一、考查比较等级的基本用法 1. Of the two sisters, Betty is _________ one, and she is also the one who loves to be quiet. （安徽卷）
A. a younger B. a youngest C. the younger D. the youngest
【解析】答案选C.根据句中的of the two sisters可知，此题涉及的是两者比较，故用比较级；另外，由于是特指两者中的一个，故其前用定冠词，不用不定冠词。
2. Of the two coats, I'd choose the _________ one to spare some money for a book. （四川卷）
A. cheapest B. cheaper C. more expensive D. most expensive
【解析】答案选B.因是两者比较，故用比较级，可将答案锁定在B和C之间；再根据句意，排除C.
3. Speaking of all the songs he has written, I think this is probably his _________ one. （全国卷II）
A. better-known B.C. best-known D. most-known well-known
【解析】答案选C.因为是从他所写的所有歌中选出一首来比较，故用最高级。
二、在语境中考查比较等级的用法
1. I don't think this film is by far the most boring. I have seen _________. （江西卷）
A. better B. worse C. the best D. the worst
【解析】答案选B.既然前文说“这不是最最烦人的电影”，那么下文说的肯定就“还有更糟的”，故用worse.有意思的是，2006年的这道江西卷的考题与下面这道2004年的湖南卷极为相似：That doesn't sound very frightening. Paul, I've seen _________. What did you like most about the film? （湖南卷）
A. better B. worse C. best D. worst
由前句“这听起来并不十分令人恐惧”可知，说话人曾见过比这个更令人恐惧的事，所以用比较级worse.
2. The new group of students is better-behaved than the other group who stayed here _________. （北京卷）
A. early B. earlier C. earliest D. the earliest
【解析】答案选B.做此题的关键词是new，即把“新来的学生”与“早些时候呆在这儿的学生”进行比较。全句意为：新来的这群学生比早些时候呆在这儿的那些学生表现得更好些。
3. There is an old proverb, “Love me, love my dog. ” But there is _________ wisdom in this: “Love me, love my book.” （湖南卷）
A. some B. much C. more D. most
【解析】答案选C.由于是将“Love me, love my dog”与“Love me, love my book”进行比较，故用比较级。此题的巧妙之处在于句中没有出现than，而是给出两个待比较的proverb. 4. With April 18's railway speedup, highway and air transport will have to compete with _________ service for passengers. （江苏卷）
A. good B. better C. best D. the best
【解析】答案选B.句子大意为：由于铁路提速了，所以公路和航空业要提高服务质量来竞争客源。因将“公路和航空”与“铁路”比较，故用比较级。
