN DRILIS
Reword the following sentences
suggesfed;
E
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
as 3. I'm not as
4. I'm not as
5. I'm not as
6. I'm not as
7. I'm not as
8. I'm not as
9. I'm not as
10. I'm not as
important as you are.
modern as you are.
beautiful as you are.
intelligent as
you are.
refined as you are.
sophisticated as you are.
broad-minded as you
are.
well-educated as
you are.
am less fat than you are.
am nof so fat as
you are.
am less tall than
you are.
am less strong than you are.
am less heavy than you are.
am less young than you are.
am less ugly than you are,
am less rich than you are.
am less clever than
you are.
am less lucky than
you
are.
am less intelligent than you are.
This church is very old.
/f's the oldest church in London.
This boutique is very fashionable.
This pub is very picturesque,
This bridge is very long
This museum is very interesting.
This street is very narrow.
This square is very large,
This store is very elegant.
This column is very tall.
This park is very fine.
E
1. This book is very interesting (to read).
/f's the mosf interesting book l've ever
read,
2. This print is very old (to see).
3. This translation is very difficult (to do).
4. This dress is very expensive (to buy).
5. This
joke
is very funny (to hear).
6. This article is very intelligent (to read).
7. This cathedral is very old (to see).
8. This song is very fine (to hear),
9. This drill is very long (to do).
10. This pullover is very cheap (to buy),
Replace the adiectiyes with comparatives
of majority:
a
1. This exercise is (simple) than that,
2. This translation is (difficult)
than the one
we did yesterday.
3. This book is (funny) than the other one.
4. This street is (narrow)
than that.
5. My flat is (large)
than yours.
6. This cil is (expensive)
than that.
7. She is (clever) than her brother.
8. Lizzie is (pretty)
than Mary.
9. The weather is (warm) today.
10. Be (carefuf when you cross the street.
tr
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7,.
8.
9.
10.
d
1. The book was less
thought.
The book was not
thought,
2. lt was less interesting than I thought.
3. The film was less exciting than I
thought.
4. lt was less amusing than I thought.
5. The article was less important than I
thought.
6. lt was less long than I thought.
7. The painting was less signif icant than I
thought.
8. lt was less clever than I thought.
9. The church was less old than I thought.
10. lt was less interesting than I thought.
E
1.
2.
3.
4.
5,
^
t.
7.
8.
9.
10.
tr
1 . I'm not
You're
2. I'm not
504
I'm not
You're
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
I'm not
expensive than I
so expensive as I
as pretty as
you are.
prettier than me,
as silly as
you are.
as sexy as you are.
as funny as
you are.
as lively as
you are.
as clumsy as
you are.
as clever as
you are.
as thin as
you are.
as tall as
you are.
as
quick as
you are.
as tired as
you are.
more tired than me.
as comfortable as
you are.
Tnnstate the ltalian fragments in brackets:
E
p.tri"i"
When I grow up, I'll be
(/a pit belta) woman in the.wo,rld!
reggy well,
you aren't really
9a.d |loyl
so there is a
posslDrlly'
-
patricia
To tett the trin, i r
i
Oella) tiran
you in every respect. Starting at the top, my hair
is
(pi in) and^(pru lungh) than
yours is'
ftlrlov An atso
'tpitt
Oinafl, thanks to the stuff that
you put on it'
niia And my eyes are (i pi blu\ that
you can imagine'
. . .
-Ribt-
tf onty
yor noiJueie
"
tittle (meio tungo),
you would be (la pi graziosa) girl I know.
But l;v
got (pi lunghe) legs than
you have..
. .
patricia
AO
OA
-OericAie)
(nee-i
too. on't
you think that I've
got (l pl bianch) teeth of
all the
girls you know?
ftgqy Oh
yes, quite (i
Pit
bianch).
eatliia And my mouth is (graziosissima), don't
you think so?
re@y
yes,
aird very big,"too. And
yo ve
got
i/a
pi bella) complexion in town, aytd
{il
p!
eteante) neif. Vu coutdn't-be
@il
perfeua), really. You're really
(/a pi fortunata\
girl I know.
Patricia And
you're (la pi gentile) of all my friends.
