4.2 gramática | Quizalize

Aquí tienes un cuestionario para enseñar inglés. Está diseñado para evaluar el nivel de los estudiantes en varias áreas clave del idioma, como vocabulario, gramática, comprensión lectora y habilidades de escritura. Puedes ajustarlo según el nivel de tus estudiantes: ### **Cuestionario de Inglés** --- **Parte 1: Vocabulario** 1. **Escribe el equivalente en inglés de las siguientes palabras:** - Casa - Perro - Feliz - Escuela - Comida 2. **Elige la palabra correcta:** - She is very ____. (smart / smarts) - I like to play ____ football. (the / to) - This is my ____ book. (my / I) 3. **Completa las oraciones con la palabra correcta:** - My father _____ (is / are) a doctor. - I ____ (can / cans) speak three languages. --- **Parte 2: Gramática** 1. **Elige la opción correcta para completar la oración:** - They ____ to the park every Saturday. (go / goes) - She ____ my best friend. (is / are) 2. **Escribe las preguntas correctas para las siguientes respuestas:** - ____ (Yes, I have three brothers.) - ____ (No, I don’t like pizza.) 3. **Pon en la forma correcta del verbo en presente continuo:** - He ____ (study) for his test right now. - They ____ (play) football at the moment. --- **Parte 3: Comprensión Lectora** Lee el siguiente texto y responde a las preguntas. **Texto:** "Maria is a student. She lives in London with her parents. Every day, she goes to school at 8:00 in the morning. She likes reading books and playing the piano in her free time." 1. ¿Dónde vive Maria? 2. ¿A qué hora va Maria a la escuela? 3. ¿Qué le gusta hacer en su tiempo libre? --- **Parte 4: Escritura** 1. **Escribe una breve presentación sobre ti mismo (5-7 oraciones).** - Incluye tu nombre, edad, lo que te gusta hacer, y tu rutina diaria. 2. **Describe tu día favorito de la semana y qué actividades haces en ese día.** --- Este cuestionario cubre una variedad de aspectos importantes para enseñar inglés y puede ser modificado o ampliado según las necesidades y el nivel de los estudiantes.

ASD 2 Capítulo 4-Gramática

Avancemos 2 Unit 4.1 Gramática

1.3.2 Multilingüismo individual: ¿somos todos multilingües? ¿Qué quiere decir ser bilingüe o ser multilingüe? Podríamos definir el bilingüismo o multilingüismo individual como la capacidad de una persona de hablar dos o más lenguas. Pero esta definición tiene varias carencias. Tradicionalmente, se pensaba que solo las personas que alcanzaban un dominio similar al de un nativo en cada una de las lenguas que hablaban podían considerarse «bilingües de verdad» o «multilingües de verdad». Pero, ¿qué ocurre con las personas que aprenden una lengua extranjera sin dominarla igual que su lengua materna? ¿Y las personas que son capaces de entender una lengua, tal vez la que se habla en su casa, pero no de hablarla con fluidez? ¿Y qué pasa con las personas que pueden hablar un idioma bastante bien, pero no saben escribir en ese idioma? ¿Y los que pueden leer y entender un texto en una lengua extranjera, pero no pueden comunicarse activamente en ella? Hoy sabemos que, aunque el dominio de dos (o más) lenguas como el de un nativo se pueda dar, en realidad es algo muy poco frecuente, ya que la inmensa mayoría de personas bilingües y multilingües no tienen el mismo grado de competencia en todas sus lenguas. De hecho, es muy común tener una lengua dominante o de preferencia, una lengua en la que una persona se desenvuelve con mayor fluidez o que prefiere en determinados ámbitos o situaciones. Imagínate a un niño que vive en el Reino Unido y habla ruso en casa con su familia e inglés en la escuela. Evidentemente, podrá hablar con más fluidez sobre algunos temas en ruso y sobre otros en inglés. ¿Significa eso que no es bilingüe? En absoluto, lo veremos enseguida. También es muy común, sobre todo entre las personas que han aprendido una segunda (o tercera) lengua más tarde, que una de las dos lenguas interfiera con la otra, algo que puede reflejarse en su acento, en ciertas estructuras gramaticales, en el vocabulario, etc. Imaginemos a un profesor universitario francés que lleva veinte años viviendo y trabajando en Inglaterra. Puede comunicarse con soltura en inglés tanto en situaciones formales como informales y ha publicado libros tanto en inglés como en francés. Sin embargo, sigue