Practice Reading French With This Easy Shopping Story

French adjectives are difficult to master for English speakers because their rules of agreement and placement, not to forget their pronunciation, are truly challenging. An English speaker needs to change the way he/she thinks, and develop the reflex to do the noun-adjective  agreement, which is not an easy task.   Knowing the rules is not enough. Training is essential. So today, here is a little learn French in context story in which well be using adjectives of course, in particular French adjectives of colors and French adjectives used to describe clothing, as well as  French clothing vocabulary. Of course, before you study this story, I highly recommend you take the time to visit the links above to refresh your memory, and then read the story without the translation and focus on the adjective agreements. Aujourdhui, nous allons suivre Camille dans les magasins. Camille a besoin dune robe pour aller à   un mariage dans trois semaines. Cest un mariage à ©là ©gant, et donc elle cherche une robe habillà ©e, mais assez confortable car elle a bien lintention de danser ! Et bien sà »r, la robe ne doit pas à ªtre trop chà ¨re, car Camille na pas un grand budget. Camille entre dans une boutique et trouve une jolie jupe, longue, fluide et là ©gà ¨re. Mais si elle achà ¨te une jupe, elle devra acheter un haut, et aussi une veste pour là ©glise. Cest trop compliquà ©. Non, dà ©cidà ©ment, Camille cherche une robe, un point cest tout. Il y a une robe bleue qui est pas mal, assez chic, et bien coupà ©e. Mais cest du lin, et Camille ne repasse pas. Cette robe va se froisser, et puis le lin, à §a montre aussi les traces de transpiration. Non, ce nest vraiment pas pratique. Dommage, elle à ©tait jolie et bon-marchà ©. Dans une autre boutique, Camille repà ¨re une petite robe courte, sans manche, et avec un joli motif imprimà ©. Et elle nest vraiment pas chà ¨re ! Elle est soldà ©e, cest vraiment une bonne affaire. Elle lessaie. Ah la la, cest la catastrophe. Cette robe ne lui va pas du tout. Elle est trop courte : ce nest pas de la bonne qualità © et la coupe ne lui va pas du tout. Camille trouve quelle la grossit. Tant pis. La vendeuse suggà ¨re une autre robe, complà ¨tement diffà ©rente. Elle est trà ¨s longue, gris bleu, assez moulante avec un grand dà ©colletà © dans le dos, et des petites bretelles. Camille lessaie. Aà ¯e, à §a bloque au niveau des cuisses... là ©ternel problà ¨me... Camille demande une taille plus grande. Elle arrive à   mettre la robe, mais cest un dà ©sastre. La robe est trop serrà ©e sur les fesses, trop petite sur la poitrine, et en plus elle est beaucoup trop longue. Camille se trouve grosse, moche et vulgaire... pas du tout le look recherchà ©. Cette journà ©e shopping ne se passe pas vraiment comme prà ©vu. Zut alors. Dans une vitrine, Camille voit une petite robe noire à   pois blancs. Elle est classique, mais a une jolie forme cache-coeur, et est ample au niveau des jambes. Elle a des manches courtes, et le tissus a lair fluide et confortable. Camille entre dans la boutique, demande sa taille, et essaie la robe. Ah, voilà   qui est mieux. Camille se sent trà ¨s bien : la robe est douce, et tombe bien sur elle. Elle nest ni trop longue, ni trop courte, et elle lamincit. Et en plus, Camille a des chaussures noires qui iront parfaitement avec.   La vendeuse lui montre une veste assortie. Lensemble est parfait, assez sobre mais chic. Cest un peu plus cher que ce que Camille voulait dà ©penser, mais à §a reste  raisonnable, et en plus cette petite robe sera facile à   remettre. En fait, cest parfait! Mission accomplie!