Pff/Sy And (/a pi sorprendenfe) thing is you aren't vain at all.
p{tliia
Quite true. You couldn't be (pl ragione).
Reptace the adiectives with superlatives:
E
1. She is the
(PrettY) girl I know.
Z lt was the
(exciting) holiday we've ever
had.
3. They bought the (expensive) car they
could find.
1. That was the (happy) day of my life.
Translate into English
E
1. Tuo zio sPilorcio come il mio.
2. Sono
povero come lui.
3. Siamo infelici
quanto loro.
1. Non cos tardi come
Pensavo.
5. lo mangio
quanto te.
6. Studiamo tante ore
quante voi.
7. Non sono fortunato come lei.
8. Abbiamo tanti
guai quanti voi.
9. Mangia
quanto vuoi.
10. La traduzione non era difficile come
pensavo.
E
1. Siamo stanchi come voi.
2. Non fumo come te.
3. Voi non studiate come noi.
4. Avete dei
guai, e noi ne abbiamo
altrettanti.
5. He is the
(clever) of mY friends.
6. He is the
(boring) boy I've ever met.
7. lt was the (hof) day of last summer.
8. She was the
(beautifut) girl in the village.
9. That is the
(long'1 book I've ever read.
10. He was the
(talt) man I had ever seen.
5. Sua sorella altrettanto
graziosa.
6. lo pagai altrettanto.
7. Devi mangiare il
Pi Possibile.
8. Spendemmo
il meno
Possibile.
9. Partiremo il pi presto possibile.
10. Ci alzeremo il pi presto possibile.
E
1. Compriamo
questa torta:
Pi
grossa.
2. Sei
pi grasso di me: mangi troppo.
3. Sei
bi,
magro di me: mangia di
Pi.
4. Essa pi vivace di suo fratello.
5. Sei
pi bravo di me.
6. Non' ho mai
Passato
una sera
Pi
piacevole.
T. irrendi
questo libro:
pi interessante di
quello.
8. Perch non studi di
Pi?
9. Tu sei
pi simpatico di tuo fratello.
10. Ma lui
Pi
intelligente di me.
505
IE
1. Siete
pi felici di noi.
2. Questo vestito pi vivace.
3. Questo vestito pi comune di quello.
4. Questo vestito mi rende
t
pi grassa.
5. Tu sei
pi abile di me.
6. Non conosco una ragazza pi graziosa.
7.

pi graziosa
che itetligente.
8. E la pi graziosa delle ragazze che
conosco.
9. Ma non la pi intelligente.
10. Poteva essere pi fortunata.
E
1. Mary era
pi graziosa di me.
2. Era la pi graziosa di tutte le ragazze.
3. Vorrei vivere in una citt grande.
4. Londra la citt pi grande che
conosco.
5. John pi fortunato di me.
6. il
pi'fortunato
dei miei amici.
7. ll tempo pi freddo oggi.
8. Fu la giornrta pi fredda dell'anno.
9. Non hai un'idea pi.divertente?
10. Questa l'idea pi divertente che tu
abbia avuto.
Itr
1. Tu sei meno stanca di me.
2. lo ho meno sonno di te.
3. Dovresti bere meno gin.
4. Perch non parli
di meno?
Itr
"Sa parlale benissimo", disse I'uomo nel pef
shop dopo aver venduto un pappagallo
ad un
signore. "E I'uccello pi loquace che io abbia mai avuto in negozio".
Ma quando il signore che aveva comprato il pappagallo
arriv a casa, quest'ultimo
3
si ritir nel
pi
ostinato silenzio. Ed allora il signore decise di insegnargli a parlare.
Cominci con "hello",
parola facilissima da ripetere, pens il signore. "Hello, hello, hello" diceva il signore il pi
chiaramente possibile.
ll
pappagallo
mise la testa sotto I'ala, senza dire nulla. ll signore continu
a ripetere "hello" decine di volte. Finalmente il pappagallo guard
su. "Occupato", disse in
modo arrabbiatissimo, e rimise la testa sotto l'ala.
