it eventually works its way up to merely bad rather than painfully awful . 
(ROOT (S (NP (PRP it)) (ADVP (RB eventually)) (VP (VBZ works) (NP (PRP$ its) (NN way)) (ADVP (RP up) (PP (IN to) (ADJP (ADJP (RB merely) (JJ bad)) (CONJP (RB rather) (IN than)) (ADJP (RB painfully) (JJ awful)))))) (. .)))
(ROOT (S (NP (PRP )) (ADVP (RB )) (VP (VBZ ) (NP (PRP$ ) (NN )) (ADVP (RP ) (PP (IN ) (ADJP (ADJP (RB ) (JJ )) (CONJP (RB ) (IN )) (ADJP (RB ) (JJ )))))) (. )))