Success in Grammar 2
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Unit 3
B Adverbs of degree 程度: slightly 小小, quite 頗, very 十分 and extremely 極之
We use adverbs of degree to describe the amount, level or intensity of something.
Usually we use them before an adjective.
We can even use adverbs of degree before another adverb.
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Hardly 幾乎沒有, almost 幾乎, just 只是 and too 太
Practice 1
1 Mike’s cake was slightly hard. (slightly)
2 The question was too difficult. (too)
3 Tim almost missed the plane. (almost)
4 Be careful! The pan is very hot. (very)
5 The story is hardly interesting. (hardly)
6 Ivy was not very happy with her job. (very)
7 She managed to get to the pier just in time. (just)
8 He is walking quite fast. (quite)
9 The books are selling extremely well. (extremely)
10 This is a quite small house. (quite)
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Practice 2
1 This sofa is (hardly/slightly) different from that one.
2 Boil the spaghetti until it’s (just/too) cooked.
3 It’s (almost/very) important to read the instructions before you use the machine.
4 Sally was (almost/extremely) frightened in her nightmare. She kept screaming.
5 Ricky was cycling (slightly/too) fast. He fell and (almost/very) bumped into a tree.
6 I could (hardly/not very) sleep last night because my neighbour’s baby was crying (just/quite) loudly.
7 The film was (extremely/too) boring to watch.
8 Diana (almost/just) caught the train in the last minute. She was relieved.
9 Mandy was not (hardly/very) satisfied with the service in the restaurant.
Practice 3
almost extremely hardly just quite slightly too very
Host: Good morning Gogo, I hope it’s not too early for you.
Gogo Flex: Not at all, I usually get up at 5.30 a.m. to have my morning workout 健身.
Host: Wow, that’s quite early! So what advice do you have for people who don’t have much time
to work out before school or work? For example, someone who just has 20 minutes?
Gogo Flex: Well, you can hardly do a full workout in that amount of time, though I think 30 minutes
will be better. Focus on doing some simple exercises which use a lot of muscles. Press-ups are a
very good example as they exercise your back, shoulders and arms.
Host: You’re quite fit, so I’m sure you can do dozens of press-ups. But how many would you
recommend people to start with?
Gogo Flex: You should start with just as many as you can comfortably do. That may be eight or ten
reps—you could slightly adjust that number according to your ability. Do three sets of that
number, with a minute of rest in between. If you can almost do a normal press-up, it’s
extremely easier to do it resting on your knees rather than your toes. It’s essential to keep
your body straight though.
Host: I’m not sure if my body is straight. How can we check?
Gogo Flex: It’s not quite easy to know without seeing yourself. You can ask someone to check if you
have the right posture, or you can set up your phone and film yourself.
Host: Good idea! By the way, most of us have quite a weak core because we often sit for a long
time. Do you have any abdominal exercises for us?
Gogo Flex: Sure. It’s very important to have a strong core. It stabilizes your body and improves your
strength. You can find loads of abs exercises in my app.
Host: I’ve got it right here on my phone! Well, I’m afraid we’re just out of time. My last question
is: what do you think is the most challenging exercise?
Gogo Flex: Probably doing handstand press-up—it’s actually one of my specialities.
Host: Handstand press-up? They sound extremely difficult. I guess they’re quite hard for
me! I’d better start with normal press-ups first. Thanks, Gogo.
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Practice 4
Rodney’s Burgers, Central
This newly opened restaurant has been too (extremely) popular on social
media—everyone is talking about it. Luckily, there weren’t too many
people on the day of our visit, so we didn’t need to wait for quite (very)
long. I wasn’t almost (very) fond of burgers, but my friend was. I didn’t know the restaurant serves
plant-based burgers, so I was hardly (very) surprised when I saw them on the menu! I didn’t want to have
too much meat, so that was perfect for me. My first bite of the meatless burger was stunning: it was
meaty and crumbly, very tasting like a real beef burger! The only thing was that it dried out a bit
extremely (very) quickly, while a real beef burger is juicier. My friend ordered a double cheeseburger,
which was very (quite) a big one. She said it was very tasty, but it was too big for her and she could
almost (hardly) finish it. We also had the hot cheese fries, which were delicious. I’ve heard that the apple and
ice cream is very nice, but we were almost (too) full to try it. Overall, I’d certainly recommend Rodney’s
Burgers although the food is extremely (just) more expensive (about $40 for a burger) than other fast-food
shops. Don’t miss out on the plant-based burgers—you’ll too (just) forget you’re eating veggies!
