The ways of comparing things

 

Positive Degree	Comparative Degree	Superlative Degree
Cold	Colder	the coldest
Big	Bigger	the biggest
Careful	More careful	the most careful
Important	More important	the most important
Good	better	the best
Bad	worse	the worst
Far	farther	the farthest
Old	older	oldest

 

2. You can use adverbs of degree in front of comparative adjectives:
a bit a great /good deal a lot rather

Far a little much slightly

 

For example, “This car's a bit more expensive. Now I feel a great deal more confident.”

3. When you want to say that one situation depends on another,
you can use "the" and a comparative followed by "the" and another comparative.

“The larger and more luxurious the hotel is, the greater the variety of jobs it offers.”

When you want to say that something increases or decreases, you can use two comparatives linked by "and".

“It's getting harder and harder to get a job. Cars are becoming more and more expensive.”

4. You use "as... as..." to compare people or things that are similar in some way: as + adjective + as + a noun group or a clause. You're as bad as your sister. Let us examine it as carefully as we can. You can make a negative comparison using "not so... as...". He is not so old as I thought.

5. When you want to say that one thing is very similar to something else, you can use "the same as":
I said the same as always. She looked the same as she did yesterday.
You can use some adverbs in front of "the same (as)" -

almost just much roughly
exactly more or less nearly virtually

 

For example, “You two look almost the same. He did exactly the same as John did.”

6. You can also compare things or people by using a link verb such as "be", "feel", "look", or "seem"
and a phrase beginning with "like"; you can use some adverbs in front of "like ":

a bit exactly least more quite somewhat
a little just less most rather very

It was like a dream. He still feels like a child. She looks just like a baby.

7. You can also use "less" and "least" to make comparisons with the opposite meaning to "more" and "most":

They were less fortunate than us. He was the least skilled of the workers.

8. Remember some idiomatic expressions with comparative constructions:

As blind as a bat Like a dream

As quite as a mouse He has eyes like a hawk

As hard as iron He drinks like a fish.

As dry as a bone He eats like a horse.

As mad as a hatter I slept like a log

As quick as a flash He behaved like a bull in a china shop.

As white as snow

As dead as a doornail

V. Text. Render the text from Russian into English.

Отель Кэ Вольтер (Hotel du Quai Voltare)

Отель Кэ Вольтер расположен в самом сердце исторического Парижа, на набережной Сены против музея Лувра и Тюильри, в квартале антикварных бутиков Левого берега Сены. Он был основан в XIX веке и с тех пор в нем побывали многие известные личности: Бодлер, Сибелиус, Рихард Вагнер, Оскар Уальд и др.

Качество обслуживания этого двухзвездочного отеля соответствует 3*, а его притягательность состоит во внимании к каждому клиенту. Индивидуальный подход обеспечивается командой преданных своему делу профессионалов, которые помогут своим клиентам получить удовольствие от пребывания в Париже. Этому способствует удачное расположение отеля, находящегося вблизи от многих интересных мест, доступных пешком или на метро: в нескольких шагах находится квартал художественных и антикварных галерей, а также музей Д.Орсэ - самый большой музей, посвященный искусству XIX века. Для посещения Лувра, Тюильри и улиц Риволи достаточно перейти через мост, что обещает многочисленные романтические прогулки, в том числе вдоль берегов Сены. Ночная жизнь города также легко доступна, благодаря находящемуся в нескольких минутах от отеля мифическому Сен-Жермен.
Выбор нашего отеля - это гарантия проживания в самом сердце исторического Парижа.

VI. DIALOGUE 1 Read, memorize and practice the dialogue.

Peter and Mary Almar arrive at the Hotel international in Athens, where they have reserved a room, they go to the reception desk and address the receptionist.
Peter: Good evening. My name's Almar. I reserved a double room with bathroom for three nights. Can we check-in now?

Receptionist: Mr. Almar... I'll check your reservation record... Yes, room 312. Would you like to register, please? Just fill in this form.

Peter: Thank you.

Receptionist: And could I see your passports, please? Thank you.

Mary: How much do you charge for a double room?

Receptionist: The rate of this room is 1500 drachmas a night, which includes a service charge.

Mary: Can we get dinner this evening?

Receptionist: Yes, we're serving dinner in the Roof garden.

Peter: And what time is breakfast?

Receptionist: Breakfast is from 7.30 to 9.00 in the ground-floor restaurant.

Peter: And could we have a call in the morning, please?

Receptionist: Certainly. What time would you like it?

Peter: Eight o'clock, please.

Receptionist: Very good, sir. And here's your key. Room 312.

Peter: Thank you. Oh, are there any letters or telephone messages for us?

Receptionist: No, sir, nothing. I'll just get a porter to take your luggage up. Enjoy your stay with us.

HOTEL FACILITIES AND OTHER SERVICES

 

Word Bank 2. Match the English words to their Russian equivalents.

To attend (conferences) азартные игры

Bathrobe аренда автомобиля

Business trolley арендатор

Car hire бесплатный

Catering врач по вызову

chauffeur-driven car валет (мелкий ремонт и химчистка)

Complimentary газеты

Concessionaire закусочная

Cot кроватка детская

Convention facilities круглосуточно услуги носильщика

Currency exchange круглосуточное обслуж. в номере

Doctor on call машина с водителем

Fax-machine мероприятие

Food and beverage department мобильные бизнес услуги

Gambling нотариус

Gentlemen’s barber общепит

In-room safe отдел питания в гостинице

Interconnecting rooms паковка / распаковка багажа

Ladies’ hair salon парикмахерская муж. и женскаянн.)