hablando en inglés con acento francés y, después de tantos años en Inglaterra, a veces le cuesta encontrar las palabras adecuadas cuando habla en francés. ¿Y qué pasa con esta persona? ¿La considerarías bilingüe? Continuo bilingüe. Las mayúsculas y el tamaño de letra más grande indican un mayor dominio de la lengua A o B. (A partir de Valdés 2014). Monolingüe lengua A Monolingüe lengua B A Ab Ab Ab Ab aB Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba B debe ser bonito ser bilingue 22 INCLUSIÓN, DIVERSIDAD Y COMUNICACIÓN ENTRE CULTURAS En la actualidad, muchos lingüistas consideran que el bilingüismo (o el multilingüismo) no es un estado que pueda alcanzarse con el tiempo, sino más bien un continuo, es decir, una progresión gradual entre dos extremos opuestos. En un extremo está el monolingüismo en la lengua A, y en el otro el monolingüismo en la lengua B. Cualquier individuo con competencias lingüísticas en ambas lenguas podría situarse entre esos dos polos. Dependiendo de su competencia y fluidez en cada lengua, se situaría más cerca de un extremo u otro del continuo. Por ejemplo, una persona con un gran dominio de una de las lenguas, pero con un dominio limitado de la otra, podría situarse en el polo Ab, mientras que una persona con un dominio de ambas lenguas similar al de un nativo se situaría en el medio, en el polo aB. La idea de un continuo bilingüe nos permite ver el bilingüismo como un proceso y tiene en cuenta el hecho de que el dominio de cualquiera de las dos lenguas puede cambiar con el tiempo. Es posible ganar competencias en una lengua, pero también perderlas. Según esta concepción más amplia del bilingüismo, incluso los estudiantes que se inician en una lengua extranjera podrían considerarse bilingües, aunque, por supuesto, al principio estarían bastante cerca de uno de los extremos monolingües del continuo. En cualquier caso, las personas bilingües y plurilingües se encuentran a menudo con tópicos o conceptos erróneos sobre lo que supone hablar y «vivir» en dos o más idiomas. Uno de los prejuicios más problemáticos es que la exposición a varias lenguas es perjudicial para el desarrollo del lenguaje en los menores. Antes se creía que los menores criados de forma bilingüe o multilingüe nunca lograrían aprender bien ninguna de las lenguas en cuestión. Por ello, docentes y pediatras desaconsejaban a los padres criar a sus hijos de forma bilingüe o multilingüe, y a menudo se les animaba a hablar con ellos en la lengua mayoritaria de su sociedad, aunque ellos mismos no dominaran esa lengua. Presionar a los familiares para que no hablen en su lengua materna con sus hijos plantea una serie SABÍAS QUE… el Día Internacional de la Lengua Materna se celebra el 21 de febrero? Fue declarado por la UNESCO en 1999 para sensibilizar sobre la diversidad lingüística y cultural y promover el multilingüismo. de problemas. Por ejemplo, los padres que hablan la lengua mayoritaria de su nueva sociedad como una lengua extranjera podrían transmitir a sus hijos patrones de pronunciación y gramática incorrectos. También se ha observado que los padres que se obligan a hablar a sus hijos en una lengua extranjera en la que no se sienten cómodos pueden comunicarse menos con ellos y ser incapaces de expresar sentimientos como la cercanía y el afecto de la forma en que lo harían en su lengua materna. Además, al no transmitir una lengua de herencia, los padres rompen el vínculo de sus hijos con los familiares que viven en el extranjero, puesto que los niños no podrán comunicarse con ellos por su cuenta. Por último, este enfoque dificulta la transmisión de las tradiciones y los valores culturales. Estas cuestiones suelen provocar problemas en la dinámica familiar que pueden ser difíciles de resolver más adelante. ¿De dónde viene la idea de la «confusión lingüística»? Uno de los principales motivos que llevan a pensar que la exposición a más de una lengua confunde a los niños es la observación de que los niños y niñas pequeños suelen combinar palabras de las distintas lenguas que hablan en una misma frase. Este fenómeno se denomina alternancia de código y es una etapa típica del desarrollo del lenguaje en los niños pequeños que se crían de forma bilingüe o multilingüe. 