Monday, May 25, 2020

The Dark Knight Movie Review

The movie â€Å"Dark Knight† is a grandiose, strange and dark piece of work of Hollywood. Although the film is overhyped and lasts too long, it is still highly entertaining and must be seen exclusively on the vast Imax screen! When watching the very first shot of the dizzying skyscrapers and minuscule streets, I wasn’t breathing for a couple of seconds getting ready to dive into a new illusory world. The movie â€Å"Dark Knight† is the continuation of the Batman story created by the British director Christopher Nolan. The film plot takes the story up to his confrontation with well known Joker, who is brilliantly played by Heath Ledger. His whiteface make-up makes him look like a sad Pagliaccio of crime. Anyone who wishes to compare him with Jack Nicholson should think twice though their Jokers are of absolutely different nature: Jack Nicholson plays Joker from comics, Heath Ledger, however, was able to show us this genius of crime and chaos as he would look like if he somehow got to exist in our reality. One should mention that Ledger is highly talented at all his kinks, tics, quirks and twitches! The caped crusader is again played by famous Christian Bale, who’s clanking around in his Batmobile so military and macho-looking!  As the action begins, the audience realizes that in Gotham city Batman is still a highly important figure. People in the city still approach this vigilante because â€Å"he is the Batman†. And here’s one more reason to refer to the hero – a new crime fighter is in the city! Played by Aaron Eckhart, a handsome attorney Harvey Dent truly believes that the rule of the law must be upheld by a democratically accountable individual, not some unknown figure of the night. Besides that, Harvey starts dating Batman’s beloved one – Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). To my mind, the most bizarre moment in the film comes when the Joker abducts some unfortunate from the Gotham psychiatric hospital in order to â€Å"impersonate† the first love of Batman. This is what I call the joke of sophistication, hatred and lack of taste! Actually, everything that is going on in the movie is of a mental nature. It’s not that there is no action in the â€Å"Dark Knight†, but even when the main hero is racing through the Gotham streets in his incredible gadgets, it is still the psychology of what is happening pushes the whole movie plot. Due to that, all the problems that the director faced with when working on the â€Å"Batman Begins† are absent in the â€Å"Dark Knight†. There are no complicated and extended fight scenes in the film for the reason that it simply does not need them. What really makes the â€Å"Dark Knight† action so arresting is the solid force of will that stands behind it as well as the philosophical fight that is driving it. Without a doubt, you will be on the edge of the seat every moment in the process – be it a simple conversation at the office of Bruce Wayne or a scene in a Hong Kong skyscraper. Nothing is wasted in the Nolan’s work! There’s not a second or a minute in the â€Å"Dark Knight† movie that does not fit into a deeper, bigger and broader picture. That fits everything, along the way the famous director has filmed it. With all this in mind, I am free to state that the â€Å"Dark Knight† movie deserved nothing less than good old Imax. Without a doubt, the massive box-office success of the â€Å"Dark Knight† movie has provided its director Christopher Nolan with the required means to create his own cheque. I really hope that Nolan will make use of this chance to cultivate works that are more maneuverable than that retro Batmobile.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Quick Facts About the English Alphabet