My Philosophy of Teaching Essay - 1212 Words

My Philosophy of Teaching Teaching is the most rewarding and self-fulfilling career that I could imagine myself doing. The satisfaction that is received when watching a child’s eyes light up when they have comprehended and understood the topics that I have been teaching is a feeling of great achievement. Teaching children to become productive adults helps the foundation of our society. Today’s children are tomorrow’s adults. I want to help society the best way that I know how. I want to be a teacher. My life long dream has always been to become not only a teacher, but also a mentor. Education as an occupation is not a high paid position, but the amount of self-gratification that could be received is the best reward that I could†¦show more content†¦For example, if a student does not learn math, he or she will be unable to balance a checkbook. Although my philosophies incorporate essentialism, I feel strongly toward other philosophies as well. It is my belief that a good teacher’s philosophy cannot necessarily be categorized under one of the traditional terms, but is in fact under the term adaptable. A good teacher is not set in his or her ways, but will adapt to the situation and task at hand. For example, if a student does not plan to attend college, it may be more advantageous for the student to attend vocational school. If a student attends vocational school, this would not fall under the back-to-basics approach as described in essentialism philosophy. In my opinion, a good teacher must be able to deviate from this philosophy. As a teacher, I plan to incorporate the philosophy of progressivism in my classroom, too. It is important for students to understand the relevance of a particular subject matter in relation to his or her life experiences and interests. A good teacher is supposed to be better preparing their students for the future. If that is the case, then all teachers must have some progressivism in their manner of instruction. If not, the teacher would not truly be concerned about the future of the students. The future of the world is technology. People must also learn how to communicate with one another even if they have different views on certain subjects. This will make society betterShow MoreRelatedMy Philosophy Of Teaching Philosophy911 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching Philosophy When I think about my teaching philosophy, I think of a quote by Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer and philosopher. 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I would like to incorporateRead MoreMy Philosophy : My Teaching Philosophy893 Words   |  4 PagesMy Teaching Philosophy Since Koreans started to learn English, thousands of people have struggled to master the language. Parents currently invest a lot of money and their children spend enormous amounts of time studying English as government suggests new language policies. However, proper verification and investigation of those policies have not been done yet and the outlet is really not promising (Suh, 2007). Most Korean students study English for tests. The purpose of English is so focused onRead MoreMy Teaching Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Teaching932 Words   |  4 Pages This is my personal philosophy of teaching. This is my belief about teaching and learning and how I will put my beliefs into classroom practices. First and foremost, the purpose of education is to educate students so that they can be ready for the real world. It should prepare students for life, work, and citizenship. To do this, education should teach one to think creatively and productively. In addition to preparing students for the real world, all students should be able to read and comprehendRead MoreTeaching Philosophy : My Philosophy1100 Words   |  5 PagesTeaching Philosophy: Lauren Gross EDUC 120 Learn to Teach, Learn to Learn. / Use the past to teach the future ( That is my philosophy) Theory helps teachers think about what we experience and furthermore to teach and learn about how we, as educators, learn. Teachers should be supportive and cooperative, teachers should play the role of a friend, but also stealthily act in the role of advisor or guide for students. 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The interaction that I have with students is not only enjoyable to me, but it also gives me an invaluable perspective on the subjects I am teaching. Since I started my position at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford, I have tutored in four classes across three semesters and supervised two projects, as detailed in my CV. I am also tutoring two new undergraduate classes inRead MoreMy Philosophy Of Teaching853 Words   |  4 Pages My role, as an educator, is to guide, engage, motivate and inspire students to learn so that they can realize their full potential and achieve their educational or personal goals. As a mathematics instructor my goal is to guide my students to learn to communicate mathematically, value mathematics and its usefulness, understand the material presented, able to recall and apply the concepts. Furthermore, I hope to deepen students understanding in the subject and become confident in their mathematical

The Lost Symbol Chapter 40-43 Free Essays