21/2 LENGUAS EN LA VIDA COTIDIANA 23 Sin embargo, la alternancia de código puede observarse en bilingües de cualquier edad cuando hablan con otros bilingües. Esto no significa que se confundan o sean incapaces de comunicarse correctamente en una sola lengua; es algo normal en el comportamiento lingüístico bilingüe. Llegados a este punto, es importante introducir el concepto «repertorio lingüístico». Un repertorio lingüístico incluye los recursos comunicativos de los que dispone un individuo o una comunidad de habla, es decir, las variedades lingüísticas escritas y habladas puede utilizar o que están presentes en una comunidad de hablantes. El repertorio lingüístico de las comunidades de hablantes monolingües suele estar formado por diferentes registros, estilos, dialectos, acentos, jergas y modismos. En las comunidades de habla bilingüe o multilingüe (por ejemplo, en entornos de migración o en países lingüísticamente diversos, como la India), el repertorio lingüístico no incluye solo diferentes variedades regionales, sociales y/o estilísticas en cada lengua por separado, sino también combinaciones de las diferentes lenguas habladas. Los bilingües pueden optar por cambiar y mezclar códigos en determinadas situaciones comunicativas, al igual que un hablante monolingüe puede utilizar un registro u otro en función del contexto y de con quién esté hablando. Sobre esta base, se podría incluso decir que, en sentido muy amplio, todos somos multilingües, ya que todos, monolingües y bilingües, debemos aprender a hacer malabarismos con las distintas variedades lingüísticas de nuestras sociedades. Anima a tus alumnos a realizar la actividad C para reflexionar sobre la importancia que tienen para ellos las diferentes lenguas, dialectos, acentos y ¿QUÉ PUEDO TRANSMITIR A MI ALUMNADO? · El bilingüismo o el multilingüismo no es un estado que pueda lograrse en un momento dado, sino un proceso en el que la competencia lingüística puede cambiar con el tiempo. · La mayoría de las personas bilingües y multilingües no tienen el mismo dominio de sus diferentes lenguas, y eso es algo completamente normal. · Según una concepción más amplia del bilingüismo y el multilingüismo, incluso los principiantes que aprenden una lengua extranjera podrían considerarse bilingües. · No hay que desalentar a los padres a hablar en su lengua materna con sus hijos e hijas, ya que es a través de ella como mejor pueden comunicarse, expresar sentimientos como la cercanía y el afecto, y transmitir su cultura y sus valores a la siguiente generación. En contextos de migración, los menores que dominan su lengua materna pueden mantener el contacto con los familiares que viven en el extranjero. · Las personas monolingües disponen de diferentes registros, estilos, dialectos, acentos, jergas y modismos. Las personas bilingües también pueden hacer uso de todos ellos, pero además es posible que mezclen y cambien de idioma cuando hablan con otros bilingües. Hacerlo es una parte natural y normal del comportamiento lingüístico de los bilingües y no significa que se confundan o sean incapaces de comunicarse correctamente en una sola lengua. 24 INCLUSIÓN, DIVERSIDAD Y COMUNICACIÓN ENTRE CULTURAS registros. Les resultará divertido comparar los resultados entre amigos y compañeros de clase. En la actividad D, los alumnos tendrán la oportunidad de hablar sobre la alternancia de código, de descubrir el significado de un texto escrito en muchas lenguas diferentes e incluso de crear su propio texto multilingüe. 1.4 CONCLUSIONES En este capítulo hemos presentado diferentes aspectos relacionados con las lenguas en el mundo y en nuestra vida cotidiana. Hemos explicado que las lenguas no son objetos estáticos, sino organismos vivos que interactúan y se relacionan entre sí y están en constante evolución. Las lenguas no solo transmiten mensajes, sino también los valores culturales y sociales de las personas que las hablan e incluso una forma de ver o entender el mundo. A pesar de lo que nos puedan hacer creer, el multilingüismo no es la excepción en el mundo, sino la norma. Por tanto, nuestra diversidad lingüística puede considerarse una forma más de biodiversidad, que también hay que proteger. En el capítulo 2 nos centraremos en los aspectos culturales de nuestras sociedades multiculturales y multilingües.

