Quiz Night: Planet of Records — Superlatives (A2)

A2 · SUPERLATIVES

Quiz Night: Planet of Records

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“The most beautiful place I’ve ever seen is Lake Bled.”

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Superlatives · superlative + present perfect + ever

Listening

Speaking

STAGE 1 · WARM-UP

Quick-fire quiz

Shout your guesses!

1. What’s the biggest country in the world?

2. What’s the most popular sport?

3. What’s the most dangerous animal? (The answer will surprise you — you’ll hear it!)

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STAGE 2 · BEFORE YOU LISTEN

A quiz-night argument

You’ll hear three friends — Bea, Carlos and Ines — at quiz night. The round is called Planet of Records.

PREDICT

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What kind of questions are usually asked at a quiz night? Can your partners answer these questions?

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Now listen. Are the questions similar to the ones you mentioned?

Listen — which answer(s) do they get wrong?

STAGE 3 · LISTENING

Listen — which answer do they get wrong?

Tapescript: “Planet of Records”

QUIZMASTER: Question one: what’s the driest place on Earth?

BEA: The Sahara!

CARLOS: No — the Atacama, in Chile. No rain for years.

INES: Write Atacama.

QUIZMASTER: Question two: the most dangerous animal — most human deaths?

BEA: Shark!

INES: No — the mosquito. The smallest answer, the biggest killer. Trust me, I’m a biology teacher.

QUIZMASTER: Question three: which country has the largest population?

INES: It was China, but India passed China recently.

BEA: No way. China! Final answer!

CARLOS: So, err, what's the most beautiful place you've ever visited? Mine is Lake Bled — a tiny island with a church.

BEA: The Atacama — the clearest sky I’ve ever seen!

INES: You’ve BEEN to the Atacama and said the Sahara?! And why did you write the Sahara??

QUIZMASTER: Answers: Atacama, the mosquito — and India, not China!

STAGE 4 · COMPREHENSION

The team’s answer sheet

Complete the sheet, then mark each right or wrong.

question

the team wrote

correct answer

1. driest place

__________

__________

2. most dangerous animal

__________

__________

3. largest population

__________

__________

Then: why does Ines say “Trust me”? What is Lake Bled like? Why is Bea’s answer to question one funny at the end?

STAGE 5 · TALK ABOUT IT

What do you think?

Discuss with a partner.

Are you a Bea (confident, sometimes wrong) or an Ines (right, but nobody listens) in a team?

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What’s the most beautiful place YOU have ever visited?

STAGE 6 · GRAMMAR — NOTICE

Find the superlatives

Find the superlatives in the tapescript.

adjective

superlative in the tapescript

dry

the __________ place

dangerous

the __________ animal

large

the __________ population

clear

the __________ sky

Look: “the clearest sky I’ve ever seen.” With superlatives we often use the present perfect + ever.

Find one more “superlative + I’ve ever…” sentence in the tapescript.

STAGE 7 · THE RULES

Superlatives

adjective

comparative

superlative

dry / large

drier / larger

the driest / the largest

big / hot

bigger / hotter

the biggest / the hottest

healthy / busy

healthier

the healthiest

dangerous / beautiful

more dangerous

the most dangerous

good / bad

ALSO

better / worse

the best / the worst

• Use the + superlative for number one in a group: the driest place on Earth.

• After a superlative use in: the tallest student in the class (not “of the class”).

• Superlative + present perfect + ever: the most beautiful place I’ve ever visited.

STAGE 8 · PRACTICE

Write superlative questions

Example: what / long / river? → What’s the longest river in the world?

1. what / high / mountain in the world?

2. what / big / ocean?

3. what / fast / land animal?

4. what / popular / sport in the world?

5. what / cold / place on Earth?

6. which / small / country in the world?

STAGE 8 · PRACTICE

Superlative + present perfect + ever

Example: beautiful place / you / visit → What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever visited?

1. good film / you / see → What’s …?

2. bad meal / you / eat → What’s …?

3. interesting person / you / meet → Who’s …?

4. expensive thing / you / buy → What’s …?

5. funny message / you / receive → What’s …?

STAGE 9 · SPEAKING

The class records book

STEPS 1–2

Use the five questions from exercise 8b (plus two of your own) and interview two students each. Then, as a class, nominate winners for the official Class Records Book.

EACH NOMINATION NEEDS A FULL SENTENCE + A ONE-LINE STORY

“The worst meal anyone has ever eaten is Timo’s jellyfish pizza. He ate it in Osaka — never again.”

Revenge: each pair writes one superlative quiz question about the class (Who has visited the most countries?). Run the quiz!

TEACHER'S REFERENCE

Answer key

2 / 4b They argue about question 3 (largest population). Ines was right (India); Bea insisted on China.

4a 1 Atacama — correct: Atacama ✔ 2 mosquito — correct: mosquito ✔ 3 China — correct: India ✘

4b She’s a biology teacher. Lake Bled has a tiny island with a church. Bea said the Sahara — but she’s actually been to the Atacama and called it the clearest sky she’s ever seen.

6a driest / most dangerous / largest / clearest

6b 1 -est; most 2 present perfect

8a 1 the highest mountain (Everest) 2 the biggest ocean (the Pacific) 3 the fastest land animal (the cheetah) 4 the most popular sport (football) 5 the coldest place (Antarctica) 6 the smallest country (Vatican City)

8b 1 the best film you’ve ever seen 2 the worst meal you’ve ever eaten 3 the most interesting person you’ve ever met 4 the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought 5 the funniest message you’ve ever received