Final Writing Test

Final Writing Test

• Part A

Unit 6 It is said that people will often do things in a crowd that they would never consider doing alone. Have you seen any evidence that this is true?

 I think this statement is true. Indeed, being in a crowd makes people feel more secure. They see things differenty, they have a different attitude. Alone, we are faced to our insecuries which creates doubts while being in a group helps us be more confident about ourselves and our capacities. Also, we might simply imitate what the others are doing to be accepted by the group.

Unit 7 When you are treated for an illness or injury, do you feel more comfortable doctor quickly determines what you are suffering from or if the doctor takes a long time?

 This question is tricky. Indeed, it depends of the kind of injury. If the illness is temporary and bening, I would rather take the fastest option. Nonetheless, if the injury is serious and might need a lot of treatment, it is better if the doctor takes his time to determine the exact illness so he can treat it the best that he can.

Unit 10 There are many factors within human control that have contributed to the collapse of past societies. Which of the following factors are most likely to threaten civilizations today?
- the destruction of forests and other habitats
- soil erosion and loss of soil fertility
- water supply and management problems
- overhunting / overfishing
- human overpopulation.
Can you think of any others?

 All the problems above are likely to threaten today’s civilization. We cannot deny these negative actions are spreading and might make our culture collapse. On top of these, we might add that our use of oil, the habit of not recycling and our bad management of waste contribute every day to weaken our environment. It has to cease.

Comedy of Errors Comment on the best and worst of the play with regards to some of the following points: acting, writing, director`s choices, humour, production values.

 I thought that the director chose the right actors. Indeed, they were the best fit for their role. Also, I liked the setting, the props and the costumes. It was good to transport the setting to actuality in Montreal and Toronto. Altough, I did not like the fact that the vocabulary did not match the setting. It made it hard to follow, the contrast between both was too intense to make it realistic.

• Part B

For our final speaking exam, we chose to do a survey presentation on a subject that relates to today’s society, technology addiction. Indeed, technology has become so widespread over time that addictions have started to appear, even though it is still denied by most of technology addicts.

For our hypothesis, we had to compare two groups. We chose young teenagers from ten to seventeen years old, and young adults from eighteen to thrithy years old. We implied that young teenagers were more addicted to technology than young adults. We chose those two groups because we already knew that older people were less addicted to technology than the younger generation. So, we tried to discover who was the most dependent in the youth. We asked eleven questions to ten people from each group. Each of the questions helped us seize the problem of addiction and determine its causes and the people’s opinion and attitude about the subject. For example, we asked them what kind of technology did they use? How many hours a day did they use it? For which purpose? If it was necessary to their lifetyle? Those questions were asked to see if they were addicted to technology. Then, we asked a different kind of questions such as do you consider your age group addicted to technology? Do you think technology is healthy? Do you think it has become abusive with time? Does it make you happy? And finally, we asked them directly if they thought they were addicted to technology. These questions were more about their option on the phenomenon.

Our results were not exactly what we expected them to be. Indeed, both groups answered more or less the same thing. Nonetheless, there was still a difference between both groups. While older people said they had more different technological items, younger people still used them more. They used it up to 5 hours a day and more, which is considered as addictive. Also, teenagers answered more extremely to questions like could you live without technology? The answer “Definately not” was chosen by many. We also noticed that younger people use technology more to follow the trend and because they find it entertaining. On the other hand, older people see technology as necessary and as something that they like. We also noticed that older people were more honest about their opinions. We doubt that the younger people’s answer about if they considered themselves as addicted was accurate. Indeed, even though our statistics showed that they were more addicted, adults were those who said they thought technology was necessary and addicitve.

Finally we can conclude that our hypothesis was valid. We confirmed that toung teenagers are more addicted to technology than young adults. But, we cannot forget that both groups are, in a different way. While the older group thinks technology is more necessary, it is because it is necessary for their work, they use it in a more healthy way. The addiction problem hits the teenagers harder because they use it for pure entertaintment and do so since they were old enough to use it. They spend too many hours a day on it only for fun, since they have more spare time than adults. If we had to do our survey differently, we would surely interview more people. Indeed, twenty people is definately not representative of our society. Also, we should have made a larger gap between our age groups. Seventeen years old are not as diffrent as eighteen years old even though we divided them in two separate groups. Still, this survey showed that the problem of technology addiction is increasing especially through young people who have grown up in it, they are the technology generation.