Directions: The following sentence has been split into segments (A-C). One of them may contain an error. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error. If you don’t find an error, mark “No Error” as your answer. 1. An organization refer to a large group of individual that is formally A B C organized for the purpose of attaining a goal. 2. Personality refers to the consistent pattern of attitudes and beliefs A B that an individual projects to the social world. C 3. Statistics are a form of mathematical analysis that uses quantified A B C models. 4. Love is a thing characterized by strong feelings of affection for A B C another arising out of companionship or admiration. 5. Nobody wants to miss the deadline for submitting their assignment. A B C

1.Linguistics is the science that studies language. 2.Linguist:Someone who studies linguistics. 3.The Subfields of Linguistics Phonetics deals with the sounds of language. Phonology deals with how the sounds are organized. Morphology deals with how sounds are put together to form words. Syntax deals with how sentences are formed. Semantics deals with the meaning of words, sentences, and texts. Pragmatics deals with how sentences and texts are used in the world (i.e., in context) Text Linguistics deals with units larger than sentences, such as paragraphs and texts. 4.Prescriptive: This approach consists basically of stating what is considered right and wrong in language. 5.Descriptive: This approach, on the other hand, consists of describing the facts. Descriptive linguistics is dedicated to describing the rules of the language, and the language is seen as essentially rule governed. 6.Language is rule-governed, creative, universal, innate, and learned, all at the same time. 7.Linguists understand language as a system of arbitrary vocal signs. 8.Linguistic signs: involve sequences of sounds which represent concrete objects and events as well as abstractions.Signs may be related to the things they represent in a number of ways. 9.Iconic: which resemble the things they represent (as do, for example, photographs, diagrams, star charts, or chemical models). 10.Indexical: which point to or have a necessary connection with the things they represent (as do, for example, smoke to fire, a weathercock to the direction of the wind, a symptom to an illness, a smile to happiness, or a frown to anger). 11.Describe the characteristics of human language: Creative: (The structural elements of human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may ever have made or heard before.) Rule-governed: (Language is made of rules.) Universal: (There are some aspects that are present in all languages of the world.) Innate:(all humans possess an innate capacity for language, activated in infancy by minimal environmental stimuli. Chomsky) Uniquely human: (Language is what sets us apart from other species. It is what makes us human.) Learned:(Children acquire language from their natural setting.) 12.Differentiate between iconic, indexical and symbolic signs. A. iconic, which resemble the things they represent (as do, for example, photographs, diagrams, star charts, or chemical models) B. indexical, which point to or have a necessary connection with the things they represent (as do, for example, smoke to fire, a weathercock to the direction of the wind, a symptom to an illness, a smile to happiness, or a frown to anger). c. symbolic, which are only conventionally related to the thing they represent (as do, for example, a flag to a nation, a rose to love, a wedding ring to marriage). 12. Distinguish between different senses of the grammar word. The prescriptivist´s grammar (Grammar is a set of rules that label the different utterances as either right or wrong.) The descriptivist´s grammar (Grammar is a set of rules that govern the langauge spoken by people. ) The linguist´s grammar (Grammar is the subconscious knowledge of the set of rules that enables speakers to use the language) The speaker´s grammar (Grammar is the intrinsic linguistic knowledge within a native speaker) 13.Describe common fallacies about language and grammar: ►One type of grammar is simpler than another. ►Changes in grammar involve deterioration in a language ►Grammars should be logical and analogical (that is, regular) ►People must be taught the grammatical rules of their language. ►Only some languages have grammar. ►Grammars differ from each other in unpredictable ways. 14.Generality: All Languages Have a Grammar 15. Equality: All Grammars Are Equal 16.Changeability: Grammars Change Over Time 17. Universality: Grammars Are Alike in Basic Ways 18.Tacitness: Grammatical Knowledge Is Subconscious 19.Linguistics is defined as the study of language systems. It is the scientific study of language. 20.Historical approach:It is the study of language change. 21.Linguistic Competence: is the unconscious knowledge speakers of a language have about the system that enables them to create and understand novel utterances. 22.Performance: is the use of it. Performance is “the actual use of language in concrete situations.” 23.I-Language (internal language): which is the intrinsic linguistic knowledge within a native speaker. 24.E-Language (external language): which is the observable language—the output from a speaker. 25.Parole ('speech') refers to the concrete instances of the use of langue, including texts which provide the ordinary research material for linguistics. 