Part 3: Making Comparisons

In Part Three of the Speaking test, you may be asked to compare different things, for example, your city now with your city in the past.  You will need to use comparatives and superlatives but to make your sentences more interesting and your language higher-level, you can use the expressions below.  For the purposes of this exercise, I will compare two imaginary (not real) towns, Stillham and Conby.

1. Stillham is not nearly as pretty as Conby.
2. Conby is becoming more and more/increasingly modern.
3. Conby is becoming less and less attractive as a tourist destination.
4. Stillham got signficantly more tourists last year than Conby.
5. The population of Conby is three times that of Conby.
6. The average income in Conby is double that of Stillham.
7. The distance from London of the two towns is pretty much the same.
8. There is very little/not much difference between the schools in Conby and those in Stillham.
9. There is a great deal of difference between the tourist facilities in Stillham and those in Conby.
10.  The two towns are total opposites in how friendly they are.

I have also looked at making comparisons for graphs.  However, the language here is more informal and therefore, better for speaking.

TASK

Talk about the comparisons listed below, using as many different forms as possible - including basic comparatives and superlatives.  Remember to record yourself.

1. Your city now with your city in the past
2. Your city with another city
3. The role women play with the role men play in your country
4. Communication now and communication 20 years ago
5. City life with country life
6. Traditional toys/games with modern computer games
7. Traditional medicine with modern medicine
8. Working in an office with working at home
9. Working for a company with working for yourself
10. Living in a house with living in a flat