598 words

Learning express library B

1. Synonym and Antonym practice 2

1- Interest level

This test was interesting. Indeed, it was short enough not to get boring. There was a good variety of words but the questions were always asked in the same way. A different way of asking the questions could have been better. For example, they could have put the words in a sentence and make us fill the blank.

2-Difficulty level

The level was difficult for those like me who do not speak English as their first language. I had never seen most of the words in the test. Though, they started with a lower level and made it more difficult as we are going through the test. It was well done.

3- Three things I've learned

- I learned that not all the words that look like French words have the same meaning

- I also should have read the choices more attentively. I realized I knew some of the answers when I checked the correction

- I also learned to divide the diffrent parts of the words to try to guess the meaning.

4- My score

35%

5- Course rating

I rate this course 7/10. It was interesing because of the variety of different words, but overall, it was quite repetitive and difficult for me to actually learn the words I did not know. I liked the fact that they give an explanation to all our mistakes at the end of the test.

2. Word analogy practice 1

1- Interest level

It was not completely boring, but I did not enjoy doing it. It was confusing and I wasn't sure I was doing the test right. It is fun to try and practice my logic though.

2-Difficulty level

It was pretty difficult. I did not understand most of the words, which was necessary to complete the analogy. It is almost impossible to find the word to fill in if I don't get the meaning of the rest of the analogy.

3- Three things I've learned

- I learned what an analogy was, I didn't know the meaning before actually doing the test

- I learned that there are different types of analogy. It was not always the same pattern. Sometimes it was about the meaning of the word but also with the way the word was written

-I learned to practice my logical abilities

4- My score

55%

5- Course rating

I rate this course 6/10. It was confusing, hard to understand and the words were not at my level. Though, I have to admit it is a good practice for vocabulary and logic at the same time. For people who have a higher level in English than me, I think it could be a fun and good exercice.

Mid-term Writing Test

Mid-term Writing Test: p.32 #2 In what situations is multitasking an effective strategy for you? When is it ineffective?

New technologies and the new era promoting high productivity push us to do many different things at the same time. In other words, we are often faced to do multitasking. The word speaks for itself, multitasking is the achievement of many different tasks at the same time. We have all done it more than once in our lifetime, it is elemental. For example, we have all watched television while eating, or listened to a friend while walking. Also, multitasking is frequently required for many aspects of our life, especially for most profesional careers. Indeed, a psychologist has to take notes while listening to his patient. I could go on and on about all the examples of multitasking in a normal lifestyle but there are too many. Indeed, multitasking seems quite beneficial and we might want to do it in every action in life. Altough, research have found that it can be an issue if it is carried out at the wrong time or the wrong way. So, is multitasking effective or not? It depends on the situation in which you use it.

First of all, it is highly effective for small actions in daily life. It actually helps us save time when necessary. For example, if you do not have time to have breakfast in the morning, you can still eat while riding the bus. This way, you adjust to the situation. Indeed, you can sleep more and you are still able to start your day in a good way, without an empty stomach. Multitasking simple actions is most of the time, or always, a good way to maintain an healthy lifestyle. However, combining two actions that need different types of stimuli has negative effects on a long term basis. In other words, doing two complex tasks at the same time can be harmful. Not only does it slows you down but it also increases your chances of error. In fact, switching constantly between two complicated actions, like doing a work and answering an email for example, will take you more time, you might as well just do the tasks separetely to obtain better results. In addition, multitasking a complex action with a simple one can also be very dangerous. There is a reason why cell phones are now banned while driving. Since these actions are directed by to different sets of stimuli, you higher the risks of accident.