CHAPTER 40 What’s taking Trish so long? Katherine Solomon checked her watch again. She’d forgotten to warn Dr. Abaddon about the bizarre commute to her lab, but she couldn’t imagine the darkness had slowed them down this much. We will write a custom essay sample on The Lost Symbol Chapter 40-43 or any similar topic only for you Order Now They should have arrived by now. Katherine walked over to the exit and heaved open the lead-lined door, staring out into the void. She listened for a moment, but heard nothing. â€Å"Trish?† she called out, her voice swallowed by the darkness. Silence. Puzzled, she closed the door, took out her cell phone, and called the lobby. â€Å"This is Katherine. Is Trish out there?† â€Å"No, ma’am,† the lobby guard said. â€Å"She and your guest headed back about ten minutes ago.† â€Å"Really? I don’t think they’re even inside Pod Five yet.† â€Å"Hold on. I’ll check.† Katherine could hear the guard’s fingers clicking on his computer keyboard. â€Å"You’re right. According to Ms. Dunne’s key-card logs, she has not yet opened the Pod Five door. Her last access event was about eight minutes ago . . . at Pod Three. I guess she’s giving your guest a little tour on his way in.† Katherine frowned. Apparently. The news was a bit odd, but at least she knew Trish wouldn’t be long in Pod 3. The smell in there is terrible. â€Å"Thanks. Has my brother arrived yet?† â€Å"No, ma’am, not yet.† â€Å"Thank you.† As Katherine hung up, she felt an unexpected twinge of trepidation. The uneasy feeling made her pause, but only for a moment. It was the same exact disquiet she’d felt earlier when she stepped into Dr. Abaddon’s house. Embarrassingly, her feminine intuition had failed her there. Badly. It’s nothing, Katherine told herself. CHAPTER 41 Robert Langdon studied the stone pyramid. This isn’t possible. â€Å"An ancient encoded language,† Sato said without looking up. â€Å"Tell me, does this qualify?† On the newly exposed face of the pyramid, a series of sixteen characters was precisely engraved into the smooth stone. Beside Langdon, Anderson’s mouth now gaped open, mirroring Langdon’s own shock. The security chief looked like he had just seen some kind of alien keypad. â€Å"Professor?† Sato said. â€Å"I assume you can read this?† Langdon turned. â€Å"Why would you assume that?† â€Å"Because you were brought here, Professor. You were chosen. This inscription appears to be a code of some sort, and considering your reputation, it seems obvious to me that you were brought here to decipher it.† Langdon had to admit that after his experiences in Rome and Paris, he’d received a steady flow of requests asking for his help deciphering some of history’s great unsolved codes–the Phaistos Disk, the Dorabella Cipher, the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. Sato ran her finger over the inscription. â€Å"Can you tell me the meaning of these icons?† They’re not icons, Langdon thought. They’re symbols. The language was one he had recognized immediately–an encrypted cipher language from the seventeenth century. Langdon knew very well how to break it. â€Å"Ma’am,† he said, feeling hesitant, â€Å"this pyramid is Peter’s private property.† â€Å"Private or not, if this code is indeed the reason you were brought to Washington, I am not giving you a choice in the matter. I want to know what it says.† Sato’s BlackBerry pinged loudly, and she yanked the device from her pocket, studying the incoming message for several moments. Langdon was amazed that the Capitol Building’s internal wireless network provided service this far down. Sato grunted and raised her eyebrows, giving Langdon an odd look. â€Å"Chief Anderson?† she said, turning to him. â€Å"A word in private, if I may?† The director motioned for Anderson to join her, and they disappeared into the pitch-black hallway, leaving Langdon alone in the flickering candlelight of Peter’s Chamber of Reflection. Chief Anderson wondered when this night would end. A severed hand in my Rotunda? A death shrine in my basement? Bizarre engravings on a stone pyramid? Somehow, the Redskins game no longer felt significant. As he followed Sato into the darkness of the hall, Anderson flicked on his flashlight. The beam was weak but better than nothing. Sato led him down the hall a few yards, out of sight of Langdon. â€Å"Have a look at this,† she whispered, handing Anderson her BlackBerry. Anderson took the device and squinted at the illuminated screen. It displayed a black-and-white image–the X-ray of Langdon’s bag that Anderson had requested be sent to Sato. As in all X- rays, the objects of greatest density appeared in the brightest white. In Langdon’s bag, a lone item outshone everything else. Obviously extremely dense, the object glowed like a dazzling jewel in a murky jumble of other items. Its shape was unmistakable. He’s been carrying that all night? Anderson looked over at Sato in surprise. â€Å"Why didn’t Langdon mention this?† â€Å"Damned good question,† Sato whispered. â€Å"The shape . . . it can’t be coincidence.† â€Å"No,† Sato said, her tone angry now. â€Å"I would say not.† A faint rustle in the corridor drew Anderson’s attention. Startled, he pointed his flashlight down the black passageway. The dying beam revealed only a deserted corridor, lined with open doors. â€Å"Hello?† Anderson said. â€Å"Is somebody there?† Silence. Sato gave him an odd look, apparently having heard nothing. Anderson listened a moment longer and then shook it off. I’ve got to get out of here. Alone in the candlelit chamber, Langdon ran his fingers over the sharply carved edges of the pyramid’s engraving. He was curious to know what the message said, and yet he was not about to intrude on Peter Solomon’s privacy any more than they already had. And why would this lunatic care about this small pyramid anyway? â€Å"We have a problem, Professor,† Sato’s voice declared loudly behind him. â€Å"I’ve just received a new piece of information, and I’ve had enough of your lies.† Langdon turned to see the OS director marching in, BlackBerry in hand and fire in her eyes. Taken aback, Langdon looked to Anderson for help, but the chief was now standing guard at the door, his expression unsympathetic. Sato arrived in front of Langdon and thrust her BlackBerry in his face. Bewildered, Langdon looked at the screen, which displayed an inverted black-and-white photograph, like a ghostly film negative. The photo looked like a jumble of objects, and one of them shone very brightly. Though askew and off center, the brightest object was clearly a little, pointed pyramid. A tiny pyramid? Langdon looked at Sato. â€Å"What is this?† The question seemed only to incense Sato further. â€Å"You’re pretending you don’t know?