My English Class #30: "Accounting - Common Job Interview Questions"

Specifically for French accountants planning to work in Switzerland

Question 1: Tell us about your experience as an accountant.
Vocabulary: Accounts payable and receivable: comptes fournisseurs et comptes clients, créances et dettes, dettes fournisseurs et créances clients

English Lessons (LIstening): "Decision-Making" B2 - Version 1

Vocabulary

A. RATIONAL – Based on logic, reason, and clear thinking.
French: Basé sur la logique, la raison et la pensée claire.
Korean: 논리, 이성 및 명확한 사고를 기반으로.
Japanese: 論理、理性、明確な思考に基づいて。
Chinese: 基于逻辑、理性和清晰的思维。

• Example: His decision was rational and well-thought-out.
• French: Sa décision était rationnelle et bien réfléchie.
• Korean: 그의 결정은 합리적이고 잘 생각된 것이었다.
• Japanese: 彼の決定は合理的でよく考えられていた。
• Chinese: 他的决定是理性且经过深思熟虑的。

B. INTUITIVE – Understanding without needing conscious reasoning.
French: Comprendre sans avoir besoin de raisonnement conscient.
Korean: 의식적인 추론 없이 이해하는.
Japanese: 意識的な推論なしで理解する。
Chinese: 在没有意识推理的情况下理解。

• Example: She had an intuitive understanding of how the machine worked.
• French: Elle avait une compréhension intuitive du fonctionnement de la machine.
• Korean: 그녀는 기계가 어떻게 작동하는지 직관적으로 이해했다.
• Japanese: 彼女は機械がどのように動作するかを直感的に理解していた。
• Chinese: 她直观地理解了机器是如何工作的。

C. GUT INSTINCT – A feeling or sense based on intuition.
French: Un sentiment ou une perception basée sur l'intuition.
Korean: 직관을 기반으로 한 느낌이나 감각.
Japanese: 直感に基づいた感覚や感情。
Chinese: 基于直觉的感觉或本能。

• Example: He trusted his gut instinct when making the decision.
• French: Il a fait confiance à son instinct lorsqu'il a pris la décision.
• Korean: 그는 결정을 내릴 때 직감에 의존했다.
• Japanese: 彼は決断を下すときに直感を信じた。
• Chinese: 他在做决定时信任了自己的直觉。

D. BIASES – Tendency to make judgments based on personal feelings.
French: Tendance à juger selon des sentiments personnels.
Korean: 개인적인 감정에 따라 판단하는 경향.
Japanese: 個人的な感情に基づいて判断する傾向。
Chinese: 根据个人感情做判断的倾向。

• Example: Our biases often affect our decision-making process.
• French: Nos biais affectent souvent notre processus de décision.
• Korean: 우리의 편견은 종종 결정 과정에 영향을 미친다.
• Japanese: 私たちの偏見はしばしば意思決定プロセスに影響を与える。
• Chinese: 我们的偏见常常影响我们的决策过程。

My English Class #30: "Identifying Reliable Clients and Red Flags"

BUSINESS ENGLISH

Vocabulary 1

Red flag: drapeau rouge. English sentence: His strange behavior is a red flag that should be taken seriously. French translation: Son comportement étrange est un drapeau rouge qu'il faut prendre au sérieux.

Reputation: Réputation. English sentence: My friend recommended this restaurant because of its great reputation. French translation: Mon ami a recommandé ce restaurant en raison de sa grande réputation.

Reliability: Fiabilité. English sentence: I always choose this brand because of its reliability. French translation: Je choisis toujours cette marque en raison de sa fiabilité.

Consistent cash flow: Flux de trésorerie constant. English sentence: A person with a stable job usually has a consistent cash flow. French translation: Une personne avec un travail stable a généralement un flux de trésorerie constant.

Track record: Antécédents. English sentence: The candidate has a strong track record of successful project management. French translation: Le candidat a de solides antécédents en gestion de projets réussis.

Bankruptcy: Faillite. English sentence: The small shop closed due to bankruptcy after only a year of business. French translation: Le petit magasin a fermé en raison de la faillite après seulement un an d'activité.

Unpaid debts: Dettes impayées. English sentence: He can't borrow more money because he has unpaid debts from last year. French translation: Il ne peut pas emprunter plus d'argent car il a des dettes impayées de l'année dernière.

Viable: Viable. English sentence: Going to the gym every day is not a viable plan for me with my busy schedule. French translation: Aller à la salle de sport tous les jours n'est pas un plan viable pour moi avec mon emploi du temps chargé.

English Lesson (Listening): "Common Signs of Network Issues"

Incident Management

Vocabulary

1. increased latency
2. packet loss
3. high network utilization
4. frequent timeouts
5. interface errors
6. device failures
7. unusual traffic patterns
8. sudden spikes: sudden increase; des pics soudains
9. DNS issues
10. unreachable: inaccessibles
11. connectivity loss
12. alarms and alerts
13. customer complaints
14. configuration changes
15. power supply problems
16. security alerts
17. detect/detecting: détecter

Essay: "The Cat Who May Have Started Believing in Me"

There are many paths to enlightenment, but I never thought one of them would involve a black-and-white cat staring up at me from the middle of the street as I brushed my teeth. Yet, here we are. The universe, it seems, has a sense of humor. Or perhaps it simply prefers the absurd.

It all started innocuously enough. My house faces a small street where stray cats roam freely, engaging in nightly battles for food and territory. These battles are dramatic, high-stakes brawls akin to an absurdist play, complete with a fair share of noise, fur, and confusion. The cats, you see, are not above leaving their mark on the houses they visit—peeing and pooing on roofs and occasionally in ceilings. I don’t know which is worse: the constant reminder of their existence in my home, or the fact that I can’t quite bring myself to deal with them in any...final way.

Instead, I’ve taken to sealing all entrances they might use to enter my house. This, of course, is an ongoing project, like a modern-day Sisyphus pushing a boulder uphill—except the boulder is a colony of ever-determined felines. Yet, in the midst of this battle, I find myself in a moral conundrum. You see, I’m not a monster. I can’t throw away food. I’ve always been uncomfortable with waste, especially when I know that, in other parts of the world, people are starving. And so, instead of tossing out my niece’s leftover meals (which tend to pile up like neglected dreams), I decided to feed the leftovers to the cats.