Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for French

Understanding Domestic Violence

Vocabulary

English - Spanish

• To punch: golpear (con el puño)
• To choke: estrangular (con las manos)
• To strangle: estrangular (con cualquier cosa)
• Isolated incident (single incident): incidente aislado
• Long-term: a largo plazo
• To cope with / to deal with: lidiar con
• To know and understand: awareness (conciencia)
• To look for or try to obtain: to seek (buscar)
• Psychological help: counseling (asesoramiento)
• To tell the authorities: to report (informar) NOT to demand
• A husband or wife: a spouse (cónyuge, esposa o esposo)
• Don’t get close to that person: a restraining order (orden de alejamiento)
• Repeated abuse: battering - battered women (maltrato, mujeres maltratadas)
• To support someone to do something: to encourage (animar)
• A

My Friend Alberto: A Profile

My friend Alberto must be one of the most interesting people at school. Also, since we are in the same class, we see each other every day.

Alberto has short brown hair and brown eyes. In addition, he is talkative, kind, and good-looking. Moreover, he is interested in art and music and knows a lot about singing.

Alberto is crazy about Spanish music. He can be a bit obsessed sometimes. He has participated in a TV singing competition and recorded a Christmas song. He always has a lot of funny stories about his experiences.

In conclusion, Alberto is quite unusual but also very fascinating.

I'm happy he is my friend.

Brand Names: Advantages & Disadvantages

Sometimes, buying brand names can be a bargain because it has advantages,... Continue reading "Personal Narratives, Consumer Choices & Language Skills" »

The Failed Hero's Journey in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

Male Flight from Home and Responsibilities into the Wilderness

According to Joseph Campbell, the story of the hero takes place in three stages: withdrawal, initiation, and return. The hero abandons his family or community, undergoes an initiation, which is usually an encounter with supernatural forces, and eventually returns to society, wiser than before.

A closer reading of "Rip Van Winkle" alongside Campbell's work will demonstrate that Irving was well aware of this pattern, and that he both followed and veered from it intentionally for his own purposes.

Withdrawal: Escape from Domestic Strife

As Campbell explains, the hero's story starts with a call to adventure. The hero does not... Continue reading "The Failed Hero's Journey in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle" »

Marcus Wood's Offensive Email

When Marcus Wood, the boss of a recruitment company in Australia, sent an email to his colleagues, he had no idea it would make headlines around the world. In the email, Wood used offensive language to accuse his employees of not being good enough. He claimed they were playing games instead of working, not wearing the correct attire, and taking too many sick days.

Wood gave his employees an ultimatum: improve your performance in three months, or you're fired. His employees got their revenge by posting the email on Twitter. The tweets were shared globally, and news of the email appeared in newspapers from Australia to the UK. The "worst work email ever," as some called it, had gone viral.

After his email became famous,... Continue reading "The Worst Work Emails Ever" »

Passive Voice

The man studies Latin in university. Latin is studied in university by the man.

Changes

• Present Simple: is/are + past participle
• Present Continuous: is/are being + past participle
• Present Perfect: have/has been + past participle
• Past Simple: was/were + past participle
• Past Perfect: had been + past participle
• Past Continuous: was/were being + past participle
• Will/Can/Must: be + past participle
• Going to: is/are going to be + past participle

Pronoun Changes:

• I - me
• You - you
• He - him
• She - her
• It - it
• We - us
• They - them (always after "by")

Conditionals

• 1st Conditional: Subject + verb (present simple), subject + will/won't + verb (base form)
• 2nd Conditional: Subject + verb (past simple), subject + would + verb (base form)

Reported Speech

"I am making my... Continue reading "Passive Voice, Reported Speech, Conditionals, Modals, Relatives, and Writing Tips" »

The Baffling Rue Morgue Murders

The narrative centers on the perplexing double murder of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter in the Rue Morgue, a fictional street in Paris. Newspaper reports detail the gruesome scene: the mother's throat is so severely cut that her head is barely attached, and the daughter, after being strangled, has been forced into the chimney. The crime takes place in an inaccessible fourth-floor room, locked from the inside. Neighbors who heard the incident provide contradictory accounts, each asserting they heard the murderer speaking a different language. The witnesses admit the speech was unclear and they did not recognize the language they claimed to have heard.

Dupin's Intrigue and Investigation Begins

C. Auguste Dupin,... Continue reading "The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Plot and Resolution" »

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the impact of social media on self-esteem and body image. This is a pressing issue, as social media's influence on these aspects of well-being is significant and often detrimental.

The Problem: Social Media's Influence on Self-Perception

This topic is increasingly important in teenagers' lives. Many are heavily influenced by the individuals they follow online. They may idolize people with surgically enhanced appearances or use filters to seek validation from others. This constant comparison can lead to feelings of inadequacy and a distorted self-image. When faced with their reflection, these individuals may experience distress, preferring the altered versions of themselves presented online.

The Consequences:

Comparative:

adj+er+than ejm: Oscar is taller than Blanca / Susana is more famous than Kia

Superlative:

the+adj+est ejm: Susana is the happiest / Eloddie is the most wonderful

Irregular Adjectives:

good / better than - the best; bad / worse than - the worst; far / further than - the furthest.

Past Simple:

+ed - didn't / did; Past Continuous: +was were - wasn't werent / ¿was were; ing en todos

Future Simple:

s+will+inf / s+will wont+inf / ¿will s+inf? ejm: I will go to the dentist.

Be Going To:

s+V to be+going to+inf / s+v to be+not+going to+inf / ¿v to be+s+going to+inf? ejm: I'm going to go to the dentist

Present Continuous:

s+v to be+v ing+ / s+vtobe+not+v ing / ¿v to be+s+v ing? ejm: I'm going to the dentist.

Reasons Why People Dream

Dreams encompass thoughts, images, and content experienced during sleep. One perspective on why we dream is the activation-synthesis model. During REM sleep, brain circuits activate, affecting the limbic system's regions involved in sensations, emotions, and memories, including the hippocampus and amygdala.

The brain synthesizes and interprets this internal activity, attempting to find meaning in the signals, leading to dreaming. This model suggests that dreams result from internally generated signals and are not entirely meaningless. Dreaming is depicted as a creative conscious state with spontaneous, chaotic recombination of cognitive elements.

While many dream ideas may seem nonsensical, some can be useful, suggesting... Continue reading "The Importance of Dreams and Their Meanings" »