CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter
Newsle tter F ebruary,ebruary , 201
20 1 3

Tom and Jerry are one of
the most famous partnerships
in the history of television andcinema. Tom the cat and Jerry
the mouse have a rivalry that extends backto the 1940's. They were created by William
Hanna and Joseph Barbara for MetroGoldwyn-Mayer designed to be shown before
movies shown at the theatre. Between 1940
and 1957 a total of 114 cartoons were made.
This was followed by another 13 released in1961 and then a further 34 between 1963
and 1967. (161 in total).
The plot of Tom and Jerry almost
always involves Tom trying to hunt down
and murder Jerry. However Jerry nearly
always thwarts Tom at every turn. Due tothe violence involved in the attacks by
Tom - using axes, bombs, firearms, traps
and poisons and the violence involved in
the defenses by Jerry - burning,electrocuting, clubbing and chopping Tom
in half - the cartoon has been heavily
criticized by some soccer moms (in theU.S.), Daily Mail readers (in the U.K) anddo-gooders
acrosswesternEnglish
speaking society.
In America, the duo have been criticizedfor reinforcing stereo-types of blacks andtheir ancestral roots. For example, one
cartoon known as "His House Friday" (aspoof of Robinson Crusoe) is never playedin America due to its depiction ofcannibals.
Interestingly,
thebook
Robinson Crusoe, still considered a classic
in Britain, has also been heavily criticizedby previous British colonial countries due
to its content and promotion of English
superiority.

Other characters involve Spike the dog andhis son Tyke and occasionally these twoteam up with Jerry to fight Tom, oroccasionally Tom and Jerry collude to fight
Spike! There is almost no dialogue by Tomor Jerry though there often is by otherHenson Recording Studios, LA, USAcharacters, Tom's owner and some of theother animals, the dog (Spike), the chick(Quacker), Jerry's nephew (Nibbles) andJerry's cousin (Cousin Muscles) all talk atsome point.
The radio is also used to initiate the story
and reveal context for the audience. The
cartoon is also an extremely effective tool forlearning languages as there is no dialogue
and only musical instrumentals in thebackground, therefore it is possible topractice by inserting your own dialogue, ordescribing what is happening during thescene!

ArticleArticle by Matthew

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come to
CROSSROADS?....Try our lessons on the Internet!

SITE OF THE MONTH:
Here’s a site about the history of Tom & Jerry:
http://historyinworld.blogspot.jp/2012/03/history-of-tomjerry.html

Joshua Says: I’m very happy to note that some of you are taking advantage
of our 1+1 campaign. This is such a great way to introduce your friends andacquaintances to the “world of second languages”. The new students aresettling in well and earnestly trying to gain second language skills while
studying here with us. Let‘s all continue to support this great idea even more.

Junko Says: Open Sky! 3 or 4 LCC’s (low cost carriers) will make theirservices available to overseas passengers, as well as to Japanese people. “TheOpen Sky Policy” will operate fully from this summer, as the Japanese
government is expecting many more overseas visitors to come here. But this isalso a chance for many of you to go overseas inexpensively to visit or study.
Check out the prices with any of the new low-cost carriers. You’ll be surprised!

Matthew Says: I was in a convenience store last week when I bought
two chocolate bars and some crisps. The assistant put everything I bought
into a plastic bag. I removed the items from the plastic bag and placed
them in my coat pockets because it is ridiculous to use a bag for suchitems. Then the woman in front of me asked the assistant for a plastic bag
for a toothbrush she had just bought, so the assistant gave her mine!

Craig Says: The last weekend in January we had a bit of a cold snap,
and I played football in the snow for the first time in years. It was a nicememory of playing football back home, although it made the ground in
Shiroyama park even harder than usual! But over the last few days, it has
become noticeably warmer and I hope that spring is just around the corner.

En Fevrier, de plus en plus de francais prennent
une semaine de vacances avec leurs enfants pour pouvoir partir
au ski. Tous les francais ne partent pas en vacance en meme
temps. contrairement au Japon, il y a un systeme de rotation desvacances. la France est divisee en 3 zones.
Arnaud Dit:

Now, this is a really
speedy cat! Takenote Tom. George
here is only a housepet, but you will notfind any mice running around in his neighborhood!
And, Alessandro here, avery distant cousin of
Jerry’s, has no intension of
paying him a visit, either. In
fact, Alessandro desperately
hopes that he’ll never run
into George in anyone’s
neighborhood!

Professor
Matt’samazingexperiment

Greg’s daughter, Joy, has done it again! This time
she won the under 18 y/o “Greg Norman International
Junior Master’s” golf tournament in Australia. Young golfers
from all over the world are invited to this tournament and Joy
came in first! Not bad for an eleven year old girl!
Greg says; “She played amazing and made an old dog (me)proud”. But Joy was very level-headed about her win. Said Joy;“The level of competition was nowhere near as high as in theWorld Tournament in the USA. The best players didn’t
go to Australia simply because it’s too far totravel. But, they will all play in the USAevent.”
So, what’s next for Joy? The July World
Tournament in the USA, of course!
Joy picked up a second trophy along
the way. For this one she competedagainst both boys and girls.

Joy holding her trophy

The Greg Norman
Junior Master’s
trophy will now add
Joy’s name to the listof winners.

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.

Phone: 0120-21-7594
T el: (089 ) 921-7 595
Fax : ( 0 89) 921 -7319
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