CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, January 2010

Tyger, tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night,…

These are the first two lines of afamous poem by William Blake(1757-1827). In the fifth stanza ofhis poem, Blake asks…
Did He who made thelamb make thee?
Blake, and many other artists,
poets, musicians and writers
throughout the ages have beenfascinated with, and inspired by,these magnificent creatures. Awesome,terrifying, regale and majestic – asbefitting a king or an emperor; as well as,
sleek and graceful. These are some of theadjectives that are commonly used todescribe the tiger. But, how about “cute”,“funny”, “charming”, even “cuddly”!
In the hands of Disney, Shere Khan, thefearsome tiger from Rudyard Kipling’s “TheJungle Book”, although ferocious andcunning, is also depicted as somewhat
goofy! Tigger the tiger from the Winnie thePooh stories, is always happy, neverfrightening.
We can even see images of tigers used topromote commercial products. Kellogg’s
Frosted Flakes has Tony the Tiger as its
mascot – no doubt the only vegetarian
feline that has ever existed! ESSO, now
EXXON, entices motorists to “put a tiger
in your tank”, and you can see a large
image the Exxon Tiger standing outside
most of their gas stations beckoning
patrons to fill-up with their petrol, plus
tiger!

In the world of sport, tigers are usedeverywhere as mascots. From the1988
Seoul Olympics’ tiger cub mascot,“Hodori”, to professional footballand baseball teams all over theworld, the tiger is probably the mostcommonly used mascot in all ofsport. Here in Japan we havethe Hanshin Tigers baseballteam, and in America, theircousin cats, the Detroit Tigers.
Sydney has the Balmain Tigers
ruby league football team and inEngland, there is the Leicester
Tigers ruby club.
The fact is, tigers are everywherearound us; everywhere, that is, except
where they are supposed to be – in thejungle. The sad truth is that these days,
tigers are almost extinct in the wild. Soon, if
we do not do something to protect them,
they will only exist in our imaginations!
In this Year of the Tiger, let’s resolve to keep
this magnificent creature
free and alive, both in ourimaginations, and in thejungle.
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come toCROSSROADS?.... Try our lessons on the Internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home or office! You get
CROSSROADS’ great teachers, teaching programs,
even classmates, on-line! Call for details: 089 9217595

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
See some striking portraits of tigers here: www.guardian.co.uk/
environment/gallery/2009/apr/15/bengal-tigers-faces-photography
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at
the Internet activity notebook in our open-house.
You’ll find games, news and English learning sites.

Joshua Says: Here we are again at the start of another new year. But

this year I am expecting some big changes for our school that will make it“a year to remember”! Watch for our new members system to finally get of
the ground and running; also we have plans for a “new” Open House
format with a new décor and new services for all our students. All of this,I hope, will make our school even more unique than we already are!!

Junko Says: From the middle of January we have been having very coldweather. Did you know that the coldest day ever recorded in Japan was -41°C.
This was in 1902 in Asahikawa City on Hokkaido. At this temperature, boilingwater can turn into smoky ice-dust in a second! The lowest temperature everrecorded in Matsuyama was -5°C. That was towards the end of February, 1981.
Often, the coldest days are recorded in February, but signs of a new spring
start in February also. These days I’m looking forward to the end of winter!

Alessio Says: Here in Japan Christmas is not as important as it is in Europe. I miss itsatmosphere a bit! And above all, I miss the amazing everlasting Christmas dinner with myfamily! arghhhh... In particular in Latin countries such as Spain, France or Italy, Christmas
meals last ages!!! You can start eating appetizers at 12am and at 6pm you are still there!!! andeven if your belly is completely full, there will be a grandma serving you (but I should say"forcing you to eat") the next course! Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY!!! : )Greg Says: Happy new year everyone! I hope 2010 is full of happiness andgood health. Last month I took my daughter to Kobe to have some fun atKidzania. What an amazing place it is!! It’s a little village inside a large building
where kids can experience different types of jobs and get paid (play money ofcourse). My daughter was a Radio Announcer, a nurse and a fire fighter. Everyjob you can imagine is there; doctors, police, judges, lawyers and even couriers.

Kevin Dit: Une année est passée, une nouvelle commence ! De lameme façon, Emilie est partie vers de nouveaux horizons, et je suisarrivé pour la remplacer. Je suis ravi de pouvoir prendre le relais
pour vous enseigner le français et partager ma culture avec vous !
Entamons donc ensemble cette nouvelle annee en espérant qu'elle
soit belle ! Bonne année a tous!

Some Useful New Year Resolutions:
1. I will do “10 minutes every day!”
2. I will contribute my “news” to P3 of our newsletter whenever I have somethinginteresting to talk about.
3. I will come to Crossroads more often, once the new Open House is ready.
4. I will read more foreign language articles in my spare time at home.
5. I will watch more English (and other language) movies.
6. I will encourage all my friends to study a foreign language.
7. I will always put out the trash on collection day for my mother.
8. I will start to think of my boss as a “good guy”, instead of a ba-----!
9. I really, really, will study harder.
10. I will stop eating too many cakes.
AND… Don’t forget about the 1+1
Campaign!!! Introduce your friends and get
great discounts on their tuition fees and on
your own fees, too! – A great idea to start the
New Year with, don’t you think?!

G E N E R A L ( ジェネラル) コース
英語+実践練習６０分 x ２ 回 /週：
1学期-４ヶ月毎にレベルが上がる
クロスローズのメインプログラム
９０分x 1回/週：
忙しい方のための週１レッスン
プライベート(個人)
月２回からレッスン回数自由選択
セミプライベート(セミ個人)：
月３回からレッスン回数自由選択

N E T (ネット) レッスン
COSMOPOLITAN (コスモポリタン) コース グループOR プライベート

英語+実技を通した実用練習、だから誰でも分かる、自然に上達する。
英語でギターを習う
レッスン料￥4,725/月～
英語で歌う
詳細はお問合せ下さい
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グループOR プライベート
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MOTHER & CHILD(マザー&チャイルド)クロスローズで学べるその他の外国語グループOR プライベート
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Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089 ) 921 -75 95
Fax: (089 ) 921 -73 19
E-mail:info@crossroadsco.co m
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com