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

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:

Sports Vocabulary

• Active → actiu
• Sedentary → sedentari
• Moderate → moderat
• Motivate → motivat
• Competitive → competitiu
• Sporty → esportista
• Get through → superar algo
• Championship → campionat
• Trophy → trofeu
• Teammates → company d'equip
• Signed up → apuntat
• Take part → participar / formar part
• Events → evento
• Spectators → espectadors
• Cheer → animar
• Cheerleader → animadora
• Wellbeing → benestar
• Drop out → abandonar
• Balanced → equilibrat

Phrasal Verbs and Idioms

• Ended up → acabar o finalitzar
• Even though → aunque, a pesar de que
• Go ahead → ir, avanzar
• As well as → además de, también
• Keeps track → registrat
• For this reason → por esta razón
• In addition → además
• Work out → ejercitarse (hacer ejercicio)
• Come up with → inventarse

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" »

Vocabulary Extension (p. 8)

Phrasal Verbs with Come

F# List Manipulation and Property-Based Testing

This document provides F# code examples demonstrating list manipulation techniques and property-based testing using FsCheck.

Setting up FsCheck

#r "FsCheck";;
open FsCheck;;

Tagged Value Exercises: Some and None

This section explores the use of tagged values (also known as discriminated unions) and the Some and None options in F#.

Defining a Shape Type

type figura =
| Rettangolo of float * float  // base * altezza
| Quadrato of float  // lato
| Triangolo of float * float ;; // base * altezza

Calculating Area with Option Type

let areaOpt fig =
 match fig with
 | Rettangolo (b,h) -> if b>0.0 && h>0.0 then Some (b*h) else None
 | Quadrato (l) -> if l>0.0 then Some (l*l) else None
 |

CHAPTER 13

1. Which represents the shift of power in the marketplace?

From a sellers' to a customers' market

2. Which are the two dimensions of quality?

Market-perceived quality and performance quality

3. What is a term used to identify concern with the environmental consequences of marketing activities?

Green marketing

4. What are the critical issues that affect product development in relation to the control of packaging waste and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products?

The control of the packaging component of solid waste and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products

5. What is the process by which innovation spreads?

Diffusion

6. What is the goal of the diffusion researcher and the marketer according to Everett Rogers?

To... Continue reading "Shift of Power in the Marketplace and Quality Dimensions" »