In conclusion, multitasking is essential for anyone who wants to be productive. Although, we still have to manage when multitasking is effective and when it is not because otherwise, we increase ours chances of danger. A line has to be drawn between both for multitasking to be really beneficial.

448 words.

Comparing film reviews

Questions	Review A	Review B
What`s the title of the review?	Blacker than black	Serious man
Where did the review appear? If it is an Internet reference, give that.	IMDB	Rolling Stones magazine
What`s the name of the reviewer?	Unkown	Peter Travers
Does a photo accompany the review? If so, who or what is shown in the photo?	Yes, the actors and scenes from the movie	No
What features of the film does the reviewer discuss?	The work of the director mostly but also the comedy.	The plot, the characters and the work of the directors.
What features of the film, if any, does the reviewer like?	The black humour of the movie, the work of the directors and the prologue.	He liked the actors, especially Aaron Wolff and Micheal Stuhlbarg, and the boldness of the directors.
What features of the film, if any, does the reviewer dislike?	He doesn't mention nothing he disliked in particular.	He doesn't mention any
Does the reviewer recommend seeing the film?	Yes.	Yes.
What star rating, if any, does the reviewer given the film? Review A	9/10	3.5 stars
The critic points out that the movie is unique and that it speaks for itself, the Coen brother, the directors did a wonderful job creating one of the best black comedies. It is the kind of movie that makes us think afterwards. Review B P.Travers mostly writes a brief summary of the movie, highlighting the best actors and the good choice of characters. He also admires the work of the Coen brothers for doing such an outstanding and stereotyped movie.

My review - A Serious Man

1. What is the title of the film? A Serious Man

2. Who are the main actors in the film and what roles do they play?

Micheal Sthulbarg plays the main character, the father of the family. His wife is played by Sari Lennick, who plans to get married with Fred Melamed. Their unruly child is played by Aaron Wolff.

3. Who directed the film?

The Coen brothers: Joel and Ethan Coen

4. Who wrote the screenplay? (Is it original or adapted?)

Joel and Ethan Coen, it is original.

5. Is this film like any other you have seen? If so, what film is it like?

I have never seen a movie like this before. Indeed, the plot is so pathetic that it becomes funny, it is black humour. The characters are so unique, it is hard to believe that the story could ever happen to anybody.

6. Who are the main characters in the story?

The main character is a Larry, a physics teacher. The story is mostly about his family: his wife Judith who plans to remarry Sy (Larry's supossedly good friend), his son Danny who's more busy smoking pot than getting ready for his Bar Mitsva, and his daughter Sarah, obessed with getting a nose job. They also live with Larry's brother Arthur, who lives on the couch because of his gambling addiction.

7. What is the setting?

The story takes place in a quiet Jewish neighboorhood in the Midwestern of the Unites States.

8. What is the film about? Summarize the story (without the ending) in no more than five sentences. Remember that your readers want to know enough about the film to make a decision about going to see it, but not so much that there`s no need to go.

It is the story of a physics teacher who is also the father of a complex jewish family in which everything is falling apart. He learns that his wife is leaving him for one of his good friends, while he has problems at work and is forced to take care of the whole divorce. We can also see his distress through the many discipline problems he has with his children, especially his son who is always smoking pot instead of doing his religious duty.

9. What is your opinion of the actors and the acting?

The actors did a wonderful job. Indeed, the main character, the jewish teacher was so realistic we could easily feel his pain. The acting was so good that be could laugh anytime, even in the worse situations.

10. Do you recommend this film? If so, what sort of people will enjoy seeing it?

I would recommend this film only for real amateurs of cinema. It is not the kind of movie you would usually watch to entertain yourself. It is so different and shoking that you can't stay indefferent. Either you like it or you hate it. It makes you think afterwards, it is not the kind of movie you would watch without paying attention to all the details.

11. What star rating do you give this film? (****= excellent, ***= better than most, ** = average, * = below average, no stars = poor.

***

12. How many nominations for Oscar does the film have?

A Serious Man is nominated for 2 Oscars: Best motion picture of the year and Best screenplay.

