Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Language and literature

ERRONEOUS

Incorrect; mistaken; wrong; filled with errors.

Ferdinand Magellan is credited with proving the earth is spherical in nature, thus dispelling the erroneous notion that the world is flat.

ADMONISH

To counsel against, to earnestly warn.

After reviewing a manuscript J.K. Rowling had submitted, one publisher admonished her by saying that children would not be able to identify with the characters. Needless to say, the publisher’s admonition proved to be erroneous.

DEMARCATE

To clearly set or mark the boundaries of a group or geographic area.

Even after schools were technically integrated, students would quickly demarcate their own boundary lines and sit at cafeteria tables that were either all black or all white.

FOSTER

To promote and encourage.

Lost Luggage

A: Hello? Is anybody there?

B: Yes, hello. You are talking to Customer Service of the Washington Central Airport. How can we help you?

A: I wish you could. Last Saturday, I came back from Paris on the United Airlines flight at 11:00 PM. Upon arrival, I looked for my luggage, but I never saw it again. What did you do with my suitcase? Did you lose it or something else?

B: Sir, calm down. We didn't lose your luggage. The suitcase could be on the next flight. Wait until then, and if the suitcase doesn't appear, we will talk to the crew.

A: Okay, but I need that suitcase right now. I had the ticket for my next flight in there, and that flight is in 20 minutes.

B: We are so sorry. Okay, we will print the ticket again and we will refund the...

Verbs

A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. They do not express action. Examples include to be (is, being, are, was, were), to become, and to seem.

My cats are content to nap on the couch. After drinking the old milk, Vladimir turned green.

Action Verbs

Action verbs describe what the subject of the sentence is doing.

Sam and Eric ride the bus to school each morning. Jan wants a horse for her birthday. John reads a chapter in his book each night.

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object receiving the action. I baked some cookies. I rode the bicycle. I moved the chair. I stitched a quilt.

Grammar Review

This section covers essential grammar points for everyday English usage:

• Wish: past simple, past perfect, would
• So+adj+that: such+adj+noun+that
• She takes: it takes her
• Although: despite the fact that
• Too+adj: not+adj+enough
• Unless: if..not
• I would prefer to+inf: I'd rather+inf
• Remember: ing
• Regret+ing: regret to
• Try: ing
• Shouldn't/ought to/had better
• Be about to+inf: on the point of+gerund
• It's time+past simple
• Past simple + ago: have+ed
• To be fond of: like+gerund
• on your own: by yourself
• More than/better than: as..as
• I haven't seen Peter for ages_: It's ages since I saw Peter
• Regret: ing
• Apologise: to+inf
• Mind: ing
• Remember..: forget to
• Don't forget to...her brother said: her brother reminded him to...
• As long as/only if/providing/provided
• They said

Defining the Working Day and Time Limits

Working Time is the duration, measured daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, that a worker dedicates to the execution of their duties.

• Maximum length: 40 hours per week.
• Number of ordinary hours shall not exceed 9 hours a day.
• Minimum rest between shifts: 12 hours.
• Workers under 18 years old cannot work more than 8 hours a day.

Exceptions and Constraints on Working Hours

Certain sectors have specific regulations regarding the extension or constraint of the working day:

• Extensions: Trade, catering, and the watchful guard of mariners in these three sectors can extend the working day.
• Constraints: Work in cold stores, construction works, and works exposed to environmental risks.

Mandatory Rest Periods for Employees

Types

Francisco de Quevedo: Beyond Satire and Mockery

Francisco de Quevedo is best known for his satirical and mocking poetry, his love poetry being little known. Yet, according to critics, this body of work reaches the highest levels of the Spanish lyric. This is certainly the case with “Amor constante más allá de la muerte” (Constant love beyond death), considered one of the most beautiful love sonnets ever written in Spanish.

Mythology and the Law of Forgetting

In just fourteen lines, Quevedo condenses part of Greek mythology concerning the afterlife. After death (“the final shadow I'll take the white day”), the soul separates from the body and must cross the sinister River Styx, led aboard the boat of Charon. The law of the underworld...

Norms and Instructions

Norms are rules established to determine how something or a specific behavior should be.

Highway code regulations or laws contain rules.

Novel Subgenres

Historical, Detective, and Learning Novels

In some novels, the events recounted are fictitious but plausible, i.e., they did not actually occur but could have happened.

• Detective Novel: Narrates a crime whose author is unknown and the inquiry that leads to the clarification of the case.
• Historical Novels: Recreate past events.
• Novels of Apprenticeship: Feature a child or a teenager whose personality is formed throughout the story.

Chivalry, Terror, and Science Fiction

In other novels, the events recounted are unlikely or wonderful, that is, they did not happen or could not happen...

Foundational Software Quality Models: McCall, Boehm, and ISO 9126

McCall Software Quality Model (1977)

The McCall model breaks down the concept of quality into three capacities (or uses) important for a software product, from the standpoint of the user:

• Each use is decomposed into a number of factors that determine the quality of these capabilities. Since a factor is an abstract concept, it cannot be directly measured or evaluated.
• Each factor is decomposed into a set of criteria or basic properties, which in most cases are internal properties of software that do not depend on the observer (e.g., modularity, fault tolerance, ease of training, etc.).
• For most software developers, these criteria directly influence software quality.

Boehm Software Quality

Rinconete's Impressions of Monipodio's House

Among the things that impressed Rinconete most are the use of certain words, of course incorrect, that he had never heard. Another aspect is the certainty that all who formed the guild had of going with God to the Kingdom of Heaven, despite being full of sin and wrongdoings. He was also struck by the respect and admiration that all members of the brotherhood had for Monipodio.

Police Authority and Justice in Seville

Yes, a reference can be found: Seville's justice is described as neglected for such an important and populous city.

Organization of This Literary Selection

It is divided into three parts or units:

• The first refers to the brotherhood: their customs, attitudes, and members.
• The second relates

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

Main Themes

Love of Nature

The poem demonstrates the poet's profound love of nature. He describes the daffodils as "dancing" and the waves as "sparkling". Nature transforms the poet's mood from "lonely" at the poem's start to his heart being "full with pleasure" at the end.

Happiness

Initially, the poet states, "I wandered lonely as a cloud." However, upon seeing the daffodils, he experiences a significant boost of joy. Reflecting on the daffodils later continues to bring the poet great happiness.

Memory

The opening line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud," is in the past tense, indicating the poet is recalling a past event. In the final stanza, the poet describes how the memory of the daffodils causes his "heart with pleasure