† Langdon’s temper flared. â€Å"I’m not pretending anything! I’ve never seen this before in my life!† â€Å"Bullshit!† Sato snapped, her voice cutting through the musty air. â€Å"You’ve been carrying it in your bag all night!† â€Å"I–† Langdon stalled midsentence. His eyes moved slowly down to the daybag on his shoulder. Then he raised them again to the BlackBerry. My God . . . the package. He looked more closely at the image. Now he saw it. A ghostly cube, enclosing the pyramid. Stunned, Langdon realized he was looking at an X-ray of his bag . . . and also of Peter’s mysterious cube-shaped package. The cube was, in fact, a hollow box . . . a small pyramid. Langdon opened his mouth to speak, but his words failed him. He felt the breath go out of his lungs as a new revelation struck him. Simple. Pure. Devastating. My God. He looked back at the truncated stone pyramid on the desk. Its apex was flat–a small square area–a blank space symbolically awaiting its final piece . . . that piece which would transform it from an Unfinished Pyramid into a True Pyramid. Langdon now realized the tiny pyramid he was carrying was not a pyramid at all. It’s a capstone. At that instant, he knew why he alone could unlock the mysteries of this pyramid. I hold the final piece. And it is indeed . . . a talisman. When Peter had told Langdon the package contained a talisman, Langdon had laughed. Now he realized his friend was right. This tiny capstone was a talisman, but not the magic kind . . . the far older kind. Long before talisman had magical connotations, it had another meaning– â€Å"completion.† From the Greek telesma, meaning â€Å"complete,† a talisman was any object or idea that completed another and made it whole. The finishing element. A capstone, symbolically speaking, was the ultimate talisman, transforming the Unfinished Pyramid into a symbol of completed perfection. Langdon now felt an eerie convergence that forced him to accept one very strange truth: with the exception of its size, the stone pyramid in Peter’s Chamber of Reflection seemed to be transforming itself, bit by bit, into something vaguely resembling the Masonic Pyramid of legend. From the brightness with which the capstone shone on the X-ray, Langdon suspected it was made of metal . . . a very dense metal. Whether or not it was solid gold, he had no way of knowing, and he was not about to let his mind start playing tricks on him. This pyramid is too small. The code’s too easy to read. And . . . it’s a myth, for heaven’s sake! Sato was watching him. â€Å"For a bright man, Professor, you’ve made some dumb choices tonight. Lying to an intelligence director? Intentionally obstructing a CIA investigation?† â€Å"I can explain, if you’ll let me.† â€Å"You will be explaining at CIA headquarters. As of this moment, I am detaining you.† Langdon’s body went rigid. â€Å"You can’t possibly be serious.† â€Å"Deadly serious. I made it very clear to you that the stakes tonight were high, and you chose not to cooperate. I strongly suggest you start thinking about explaining the inscription on this pyramid, because when we arrive at the CIA . . .† She raised her BlackBerry and took a close-up snapshot of the engraving on the stone pyramid. â€Å"My analysts will have had a head start.† Langdon opened his mouth to protest, but Sato was already turning to Anderson at the door. â€Å"Chief,† she said, â€Å"put the stone pyramid in Langdon’s bag and carry it. I’ll handle taking Mr. Langdon into custody. Your weapon, if I may?† Anderson was stone-faced as he advanced into the chamber, unsnapping his shoulder holster as he came. He gave his gun to Sato, who immediately aimed it at Langdon. Langdon watched as if in a dream. This cannot be happening. Anderson now came to Langdon and removed the daybag from his shoulder, carrying it over to the desk and setting it on the chair. He unzipped the bag, propped it open, and then hoisted the heavy stone pyramid off the desk and into the bag, along with Langdon’s notes and the tiny package. Suddenly there was a rustle of movement in the hallway. A dark outline of a man materialized in the doorway, rushing into the chamber and approaching fast behind Anderson. The chief never saw him coming. In an instant, the stranger had lowered his shoulder and crashed into Anderson’s back. The chief launched forward, his head cracking into the edge of the stone niche. He fell hard, crumpling on the desk, sending bones and artifacts flying. The hourglass shattered on the floor. The candle toppled to the floor, still burning. Sato reeled amid the chaos, raising the gun, but the intruder grabbed a femur and lashed out with it, striking her shoulder with the leg bone. Sato let out a cry of pain and fell back, dropping the weapon. The newcomer kicked the gun away and then wheeled toward Langdon. The man was tall and slender, an elegant African American whom Langdon had never seen before in his life. â€Å"Grab the pyramid!† the man commanded. â€Å"Follow me!† CHAPTER 42 The African American man leading Langdon through the Capitol’s subterranean maze was clearly someone of power. Beyond knowing his way through all the side corridors and back rooms, the elegant stranger carried a key ring that seemed to unlock every door that blocked their way. Langdon followed, quickly running up an unfamiliar staircase. As they climbed, he felt the leather strap of his daybag cutting hard into his shoulder. The stone pyramid was so heavy that Langdon feared the bag’s strap might break. The past few minutes defied all logic, and now Langdon found himself moving on instinct alone. His gut told him to trust this stranger. Beyond saving Langdon from Sato’s arrest, the man had taken dangerous action to protect Peter Solomon’s mysterious pyramid. Whatever the pyramid may be. While his motivation remained a mystery, Langdon had glimpsed a telltale shimmer of gold on the man’s hand–a Masonic ring–the double-headed phoenix and the number 33. This man and Peter Solomon were more than trusted friends. They were Masonic brothers of the highest degree. Langdon followed him to the top of the stairs, into another corridor, and then through an unmarked door into a utilitarian hallway. They ran past supply boxes and bags of garbage, veering off suddenly through a service door that deposited them in an utterly unexpected world–a plush movie theater of some sort. The older man led the way up the side aisle and out the main doors into the light of a large atrium. Langdon now realized they were in the visitor center through which he had entered earlier tonight. Unfortunately, so was a Capitol police officer. As they came face-to-face with the officer, all three men stopped, staring at one another. Langdon recognized the young Hispanic officer from the X-ray machine earlier tonight. â€Å"Officer Nunez,† the African American man said. â€Å"Not a word. Follow me.