13. What chances do you give it to win the Oscar as best film? To win other Oscars?

In my opinion, I don't think A Serious Man has good chances in winning Best picture, because of the other movies nominated that seem better, but the Coen brothers could definately win best screenplay since the plot is so unique. Also, they have won best picture two years ago for their movie No Country for Old men, the critrics like them.

Film reviews- A Serious Man

• IMDB, the internet movie data base

05 out of 182 people found the following review useful:
Blacker than black, 14 September 2009

Author: (hcfnotlcd)

I saw this movie at TIFF on Saturday. The Coens quietly (and I mean quietly - no-one could hear even their amplified voices) introduced the movie with reference to the actors present but not the movie, letting it speak for itself. And it did. In its own way. It is an off-beat (what else?) and serious work that radiates bleak despair while searching for a funny bone. In the process, the movie makes other black comedies look positively light and airy. The movie evokes laughs from a different place than most – from a profound discomfort watching people twist themselves this way and that to fit in and be regarded seriously, whether situationally, socially or religiously. A great piece of work that will have you thinking long afterwards, especially considering the odd and difficult-to-contextualize prologue and, um different, ending which bookend a remarkable work.

• ROLLING STONES magazine

Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

RS:3.5OF 4 STARSAVERAGE USER RATING:2-5OF 4 STARS

2009 Focus Features Comedy

More information from

The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, are getting personal. They shot their new film in suburban Minnesota, where they grew up as sons of Jewish academics. But if you're expecting something warm and fuzzy, circa 1967, you don't know the Coens, and A Serious Man is no country for you. This seriously funny movie, artfully photographed by the great Roger Deakins, is spiritual in nature, barbed in tone, and, oh, yeah, it stings like hell.

Watch Peter Travers' video review of A Serious Man

Front and center is Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor who's getting shit from every side. Unsigned letters to the dean question his ethics and threaten his tenure. His son, Danny (the excellent Aaron Wolff), days away from his bar mitzvah, is lost in a pot daze. His daughter, Sarah (Jessica McManus), is obsessed with getting a nose job. His unemployed brother, Arthur (a wonderfully kinky Richard Kind), is crashing on his couch. And his wife, Judith (a pitch-perfect Sari Lennick), is leaving him for slimy, silver-tongued Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), a serious man.

Get more news and reviews from Peter Travers on the Travers Take

Larry is being tested like Job, with the Coens playing God and lobbing bolts at him, including a Jew-hating neighbor and a nude lady sunbather who stirs his libido. Larry's divorce lawyer (a deadpan Adam Arkin) warns him to expect the worst. So Larry seeks counsel and comfort from multiple rabbis, who deliver silence or cryptic bromides. Grace Slick, on the radio, gets closer to the point, singing, "When the truth is found to be lies/And all the joy within you dies/Don't you want somebody to love."

Indeed. No doubt the Coens will grin at accusations of stereotyping, self-loathing and box-office suicide. They march to their own mischievous drummer. Larry keeps asking, "Why me?" and stage actor Stuhlbarg, Tony-nominated for The Pillowman, is outstanding at showing the humanity that keeps the question urgent. Larry gets the worst of both worlds, sacred and secular. The film starts with a Yiddish-language prologue, set a century ago in Poland, in which a couple open their door to find a needy neighbor who may be a dybbuk (demon) in disguise. Larry is similarly bedeviled. But that sound you hear in this profane spellbinder is the Coens — chuckling in the dark.

Dangers of sleep deprivation

Inside Reading, Unit 2, Reading 2: "You're Getting Very Sleepy" p.27 exercice C

Many of us would say that we sleep enough at night to function well during the day. Actually, there is evidence that eight hours of sleep is required for any adult while a lot of people only rest for six horus. Sleeping less than eight hours per night is considered as sleep deprivation and can lead to many negative effects(Topic sentence). First of all, it impairs memory and concentration. It is more difficult for someone that lacks sleep to make good decisions and stay focused, they show cognitive and physiological problems. Also, the inconsistency of the metabolism highers the level of stress. The addition of all these factors and the fact that this lack of sleep becomes an habit for many people can lead to other dangerous diffulties, like acccidents for example. Indeed, researchs showed that many car acccidents are due to drowsyness. In conclusion, I might add that we should always favour a good night sleep since it helps us concentrate, be more calm and avoid accidents. Sleeping is definately beneficial and should be everyone's priority.

