CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter September,September , 2022

About a hundred years ago, the world was justrecovering from two devastating disasters, the FirstWorld War and the Spanish Flu pandemic.
Collectively, these two calamities cost the worldabout 100 million lives. People were eager to leavethese horrors behind as quickly as possible. And sowas born the era of the “Roaring 20’s.”
Americans, especially, were eager to break freefrom the moral and social constraints of the past andto enjoy all that life had to offer. Women smoked,
drove cars and enjoyed liberties society had
previously denied them. Unmarried couples danced
openly in public and everyone drank alcohol despite
prohibition. This spirit of hedonism gave birth to thejazz era and dance crazes like the Charleston.
In addition, the recent revival of theOlympics created an obsession with world
records and endurance events frommarathon footraces to more bizarre events
like flagpole sitting where participants would
compete to see who could sit on top of a flagpole
the longest.
But perhaps the most extreme craze of theRoaring 20’s was the dance marathon. It was started
in 1923 by New York dance instructor,EllaAlmaCummings. What inspired Ms. Cummings to waltz
around Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom for 27 hours
straight, going through no less than six dancing
Janispartners
along the way, is anyone’s guess, but her
performance caught on fast and within three weeks,
her record had been broken no less than nine times
in various locations across America. It followed thatdance marathon events started popping up all overthe country and soon took the form of competitions
for prizes.
The basic rules were simple. Contestants didn’t
need to be good dancers, but they had to stay on theirfeet and continually move. As soon as one partner’sknees touched the floor, they were eliminated.
Contestants were given 15 minutes every hour torest, use the bathroom, eat meals and even havetheir feet massaged, but as soon as the 15 minutes
were up, it was back to the dance floor.

While dancing, contestants would often carry out
normal daily tasks such as writing letters (theirpartner’s back would suffice as a desk), reading thenewspaper, even shaving (with a mirror hungaround their partner’s neck) and some contestants
even managed to sleep on their feet while “dancing”.

These grueling ordeals went on for days, weeks,
even months. In 1928, Callum DeVillier and his
partner Vonnie Kuchinski danced continuously for amind-boggling 443 hours, almost 19 days! Then in
1931-32 they claimed the $1,000 price by enduring astaggering 157 days on the dance floor!!
These contests drew in huge audiences who would
gawk at the dancers and cheer on their favorites. But
the good natured fun, if it ever was, took on a much
more sinister role during the 1930’s depression
years. During this period, life was tough. Many
people lost their jobs and many became homeless.
Entering a marathon at least allowed them a roof
over their heads and a meal, as long as they kept
“dancing”. The competition for prize money became
fierce and the stakes were high, very high. In the
final hours of a marathon, it was not uncommon forcontestants to collapse from exhaustion right on thedance floor. And there were even some deaths! Thedance marathon had become a grotesque reflection ofdespair and desperation. Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel
They Shoot Horses,
Don’t They? and later
Sydney Pollock’s 1973
movie of the same
name, shockingly
portrayed thesebleak times.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Here is a YouTube video of couples dancing in a marathon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw1afR4mLvw

Joshua Says: “There are ….., only interpretations,” thus said Nietzsche, implyingthat we can never confirm the veracity of anything because our observations arebiased interpretations greatly limited by, among other things, the language we use tothink about the things we observe. It is easy to agree that the language spoken, evenbetween native speakers, has limitations when it comes to understanding andexpressing Truth. I wonder how much more this is the case with translation software?

Junko Says: Improve your listening skills! Amazon Audible will soon be available toall in the Open House. With Audible, you can listen to audio-books read by professional
narrators. Numerous books are available in English and other languages covering many
fields of interest. We are planning to keep selected books in Crossroads’ Virtual Libraryfor you to listen to. If you’d like to use the library, free, please ask me in the office.
Marek Says: The war in Ukraine continues to rage on, but thanks to continued
support from European powers and the US, supplying much needed military equipment,
the Ukrainian soldiers are able to break the impasse and successfully counterattack in thenortheastern front, reclaiming vast areas of their land from the Russian invaders, anddealing a humiliating blow to the Russian army`s strategy. Hopefully it will be the first in
the series of significant victories that will bring this reckless conflict to an end.
Ça y est, les vacances sont finies. C'est la rentrée !! Fini la plage, lesbarbecues et les voyages. Maintenant, il faut étudier ou travailler. Pour ma part, je veuxétudier le code de la route et passer mon permis de conduire. Pour préparer la rentrée, je suisallée chez le coiffeur et j'ai acheté des vêtements d'automne. Et vous, que faites-vous ? Etsinon, le mot du mois en France est "la sobriété", ça veux dire qu'il faut être économe. Nepas utiliser la voiture pour aller acheter du pain. Éteindre toutes les lumières et ne pas
prendre de longs bains. Il faut économiser l'énergie. Et vous ? Êtes-vous économe ?

Mandcy dit:

1

ACROSS3
1 ability to withstand hardship7 the pursuit of pleasure above all else
9 extreme loss of energy
11 people who take part in an event
16 forbidding the sale of alcohol
917 to bring back18 to the point of exhaustion
19 look unintelligently in amazement
20 limits, bonds, restrictions

245
678

10
1112
13DOWN
2 events causing great loss
3 current fad, trend, all the rage
4 good enough
5 extremely unusual
6 completely destroying
8 removed from a race or contest
10 overwhelming, astonishing
12 severe, often painful experiences
13 distorted, unnatural
14 overcome with amazement
15 indicating evil (print version here)

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

A Euphemism is a “softer” way a saying something that may otherwise
seem unpleasent or harsh.The following sentences use euphemisms toexpress certain ideas. See if you can “catch” the meanings.
•My uncle has been in a correctional facility
for the past 3 months.
A) complaints department at his company
B) hospital specializing in broken bones
C) prison•My colleague is feeling under the weather
and won’t be coming to work today.
A) angry about the bossB) sickC) taking a day off because it’s raining•Her daughter is very precocious.
A) unintelligent.
B) shy.
C) badly behaved.
•Your friend’s sister looks well fed.
A) healthy.
B) overweight/fat.
C) fed up with her job.
I N D I G E N O U SSIID E S P I T E
R U G G E DRNI N S T R U M E N T A LIIPVFNHBTN A T U R A L I S T SA B O L I T I O NSCERTNNA B J E C TARDAFGINAINLF L O R ATCEIULTSSE X C E P T I O N A L L YITTNGOTINP R OM I N E N T
S U R N A M ESATLS U B S E Q U E N T L Y•His company let him go last week.

A) gave him a paid holidayB) let him work on his own
C) fired him•He’s now between jobs.
A) unemployed.
B) working at two companies.
C) changing departments.
•Her dog was very old and sick so she
had to put it to sleep.
A) give it some sleeping pills.
B) euthanize it.
C) pet it to comfort it.
•Their grandfather passed away three
years ago.
A) diedB) left for a foreign countryC) gave his money to a charity

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 native
4 regardless of
5 rough, uneven, rocky
6 helpful, influential,
11 people who study nature
12 do away with, end
14 most unfortunate,miserable
16 plant life
17 far beyond what is normal
18 standing out above others
19 family mane
20 following in time or order

DOWN
2 interfering, causing disorder
3 important in effect or
meaning
7 reciprocal actions
8 to a great extent
9 most physically strong
10 a person who studies plants
13 having the power to effect15 scientists who study livingorganisms

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See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.