† The guard looked uneasy but obeyed without question. Who is this guy? The three of them hurried toward the southeast corner of the visitor center, where they arrived at a small foyer and a set of heavy doors blocked with orange pylons. The doors were sealed with masking tape, apparently to keep the dust of whatever was happening beyond out of the visitor center. The man reached up and peeled off the tape on the door. Then he flipped through his key ring as he spoke to the guard. â€Å"Our friend Chief Anderson is in the subbasement. He may be injured. You’ll want to check on him.† â€Å"Yes, sir.† Nunez looked as baffled as he did alarmed. â€Å"Most important, you did not see us.† The man found a key, took it off the key ring, and used it to turn the heavy dead bolt. He pulled open the steel door and tossed the key to the guard. â€Å"Lock this door behind us. Put the tape back on as best as you can. Pocket the key and say nothing. To anyone. Including the chief. Is that clear, Officer Nunez?† The guard eyed the key as if he’d just been entrusted with a precious gem. â€Å"It is, sir.† The man hurried through the door, and Langdon followed. The guard locked the heavy bolt behind them, and Langdon could hear him re-applying the masking tape. â€Å"Professor Langdon,† the man said as they strode briskly down a modern-looking corridor that was obviously under construction. â€Å"My name is Warren Bellamy. Peter Solomon is a dear friend of mine.† Langdon shot a startled glance at the stately man. You’re Warren Bellamy? Langdon had never met the Architect of the Capitol, but he certainly knew the man’s name. â€Å"Peter speaks very highly of you,† Bellamy said, â€Å"and I’m sorry we are meeting under these dreadful circumstances.† â€Å"Peter is in terrible trouble. His hand . . .† â€Å"I know.† Bellamy sounded grim. â€Å"That’s not the half of it, I’m afraid.† They reached the end of the lit section of corridor, and the passageway took an abrupt left. The remaining length of corridor, wherever it went, was pitch-black. â€Å"Hold on,† Bellamy said, disappearing into a nearby electrical room from which a tangle of heavy-duty orange extension cords snaked out, running away from them into the darkness of the corridor. Langdon waited while Bellamy rooted around inside. The Architect must have located the switch that sent power to the extension cords, because suddenly the route before them became illuminated. Langdon could only stare. Washington, D.C.–like Rome–was a city laced with secret passageways and underground tunnels. The passage before them now reminded Langdon of the passetto tunnel connecting the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo. Long. Dark. Narrow. Unlike the ancient passetto, however, this passage was modern and not yet complete. It was a slender construction zone that was so long it seemed to narrow to nothing at its distant end. The only lighting was a string of intermittent construction bulbs that did little more than accentuate the tunnel’s impossible length. Bellamy was already heading down the passage. â€Å"Follow me. Watch your step.† Langdon felt himself fall into step behind Bellamy, wondering where on earth this tunnel led. At that moment, Mal’akh stepped out of Pod 3 and strode briskly down the deserted main corridor of the SMSC toward Pod 5. He clutched Trish’s key card in his hand and quietly whispered, â€Å"Zero-eight-zero-four.† Something else was cycling through his mind as well. Mal’akh had just received an urgent message from the Capitol Building. My contact has run into unforeseen difficulties. Even so, the news remained encouraging: Robert Langdon now possessed both the pyramid and the capstone. Despite the unexpected way in which it had happened, the crucial pieces were falling into place. It was almost as if destiny itself were guiding tonight’s events, ensuring Mal’akh’s victory. CHAPTER 43 Langdon hurried to keep pace with Warren Bellamy’s brisk footsteps as they moved without a word down the long tunnel. So far, the Architect of the Capitol appeared far more intent on putting distance between Sato and this stone pyramid than he did on explaining to Langdon what was going on. Langdon had a growing apprehension that there was far more going on than he could imagine. The CIA? The Architect of the Capitol? Two Thirty-third-degree Masons? The shrill sound of Langdon’s cell phone cut the air. He pulled his phone from his jacket. Uncertain, he answered. â€Å"Hello?† The voice that spoke was an eerie, familiar whisper. â€Å"Professor, I hear you had unexpected company.† Langdon felt an icy chill. â€Å"Where the hell is Peter?!† he demanded, his words reverberating in the enclosed tunnel. Beside him, Warren Bellamy glanced over, looking concerned and motioning for Langdon to keep walking. â€Å"Don’t worry,† the voice said. â€Å"As I told you, Peter is somewhere safe.† â€Å"You cut off his hand, for God’s sake! He needs a doctor!† â€Å"He needs a priest,† the man replied. â€Å"But you can save him. If you do as I command, Peter will live. I give you my word.† â€Å"The word of a madman means nothing to me.