26.Langue: 27.Language: is a system of communication that is non-stereotyped and non-finite; it is unlimited in its scope. 28.Grammar: to refer to a subconscious linguistic system of a particular type. Grammar makes possible the production and comprehension of a potentially unlimited number of utterances. 29.Communication and animals: Selecting a mode of communication (speech,writing, gesture). Delivering the symbols through a medium, a physical basis for communication, light, air, or ink. Decoding of the symbols to obtain the information. 30.SIGNS: Communication relies on using something to stand for something else. Words are an obvious example of this: You do not have to have a car, a sandwich, or your cousin present in order to talk about them—the words car, sandwich, and cousin stand for them instead. This same phenomenon is found in animal communication as well. 31.The signifier: A signifier is that part of a sign that stimulates at least one sense organ of the receiver of a message.A signifier can also be a picture, a photograph, a sign language gesture, or one of the many other words for tree in different languages. 32.The signified: The signified component of the sign refers to both the real world object it represents and its conceptual content. The first of these is the real world content of the sign, its extension or referent within a system of signs such as English, avian communication, or sign language. 33.Iconic signs or icons: always bear some resemblance to their referent. A photograph is an iconic sign; so too is a stylized silhouette of a female or a male on a restroom door. 34.Some iconic tokens: a. open-mouth threat by a Japanese macaque; b. park recreation signs; c. onomatopoeic words in English. 35.An indexical sign, or index, fulfils its function by pointing out its referent, typically by being a partial or representative sample of it. Indexes are not arbitrary, since their presence has in some sense been caused by their referent. For this reason it is sometimes said that there is a causal link between an indexical sign and its referent.The track of an animal, for example, points to the existence of the animal by representing a part of it. The presence of smoke is an index of fire. 36.Symbolic signs: bear an arbitrary relationship to their referents and in this way are distinct from both icons and indexes. Human language is highly symbolic in that the vast majority of its signs bear no inherent resemblance or causal connection to their referents, as the following words show. 37.Mixed signs Signs: are not always exclusively of one type or another. Symptomatic signs, for example, may have iconic properties, as when a dog opens its mouth in a threat to bite. Symbolic signs such as traffic lights are symptomatic in that they reflect the internal state of the mechanism that causes them to change color. 38.Signals: All signs can act as signals when they trigger a specific action on the part of the receiver, as do traffic lights, words in human language such as the race starter's "Go!", or the warning calls of birds. 39.SIGN STRUCTURE: No matter what their type, signs show different kinds of structure. A basic distinction is made between graded and discrete sign structure. 40.Graded signs convey their meaning by changes in degree. A good example of a gradation in communication is voice volume. The more you want to be heard, the louder you speak along an increasing scale of loudness. There are no steps or jumps from one level to the next that can be associated with a specific change in meaning. 41.Discrete signs are distinguished from each other by categorical (stepwise) differences. There is no gradual transition from one sign to the next. The words of human language are good examples of discrete signs. 42.A VIEW OF ANIMAL COMMUNICATION ►Largely iconic ►Largely symptomatic ►Little arbitrary ►Not deliberate ►Not conscious ►Not symbolic ►Stimulus bound

How is personal data collected? There are several ways that an unauthorised person can try and collect your data. These include: •phishing •smishing •vishing •pharming. Phishing Phishing is when a person sends a legitimate looking email to a user. The email contains a link to a website that also looks legitimate. The user is encouraged to click the link and to input personal data into a form on the website. The email could also simply ask the user to reply to the email with their personal data. The user is tricked into giving their personal data to a source that they believe is legitimate. However, both the email and the linked website are from a fake unauthorised source. The personal data that is input is then collected by an unauthorised person. This person can then use this data for criminal acts, for example, to commit fraud or steal the person's identity. Intimidation has become a common feature of phishing emails, threatening the user that they must click the link and rectify a situation immediately, or there will be a further issue. The aim of a phishing attack is to steal the user's personal data. Figure 5.1: Phishing. A real-life example of phishing PayPal have been the subject of several different phishing emails. Users receive an email that looks as though it has been sent from PayPal, as it has the PayPal branding. The email normally warns of an issue such as unexpected activity on their account, or that some kind of verification of their account is required. The