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

Let’s be honest: eating meat is an objectively
bad idea. It’s expensive, has been linked tocancer and the farming of animals for food isa major contributor to global warming. But
despite the bad news around it, we justrefuse to remove that juicy, succulent
sausage from our mouths.
Thanks to the miracles of evolution, wehumans can survive just fine on a meat-freediet. But that doesn’t mean we’re naturalvegetarians. Scientists have established thatour ancestors were eating meat up to 2.5
million years ago. In addition, there is plentyof evidence within our bodies that we arebuilt for eating meat. For instance, we don't
have the complex intestinal tracts of mostherbivores and our teeth are designed foreating both meat and plants.
A claim commonly made by non meateaters is that a flesh free diet is far betterforElla
our health. In reality, there is little evidence
to back this claim. Certainly, eating a dietheavyin meat (especially the processedJanisvariety) will have a negative impact on wellbeing, but a diet that includes sensible
portions has been shown to have greater
health benefits than a diet that excludes allanimal flesh. Multitudes of studies over thepast thirty years or so have concluded that,when lifestyle factors are taken into account,
there is no significant difference in mortality
when comparing those who exclude meatfrom their diet and those who partake.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
For the another opinion, go here: http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/the-secret-advice-of-a-vegan-crossfitter

One of the newer arguments against
vegetarianism is that eating meat might
actually help to reduce war and conflict on oursmall planet. A recent study found that byexposing men to pictures of red meat thenplacing them in a position of power overanother, that thinking about steak reduced
their aggressive tendencies. No-one reallyknows why —beyond perhaps some link toevolution —but the conclusion seems valid.
After all, one of the greatest aggressors ofmodern times, Adolf Hitler, was a staunch
vegetarian. So, while we may imagine a rabid
steak-eater to be more violence-prone than aguy who lives off soy beans and lentils; theevidence seems to be pointing to the contrary.
One argument against meat consumptionthat has some validity is the impact thatfarming animals has on our environment.
Over the years huge swathes of forestation
have been cleared for farming. Also, effluent
and methane released by farmed animals has
resulted in a degradation of our waterways
and atmosphere. However, thanks to Dutch
scientist Willem van Eelen, we’re now at thestage where we can grow burgers in a lab.
Currently, the technology is quite expensive
but within a decade it is envisioned that meatproduced in this way will be more economical
than that from farmed animals. This willsolve the problem of environmental impact aswell as concerns raised by the treatment ofanimals bred intensively for food.
Of course the biggest and overridingargument in favour of meat consumption isthat it is just so damned good! As long as you
restrict yourself to sensible portions and don't
overindulge, then dig in! A mouthful of meat!
It's healthy! It's delicious!
It's great!

Article by MarkJoshua Says: If asked what it is that you study at Crossroads, I would
expect all students to answer “English” (or any of the other languages weteach). While this is undoubtedly true, the language you study isactually a minor partner in the total process. With us, you are training
to communicate in a second language and if you think about it, this isactually quite different to simply studying a language.
Junko Says: As we would like to make use of our unsold textbooks which havebeen piling up over time on our stockroom’s shelves, we have decided to put themon sale at bargain prices (¥500 – ¥1,000, etc.). We have textbooks for general
English (low to high levels), TOEIC and even Eiken; there are some work-books
as well. These textbooks are placed on the shelves near the front window. Pleasetake a look and if you are interested in having any, please let me know.
Mark Says: Last month I wrote about my favourite TV programme.
Since then, I've been asked to recommend some other quality
programmes . . . so here are my current top five; 1. Fargo, 2. The
Walking Dead, 3. House of Cards, 4. Jessica Jones, 5. Les Revenants. An
honourable mention must also go to Breaking Bad. Although it's finished
it is surely one of the greatest TV programmes of all time.
Colm Says: Holiday fever seems to be sweeping through Crossroads, withstudents asking me if I’m excited about Golden Week. One was preparing tocombine some of his contractual days off with Golden Week to take a longerbreak. Another was counting through the days he must take off before theexpiration of his contract. They were all surprised that I wasn’t so eager orthat I hadn’t booked tickets well in advance of Golden Week.
Danielle dit: En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil, en mai fait ce qu'il te plaît.
Autrement dit, il ne faut pas penser qu'avec le beau temps arrivant en avril, ilest temps de changer sa garde-robe mais bien attendre mai. Un dicton
populaire en France qui se vérifie presque chaque année.
1ACROSS
1 based on logic and truth
4 animals that feed on grass and other plants
6 parts of something larger
9 having a greater influence or power
11 full of juice
12 water mixed with waste matter
13 many but indefinite in number
14 change to a lower state
15 join in or become part of
16 consistent, firm, dependable
DOWN
2 a strong influence
3 have a tendency towards something
5 imagined, a mental image
7 people who do not eat meat
8 a broad area (of land)
15
10 to not include