Luggage packing and unpacking парковка валетом

Maid service персонал со знанием иност. языков

Multilingual staff посещать (конференции)

Newspapers пункт обмена валюты

Notary сейф

Range of services персональный сейф в номере

Safe deposit box смежные комнаты

Security staff спектр услуг

Self-contained complex тапочки

Slippers тенденция

Snack bar туалетные принадлежности

Social function условия для конференций

Toiletries услуги горничной

Trend факс

Hour hall porters халат.

Hour room service

Valet parking

Valet service

 

Special terms:

Full board or enpension - it is a room and all meals included. Half-board or demi-pension - includes the room plus breakfast and one other meal (lunch or dinner).

Bed and breakfast (B&B) or continental plan - it is the rate that includes the room and breakfast (the breakfast itself may be "English" or "continental").

European plan - it is the rate for a room alone, with no meals included at all.

Text. Special Services and Hotel Facilities

Nowadays large, modern hotels contain not only guest rooms, but many other facilities as well. They usually contain restaurants and cocktail lounges, shops and recreational facilities for social functions, conventions and conferences - ballrooms, auditoriums, meeting rooms of different sizes, exhibit areas and so forth.

Not so long ago, convention facilities were ordinarily found only in large cities or in intensively developed resort areas like Miami Beach. Nowadays they are more often included in resort hotels so that the people who attend conventions there can combine business with pleasure.

Another trend in the hotel industry is the construction of the self-contained resort complex. Recreational facilities are another feature of many hotels and motels. A swimming pool is the most common of these, particularly in warmer climates and in resort areas. A swimming pool in front of the building is a form of advertisement for motel in places such as Florida, California, Egypt, Turkey and other resorts. Other recreational facilities include tennis courts and golf courses at resort hotels. Many resorts are designed for winter sports such as skiing and ice skating; others provide horseback riding and other outdoor activities.

Casinos, wherever they are legal, are another feature of some hotels. In Las Vegas, Nevada, the hotels feed, house and entertain guests, but the real profits come from the casinos. In Puerto Rico and other places, gambling usually acts as an additional, rather than principal, attraction for hotels.

A few hotels, most of them in resort areas or large cities, include nightclubs as a part of their operation. Sometimes the nightclub is rented out to a concessionaire, but in other hotels it is the responsibility of the food and beverage department or of a special staff. A nightclub offers entertainment, such as dancing, a singer, a band, or a floor show, in addition to food and drink. The engagement of a well-known entertainer obviously gives the hotel an excellent promotional opportunity. The hotels in the gambling resort of Las Vegas, Nevada, for example, publicize not only the entertainers in their nightclubs, but also the huge salaries that they receive, perhaps on the theory that the higher the fee, the better the entertainer.

All of these recreational facilities require the employment of additional personnel. Necessary swimming-pool maintenance is often contracted out. Golf courses must be carefully tended by a special staff of groundskeepers. Horses require stables and grooming. Many resort hotels hire professional athletes to give lessons to the guests in tennis, golf and skiing. Other employees include riding instructors and guides for hikers and campers. Lifeguards are often necessary at swimming pools and beaches.

Catering, providing food and drink for transients, has always gone together with accommodations. Food services are a feature of hotels. The typical modern "packaged hotel" includes a restaurant, a coffee shop for quicker and less expensive meals, and a bar or cocktail lounge. Many larger hotels have several restaurants, often featuring different kinds of foods, as well as different prices. Hotels also normally provide "room service" - food and drink that are brought to the guest's room. In addition, catering service provided in the hotel's recreational areas. The poolside bar and snack bar, for quick food, are normal parts of the service at a resort hotel. So, restaurants, bars and nightclubs outside the hotels are a standard feature of the resort scene. They provide not only catering, but also some kind of entertainment for the tourist who is bored with the limits of hotel life.

Large urban hotels also provide special services for businessmen. A commercial hotel, for example, can provide a stenographer to take dictation and do typing for the travelling businessman. Some luxury hotels also give the guests access to copying, internet, modem points, facsimile machines, computers with printer, scanner, word processor and other machines. Many large hotels also have a notary public on the staff to verify the signatures on documents.

The list of special services offered by hotels is long. These services differ according to the location and the clientele of the hotel; luxury hotels offer the greatest range of services. This is, in fact, what makes them luxury hotels.

 

 

CREDIT CARD codes:	MEAL PLAN codes:
AE	American Express	EP	European plan: no meals
AC	Access	CP	Continental Plan: continental breakfast only or as indicated.
BC	Barclaycard	MAP	Modified American plan: American breakfast and dinner
CB	Carte Blanche	DP	Half board: Continental breakfast and either table d'hote lunch or dinner
DC	Diners Club	AP	American Plan: American breakfast, lunch and dinner
DS	Discover	FP	Full board: Continental breakfast, table d'hote, lunch and dinner
EC	Eurocard		Other abbreviations:
ER	En Route	PRPN	Per room per night
JC	JCB International	PPPN	Per person per night
MC	Mastercard	BB	Buffet Breakfast
VS	Visa

 

ACTIVITY