user is then asked to click a link to log into their account and resolve the issue. The link takes them to a webpage that looks like the PayPal login page. If the user inputs their login details into this page, they will not be taken to their account. It is often at this stage that the user may realise that the email and webpage are fake. However, they have already given the unauthorised person their PayPal login details. Figure 5.2: An example of a phishing email claiming to be from PayPal. How to recognise phishing There are several guidelines to be aware of regarding emails to avoid being subjected to phishing. These include: •Don't even open an email that is not from a sender that you recognise or a trusted source. •Legitimate companies will never ask you for your personal data using email. Be immediately suspicious of any email that requests your personal data. •Legitimate companies will normally address you by your name. Be suspicious of any email that addresses you as ‘Dear Member' or ‘Dear Customer'. •Legitimate companies will send an email that uses their domain name. If you hover your mouse over the sender's name, it will show the email address that the email is sent from. If this does not look legitimate, for example, does not contain the correct domain name, then it is probably fake. For example, if the sender's email is user@paypal1.com rather than user@paypal.com, this is from an incorrect domain name. •Legitimate companies are protective of their professional reputation and thoroughly check any communications. They will make sure that all information given is grammatically and correctly spelt. Be suspicious of any email that contains bad grammar or spelling mistakes. •A link in an email from a legitimate company will also normally contain the domain name of the company. You can sometimes hover over the link, or right click and inspect the link, to see the address of the URL that is attached. If the URL does not contain the domain name, or also contains typical errors such as spelling mistakes, then be suspicious of this. PRACTICAL ACTIVITY 5.02 Ask a friend or a member of your family if they have ever received an email that they believed was a phishing email. Ask them how they identified it was phishing. Ask them if they know all of the given guidelines for identifying phishing emails. Smishing Smishing (or SMS phishing) is a variant of phishing that uses SMS text messages to lure the user into providing their personal details. The user is sent an SMS text message that either contains a link to a website, in the same way that phishing does, or it will ask the user to call a telephone number to resolve an urgent issue. The same advice can be followed for smishing as given for phishing. The user must question at all times any links that are sent from an unknown or suspicious user. It is advisable that if a user believes the message may be legitimate, to type in the domain name for the legitimate company website into their web browser, rather than following the link in the message. Users should block any numbers that they believe are suspicious to prevent any further risk of smishing from that number. Figure 5.3: Smishing. Vishing Vishing (or voice phishing) has the same aim as phishing, to obtain a user's personal details. The user receives a telephone call that could either be an automated system or could be a real person. An automated voice could speak to the user and advise them that an issue has occurred, such as there has been suspicious activity regarding their bank account. The user may then be asked to call another number, or just to simply press a digit and be directed to another automated system. This system will ask them to provide their bank account details to resolve the issue. The bank account details have then been obtained by the unauthorised user and can be used to commit a crime against the user. The automated system could be replaced by a real person who will try to do the same thing. They will try to convince the user that there has been an issue with an account they have and to provide the log-in details or PIN for the account to verify who they are so the issue can be resolved. The precaution to take for vishing is that no company will ever call you and ask you to provide any log-in details or PIN details over the telephone. They may ask you to provide other personal information, and if you are in doubt that the person on the other end of the phone is legitimate, it is always advisable to put the phone down and call the company back on a legitimate number that you may already know or can obtain. Figure 5.4: Vishing. Pharming Pharming is when an unauthorised user installs malicious code on a person's hard drive or server. The malicious code is designed to redirect a user to a fake website when they type in the address of a legitimate one. The fake website is designed to look like the legitimate one, to trick the user and make sure they are not aware that their request has been redirected. The user will then enter their personal details into the fake website, believing it is the legitimate one, and the unauthorised person will now have their personal data. A common technique used in pharming is called domain name server (DNS) cache poisoning. This technique exploits vulnerabilities in the DNS and diverts the internet traffic intended for a legitimate server toward a fake one instead. The unauthorised user needs