CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter December,December , 2022
At the end of the era of colonialism in the 19thcentury, exploration and trade brought with it apursuit of knowledge and an understanding of
new cultures, territories and the sharing ofwealth from those lands’ rich and exotic faunaand flora. Botanical gardens, universities andprivate estates of rich nobility were quickly
amassing impressive collections of ornamental
and functional (medicinal and high marketvalue) plant species, with little regard to, norunderstanding of, said plants’ properties beyond
their outward appearance.
One such example, imported from Japan tothe UK in 1884, is the Japanese Knotweed,
which quickly became a popular addition togardeners’ plant collections.
It is native to much of South East Asia and istraditionally used in medicine and makes for atasty vegetable.

EllaThe plant is a pioneer species, being the firstto thrive on freshly formed volcanic lava rock,withstanding
high temperatures and toxic levels
Janisof chemicals in the environment. Its roots spreadlaterally and can penetrate rocks as hard asconcrete. Its hardiness is useful in protecting
sand dunes, while the mature dense growtheffectively blocks strong winds. The floweringparts and heart-shaped leaves are used inwreaths and bouquets. Unfortunately, theJapanese knotweed has become an invasiveplant, when established outside of its nativeenvironment. In the UK, much of Europe andUSA, it is unstoppable and nearly impossible toeradicate. Its propensity to grow in large thickclumps means that it smothers the land,
virtually wiping out all other plant species, thus
devastating local biodiversity.

Pesticides are ineffective in controlling it and theonly method that seems to work is fooling it into
thinking it is exposed to a volcanic eruption, bypoisoning it with imperceptible doses of a weed
killer, over the course of decades, which will
eventually render its roots dormant, at least forsome years to come.
Another unpleasant present from afar, thistime from Russia, is the Giant Hogweed.
Initially, apart from prettifying gardens, it wasmeant to be used as cattle feed. Unfortunately, itturned out to be an invasive plant, and also an
extremely toxic plant to humans. Slight skincontact with the fine hairs of the plant’s stems
may result in an intense rash and blistering.
Some invasive plants, however, are occasionallya welcome addition to the landscape.
One of them is theJapanese Anemone, andwhile it spreads readily,
it is – for a change – aharmless
andunassuming
flower,which will certainly notoffend anyone with its
overenthusiastic presencealong pavements androad drains.
These foreign species have been establishedthrough repeated attempts by gardeners tomake them grow and produce fertile seeds, but
the mentality of people was vastly different backthen.
The age of careless and unscientific botanicalendeavours to plant non-native vegetation in all
corners of the world is long gone. By now, wehave done enough damage to the naturalbalance of biodiversity, and only nature itself
can right our wrongs.

Article by Marek

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…. Try our lessons on the net!
For more details, please visit:https://celsolicitors.co.uk/invasive-plants-weeds-uk/

Joshua Says: Another year has flown by. It was at about this time last yearthat we were getting ready to make the move from ISSEI building to our newand present school here on the 7th floor of K. K. Ichibancho building. Everyone
seems quite satisfied with the new facility. Life is all about change, but being
in almost the same location feels as though nothing much has really changedat all – apart from the improved teaching/learning facilities, that is.
Junko Says: Sometimes I hear from our students that they notice they speak
English well during their dreams. Scientists say that just about everyone
dreams for about 2 hours every night when they are sleeping. They say thatdreams help us to consolidate memories, process emotions, express ourdeepest desires and/or gain practice confronting challenges. I wonder if inyour dreams you are expressing desires or trying to face challenges?
Marek Says: With the advent of global travel, we facilitate the spread ofinvasive species across the world, but this phenomenon also occurs naturally,
aided by climatic changes, which force fauna and flora to colonise new
territories and compete with endemic species for land and resources. As longas we don’t actively destroy the environment around us, the nature will find away to achieve balance in the species composition.
Mandcy dit: En hiver, chaque pays a ses propres rituels. Car il fait froid, très froid !! EnAmérique, les gens mangent de l'ail crue le matin pour lutter contre les maladies. EnFrance, nous préparons le grog, c'est notre boisson de l'hiver. Quand je ne me sens pas bienou que je suis malade, je prépare cette tisane très spéciale. En effet, dans une tasse, vousversez deux cuillères à café de rhum, deux cuillères à café de miel, un demi-citron pressé etenfin de l'eau. Vous faîtes chauffer votre mélange et hummmmm, c'est vraiment délicieuxet votre corps est réchauffé. Et vous ? Que préparez-vous en hiver ?
ACROSS
2 produced byvolcanoes
4 impossible to detect
6 useless, hopeless
8 remove or destroy completely
9 all plant life
12 all animal life
14 making more beautiful
15 penetrate, assault intrude harmfully
17 inactive
18 being strong, healthy
19 poisonous
20 relating to plants

12345

6DOWN
1 variation of plant and animal life
15
3 gathering together
5 causing extensive destruction
18
7 to or from the side
10 humble, modest
11 tendency to do something
13 go in search of
16 to a great extent(print version here)

7
8

910
1113

12

14

16
17

19
20

Prepositions! They’re annoying little things, aren’t they? But using themcorrectly is essential if you want to communicate clearly in English. They
are small, but they are full of a lot of vital information – place, time,direction, etc. The passage below uses them. Your job is to select thecorrect preposition from the choices given – note, in some cases more than
one choice is correct, while in other cases none are needed, meaning allchoices are incorrect.
My friend’s cousin was born (at, on, in) 1986 (on, in, about) the 23rd of February (at, in, of)Matsuyama City. Last week she asked me (about, to, for) meet her (in, with, at) ourfavorite café (for, to, about) celebrate her cousin’s birthday. I was supposed (for, to, of)meet them (at, by, on) 7:30pm (on, at, in) yesterday (across, with, for) the birthday cakeshe had baked (on, at, in) the day before. I had (toward, of, to) work overtime and was
running late so I decided (about, to, for)go to the party (on, in, with) mymotorbike balancing the cake(under, on, at) my lap as I rode. I
was almost (at, to, from)the café when a truck suddenly
came out (from, of, in)a side street. Well, I had (to, off,into) quickly swerve (by,under, to) avoid a collisionbut by bike’s wheels skid
(across, under, into) thethe sidewalk. The cakeroad and (onto, at, through)went flying (into, onto, under)
the sky and landed“splat” (onto, on, in) the middle of
the road. Needless(to, from, for) say, she was very upset(with, about, for) me
after that and hasn’t spoken (to, with, by)me since.
M
T E N D O N SS E V E R E L YYSCS
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T E N D E N C Y
C O N T E N T M E N T
OSIIFCEEESLT H E R A P E U T I CSMAINUMOARA
MNDI
M I G R A I N EUNDTSLGI N T R I G U I N GTOREF E L I N E
MP U R RIAF A S C I N A T I N GEE
C O R R E S P O N D
DLast Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
2 tissues that connect muscles tobones
4 to a very serious degree
8 inclination to do something
9 happy with one's situation in life
11 helping to cure or restore tohealth
14 severe headache
16 fascinating, curious
17 inclusive of all animals in the catfamily18 a cat does this19 causing great interest, curiosity
20 be compatible withDOWN
1 system, method of doing
something
3 difficulty breathing
5 of the same type (especially inanimals)
6 what something is used for7 the body's reaction to injury orirritation
10 making sure
12 pure, not mixed
13 help, support, give assistance
15 inferred from incomplete
evidence

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