CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter December,December , 202
20 2 1The end of the year in many countries of thenorthern hemisphere is the favourite season
for nature lovers, as the landscape undergoes
a dramatic shift in its colour palette, from allhues of green, yellow and red into a subdued
colours of grey, bronze and snowy white.
Especially deciduous trees can totallytransform the countryside, before changing
into their winter attire.
You may have wondered where thesecolours come from, if the leaves are mostly
all green. They, in fact already have all thecolours in them, it’s just that the green
pigment, chlorophyll is the most prominent
for the most part of the year. And as thetemperatures start to fall and nights getlonger, the veins in the leaves begin toshrink and limit circulation of nutrients, andthat causes chlorophyll to disappear,
allowing other pigments to show up.

EllaJanis

What we enjoy watching so much isessentially a process of a whole tree shutting
down its photosynthesis, getting ready tosurvive long, dark and cold winter nights.
Winter is a testing time for trees so, toconserve energy and water, they shed alltheir leaves. This may also happen during
particularly hot summers when trees lose toomuch moisture, so dropping leaves is a formof self-preservation. However, not all trees
respond to the change in the climate equally.

Each tree is actually an individualorganism, so reacts in its own way. That’s
why one tree can still retain its green colour
well into the autumn season, while others,
growing immediately next to it, may becrimson red or even already defoliated.

Observing autumn colours generates hugebusiness for many countries as a tourist
attraction, enticing hikers, photographers,
painters and anyone in between, to admire
breath-taking spectacles of nature. An
imminent climate change phenomenon rears
its ugly head even here, shifting the timing
and length of the process, having a knock-off
effect not only for us, but also wildlife thatshares a living space with the forests.
And speaking of the English word
“Autumn”, we are commonly led to thinkthat it is a British equivalent of “Fall” inAmerican English, but “Fall” has always
been the go-to word for describing the season
in the UK. It only changed to “Autumn”
relatively recently – in the grand scheme ofthings – when, in 18th century, the French
word automne became a more popular
choice.

Article by Marek
NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Please visit this link for extra reading:

http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-aboutautumn/

Joshua Says: Well, this is it, our last month in ISSEI building. As everyone
should know by now, we’re about to move to our new location, just around thecorner above the Family Mart outlet (see the maps on P3), We’ll be openingclasses in our new school after the New Year break on the 11th of January. We’ll
be on the 7th floor and the view is fantastic! It was going to be hard to improve on
our present situation, but I think we have done it! I hope everyone agrees!!
Junko Says: Everything that exists always naturally changes, but sometimes
we need to have courage to face changes. Crossroads is now in the middle of achange and a new start. I would like to say thank you very much to all of you
who are accepting this process of change easily, and even expressing feelings ofexcitement about it. One thing this change will not affect is our commitment to
do our best to support your (foreign languages) study, as always!
Marek Says: I’m sure we’ve all heard of the new virus variant, Omicron. But why
was it named Omicron? WHO decided to assign Greek numbers to Covid variants, inorder, as they are discovered. There are more variants than the general public knows
about, but so far, only certain ones became prominent, hence the seemingly randomnaming pattern. Greek number nomenclature is a lot easier to use than the scientificname used for the latest variant, B.1.1.529, which is really hard to remember!
Mandcy dit: Saviez-vous que le Père Noël est americain? En effet, c'est Coca
Cola qui a inventé le personnage en 1822. Un gros bonhomme tout rouge et tout
mignon qui fait rêver des milliers d'enfants. Le père Noël n'est donc pas religieux
et on peux le célébrer dans le monde entier. J'espère que vous avez tous été biensage cette année!! Sinon, pas de cadeaux!! Joyeux Noël et bonne année à tous.
Je vous présente mes meilleurs vœux. 2021 a été riche en émotion avec lecoronavirus et les jeux olympiques. Espérons que 2022 sera plus joyeux.
1ACROSS
1 a remarkable development
3 plants that shed foliage
4 protection from loss or damage
6 something to mix colors on
7 close in time
10 highly attractive
13 having the experience of
15 most noticeable
16 tone, tinge, tint
17 remarkable display
18 rises up
19 lost its leaves
20 soften in tone or sound
DOWN
2 being equal to
5 become smaller
8 basically,
fundamentally
9 get rid of
11 use cautiously
12 foods that supply
the body with energy
14 create23456789101112131415

16

1718

19

(print version here)20

We are moving!!
This year, Crossroads will be closed for the New Year holidays from the30th of December 2021. And, when we come back on the 11th ofJanuary 2022, we’ll be in our new building. It’s just around the cornerfrom our present location next
to FamilyMart - only ahundred meters or so...
Please take a look at themaps here if you think you’ll
get lost....
Our present location

Our new address is:CR

7th Fl. Kyoei Kosan
Ichiban-cho Bldg.
1-11, 4-chome Ichibancho
Matsuyama-shi 7900001

CRThe new Crossroads
location〒790-0001
松山市一番町4丁目1番
地11
共栄興産一番町ビル7階

When you enter the building,go to the back elevator to get
to us on the 7th floor.

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution DOWN
2 come to the surface

O V E R L A PGVMHRU
E S T I M A T I O N SALVRBSSCNE
GEUP H E N O M E N O NESRSMRTBUNPCFPAB U R R O W SAEELA
BROTTSPIB A R E L YIM
EITTNAENS Y N C H R O N I Z I N GTGANL
BIINE
LV
F R A N T I C A L L YNEENECLAL I K E N E DYTEACROSS
1 extend over or coverpart of
6 approximate
calculations of
10 a remarkable happening
15 holes made by animals
16 very short or little
17 happening at the sametime
19 in an uncontrolledmanner20 described as similar

3 get the meaning
4 in a weak position, defenseless
5 a period of inactivity
7 going forward despite of risk
8 at risk
9 in a relative manner
11 what needs to be eaten to maintainlife
12 grow vigorously
13 an epidemic disease
14 a brief indulgence of a desire
18 natural or instinctive, notconditioned by learning

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.