234

5

6

7
8
9101211131416(print version here)

The Science Column with S(a)3’s Sakiko:

Sedimentation in Dams
That’s me!

What is flowing in rivers? Water, of course, flows in rivers. But this is only part of the answer. Actually, manythings flow in rivers. For example, migrating fish such as trout travel from river to sea. Plants are transported
as they are decomposed into nutrients. Sediments such as stones, pebbles, gravel, sands and mud are also
carried by rivers. Sometimes, human societies are washed away by strong river flows, i.e. floods.
In order to control river flow and save human life and property, civilengineers have constructed many dams all over the world. Dams havecontributed to sustaining human societies.
However, two problems have arisen with dams. First, all dams get filledwith sediments. Several dam researchers have said, “It takes a few hundredyears to fill up most dams with sediment.” This span of time is not very long. It
means that we, our children and our grandchildren will not be able to use
these filled-in dams and we could lose our properties in floods during ourlifetime.
Fig 1.
Second, the sediment downstream is lost. Because dams catch sediments Figure 2
that originate upstream, small sediments such as sand and mud are often
flushed away completely and riverbed rock is exposed (Fig 1.). These changesof the riverbed environment alter riverine ecosystems. Animals, which prefer a
Water gate
natural environment, disappear as a result. Therefore, we need to transport
sediments from upstream of dams downstream.
Several methods have been proposed in order to transport sediments
downstream. The most common way is to use a sediment scouring gate (Fig2.). This is a system to exhaust bottom sediments in dams with bottom water.
Sediment scoring gate
But this system has several drawbacks. Bottom sediments often have toxins
Fig 2.
such as heavy metals and bottom water has low concentrations of oxygen.
These things harm aquatic ecosystems and human beings. However, asediment bypass tunnel (SBT, Fig 3.) could solve this problem. The SBT is an
adjunctive tunnel connecting upstream to downstream. In the SBT system, thesediments upstream are transferred downstream in natural river water before
they enter the dam. Although the SBT appears to be a better system than thesediment scouring gate system, there are only 11 dams with an SBT in theworld, including those under construction (e.g., 6 dams in Switzerland and 5 in
Fig 3.
Japan).
For sustainable human life and coexistence between human societies and the natural environment, I hopethat the benefit of these practical systems will be recognized and spread.
Figure 1

Absence of Dam

Existence of Dam

Upstream

Downstream

Figure 3CFAIU P R O A R
B
H O O P L A
GDEINCDSBO
P R O P E N S I T Y
I R ERNROR E V E N A N TWRSUONPVU
S L I G H T E DBHRBB O Y C O T T
D I S T R I B U T E
TIN
E X T R A V A G A N Z A
LLast Month’s Puzzle Solution
DOWN
ACROSS
1 level of excellence
4 loud noise and confusion
6 overly sensational promotion of an event 2 coarse food (especially forlivestock)
8 tendency, inclination
3 fail or refuse to notice
9 anger in response to a grievance
10 someone who returns after a long absence 5 give as a right, title, reward orgift
13 disrespected
14 refuse to deal with or be part of something 7 in great disagreement
11 reject, refuse to acknowledge
15 give or share out
12 result caused by a previous
16 spectacular stage entertainment
event
16 force back or reject by force

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.