Learning express library A

Due february 26th

1. Vocabulary and spelling practice 1

1.Interest level

I thought this course was interesting. There was a good variety of words. However, it seemed like it would take forever to finish. Indeed, the 50 questions were so similar that it looked like I was doing the same questions over and over. A change in the formulation of the questions would have been much better. But overall, it is a good exercice for vocabulary and spelling.

2.Difficulty level

I thought that the level was way too difficult for me. I had never seen most of the words and if I had, I didn't know the meaning at all. At first, I tried to answer from my knowledge, but I realized that I was not learning anything, so I checked a few words in the dictionnary and it definately helped me to remember those words I didn't know. It is almost impossible for a second language speaker to get a good grade without a dictionary.

3.Three things I've learned

- I learned the meaning of many words such as "brazenly", which means boldly. I had never seen that word before.

- Also, I learned what an analogy is. I had heard the word before and this type of sentence, but I didn't know how it was called.

- Finally, I learned that I was pretty good in spelling, but that I do not necessarily know the meaning of certain words. From now on, I should verify words I don't know in the dictionary to improve my writting.

4.My score 36/50

5. Course rating (10) 7/10

This course was well constructed. There was a bit of everything: different kind of words, their emaning and spelling. Although, it was quite repetitive, all the questions were asked the same way. In addition, the level was too difficult for a a second language speaker.

2. Synonym and Antonym Practice 1

1. Interest level

This course was as interesting as the first one. Altough, it was shorter and it seemed less repetitive. I liked it better. It is also well divided. Indeed, there are two seperate sections for synonyms ans antonyms which makes it easier to concentrate.

2.Difficulty level

Since I did not do good on synonyms in the first test, I thought this one would be a good challenge. Indeed, I did worse, but this time I tried it without a dictionary. The level was high, but still acheivable. I could have done a better job but I know I can do better eventually with more practice.

3.Three things I've learned

- I learned that even if some words look like french words, they still have a completely different meaning

- Also, I learned the meaning of words I only knew in one context. For example, I did not know that the word "remote" also meant "distant". I had always heard it in a more familiar context, like the "remote control"

- Finally, I learned the spelling of the word "withdraw" that I had heard a lot, but that I had never seen written.

4.My score 55%

5. Course rating (10) 7.5/10

It was a little bit better than the first one, since it was less repetitive. However, it is still difficult for people from my level. Overall, It was more or less equal as the first one, but a bit better.

William

Today, first day of classes, I met someone new in my English class, William. At first, I could not figure out what kind of person he was like. He looked pretty normal, like anybody I could have met. But as we started talking, I discovered that he is a really creative person. I never would have expected it. Indeed, he studies in film and is really passionate about it. Not only does he watch movies but he also reads a lot about them. As you can see, he is also a good reader and likes especially Russian litterature. He also enjoys listening to any kind of music. William is definately an artistic person! Therefore, he is still like anybody from my age group, he likes spending time hanging out with friends.

Since he is still young, William can't count many acheivments in his lifetime, but he is still proud to have passed all his classes in school. Therefore, he has many goals for the future. In the short-term, he plans on stopping smoking. Also, he hopes to shoot a short film soon and in the long-term, he would like to do a roadtrip accross the United States. I think his objectives are realictic and i hope he will fulfill them one day.

William belongs to a few networks. Indeed, he knows many people from different places like high school, cegep, his job, his family but also in France since he has family living there.

In addition, he is a curious person, which makes him a good and fast learner. He has creative skills too. For example, he has the ability to write stories, scenarios and even compose music.

Finally, i may add that William is someone you should get to know. He seems passionate, confident and creative. I wish him the best and I hope he can acheive all he has in mind. Good luck!