Writers spend years rearranging 26 letters of the alphabet, novelist Richard Price once observed. Its enough to make you lose your mind day by day. Its also a good enough reason to gather a few facts about one of the most significant inventions in human history. The Origin of the Word Alphabet The English word alphabet comes to us, by way of Latin, from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. These Greek words were in turn derived from the original Semitic names for the symbols: Aleph (ox) and beth (house). Where the English Alphabet Came From The original set of 30 signs, known as the Semitic alphabet, was used in ancient Phoenicia beginning around 1600 BCE. Most scholars believe that this alphabet, which consisted of signs for consonants only, is the ultimate ancestor of virtually all later alphabets. (The one significant exception appears to be Koreas han-gul script, created in the 15th century.) Around 1,000 BCE, the Greeks adopted a shorter version of the Semitic alphabet, reassigning certain symbols to represent vowel sounds, and eventually, the Romans developed their own version of the Greek (or Ionic) alphabet. Its generally accepted that the Roman alphabet reached England by way of the Irish sometime during the early period of Old English (5 c.- 12 c.). Over the past millennium, the English alphabet has lost a few special letters and drawn fresh distinctions between others. But otherwise, our modern English alphabet remains quite similar to the version of the Roman alphabet that we inherited from the Irish. The Number of Languages That Use the Roman Alphabet About 100 languages rely on the Roman alphabet. Used by roughly two billion people, its the worlds most popular script. As David Sacks notes in Letter Perfect (2004), There are variations of the Roman alphabet: For example, English employs 26 letters; Finnish, 21; Croatian, 30. But at the core are the 23 letters of ancient Rome. (The Romans lacked J, V, and W.) How Many Sounds There Are in English There are more than 40 distinct sounds (or phonemes) in English. Because we have just 26 letters to represent those sounds, most letters stand for more than one sound. The consonant c, for example, is pronounced differently in the three words cook, city, and (combined with h) chop. What Are​ Majuscules and Minuscules Majuscules (from Latin majusculus, rather large) are capital letters. Minuscules (from Latin minusculus, rather small) are lower-case letters. The combination of majuscules and minuscules in a single system (the so-called dual alphabet) first appeared in a form of writing named after Emperor Charlemagne (742-814), Carolingian minuscule. Pangrams Pangrams are a sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. The best-known example is The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. A more efficient pangram is Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Lipograms Lipograms are text that deliberately excludes a particular letter of the alphabet. The best-known example in English is Ernest Vincent Wrights novel Gadsby: Champion of Youth (1939) — a story of more than 50,000 words in which the letter e never appears. Zee Versus Zed The older pronunciation of zed was inherited from Old French. The American zee, a dialect form heard in England during the 17th century (perhaps by analogy with bee, dee, etc.), was approved by Noah Webster in his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). The letter z, by the way, has not always been relegated to the end of the alphabet. In the Greek alphabet, it came in at a quite respectable number seven. According to Tom McArthur in The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), The Romans adopted Z later than the rest of the alphabet, since /z/ was not a native Latin sound, adding it at the end of their list of letters and using it rarely. The Irish and English simply imitated the Roman convention of placing z last.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

On The Shortness Of Life And Rene Descartes Analysis

Philosophy, although a very complex subject, can quite simply be construed as a quest to gain wisdom and the truth through profound analysis. In an attempt to gain this wisdom and insight, numerous philosophers have taken contrasting approaches that have led them to different conclusions about what is true. Seneca, the author of On the Shortness of Life, and Rene Descartes, the author of A Discourse on the Method, are two philosophers who have sought wisdom and shared the methods they believe to be successful in achieving an exceptional way of living. In his approach, Seneca discusses the concept of time, and how to use it efficiently in order to ensure that you lead a long and fulfilling life. On the other hand, Descartes explains the†¦show more content†¦One of the points Seneca makes is that people are too preoccupied with gaining things that they do not have or devoting their lives to someone else, whether it be by pursuing other people’s money or envying their su periors (2). In a way, Descartes alludes to this fact by speaking of the reason that he abandoned his education. Once Descartes realized that he could reasonably doubt everything that he had been taught, he wanted to clear his mind of the beliefs and opinions of others, and create a method that could lead him in the right path. He expands on this thought when he states, â€Å"it is almost impossible that our judgments are as pure or as solid as they might have been if we had full use of our reason from the moment of our birth, and had been guided by that alone† (13). If people were not influenced by the judgments of others, they would have a much better ability to reason clearly and precisely, therefore allowing them to live a fuller life. Since Seneca does not provide people with a way to not be preoccupied with the lives of other people, Descartes method of wiping his thoughts of the judgments of others can be added to Seneca’s position on being preoccupied with oth ers in order to gain better wisdom. In addition, Seneca brings forth the point that the present is short, the future is doubtful, and the past is certain (15). For this reason, he does not think that people should live in fear of the next day, or base their lives off of the hope thatShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of The Mind Body Problem2474 Words   |  10 Pagesphysical and mental realm? The mind/body problem has been debated for centuries. Am I a person that acts because of the mental processes of my brain, or are the processes in my brain just that? The mind/body problem continues to be important in everyday life because of many types of mind/body connections including how our bodies respond to various situations such as stress, nervousness, or anxiety. When considering myself as a human being am I simply a physical object or is there a deeper meaning to my

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Auditing The Default Customers