to find a way to install the malicious code on the computer. They often hide the malicious code in an email attachment or link. When the user opens the email attachment or clicks the link, the malicious code is downloaded also. Figure 5.5: Pharming. The aim of a pharming attack is also to steal a user's personal data. A real-life example of pharming In 2007 50 different companies all over the world were subject to a pharming attack, these included PayPal, eBay, Barclays bank and American Express. Over a three-day period, hackers managed to infect over 1000 PCs a day with a malicious pharming code. When users who had been infected visited the websites of the different companies, they were redirected to a legitimate-looking version of the site that was designed to steal their personal data. The original email, containing the malicious code, was set up to look like a shocking news story. Users were encouraged to click a link in the email to find out more information. The code was downloaded when the user clicked the link. This was quite a sophisticated attack that required legitimate looking websites to be set up for a large number of companies. It is not known how much money the hackers were able to retrieve as a result. How to prevent pharming All of the guidelines to avoid being subjected to phishing are also relevant for recognising pharming. There are also several other precautions that can be taken to check for pharming attacks. These include: •Have a firewall installed and operational. A firewall monitors incoming and outgoing traffic from your computer. It checks this traffic against set criteria and will flag and stop any traffic that does not meet the criteria. A firewall could detect and block suspicious traffic, such as a malicious code trying to enter your system. •Have an anti-virus program installed that is designed to detect malicious pharming code. You need to scan your computer on a regular basis to check for any malicious code. It is advisable to set up an automatic scan on a daily basis at a time when your computer will normally be switched on. •Be aware when using public Wi-Fi connections. A hacker could look to directly access your computer and install the malicious code if you are connected to a public Wi-Fi connection. It is often advisable to use a VPN when using public Wi-Fi. This will help shield your internet activity and personal details from a hacker, making it more difficult for them to access your computer. Smishing can also be used as a form of pharming. A user is sent a link, that when they click is designed to download malware onto their mobile device. Therefore, it is advisable to have security software installed on your mobile and also scan it regularly to detect any presence of malware.

What is an official invitation letter? The companies write a letter of invitation-business when they host business visitors from abroad or from the same region or country. The business visitors can be investors; potential buyers may be conference visitors, business partners, employees of any company, or mere individuals who come for training at the company’s facilities. If a company is inviting any visitor, a representative of that company must write the letter. Also, the firms must have some specific people who would sign the invitation letters. These letters are very much precise, only containing the necessary information. The invitation letter should state the name of the business organization they represent and their relationship to the host (e.g., distributor, regional sales reps, etc.). The letter should articulate the planned dates of travel, and must be formatted professionally. What is a personal invitation letter? A Personal invitation letter is a letter one writes to invite people to a party or a social gathering at a very personal level. It is a formal request asking for the person’s presence at the event that is going to take place. All the relevant details regarding the event like the reason, date, time and venue and the dress code, if any, must be provided in the invitation letters. This will keep the guests informed, and they will feel happy to attend the event. The style and tone of the letter would depend upon the relationship between the sender and receiver. Through the letter, you should be able to make the receiver feel that you highly value his/her presence at the party or the event. A personal invitation letter can be written to invite a person to a birthday party, wedding, conference, meeting, dinner, etc. Before writing the letter, make sure you have a list of people whom you would like to invite to the party or the event. How to Write an Invitation Letter Writing an invitation letter becomes easy and swift once you get through the tips and the format of the invitation letter provided below. Usually block, semi-block or a modified block format is used for official invitation letters. The important aspects of any invitation letters are date, time, salutations and closing. For more advice refer to the tips provided. Tips for Invitation Letter Writing ● Organize the Matter – Before you draft an invitation letter ensure that you have all the required material. This material refers to a list of the people to be invited, sequential order of the events, timings of the events, special guest, official documents, photocopies and any other required item. Some items may also need to be attached along with the