November CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2006

It was on a visit to London that a friend of mine, byThe gentleman lifted the paper up so my friend could
chance, happened to find himself inside one of inspect it more closely and referring to the small corner
London’s most exclusive “Gentlemen’s Clubs”. This devoted to “The Games of the Masters”, remarked,
particular club had a “games room” that was equipped with “beautiful opening, don’t you agree?”draft boards, backgammon sets and the like. There was aNow, if you haven’t guessed already, my friend knows
bar off to the side and two or three newspaper racks with all absolutely nothing about chess, but not to appear rude, hethe main London and International papers available for the answered, “Well, yes! And, it’s drawn well too!”members to enjoy. My friend was clearly out of place there,“Oh, no” replied the gentleman, “can’t you see, white
but he had an appointment with one of the members who wins!?”
insisted that my friend wait in the games room while he“Of course”, replied my friend, not wishing to seem
attended to some other matters.
foolish. “How silly of me! White must be a very talented
The room was almost empty, as isusually fellow.”
the case, but over towards a corner asolitary“I beg you pardon”, replied the gentleman. You do mean
member was sitting at a table with a
Fisher, don’t you?” “It was Fisher who was playing White”.
chess board placed in front of him.
“I see,” replied my friend. “Fisher played White and lost.”
He had a newspaper in one hand“No, no!” contradicted the gentleman, growingand seemed, to my friend, to be
somewhat impatient “you see”, pointing at the paper,
rather intensely studying both
“Spassky played black and lost.”
the board and the paper, his eyes passing from one to the
My friend was about to point out that if Fisher played
other in quick succession. My friend, being the White and White won, then surely Fisher lost!! And was
inquisitive type, quietly edged himself over, step by step, also about to inquire just how did Black and Spassky getto this gentleman’s side until he was standing right over into the game (even my friend knows that chess has ahim watching every flurried movement of eye, hand, maximum of only two players per game; or, was there suchchess piece and newspaper. When the gentleman finally a thing as “tag chess”…?), when my friend’s acquaintancenoticed my friend, he glanced up and politely inquired if returned to save the day and, with some polite but
he was interested in chess. My friend, wishing to seem embarrassed introductions, whisked my friend off just in theas equally polite, answered, “Well, yes I suppose you nick of time. Thus ended the sagaof my friend’s
could say that”.
one and only game of chess….., ever!

(These words are in colour in the story)
exclusive 厳選的なracks (新聞)掛け
intensely 熱心に
succession 間断なく
flurried あわただしい
absolutely 全然(…ない)inquisitive 好奇心が強い
nick of time きわどい時に
saga 冒険談
acquaintance 知人

Joshua Says: It’s the end of the year again, and that means it’s party time again! This iswhen most of our students become very “busy” attending “end-of-year” parties, Christmas
parties and so on. We also have two parties to keep you occupied with at Crossroads – theend of term “performance night” this month and the Christmas party next month (detailson P3). I’m looking forward to seeing you at both of our “bashes” this year.
Junko Says: Perhaps you’ve noticed the records folders we are making up for all
our students. If you haven’t received yours yet, pleased be patient and your teacher
will hand one to you shortly. The idea is to help you organize your notes and otherstudy related items. We want you to bring these folders to every class and make thebest use out of them you can! As always, “good luck” with your studies!
Alice Says: This week I felt very “ditsy”. Dit•sy: Pronunciation [dit-see] –adjective, -si•er, si•est. Slang: Flighty and easily confused; mildly or harmlessly eccentric. Also, ditzy. This is one of
my favorite words! I think the sound really describes the feeling, and it feels nice when you say it.
Some of my best friends are “ditsy”. Usually, they are very intelligent but occasionally they have
ditzy moments, for example, leaving their wallet in a taxi! Have you ever had a ditsy experience?
Iain Says: I can’t believe how quickly the temperature can change! It seems as if
God is playing with the “weather switch”. I hope everyone can stay healthy. I caught
a cold last weekend, but I used my secret technique to get better. My secret is to stayhome and take it easy. So many people go to work even when they are sick. Not me! I
sit on the couch and play video games. You should try this if you get sick.
Greg Says: Will Japan ever become an international country? I think about this when I take mydaughter somewhere and the other children stare, point and comment about her being a “gaijin”.
My daughter was born in Japan and speaks perfect Japanese, however it is sad that she will neverbe “Japanese” in the eyes of many Japanese people. In Australia, an Australian is not a whiteskinned person. They may look Asian, Middle Eastern or European, but we certainly don’t judge
them as not being Australian by the way they look. Will Japan ever become international?
Adrienne Says: Christmas is coming soon. The city is being decorated withlights, Christmas trees and Santa. On Christmas Day, there will be
young couples seen going out on romantic dates… Romantic dates?
They have Christmas confused with Valentine’s day!
Dean Says: I have just had a short trip back to Australia and discovered prices have

escalated substantially in recent times. Some prices that may surprise you are:bananas are now AU$14 a Kg (1,300 yen), due to many Australian banana plantations
being damaged by cyclones. Gasoline has skyrocketed to between $1:30 to $1:40 per Lt,and the average price of houses has increased by 100% in Perth in the last 4 years. You
had better take a lot of money if you are planning a holiday “Down Under”!

December is upon us, the busiest season with many
parties and family gatherings. As the weather gets colder, takecare to stay clear of the flu bug. And, stay bright during thedarkest days of the year.
William Says:

Yuka Says: I’m not an athlete myself, but one of my favorite winter pastimes iswatching marathons on TV. Every time I watch a marathon race, I am always
amazed at the runners’ strength and willpower to keep running over 42 kilometers.
Sometimes there is a come-from-behind victory which increases the enjoyment ofwatching the race. Marathon requires a lot of daily effort like any other sport, and I
think it also has the power to tell us about the importance of endurance.

Mari and Yumeko Say: When we were staying in Sydney, we needed toworry about using water because it is possible that water will be exhausted
there in less than 10 years. So, we needed to take less time when taking ashower and use less water to wash clothes. We had to conserve water andthe city governments had guidelines for using water in their towns. If
people use too much water, they had to pay extra money as a penalty. So,
that is a serious problem in Sydney. Water is a valuable and limited resource.

A road-trip to North
Quebec... The mostbeautiful time of the year
for exploring nature. From
whale watch to bird
watching to mushroom
picking! Canada is aparadise for the wild. It's
not unusual to see deer,raccoons and otheranimals while driving yourcar. Fall is the season ofcolors, it's simply beautiful!

Courses you can take at CROSSROADS
NET LESSONS:
Are you too busy to come to CROSSROADS to study? Try ourlessons on the internet! --- It’s CROSSROADS in your homeor office! You get CROSSROADS’ great teachers, teaching
programs, even classmates, all on-line! Call for details.

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
Check out some of the history of chess at:
http://www.chess-poster.com/english/chesmayne/history_of_chess.htm

NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at theInternet activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll findgames, news and English learning sites.

GENERAL COURSES:
2 x’s 60mins / week
1 x’s 90mins / week
Private 1 x / week
Semi-Private 1 x /week

FRENCH with Natacha
SPANISH with Patricio
RUSSIAN with Natasha
GERMAN with Marita & Matthias
CHINESE with Noriko
KOREAN with Kim

MOTHER & CHILD, group or private
KIDS, group or private
COSMOPOLITAN COURSES:“Singing in English” with Alice
Yoga with Dean
Guitar with William“Cooking in English” with Alice“Magic English” with Iain
Piano with Adrienne
Acting with Alice
NETLESSONS:
group or private

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089) 921-7595Fax: (089) 921-7319
E-mail:info@crossroadsco.com
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com