Question: Describe about the Auditing for The Default Customers. Answer: A. Identification of F/S level risk: OVS used to charge an amount for as late return fees. However, this practice led to decreasing the number of customers, as they are reluctant to return on time. Next, OVS eliminated this fee and started the rule of considering the movie as sold if not returned after 30 days. The customer will be charged $25, when they will come to purchase new DVD. There is a chance that the customer will not come again to purchase and company will loose the amount. The company should charge an amount at the time of renting the DVD, so that they will not be at loss, if the DVD is not returned. They should maintain proper records for each customers both in manual renting and on line sell or renting (Bekaert, Hoerova Duca, 2013). B. Audit Approach: OVS should be asked to maintain proper records about the customers when renting DVDs. It will help them to find out easily the default customers and the due date to return. Customers name, phone numbers and address should also be recorded in register so that in case of default they can be contacted through phone call or given address. When selling through online, apart from on line records, they should maintain a manual record of customers so that in case of any hack or virus attack, company can track the customers with their manual records (Mohseni, 2014). C. Materiality: The materiality concept states that some substances, whether individually or with any other substance are material for true and fair presentation of financial statements in consistence with generally accepted accounting principles. Auditor must verify the changes they have made and OVSs expansion during 2005 into renting the DVDs through internet. Auditor should also verify their earning and records regarding their newly started programme Movies by Mail (Brooks Guo, 2015). D. Identification of account specific risk: OVSs newly started programme Movies by mail is excellent but they were facing difficulties to run the programme smoothly. They use Moonwatcher web designer (MWD) to make the sales and receipt of money from customers. However, in past they faced crashes of website many times and the only advice from MWD was to reboot the system. There is high risk involved regarding the permanent crash of the server and OVS can lose their money through this experience. Therefore, they should maintain manual records regarding the customers and their phone number, name ant amount of money due from them. E. Procedures to test risks: To test the risks, following procedure should be followed: Fix a meeting with OVS and discuss with them about the primary risk detected Ask them to provide the records related to the detected risks To measure the materiality of the detected risks To suggest them the ideas to reduce the risks or remove the risks, wherever possible (Chen, 2016). F. Control issues with new IT systems: Their new IT system, that is, Moonwatcher Web Designer (MWD) is having problem of crashing their system frequently. Other than the advice of rebooting the system, they could not provide any alternative solution to the problem. OVS can fix a meeting with to solve this issue and if they are not able to resolve the issue, they can search for alternative service provider. References: Bekaert, G., Hoerova, M., Duca, M. L. (2013). Risk, uncertainty and monetary policy.Journal of Monetary Economics,60(7), 771-788. Brooks, L. L. Z., Guo, P. (2015). Audit Firm Tenure, Audit Materiality, and Last-Minute Earnings Management.Journal of Forensic Investigative Accounting,7(1). Chen, L. H., Chung, H. S. H., Peters, G. F., Wynn, J. P. (2016). Does incentive-based compensation for chief internal auditors impact objectivity? An external audit risk perspective.Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Mohseni, A. (2014). Audit Approach to Audit Risk Management, Quantitative Determination of the Components of Audit Risk and Determine the Impact on the Components of Audit Risk in Audit Sampling.Quantitative Determination of the Components of Audit Risk and Determine the Impact on the Components of Audit Risk in Audit Sampling (May 22, 2014).

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Hackers Essays (819 words) - Hacker, Hacking,

