CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter December,December , 2023
December is upon us and persimmon
season has finally begun! We all know thehumble fruit that ushers in the arrival ofwinter and can be seen from a mile away,
hanging on the bare branches of trees, its vivid
orange colour in stark contrast to the grey andbrown vegetation around.
The ancestors of Persimmon evolved in
China for several millennia and slowly madetheir way to the Korean Peninsula and, in the
7th century, to Japan. Initially, even though
there were literally thousands of varieties, they
were all of an astringent type (largely inedible),and the first non-astringent type emerged
between 12th and 14th century. In 19th century,persimmons were exported to Europe under
the name “kaki”, with minor phonetic
differences in pronunciation among Europeanlanguages. These days, Spain is the largest
producer of caqui (read “kaki”) for Europe. As
its Greek derivative name – “fruit of gods” –suggests, it is packed with nutrients, vitamins
Ellaand essential minerals.
This winter fruit falls into two categories:
astringent and non-astringent.
JanisAstringent
persimmons areacorn-shaped andcontainhighamountoftannins,which
coagulate proteinsin our saliva,
when
eaten
unripe, leading toan unpleasant sensation of dryness in themouth. When fully ripe, these kaki have a jellylike, silky texture and are very sweet.
A common practice of removing thebitterness in astringent kaki is to hang themoutside, skin peeled off, to dry in the sun.

Non-astringent kaki have a flat bottom
and have a much lower tannin content,
allowing us to enjoy them when they are still
firm and crisp in texture.
Owing to their high nutrient andantioxidant content, kaki offer many healthbenefits.
Kakis are high in vitamin A, which
improves our vision, but most importantly ithelps to make rhodopsin protein in the eyes,
which in turn helps us to see better in low
light conditions (very handy in winter!).
They improve heart health by reducing
bad cholesterol and blood pressure. They are
fibre-rich foods, which help to slow downcarbohydrate absorption preventing glucose
spikes in the blood. This makes them ahealthy treat for people with diabetes.
However, be careful not to eat kaki on anempty stomach, as that often leads tostomach cramps and diarrhoea. Also, wheneaten with eggs they may lead to abdominal
pain and even food poisoning, due to achemical interaction with tannins. Inmoderation, they are a healthy addition to
your winter seasonal diet. Enjoy!

Article by Marek

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
For delicious recipes with kaki, check out this link:
https://www.marthastewart.com/275469/persimmon-recipes

Joshua Says: Another year has passed and we are at the end of our second
year in our new (and latest) location here on the 7th floor of Kyoei Kosan
Ichibancho Building. We’ve been under the shadow of the Corona Pandemic for
all of that time, but now everything is starting to get back to normal and we can,hopefully, look forward to a brighter, Corona panic-free, future starting nextyear. So, here’s wishing everyone all the best and success in the year ahead!
Junko Says: In many countries around the world it’s “Jingle Bells” timeagain. Although this song was written in the U.S. in 1850 for Thanksgiving(around the time of the arrival of Perry in Japan), it has become a favoredtune for Christmas also. It is now an iconic Christmas tune ingrained in
popular culture throughout the world. You could say it has now become partof our collective consciousness shared by people universally.
Marek Says: I really like winter, and I’m eagerly awaiting a thick snow
cover in the mountains, so I can enjoy trudging through it like a wannabe
explorer! I also love this season because I can buy two of my favourite
winter fruits, currently in season: persimmons and apples. As forvegetables, I really like making cauliflower soup. It brings back many
happy childhood memories and it’s a delicious meal!
Mandcy dit: Joyeux Noël à tous ! Je vous souhaite à tous et bonnes fêtes etvous présente mes meilleurs vœux. Cette année, je vais faire un Noëlprovençal, je vais donc préparer 13 desserts. Avec bien sûr la bûche de Noël,mais aussi le champagne, les huitres et les coquilles saint-Jacques. Et, vouscomment allez-vous passer Noël? Mangez beaucoup pendant les fêtes etprofitez bien. On fera tous régime en janvier.
123

4

5ACROSS
1 drawn or taken in
3 based on something
6 keep, stop from happening
7 1,000 years
8 transform from liquid to solid
11 preceding an event (2 words)
13 relating to the lower part of out body
16 the characteristics of the11surface of something
18 found in food, provided nourishment
19 absolutely necessary

67

8

9

10
12

13

14

DOWN
2 acting together
4 having a strong or striking color
5 slows down the rate of decay7 with restraint or control
9 sour or bitter taste
10 relating to speech sounds
12 found in the eyes' retina
14 not suitable as food
15 painful muscle contraction
17 extreme, outstanding(print version here)

15
16
17
18

19

Choose suitable phrasal verbs using the prepositions or adverbs up,
up down,down over
and out from the box on the right to complete the passages below.
Passage 1:
1. fed up
2. shut up
3. sit down
4. lighten up
5. listen up
6. bring up
7. iron out

Passage 1:
I’m ____ with you always telling me to ____
when I’m trying to be serious! This is importantand I think you should ____ and ____ to what
I’m saying. I’m trying to ____ some important
issues we have to ____ and you need to ____,and listen to what I’m saying!
Passage 2:
Do you think Alice will ____ at the party
tonight? I know she has to ____ early tomorrowmorning to prepare for a job interview. She
doesn’t want to be ____ again. She felt so ____
the last time when she ____ she didn’t get thejob and she cried for a week before she ____ herdisappointment.

Passage 2:
1. get up
2. find out (past)
3. turn down (past)
4. turn up
5. get over (past)
6. let down

Passage 3:
Ron and his wife decided to ____ for a change. Joan was____ from cooking every day and needed to ____of the house before she had a mental ____!
When she insisted that they ____ for dinner thatnight, Ron got on-line to ____ if any of the local
restaurants had a table available at such short
notice. Fortunately, their favorite restaurant hada cancelation and there was a free table available
that evening. The night ____ to be a great success,even though they __ more if their savings __ than they had expected to.
A B R U P T L YCOI
S O P H I S T I C A T E DW
NNNU
O
T
S
V
A
R
U T T E R A N C E S
T
E
FR
V
DLI
R
F R E Q U E N C I E SRLTS
ANNOIUE
B
TTU
GTLUSIEEABSC O M P I L I N GLUEE
V E R B A L I Z A T I O NREB O N DI G N O R A N TGA
V I R T U A L L Y
TTEP E N E T R A T I N G
DACROSS

Passage 3.
1. check out
2. get out
3. eat out
4. use _ up (split andpast)
5. go out
6. wear out (past)
7. turn out (past)
8. break down

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution

1 suddenly without warning
5 increasingly complex or refined
10 audible sounds (not necessarilywords)
12 the rate of recurrences
14 putting together
16 put into words
17 create social ties
18 unaware, lacking information
19 almost all, in essence
20 passing throughDOWN
2 a group of sea animals
3 comprise, make up
4 comprehensible, understandable
6 opposite
7 of the present time
8 marvelous, amazing
9 sociable, warm and friendly
11 final, concluding
13 in the place of (often a parent)
15 produced, created

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.