September CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2006

As this is Halloween month, let’s take a peek at the“off-beat” side of the world around us. Following are a
few of life’s more unusual “mysteries”:
1. Many believe that we humans use only 10
percent of our brains; an idea that has beenaround for at least a century. Well,scientific research has now proved that
this is just not so. We use most, if not all, ofour brain all of the time, even when we’re asleep!
Of course, it often seems as though we only use
10% of our brains, most of the time…
2. This is especially relevant when weconsider the next item. It has been acommon assumption that brain cells stop growing
when we become adults. Not true say thescientists. Yes, most of our brain cells growduring the developmental period of childhood,
but they continue to grow in adults too. Hard tobelieve this one, isn’t it?!
3. “Chickens can live without a head” (likemost people – no, no, just kidding!). Thisis actually true in many cases, and not justfor a few minutes! Cut a chicken’s head off andit can continue to stagger around because the brain
stem is often left partially intact. It is even claimed
that one tough old bird (his name was “Mike”) was
observed to live for eighteen months after being
beheaded! How on earth did he manage to eat?!

4. “Lightning never strikes the same placetwice”. Really? Lightning, in fact favors certain
spots, particularly high locations. The Empire
State Building in NY is struck about 25 times
every year! Duck!!
5. “Cats always land on their feet”. Thisis absolutely true, mostly…
Froma height this is so, but if a cat isheld upside-down and dropped
from only about 30cms or less they
have no time to flip over and, so….
Now please, do not try this on your pet at home!
6. “There is no gravity in space”. Actually, there isno such thing as "zero-gravity". Gravity is
everywhere, even in space. Pictures taken of
astronauts make them “look” weightless because
they are in continuous freefall towards the Earth.
7. “Hair and fingernails continue growing after death!”(Well, we did remind you that this is Halloweenmonth…) Some people have observed that thehair and fingernails of their dearly departed
continue to grow after death, but this is merely
a creepy illusion. What is really happening isthat poor old granny’s body is dehydrating and herskin is actually contracting, exposing extra nailand hair which take longer to be effected by her
present state of “un-well-being”.
And, so with that, happy Halloween everyone!

(These words are in colour in the story)
relevant 関連している
stagger よろよろ歩く
creepy 気味の悪いassumption 仮説
partially 部分的にdehydrating 脱水していく

developmental 発育のflip ひっくり返る
contracting 縮んでいくJoshua Says: There is another great development coming for Crossroads nextmonth. Although not new for us, it is really exciting to think that we are going to
get back into our old term rhythm of having a “Performance Night” at the end ofeach term. I think the effort of all the students and teachers involved is fabulous
and I am very much looking forward to this event. Check out the details on P3.
Junko Says: Last month I spoke about our new “library Cards”. They are
now ready to hand out, so please collect yours from me in the office. Many ofyou have already requested these and I am please to see so much interest inthe library. Reading English books, magazines, etc, at home can only help
you to become better speakers of English; so, keep up the good work!
Alice Says: I’ve been in Matsuyama for almost 2 months now and I’m really enjoying
it! I visited Matsuyama Castle and the beach on Hojo. I also got up at 5 o’clock in themorning to see the amazing autumn festival in Dogo! I took lots of photos to send to
my friends and family in the UK. They were very interested to see them! My favourite
thing about Matsutama so far is the clear blue sky – it’s beautiful!
Iain Says: Over the last month I have had a great time exploring the mountains of Matsuyama on mybicycle. I have been here for over a year and I can’t believe I missed the beautiful countryside just a shortride outside of town. I like to go up route 317 past the dam to Mt. Takanawa. If you want to see the route on
your computer you can see it really well with “Google Earth.” Google Earth is a fantastic program that lets
you see aerial pictures of many places all over the world. It’s free, so download it and check it out!

Greg Says: Did anyone get out and about during Halloween? I know it isn’t celebrated in Japan but
there were a few costume parties throughout Matsuyama. Have you ever been to a fancy dress party? If you
have why don’t you put your picture in next months Crossroads newsletter. Several years ago I went to afriend’s fancy dress party at his school dressed really scary with blood and skin hanging off me…..but heforget to tell me it was a kids party. The kids were crying and I had to take off the costume.

Adrienne Says: At the end of last night’s dinner, my youngest son (age14) said “delicious” in Japanese. I was very pleased because my son
rarely complements my cooking. But, my pleasure turned todisappointment when he said, “the natto was delicious”…
Dean Says: As the cooler weather draws closer, I find myself spending more andmore time indoors. I had my last swim for the year in middle of this month in theShimanto River; quite cold, but very refreshing! So, more time indoors and lessactivity means it’s time to watch our figures. Thank goodness for yoga!!
William Says: The autumn colors are slow to arrive in Ehime this year. The
weather continues to be very warm and quite beautiful. Recently, I have been
up to Takanawa Mountain and the leaves are yet to change. This Sunday I
will gather with some friends and hike up Saraganmine Mountain. Perhaps
there I will see the splendid oranges and reds of the Japanese autumn.
Yuka Says: In last month’s Cross Talk, I told you that one of my hobbies was reading. Icame across an interesting book recently that suggested reading English books can help
improve your ability to speak English. The author says, “Read as many books as possible.
Choose books that are easy to read, don’t use a dictionary and you will gradually acquire asense of English. You’ll find yourself speaking English more fluently and naturally”. Do you
think this is true? I do. Now I’m reading Ronald Dahl’s The Twits. It’s so funny!

Megumi Says: Hello! I have been a student here for one year. I am
studying to be a nurse in Shigenobu. I have many interests but I
especially enjoy festivals. Every year in October I participate in theAutumn Festival. I really love the energy. We enjoy chanting andcarrying the “Mikoshi” through the streets. We also enjoy lots ofdrinking. I even like to ride up on top of the Mikoshi. People think thatgirls who ride up there will never marry! But, I think it’s OK…, maybe…

The end-of-term “performance Night” will be held at 8:00pm
on Saturday 25th November at the school. Everyone is welcome to comealong and bring your family and friends – even if you’re not
performing! There will be plays, music and magic bystudents and teachers. After, we willcelebrate with party!

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:
For the story of “Mike” the wonder-chicken, go to:
http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org

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) 921-7595
Fax: (089) 921-7319
E-mail:info@crossroadsco.com
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com