Hackers Computer Hacking Explosive growth in the computer industry over the last decade has made new technologies cheaper and simpler for the average person to own. As result, computers play an intricate part in our daily lives. The areas in which computers affect life are infinite, ranging from entertainment to finances. If anything were to happen to these precious devices, the world would be chaotic. Computer hacking is a dangerous crime that could total chaos for the entire world. Some hackers act on revenge or just impersonal mischievousness. But whatever their motives, their deeds can be destructive to a person's computer. An attack by a hacker not only affects the victim, but others as well. One case involving a notorious hacker named Kevin Mitnick did just that. Mitnick is a very intelligent man. He is 31 and pending trial for computer fraud. When he was a teenager, he used his knowledge of computers to break into the North American Defense Command computer. Had he not been stopped, he could have caused some real national defense problems for the United States (Sussman 66). Other small time hackers affect people just as much by stealing or giving away copyrighted software, which causes the prices of software to increase, thus increasing the price the public must pay for the programs. Companies reason that if they have a program that can be copied onto a disc then they will lose a certain amount of their profit. People will copy it and give to friends or pass it around on the Internet. To compensate, they will raise the price of disc programs. CD Rom programs cost more to make but are about the same price as disc games. Companies don't loose money on them because it is difficult to copy a CD Rom and impossible to transmit over the Internet (Facts on File #28599 1). Hackers have hit one company in particular, American On-line, hard. The feud started when a disgruntled ex-employee used his inside experience to help fellow hackers disrupt services offered by AOL (Alan 37). His advice became popular and he spawned a program called AOHell. This program, in turn, created many copycats. They all portray their creators as gangsters, and one of the creator's names is Da Chronic. Many also feature short clips of rap music (Cook 36). These programs make it easy for people with a little hacker knowledge to disrupt AOL. These activities include gaining access to free accounts, gaining access to other people's credit card numbers, and destroying chat rooms. The loopholes for hackers and freeloaders may be closing, however. America On-line is reluctant to discuss specifics of its counterattack for fear of giving miscreants warning. However, many software trading rooms are being shut down almost as soon as they are formed. Others are often visited by 'narks' posing as traders. New accounts started with phony credit cards are being cut off more promptly, and other card-verification schemes are in place. AOL has now developed the ability to resurrect a screen name that had been deleted by the hackers, and is rumored to have call-tracing technologies in t he works (Alan 37). Hacking is not just a problem in America. All across the world hackers plague anyone they can, and they're getting better at it. In Europe they're known as Phreakers (technologically sophisticated young computer hackers). These self-proclaimed Phreakers have made their presence felt all the way up the political ladder. They managed to steal personal expense accounts of the European Commission President Jacques. They revealed some embarrassing overspending. They said it was done to protect the public from wasting their tax money. The European judicial system sentenced them to six months in prison (PC Weekly 12). This punishment might seem harsh, but not to Bill Clinton. He has appointed a task force to try to enforce laws on the Internet. The new laws would try to strengthen copyright laws by monitoring information being transferred and if a violation occurred, a $5,000 fine would be implemented (Facts On File #28599 1). Clinton thinks this will protect businesses as well as consumers by keeping copyrighted material at a reasonable price. The only exception would be that libraries would have the right to copy for purposes of preservation (Phelps