Uocabulary
5. Ho meno sterline di te da spendere.
6. Tu compri meno vestiti di me.
7. Ho visto meno f ilm di te.
8. Ho dormito meno ore di lei.
9. Mary era la meno elegante.
10. Ho comprato il vestito meno costoso.
Itr
1. Sono meno ricco di te.
2. Ma tu hai meno guai di me.
3. Ho meno tempo di te per
andare al
cinema.
4. Ma tu vedi meno brutti film di me.
5. Ho meno danaro di te.
6. Ma tu hai meno falsi amici.
7. Sono meno alto di te.
8. Ma tu spendi meno in (on the) stoffa per
i tuoi vestiti.
9. Mangio meno bene di te.
10. Ma tu hai meno problemi culinari
2
di
me.
m
1. Sono
povero come te,
2. Sono pi povero di te.
3. Sono il pi povero qui.
4. Ho meno denaro di te.
5. Ho meno bisogni di te.
6. Sono il meno ricco qui.
7. Spendo
pi di te.
8. Spendo meno di te.
9. Non spendo quanto te.
10. Spendo il meno possibile.
ugly
['rgli]
signif icant
[sig'nifikant]
clumsy
['klnmzi]
sophisticated
[sa'fistikeitid]
broad-minded
['brc:d'maindid]
1. rendere
=
to make. 2.
problemi culinari
=
506
brutto
signif icativo
maldestro
sof isticato
di idee aperte
picturesque
[pikca'resk]
fashionable
['freJnabl]
cheap
[ci:p]
knobbly
['ncbli]
vain
[vein]
stingy
['stingi]
pittoresco
alla moda
economico
bernoccoluto
vanitoso
spilorcio
cooking problems. 3. quesf 'ultimo
=
the latter.
Translate the ltalian fragments in brackets:
Itr
TI{E SHOI^I-OFF
One of
(le pi irritantr) things a
person can be is a show-off.
I
George Anchovy.was one.tle.had
made a'gat deal oi mony in an estate agency,
2
had a flat in (a pi bella) area in Chelsea
and drove a Bentley. Of course he had (la pi
alta)-opinion of himself.
lf you had been somewhere glamorous, then he would have
just
come back from somewhere
(pi
incantevole). For a long time he kept talking of Caracas because he had been there, and
(pochissrmr) of his friends had. His conversation was entirely devoted to himself. He had met (/e
piit
belle)
girls, drunk (lpl costosi) cocktails and lived in a (pru raffipato) style than anyone. His
friends tolerated him because he was
quite
an amusing story-teller.
"
He was often at the centre
of curious incidents. On one occasion he decided to show off to his friends by taking them to his
club, one of (i pi
esc/uslvi) in London.
When he got
there, he was asked by the door-man
a
who was new to the
job,
in (i pi gentil)
terms, to leave because he was not a member. George had not brought his membership card'
and so he could not go in. He was escorted out. The door-man could not have been (pi cor-
tese), but he was quite insistent.
(Pi tard), when George returned with his membership card, he was in (il pi
adirato) mood his
friends could remember. He had also brought all his bills from the club which he read aloud to
call attenion to the fact that he was one of the club's best customers and that he had (tanfo)
money (quanto) anybody there. Eventually he was allowed into
6
the club with his friends.
Then he told his friends that he had not had the benefit of a
good
education but that he had
done
(dl pi) in life than many who had. He kept showing off for the whole evening, always tatk-
ing about himself.
Uocabulary
incident
['insident]
mood
[mu:d]
benefit
['benifit]
to devote
ldi'veut]
to tolerate
['tcloreit]
to escort
[is'kc:t]
to show off
[,[au]
episodio
stato d'animo
benef icio
dedicare
tollerare
scortare
mettersi in
mostra
irritating
['iriteiti4]
glamorous
['glremaras]
refined
[ri'faind]
curious
['kjuaries]
exclusive
[iks'klusiv]
insistent
[in'sistent]
entirely
[in'taieli]
irritante
incantevole
raff inato
curioso
esclusivo
insistente
interamente
1. show.off
=
spaccone. Forma colloqu,a/e. 2.
gstate
agency
=
agenzia immobiliare. 3. story-teller
=
narratore. 4. door.man
=
portire. 5. membershlp-card
=
tessera (di iscrizione). 6. to be allowed (lnto)
=
essere ammesso (in).
507
'g