† â€Å"Madman? Professor, surely you appreciate the reverence with which I have adhered to the ancient protocols tonight. The Hand of the Mysteries guided you to a portal–the pyramid that promises to unveil ancient wisdom. I know you now possess it.† â€Å"You think this is the Masonic Pyramid?† Langdon demanded. â€Å"It’s a chunk of rock.† There was silence on the other end of the line. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, you’re too smart to play dumb. You know very well what you’ve uncovered tonight. A stone pyramid . . . hidden at the core of Washington, D.C. . . . by a powerful Mason?† â€Å"You’re chasing a myth! Whatever Peter told you, he told you in fear. The Legend of the Masonic Pyramid is fiction. The Masons never built any pyramid to protect secret wisdom. And even if they did, this pyramid is far too small to be what you think it is.† The man chuckled. â€Å"I see Peter has told you very little. Nonetheless, Mr. Langdon, whether or not you choose to accept what it is you now possess, you will do as I say. I am well aware that the pyramid you are carrying has an encrypted engraving. You will decipher that engraving for me. Then, and only then, will I return Peter Solomon to you.† â€Å"Whatever you believe this engraving reveals,† Langdon said, â€Å"it won’t be the Ancient Mysteries.† â€Å"Of course not,† he replied. â€Å"The mysteries are far too vast to be written on the side of a little stone pyramid.† The response caught Langdon off guard. â€Å"But if this engraving is not the Ancient Mysteries, then this pyramid is not the Masonic Pyramid. Legend clearly states the Masonic Pyramid was constructed to protect the Ancient Mysteries.† The man’s tone was condescending now. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, the Masonic Pyramid was constructed to preserve the Ancient Mysteries, but with a twist you’ve apparently not yet grasped. Did Peter never tell you? The power of the Masonic Pyramid is not that it reveals the mysteries themselves . . . but rather that it reveals the secret location where the mysteries are buried.† Langdon did a double take. â€Å"Decipher the engraving,† the voice continued, â€Å"and it will tell you the hiding place of mankind’s greatest treasure.† He laughed. â€Å"Peter did not entrust you with the treasure itself, Professor.† Langdon came to an abrupt halt in the tunnel. â€Å"Hold on. You’re saying this pyramid is . . . a map? † Bellamy jolted to a stop now, too, his expression one of shock and alarm. Clearly, the caller had just hit a raw nerve. The pyramid is a map. â€Å"This map,† the voice whispered, â€Å"or pyramid, or portal, or whatever you choose to call it . . . was created long ago to ensure the hiding place of the Ancient Mysteries would never be forgotten . . . that it would never be lost to history.† â€Å"A grid of sixteen symbols doesn’t look much like a map.† â€Å"Appearances can be deceiving, Professor. But regardless, you alone have the power to read that inscription.† â€Å"You’re wrong,† Langdon fired back, picturing the simplistic cipher. â€Å"Anyone could decipher this engraving. It’s not very sophisticated.† â€Å"I suspect there is more to the pyramid than meets the eye. Regardless, you alone possess the capstone.† Langdon pictured the little capstone in his bag. Order from chaos? He didn’t know what to believe anymore, but the stone pyramid in his bag seemed to be getting heavier with every passing moment. Mal’akh pressed the cell phone to his ear, enjoying the sound of Langdon’s anxious breathing on the other end. â€Å"Right now, I have business to attend to, Professor, and so do you. Call me as soon as you have deciphered the map. We will go together to the hiding place and make our trade. Peter’s life . . . for all the wisdom of the ages.† â€Å"I will do nothing,† Langdon declared. â€Å"Especially not without proof Peter is alive.† â€Å"I suggest you not test me. You are a very small cog in a vast machine. If you disobey me, or attempt to find me, Peter will die. This I swear.† â€Å"For all I know, Peter is already dead.† â€Å"He is very much alive, Professor, but he desperately needs your help.† â€Å"What are you really looking for?† Langdon shouted into the phone. Mal’akh paused before answering. â€Å"Many people have pursued the Ancient Mysteries and debated their power. Tonight, I will prove the mysteries are real.† Langdon was silent. â€Å"I suggest you get to work on the map immediately,† Mal’akh said. â€Å"I need this information today.† â€Å"Today?! It’s already after nine o’clock!† â€Å"Exactly. Tempus fugit.† How to cite The Lost Symbol Chapter 40-43, Essay examples

Accounting Software of Amcor Limited-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about a Company in Australia that uses accounting software. Answer: Introduction Amcor Limited is a manufacturing company that deals in rigid plastic packaging and producing flexible. It is an Australian based company that deals in packaging. The products of Amcor are responsible for protecting beverages, food, medicines and personal care products. Its headquarters is in Victoria, Australia. In the year of 1860, this company was founded. That time it was known as Australian Paper Manufacturers. Later on it was named as Amcor in the year 1986. It is known to be the largest PET bottles producer in the world. The main focus of this report is to discuss about the implementation of accounting software in the Amcor Limited. It also describes the structure of the organization along with the competitive advantages of Amcor Limited. It also talks about the accounting software that this company uses for its operations and in order to improve its efficiency. There are several benefits and limitations present in the current structure and software of the organization. Accounting software can be used by this organization to carry out their job in an effective and efficient manner Current Organizational Structure Amcor is an Australian based manufacturing company (Amcor.com 2017). It has an organizational structure that is hierarchical in nature. The top level constitute of the managing