Monday, March 9, 2020

Famous Medieval and Renaissance Couples

Famous Medieval and Renaissance Couples Throughout history, men and women have joined together in partnerships both romantic and practical. Kings and their queens, writers and their muses, warriors and their lady-loves have at times had an impact on their world and on future events. The same could be said for some fictional couples, whose often-tragic romances have served to inspire both literature and true-life romantic adventures. These passionate, political, and poetic couples from the Medieval and Renaissance ages will go down in history. Abelard and Heloise Real life scholars of 12th-century Paris, Peter Abelard and his student, Heloise, had a torrid affair. Their story can be read in A Medieval Love Story. Arthur and Guinevere The legendary King Arthur and his queen are at the center of a huge corpus of medieval and post-medieval literature. In most stories, Guinevere had a real affection for her older husband, but her heart belonged to Lancelot. Boccaccio and Fiammetta Giovanni Boccaccio was an important 14th-century author. His muse was the lovely Fiammetta, whose true identity is undetermined but who appeared in some of his early works. Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor Henry VIII arranged for his sister Mary to wed King Louis XII of France, but she already loved Charles, the 1st Duke of Suffolk. She agreed to wed the much older Louis on condition that she be allowed to choose her next husband herself. When Louis died shortly after the marriage, Mary secretly wed Suffolk before Henry could embroil her in another political marriage. Henry was furious, but he forgave them after Suffolk paid a hefty fine. El Cid and Ximena Rodrigo Dà ­az de Vivar was a notable military leader and the national hero of Spain. He acquired the title el Cid (sir or lord) during his lifetime. He really did marry Ximena (or Jimena), the kings niece, but the exact nature of their relationship is obscured in the mists of time and epic. Clovis and Clotilda Clovis was the founder of the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings. His pious wife Clotilda convinced him to convert to Catholicism, which would prove significant in the future development of France. Dante and Beatrice Dante Alighieri is often considered the finest poet of the Middle Ages. His devotion in his poetry to Beatrice made her one of the most celebrated figures in western literature. Still, he never acted on his love, and may never even have told her personally how he felt. Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville Handsome  Edward was attractive and popular with the ladies, and he surprised quite a few people when he married the widowed mother of two boys. Edwards bestowal of court favors on Elizabeths relatives disrupted his court. Erec and Enide The poem Erec et Enide  is the earliest extant Arthurian romance by 12th-century poet Chrà ©tien de Troyes. In it, Erec wins a tournament to defend the assertion that his lady is the most beautiful. Later, the two go on a quest to prove to each other their noble qualities. Etienne de Castel and Christine de Pizan The time Christine had with her husband was a mere ten years. His death left her in financial straits, and she turned to writing to support herself. Her works included love ballads dedicated to the late Etienne. Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs of Spain united Castile and Aragon when they married. Together, they overcame civil war, completed the Reconquista by defeating the last Moorish holdout of Granada, and sponsored the voyages of Columbus. They also expelled the Jews and began the Spanish Inquisition. Gareth and Lynette In the Arthurian tale of Gareth and Lynette, first told by Malory, Gareth proves himself to be chivalrous, even though Lynette heaps scorn upon him. Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell The story of the loathly lady is told in many versions. The most famous involves Gawain, one of Arthurs greatest knights, whom the ugly Dame Ragnell chooses for her husband, and is told in The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. Geoffrey and Philippa Chaucer He is considered the quintessential medieval English poet. She was his devoted wife for more than twenty years. While they were wed  Geoffrey Chaucer  led a busy, successful life in service to the king. After her death, he endured a solitary existence and wrote his most notable works, including  Troilus and Criseyde  and  The  Canterbury Tales. Henry  Plantagenet  and Eleanor of Aquitaine At the age of 30, the bold, beautiful  Eleanor of Aquitaine  was divorced from her husband, the meek and mild King Louis VII of France, and married the brash young 18-year-old  Henry  Plantagenet,  future  king of England. The two would have a tempestuous marriage, but Eleanor bore Henry eight children- two of whom became kings. Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York After his defeat of Richard III,  Henry Tudor  became king, and he sealed the deal by marrying the daughter of an undisputed king of England (Edward IV). But was Elizabeth really happy married to the Lancastrian enemy of her Yorkist family? Well, she gave him seven children, including the future king Henry VIII. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn After decades of marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which produced a daughter but no sons,  Henry VIII  threw tradition to the wind in pursuit of the captivating Anne Boleyn. His actions would ultimately result in a split with the Catholic Church. Sadly, Anne also failed to give Henry an heir, and when he tired of her, she lost her head. John of England and Isabella When  John  married  Isabella of Angoulà ªme, it caused some problems, not least because she was engaged to someone else. John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford The third son of  Edward III,  John  married and outlived two women who brought him titles and land, but his heart belonged to Katherine Swynford. Though their relationship was at times rocky, Katherine bore John four children out of wedlock. When  John, at last, married Katherine, the children were legitimized, but they and their descendants were officially barred from the throne. This would not stop  Henry VII, a descendant of John and Katherine, from becoming king a century later. Justinian and Theodora Considered by some scholars to be the greatest emperor of medieval Byzantium,  Justinian  was a great man with an even greater woman behind him. With  Theodoras support, he reclaimed significant portions of the western empire, reformed Roman law and rebuilt Constantinople. After her death, he achieved little. Lancelot and Guinevere When political necessity joins a young woman to a king, should she ignore the dictates of her heart?  Guinevere  didnt, and her passionate affair with  Arthurs greatest knight  would lead to the downfall of Camelot. Louis IX and Margaret Louis  was a saint. But he was also a mamas boy. He was only 12 when his father died, and his mother Blanche served as regent for him. She also chose his wife. Yet Louis was devoted to his bride Margaret, and together they had 11 children, while Blanche grew jealous of her daughter-in-law and died with her nose out of joint. Merlin and Nimue Arthurs most trusted advisor may have been a wizard, but  Merlin  was also a man, susceptible to the charms of women. Nimue (or sometimes Vivien,  Nineve,  or Niniane) was so charming she was able to  ensorcell  Merlin and trap him in a cave (or sometimes tree), where he was unable to help Arthur in his time of darkest trouble. Petrarch and Laura Like Dante and Boccaccio,  Francesco Petrarca, the  founder of  Renaissance Humanism,  had his muse: the lovely Laura. The poems he dedicated to her inspired poets of succeeding generations, most notably Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser. Philip of Spain and Bloody Mary Poor Mary, the Catholic queen of England, loved her husband madly. But  Philip  couldnt stand the sight of her. To make matters worse, the largely Protestant population of her country simply would not convert back to Catholicism, and they resented the presence of a Catholic foreigner in Marys household. Heartsick and stressed, Mary had several hysterical pregnancies and died at the age of 42. Raphael Sanzio and Margherita Luti The charming, suave, amiable  Raphael  was so popular he became known as the prince of painters. He was very publicly engaged to Maria Bibbiena, the niece of a powerful cardinal, but scholars believe he may have  secretly married  Margherita Luti, the daughter of a Sienese baker. If word of this marriage got out, it would have severely damaged his reputation; but Raphael was just the type of man to throw caution to the wind and follow his heart. Richard I and Berengaria Was  Richard the Lionheart  gay? Some scholars believe it to be the reason he and  Berengaria  never had children. But then, their relationship was so strained Richard was ordered by the pope to patch things up. Robert Guiscard and Sichelgaita Sichelgaita (or Sikelgaita) was a Lombard princess who married  Guiscard, a Norman warlord, and proceeded to accompany him on many campaigns.  Anna Comnena  wrote of Sichelgaita: When dressed in full armor, the woman was a fearsome sight. When Robert died during the siege of Cephalonia, Sichelgaita was right by his side. Robin Hood and Maid Marian The legends of  Robin Hood  may have been based on the activities of real-life outlaws of the 12th century, though if so, scholars have no definitive proof of who precisely served as their inspiration. Marian stories were a later addition to the corpus. Tristan and Isolde The story of  Tristan and Isolde  was incorporated into Arthurian tales, but its origins are a Celtic legend that may be based on an actual Pictish king. Troilus and Criseyde The character of Troilus is a Trojan prince who falls in love with a Greek captive. In Geoffrey Chaucers poem she is Criseyde (in William Shakespeares play she is Cressida), and though she declares her love for Troilus, when she is ransomed by her people she goes to live with a big Greek hero. Uther and Igraine Arthurs father  Uther  was king, and he coveted the wife of the Duke of Cornwall, Igraine. So Merlin cast a spell on Uther to make him look like Cornwall, and while the real duke was out fighting, he slipped in to have his way with the virtuous lady. The result? Cornwall died in battle, and Arthur was born nine months later. William of Normandy and Matilda Before he seriously took aim at the crown of England,  William the Conqueror  set his sights on Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders. Though he was distantly related to her and the pope condemned the marriage as incestuous, the pair went through with the wedding. Was it all for love of the lady? Perhaps, but his alliance with Baldwin was critical in cementing his position as Duke of Normandy. Still, he and Matilda had ten children, and to patch things up with the pope, they built two monasteries at Caen.

