First-rate used in a sentence

First-rate in a sentence as an adjective

His writings are marvelously alive and his English is first-rate.

If your achievements are first-rate, no-one up the chain will really understand them, and you'll be derided.

I always thought it meant something along the lines of first-rate, I didn't realize it had such a specific meaning.

First-rate in a sentence as an adverb

While recorded music has brought first-rate professional performances to the masses, it has robbed untold millions of musical expression.

Fitzgerald said "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.