CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter July
Ju ly,ly, 201
20 1 5Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high........

What is it about this song?!
MariaSince it was composed in 1934, there
have been at least 30,000 cover versions recordedby some of the greatest, and not so great,musicians of the last 80 or so years. From opera(you can catch Maria Callas’ version here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=alrBe2XF0IA )and classic performances through jazz (here’sElla Fitzgerald singing Summertime:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2bigf337aU),
blues, gospel, hip-bop, folk, rock n’roll (Janis Joplin did a very unique
blues-rockversion:Ella
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5TNqjuHiU ), reggae andevery Latten American rhythm you
Janiscan think of, to versions in many
languages and in all conceivable genre.
There is an Indian version sung by Amit
Chaudhuri ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJyFE9cqTE ) and even a West African
version sung in Fon by Angelique Kidjo (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DejCPc57c5o )And, yes, there is a Japanese version byNorimasa Fujisawa too! (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0BruUAfJA ). It seems as though
everyone wants to sing this song! But why?

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons through the net!
Check out the links above and let the music speak for itself!

The music for Summertime was written by
George Gershwin as the opening aria for his folkopera “Porgy and Bess”. The lyrics werecomposed by DuBosa Hayward in collaboration
with Gershwin’s older brother Ira, and the opera’s
story is based on Hayward’s novel, “Porgy”.
Hayward was a native of Charleston, SouthCarolina. Gershwin and his brother joined him
there in 1934 so they could assimilate the local
dialect and musical traditions of the area andincorporate them in the music they were writingfor “Porgy and Bess”. They lived and wrote
among the local African-American community inthat area during the summer of that year.
Many things have been said about theinfluences Gershwin was under when he wrote
this extraordinary piece of music. Gospel,
African-American spirituals, blues, “negro” folk,and even, it has been suggested, UkrainianYiddish lullabies.
Summertime (along with the othercompositions in “Porgy and Bess”) could be said
to be a simple amalgamation of all these styles,except there is so much more; there is the geniusof the New York City-born second son of Russian
Jewish immigrants, George Gershwin.
Gershwin was already famous before hepenned “Porgy and Bess”. Some of his earlier
numbers are among the most popular songs everwritten. But, even he expressedwonder at what he had createdwith Summertime...

...... Oh, Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'So hush little baby
Don't you cry......

Thomas Carey & Carol
Brice in the lead rolls ofPorgy and Bess

Joshua Says: Thinking about useful and enjoyable ways to study English, I haveoften suggested to students to try listening to English songs, even sing English
songs, during their spare time. Although the lyrics are sometimes written in lessthan “perfect” English and are, more often than not, hard to follow, the rhythms
and stresses singers use are a great help in learning how to “feel” language. And itworks! As an experiment, try singing “Summertime” next time you go to a Karaoke club!

Junko Says: Thank you all for supporting our 1st semester survey, December to May.
Your answers and comments have been put together for each class and you should seesome effects from the middle of this month. I would very much appreciate your feedbackon the changes you notice. The importance of English in Japan has only grown - forbusiness, schools and even Japanese society as a whole. As you know, we offer counseling
any time you wish to get advice on your progress and on how to study more effectively.
Mark Says While I love technology and would be lost without my array ofmodern gadgets I sometimes feel that those devices have taken too much controlof our lives. Every day, during my short walk to work, no matter where I look, I
can see people transfixed to their smart-phones; while riding their bikes,
walking along the footpath or waiting at intersections. Perhaps it's time to lookup from our devices and make a bit of eye contact with those around us.
Aaron Says: Tsuyu is not something I have experienced before. I havebeen to Japan many times, but have never noticed this rainy season
called Tsuyu. Where I come from, Texas, it is very, very hot right now,and rain is very rare this time of year. Rain almost everyday during
May and June is something very strange and new to me! It is a goodthing I like rainy weather, or I might get the blues.
Danielle dit; Ca y est, les examens sont finis en France ! Cela signifie que
tous les écoliers et étudiants sont en vacances pendant l’été jusqu’enseptembre, même si les étudiants à l’université travaillent souvent pendantcette période pour gagner un peu d’argent. Les travailleurs aussi prennent
souvent des vacances pendant l’été. En France, on peut prendre jusqu’à 3semaines de vacances ! Pratique pour se reposer et profiter des plages.
ACROSS
1 join, unite or merge into a whole
5 a combination of two or more
6 able to be imagined
7 an African-America religious song
8 a unique use of language
9 the words to a song
13 the act of working together
14 something a little different from the others
15 a person who moves to a new country permanently
16 a famous music composer from the 1930'sDOWN
2 greater than usual or normal
3 a distinct class, style or type of art
4 to incorporate or become part of
10 to have an effect on someone
11 a soft, quiet song sung to a child
12 a long standing practice

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8
9

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13

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(print version here)

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34

Here’s Ren’s 6th installment fromA Page from Keiko’s diary......
I went to “My stay in China”, series 2:
In the latter part of December, after theTokyo
lastFridayandperformed at
Ami's Bar inGinza. Somefriends came
there to seeme from Matsuyama, Mishima in Shizuoka Pref. and also
from Saitama Pref. Because of this myperformance was full of life. I was very happy.
I went to Hannou-shi in Saitama on
Saturday to perform at Café Brown. Café
Brown's owner organized my performance. I
performed together with the bassist from myCD. Café Brown is a small café and 30
people came there. It was full and theaudience's reaction was very good, so wewere able to get into the swing of things andour performance was a rather good one.
We, the audience and the owner enjoyed itvery much.
I came back to Matsuyama on Sunday. As
soon as I arrived in Matsuyama I went to see
the Yamaha student's concert rehearsal. Iwas lucky that my flight was on time. My
everyday conduct was good this weekend
so everything went according to plan.
You can catch Keiko’s live performances at “MONK”
every Wednesday night at 8PM.
PP R E V A L E N T
HXETNCEIOOI N T E R V E N T I O NMMESFEPXIA F F L I C T I O NNLAVNRO V E R C OM E
P H O B I ARANXETATVRS Y N D R OM ETROBLIIIAYOGD E B I L I T A T I N GNGE
A L L E V I A T E
LRpresentation period, all the classes started toprepare for final semester exams. I was usually
going to two schools every day: university
classes in the morning and private classes inthe afternoon. But during this time, I was sobusy that I had to cancel my private classes.
In China, they don’t have the custom ofcelebrating Christmas, although some young
students actually do celebrate it, but not in aformal way. Our teacher, by contrast, gave us
a lot of homework just before the Christmasweek. It caused my Christmas day to be sobusy. Actually, Christmas day for me wasfilled with doing homework. But somestudents, mainly Europeans and Americans,were absent from their classes. I believe
Christmas is very special for them. Actually,
our Chinese teacher was not upset about thatand said, “This situation is very normal. I’ve
seen this every year. I understand and value
their culture.”
Even after that, I used to stay up late toprepare for the final exams starting fromJanuary 2nd. This kind of activity reminded meof my university life in Japan. I felt a little bit
nostalgic then. It was strange that this feelingmade me happy and excited.
I’ll tell you the result of the exam in thenext installment.

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
DOWN
2 most frequent or common
1 a remarkable, even unbelievable
6 action intended to improve ahappening
situation
3 large in scope
8 a cause of great suffering or distress
4 complicated
10 manage successfully
5 without bounds or end
11 an extreme fear of something
7 make worse
14 indications of some kind of disease 9 not reasonable or logical
15 weakening strength or vitality
12 stay or keep away from16 provide relief from pain
13 an act that starts an event
ACROSS

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