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.