director. Then the next level consists of the directors of several departments like finance, operations, marketing and human resource management. Then there is the level of managers of the various departments like marketing, personal manager, production team leaders and finance supervisors. The lowest level constitute of production team members, sales team and accounts assistants. The management team is very strong and its main focus is the innovation. Figure 1: Organizational Structure (Source: Lunenburg 2012) This is the general organizational structure of the company (Fan, Wong and Zhang, 2013). The detailed organizational structure is given as below. Figure 2: Organizational Structure (Source: Sapinsider.wispubs.com 2017) This diagram shows the overall hierarchical structure of the company. Its management team is very strong and it can be also shown in terms of hierarchy as given below. This type of structure is organized in nature and helps the organization to maintain a stable state. All the employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities (Sapinsider.wispubs.com 2017). They know whom to report in case of any emergency and important issue. There are fixed rules that are to be followed in the company. The goals of the company are clearly defined and it is very easy for Amcor to achieve its goals by following this structure because the tasks are clear while employees are executing it. Operational problems faced by Amcor due to its Structure There are several loopholes of having this organizational structure. This structure does not allow Amcor to work in a flexible manner (CorporateSite 2017). It also creates problem in planning for any long term goals because future is uncertain and this structure might not be profitable in the future. This structure also acts as a barrier in case of creativity Amcor targets to become the most innovative company in the world but this structure comes in its way. The roles of some department become very active while there are some departments that remain idle. This type of structure does not allow two way communications leading to communication gap (Tran and Tian 2013). This structure leads to a cause of low team spirit. In future this might lead to serious troubles affecting the morale of the employees. The operational problems which they face are the less visibility in the supply chain management of the company (Singh 2013). Another issue is the barrier in case of innovation. There are gap in the skills of the workers. They have to think about the environment too. Their main issue is to balance maintenance along with high productivity. System Acquisition Method of Amcor Limited Amcor Limited uses the Enterprise Resource Planning software. The several software used by this company are SAP ERP 6.0, SAP SCM 5.0 and SAP CRM 7.0. These solutions help the company to perform very well in the industry. The cost of processing sales order is reduced and the time to calculate the selling price is also less. The cash flow is increased. The potential of investment is increasing. The revenue of the company is increased sue to the acquisition of ERP. The number of stock outages is less because of reliable materials. Freight costs are reduced due to this acquisition. There is little functionality in SAP that is not present in other software. SAP uses (Oxygen 2017). This ERP is complimented by the use of Microsoft Office word. System Flowchart of the Sales Procedures The sales model in a manufacturing company is not so well developed and is inadequate in nature. The sales process begins with determining the needs, sales teams and actions to be taken. It starts with the customer (Gunasekaran and Spalanzani 2012). The customer first requests for an order. The manufacturer checks whether the products are available or are feasible for production and then sells or manufactures further products. This process is repetitive in nature and has no such issues. In the flow chart below we get to see that the customer first places the order and then the company approves or disapproves the order request based on certain conditions (Hosgor, 2015). Then if the order gets approved the manufacturer plays its role. After the products are ready it is sold to the customers. Figure 3: System Flowchart of the Sales Procedure (Source: Ingram et al. 2012) The above flow chart gives a clear idea about the sales procedure in Amcor Limited. Control Problems and Different Types of Frauds that are Possible in this System There are several problems associated with the present ERP system in the organization. First and foremost implementation of this type of software is highly expensive for the company. These types of systems are highly complex and are not under the total control of the organizations. Several numbers of experts are required in order to maintain the ERP system. Severe training is required for the purpose of handling this system. If the software is outdated then it can crash the entire system leading to loss of sensitive data. There is a chance of insufficient capability of reporting that can lead the company to an external reporting as well as loss of data control (Christauskas and Miseviciene 2012). Any kind of delay in update can lead to vulnerabilities in the software. In case of lack of security and compliance standards, this can lead to severe issue. There are also several kinds of frauds that can take place along with this system. There can be fictitious vendor that are created in the system. For these kinds of fictitious vendors there can be fictitious bank accounts too. The signatures in the invoice can also be false misguiding the company. The invoice distribution can be coded to a wrong account. There can be a lot of false or fake supplier master and bank accounts without any documentation. Development and Adoption of the Accounting Software Packages There are several accounting software that can be adopted like Xero, Myob and Quickbooks. There are several issues in using traditional