letter, keep them alongside. Refer to these as and when required. All the relevant documents will help you in drafting the letter. ● Drafting – You don’t just write a letter straightway and post it. It has to be reviewed and finalized. One of these processes is drafting. Drafting ensures that your mistakes and their rectification aren’t passed on to the invitation itself. Make all the mistakes in the draft itself. Drafting an invitation letter is important as sometimes we may make mistakes that we are not able to see but they are visible to others. One may require a draft to be approved by seniors before it is finalized. A second opinion from a friend or peer etc. may be required as well to determine certain things. ● Politeness – You don’t need to be told that you have to use polite language while writing an invitation letter, why would you be rude when sending an invitation? True, but you have to remind yourself of certain manners and etiquettes required of an invitation. Your invitation is your initiative, not the recipients so you need to be gracious. Always begin the letter with a welcome note instead of straightforward information of the invitation. Words of respect and gratitude are symbols of courtesy and politeness, always expressing your gratitude in the beginning and the end of the letter. ● Positive Tone – The gesture of welcome and gratitude themselves are positive points of an invitation letter. Apart from these, gestures of appreciation and anticipation are other positive points which can persuade a guest to attend the event. When you show your appreciation and anticipation towards the recipient through your words, it is an acknowledgement of his importance and thereby a positive approach. Towards this effect two tenses are used within the invitation letter, the present and the future. The present tense conveys information about the event and the future tense conveys an anticipated presence of the guest. ● Offer Assistance – An invitation being the responsibility of the sender, the assistance to the recipient by default becomes a responsibility of the host. The more facilities you provide the better the chances of someone’s attendance. You can offer pick up and drop services, accommodation, meals, provide them contact numbers in case you are not present at the venue and other required assistance. Relevant facts like date, time and venue of the event in the beginning itself is itself assisting. These assistances encourage a positive response from the invitees. ● Special Instructions – Some occasions require special instructions for the guests. These instructions can be: 1. Dress code 2. Road or route map 3. Purpose of the occasion – birthday, honor, anniversary etc. 4. Return gift 5. Response or confirmation to the invitation 6. Attire and items required for the guest to bring 7. No eatables allowed 8. Entrance only by invitation 9. 2 people per pass 10. No weapons allowed ● Length of the Matter – A simple invitation letter will only contain only the relevant facts. A simple invitation letter features an introduction which allows the sender to introduce themselves and or the organization they represent. A simple background of the individual or company is enough. Though invitations are meant to be concise and straightforward, it isn’t necessary. You can vary the length as per your need and requirement. Wedding and party invitation letters are not lengthy as compared to visit and certain personal invitation letters. ● Using Letterhead – As a rule official Invitation letters require a letterhead. Letterhead represents the sender and its inclusion is authority established. If you have a pre printed letterhead then use that. Personal Invitation letters don’t require letterheads and one can use it as per one’s desire. ● Gesture of Appreciation – Next, the appreciation for the guest to attend an activity or event must be shown. This can be completed with a formal note, stating that you look forward to seeing the individual at the event. ● Don’t forget the Enclosure – Some requests require certain documents to be attached; these can be the photocopies of documents like agreements, hard copies of email received, earlier correspondence, receipts, warranty etc. Keep original copies of all your letters, faxes, e-mails, and other related documents. ● Closing the Letter – Start the letter with Gratitude and end it with the same. It is a professional and social courtesy. At the end of your last paragraph is written, a complimentary close of the likes of ‘Sincerely’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Truly’ is essential. Close the letter by restating your appreciation and gratitude. ● Proofreading – Check for - awkward phrases, grammatical errors, incomplete sentences and spelling mistakes. Fix them with appropriate punctuation and remove dull or lifeless sentences and replace them with clever phrasing, poetry or a themed approach. This is the final step; the draft will be reviewed and revised before it acquires a proper form. Read it aloud to yourself to figure out mistakes which are missed out in writing. ● Inform in Advance – Invitation letters need to be sent in advance. Try to send the invitation letter two weeks or more in advance. The recipient needs to know in advance so that they can adjust their schedules, book tickets or make other arrangements which are essential.

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