Friday, February 21, 2020

The Systems & Language Skills of English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Systems & Language Skills of English - Essay Example So, knowledge of certain words together with major word-building principles of the language can help a student to enrich one’s vocabulary with the help of word-building skills. Grammar involves the rules of combining worlds into phrases and sentences. Its knowledge is an essential part of education since it helps forming grammatically correct and meaningful sentences. At the same time grammar is very interrelated with, and even cannot be used meaningfully without, some knowledge of the function system of English. Function defines the purpose of a word combination, a phrase or a sentence, and outlines its direct meaning. It is very related to grammar because, for example, ‘I have read’ and ‘I read’ are different not only grammatically (different tense forms), but functionally as well – the first phrase expresses a completed action, while the second shows that the action was being performed, but has not necessarily been completed. That is the functional difference. Phonology refers to the sounds and pronunciation of the language. It helps to differentiate spoken and heard words. It is an essential part of learning the language since it is one of the main tools for developing students’ language skills. Though we have identified the four separate systems of the language, it cannot be said that any of them can function or be taught independently. On the contrary, in order to teach students the major macro skills in English, such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking, all the four language systems should be applied. The four major language skills are divided into productive and receptive ones. Productive skills are those that involve individual’s direct and active participation. They are speaking and writing, that is communicating information in a written or oral form. Receptive skills are listening and reading. However, the receptive skills are