software like the system is not always up to date. Data needs to be moved from one place to another and using software keeps the data only in one place. Access is only there in the hand of one person. It is expensive and slow at the same time. On the other hand these cloud accounting software are very useful for the business in terms of cost and effectiveness. It increases the efficiency of the system. The accounting software that is used by the Amcor Limited is called Reval (Reval 2017). This is Software as a service platform for the organization for the purpose of management of treasury and management of risk. This software helps to manage cash and liquidity and also understand the financial risk of a company. These are used by more than 650 companies around the world. It provides a superior customer experience increasing the return on investment o f the company. It provides a scalable solution. It also provides global support. Current Market Size The graph provided below give the current market size of Amcor Limited. It shows the share price for the last 1 year. It can be seen the performance has improved. The performance has been fluctuating but there was a tremendous improvement around July 2017 (Amcor.com 2017). Although the share price at present is less but the performance of the company is high. Figure 4: Market Size of Amcor Ltd. (Source: Amcor.com 2017) Leaders in the Market and Competitive Advantage The top leaders in this industry are Georgia Pacific, Silgan Holdings Inc. along with Amcor Limited. Silgan Holdings is one of the leading suppliers of rigid packaging of goods products. Its annual sales and revenue in the year 2016 was reported to be 3.6 billion dollars (Silganholdings.com 2017). This company is one of the main competitors of Amcor Limited. Georgia pacific on the other hand is an American company that is considered to be worlds largest manufacturer of paper. Amcor can be considered to be leader in this field with annual revenue of 9.5 billion dollars. The competitive advantage of this company is its innovation. Its main focus is always on customer satisfaction that has led to the tremendous growth of the company. Among the accounting software Reval is considered to be the market leader along with Xero, Myob and Quickbooks. Existing Challenges Encountered by Users of Accounting Software There are several challenges that are involved in using the accounting software. The most challenging issue is the lack of security because the data is present in the cloud and if it gets hacked then it will become accessible to anyone affecting many users. The reporting service facility of the system is very low. It also affects the efficiency of the system. Some of the accounting software systems are not up to date that affects the productivity of the organization. The software may not user friendly and is very difficult for all the employees of the company to use. It can also affect the accuracy of the system. Some of the systems have inefficient and insufficient features but are extremely expensive. These types of software do not have any bank reconciliation features (Christauskas and Miseviciene 2012). The customer relationship management feature is extremely poor. Sometimes the accounting software is not compatible with their system. Technical supports are not present for the e ntire time. The technical support that can be provided over the phone is very inconvenient. The access speed is also less sometimes. This affects the productivity of the system. The organization using such software suffers because their work has to come to a stop because of the problem of speed in the system. These are the disadvantages associated with using the accounting software. Recommendations Installation of proper security policy can resolve most of the issues mentioned above. A strong firewall can help the system to overcome most of the risks related to the security issue of the system. This will allow only authorized users to access the system while it will disallow unauthorized users. Network security software will help to protect the software from any type of misuse of the data. Financial models used by the Amcor Limited must use a flexible model for the proper efficiency of the system. A driver based solution will allow the use of software for any other purpose too. The adaptability of the system must be good in order to get accustomed to any type of work. Conclusion This report concludes that the accounting packages used by the Amcor Limited are based on cloud computing technology, rather Software as a Service. There are several challenges and benefits associated by the software used by the company. These challenges can be rectified by proper procedures and methods. This report also discusses about the factors behind the success of the company and its competitive advantages. This report also gives a brief outline about the organizational structure and its loopholes. This report also gives recommendation about overcoming the limitation of the accounting software References Amcor.com. 2017.Amcor - Home. [online] Available at: https://www.amcor.com/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Christauskas, C. and Miseviciene, R., 2012. Cloudcomputing based accounting for small to medium sized business.Engineering Economics,23(1), pp.14-21. CorporateSite. 2017. [online] Available at: https://d2491pxl8gaali.cloudfront.net/CorporateSite/media/Sustain-Reports/Amcor-2014-GRI-Report.pdf [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Fan, J.P., Wong, T.J. and Zhang, T., 2013. Institutions and organizational structure: The case of state-owned corporate pyramids.The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization,29(6), pp.1217-1252. Gunasekaran, A. and Spalanzani, A., 2012. Sustainability of manufacturing and services: Investigations for research and applications.International Journal of Production Economics,140(1), pp.35-47. Ho?gr, E.A., 2015. 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