How many people die each year from viruses? We often think of sharks and crocodiles as scary and dangerous, but sometimes it's the small things we need to really worry about. Have a look at some statistics below.
Cause of Death
Number of Deaths Per Year (approximately)
Malaria from mosquito bites
600,000
Bites from snakes
90,000-100,000
Rabies from dogs
20,000
Killed by lions
100
1. Look at the example in the picture (in red), and using the statistics, make similar sentences. Work from the bottom of the picture to the top. When you finish, click “Answer”.
1. Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals. 2. Snakes aren’t as dangerous as mosquitoes.
3. Dogs are more dangerous than lions.
4. Lions are less dangerous than dogs.
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2. Now read and complete the comparatives table below.
Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
Equality
3 Syllables and More (Affirmative)
dangerous
more dangerous (than)
(the)(most) dangerous
(as) dangerous as
3 Syllables and More (Negative)
dangerous
(less) dangerous (than)
(the) least dangerous
not (as) dangerous (as)
Reading
3. Read the text and answer the questions.
Be Careful with the Smaller Things
What makes the mosquito more dangerous than a lion? “Little fly”, which is the Spanish translation, doesn’t give us a very good idea of what this tiny creature can really do. The worst thing about mosquitoes is that they carry malaria, killing more than 600,000 people every year.
Of the roughly 3,000 known species of snake found worldwide, only 15% are considered dangerous to humans. There are no accurate statistics for annual human deaths by snakebite, but somewhere between 90,000 and 100,000 is the best guess.
Man’s best friend is also the likeliest mammal to kill him. If a dog’s bite can be bad, what its saliva contains could be much worse. Of the approximately 25,000 people killed by dogs each year, the majority die from rabies.
Big, scary and definitely dangerous, it’s better to watch lions from a safe distance than trying to get close. But attacks by lions on humans are not as common as you might think. Fewer than 100 people are killed by lions each year.
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4. Decide if the statements about the text are true (T) or false (F).
1. The text offers help to people worried about dangerous animals. True (T) or False (F)? (F)
2. The writer thinks we confuse the words 'scary' and 'dangerous' when we think of animals. True (T) or False (F)? (T)
3. We know the exact number of people killed by different animals each year. True (T) or False (F)? (F)
4. It is the intention of all the animals to kill the people they attack. True (T) or False (F)? (F)
5. Now find the following things in the text. When you finish, click “Answer”.
A) Find two words in the first paragraph that mean ‘small’. (One of them means ‘very small’.)
B) Find two words in the second paragraph that mean ‘not exactly’.
C) Find an adjective in the second paragraph that means ‘each / every year’.
D) Find an expression in the third paragraph that means ‘the most probable’.
E) Find the names of two diseases in the text.
F) Find three words in the text that mean ‘animal’ or ‘type of animal’
A) small: little, tiny
B) not exactly: roughly, approximately
C) each / every year: annual
D) the most probable: likeliest
E) two diseases: malaria, rabies
F) animal or type of animal: creature, species, mammal
Language Focus: Forming Comparatives
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6. Complete the chart with words in bold from the text, then complete the description of how we form comparative phrases.
Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
(Non-)Equality
Good
(better)
(the best)
(not) as good as
(tiny)
tinier
the tiniest
(not) as tiny as
likely
likelier
(the)(likeliest)
(not) as likely as
(bad)
(worse)
(the worst)
(not) as bad as
(big)
bigger
the biggest
(not) as big as
(scary)
scarier
the scariest
(not) as scary as
(safe)
safer
the safest
(not) as safe as
(close)
closer
the closest
(not) as close as
common
more common
the most common
(not) (as)(common)(as)
One syllable adjectives
One syllable adjectives that finish in 'e' like '(safe)' and '(close)' add the letter '(r)' to form the comparative. For the superlative, add '(st)'. For other one syllable adjectives like 'old', add 'er' for the comparative or 'est' for the superlative.
One syllable adjectives that finish with a short vowel sound + consonant, like '(big)' double the last consonant and add 'er' to form the comparative or 'est' for the superlative.
One and two syllable adjectives that finish with 'y'
With one syllable adjectives like 'dry' and two syllable adjectives like 'tiny' '(likely)' and '(scary)' change the 'y' to '(i)' and add 'er' for comparatives or 'est' for superlatives.
Two syllable adjectives
There are many adjectives with two syllables that take 'er' and 'est' or 'more/less' and 'most/least'. We can say 'commoner' and 'the(commonest)' or 'more/less common' and 'the(most)/(least)common'. But words like 'boring' or 'useful'always take 'more/less' or 'most/least'. It's a good idea to study the form of these adjectives as you learn them.
Three or more syllable adjectives
As we saw in the introduction with the word 'dangerous', three or more syllable adjectives always take 'more/(less)' for the comparative and 'most/(least)' for the superlative.
Irregular adjectives
'Good' and 'bad' are irregular and a little different in the way we form them. The comparative of 'good' is '(better)' and the superlative is 'the (best)'. 'Bad' becomes '(worse)' in the comparative form and '(worst)' is the superlative. Other common irregular verbs are 'far' ('further/farther', furthest/farthest') and 'little' (for quantity: less, the least).
What, MORE?! Last little bit of this... honest!
It's important to notice things as you read and listen to English. Looking back at the text, what do you notice about the difference between:
The chart we completed and the title of the article '...the Smaller Things'?
'more dangerous than' and 'more than 600,000 people' in the first paragraph?
And what about 'could be worse.' in the third paragraph, with no 'than' after it?
And finally, what do you think about 'it’s better to watch lions from a safe distance'? The superlative would be 'it's best to...' without 'the' before it.
