CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter November,November , 201
20 1 6

D eciphering food labels is a tricky
business. They're filled with lots ofmultisyllabic words that border on being
impossible to pronounce, chemicals thatsound like they could kill you just by
touching them, and much, much worse. Do
we really know very much at all about thefood we consume on a daily basis – or is
ignorance bliss?
Here’s a few interesting food facts you
might not have known about and may findinteresting, if not off-putting in some cases:Jellybeans, a deliciously sweet, oval
candy that is hard to resist . . . but thatmight all change if you know what is used
to make those little nuggets as shiny asthey are. Shellac is used as a glaze on
those sweet drops, in addition to being
used as a polish component in wooden
Ella But
furniture and AK47 assault rifles.
what exactly is shellac? Well, it’s acompound derived from the excretions oftheJanis
Kerria lacca insect . . . so essentially,
insect poo. That’s nuts!
And speaking of nuts, here’s an
explosive fact. Peanuts, which aren’t
actually nuts by the way, are used in theproduction of dynamite. Peanut oil isextracted and used to make glycerol, theexplosive component in dynamite. Anothergroup of “nuts”, pistachios, hazelnuts,walnuts and almonds aren’t nuts either.
They are actually seeds, or legumes.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Follow the arrows on this page for some shocks about
food: www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20588763,00.html

And while we are on the subjectof foods that are not what they
seem to be ....
how about thatbright sweet
summer fruit weall love so much –strawberries – not actuallya berry! Similarly, raspberries
andblackberries are not berries either. Bananas
are though, as are avocados, kiwi,
pumpkins and watermelon. While we've
tended to define berries as any small edible
fruit, the official definition of a berry is "afleshy fruit produced from a single ovary."
By this definition, oranges, kumquats,grapes, and even tomatoes can beconsidered part of the berry family. And ofcourse . . . if you were all listening to yourteacher in first grade science class you’ll befully aware that tomatoes, cucumbers,eggplants, pumpkins etc. are not evenvegetables, but rather fruits.
Here is something pretty sweet. Youmight already know that honey is one of the
only foods that never goes off. But did you
know that the reason for this is that thehoney has in fact
already
been
partially digestedby the bee. That is
to say that honey is. . . well . . . beevomit!
So what’s fordinner tonight? Icecream with honey,and eggplant andcucumber on theside? To make it justa little more explosive why not sprinkle somepeanuts on top?

Article by MarkJoshua Says: These are turning out to be strange days on the world’s stage. Brexit,
Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, political turmoil for South Korea’s president, Park
Geun-hye, China’s expansions into the East and South China Seas, and now, to top it
all off, Trump, U.S. President-elect! Politics is an area that usually holds very littleinterest for me, but recently I can’t help wondering.... what’s going on?
Junko Says: Recently I read an article “How to communicate with plants”. Itsays it’s actually easier to communicate with plants than it is to communicatewith people because plants don’t have defense mechanisms and agendas basedon self-importance. To feel with plants means to recognize them as beings
whose feelings are as important to them as your feelings are to you.
Mark Says: Recently the Eiken test has undergone a major overhaul
in order to meet CEFR equivalency (along with TOEFL, IELTS andother widely recognized language tests). The result is a much improved
test with a growing acceptance outside Japan. Previously the domainof school students, for those looking to "test" their English language
ability it might be worth giving Eiken another look.
Matt Says: It seems to be slowly getting colder over the last few weeks. It’s
the same temperature as in England now so it all feels normal to me. However,I have friends from the south of America who feel like it’s the coldest they haveever been and Canadian friends who tell me Japan is still very warm to them.
Danielle dit: En novembre, il y a deux événements importants en France : laToussaint, le 1er novembre, et la célébration de l’armistice de la première
guerre mondiale. La Toussaint est censé être une commémoration religieuse(de « tous les saints ») mais maintenant, on a tendance à la confondre avec lafête des morts, supposée être le jour suivant. Je trouve que commémorer la find’une guerre le mois des morts est une coïncidence pleine d’ironie.
ACROSS
1 types of bean or peas
8 removed or taken out of
9 physical attack
11 suitable for eating12 a part of something
14 a sweet, syrupy alcohol obtained from fat or oil
15 a shiny, thin coating
16 waste matter discharged from the body
DOWN
2 loosely scatter or distribute
3 put or add together
4 small lumps of (usually) precious metal
5 the part of a flower that produces fruit
6 foundation
7 come or develop from
10 fruit, not vegetables
13 inclined to do something (print version here)

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com

Critic’s corner with S(a)3’s Taro: - What does “Ackroyd” Mean?
Today, I will talk about one of the most famous detective novels of all time,That’sbookme!
“The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” by Agatha Christie. This is the fourthfeaturingHercule Poirot, a Belgian private detective. Although Christie wrote many wonderful
Poirot stories like “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Murder on the Nile”, many fansregard “Ackroyd” as her best.
This novel is set during Poirot’s retirement years. He had quit his profession in London
and come to King’s Abbot, a small village, to grow marrows. One autumn day, Mr. RogerAckroyd, the richest gentleman in the village was murdered. He was stabbed with his own
Tunisian dagger. Local police suspected his nephew, Mr. Ralph Paton as the culprit
because he disappeared on the day of the murder. Furthermore, he had a strong motiveto commit the crime. He had been struggling financially. He would be able to inherit a great amount of money
as a result of his uncle’s death. Nevertheless, Miss. Flora Ackroyd, the victim’s niece, believed in hisinnocence and asked Poirot to help him.
Usually, when Poirot investigated cases, Mr. Arthur Hastings worked as his assistant. He was also thenarrator of Poirot’s stories. However, at that time, Hastings was in Argentina. Therefore, in this novel, Dr.
James Sheppard was both the narrator and Poirot’s assistant. He was a local doctor and a friend of the late
Mr. Ackroyd. It was he who found the victim’s body before anyone else. With Dr. Sheppard’s help, Poirot
tried to find the criminal by using his “little gray cells”.

(Spoiler alert - If you want to enjoy reading this novel yourself, please stop here!)At the climax of this novel, Poirot accused his assistant, Dr. Sheppard of being the culprit. The story
ended with a confession by the narrator.
When this book was published for the first time, it was a sensation among readers. Traditionally, detective
novels were written from the point of view of the protagonist’s assistant. For example, Sherlock Holmes’
stories were narrated by Dr. John Watson. “Watson-roll” means “the assistant and the storyteller” for bookfans. But, in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”, the “Watson-roll” character himself was the culprit. He
deceived not only the other characters, but also the readers. Christie invented this tricky plot and fooled
her readers in the process.
In this novel, “Ackroyd” is nothing but the name of the victim. However, many book connoisseurs haveassociated the word “Ackroyd” with “controversial plots” or “unreliable narrators”.
C
E L I M I N A T I O NRC I R C U M S T A N C E SUHIP R E S T I G E
TQA
BUDDFAIEH
E X T R A O R D I N A R YETTROEC U R R E N T
EIVDERSNAM
G L I T Z
A C C L A I N E DINVO C T A N E
C U R R E N T L Y

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution

ACROSS
2 removing or getting rid of something
3 overall conditions
5 a high recognition through success orwealth
11 beyond ordinary
12 belonging to the present
13 tasteless showiness14 greatly praised and approved of
15 found in gasoline used as fuel16 of this time, nowDOWN
1 a route around a particular place
4 a pattern with alternating square colors
6 be in accordance or compatible with
7 the act of excluding someone
8 come to a clear decision
9 deities that determine the future events
10 ahead of the times

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