CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, June 2010

Why is Wimbledon, which begins again thismonth, the tournament every tennis player
wants to win above all others? The answer
may be summed up in one word: tradition.
The oldest tennis event in the world, it has
run continuously (except for a break during
the war years) since 1877. It is the only one ofthe ‘big four’ tournaments (the French, U.S.
and Australian Opens are the others) toretain grass as the playing surface. The All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, whoruns the event, is private and not affiliated toany organization or sponsor. There are noadvertising hoardings on the courts orthroughout the grounds. For this reason,Wimbledon has a certain mystique, evenpurity, untainted by commercial associations.
There is almost a religious atmosphere atWimbledon. Its cathedral is the Centre Court
where the most important matches areplayed. With its intimate atmosphere andhushed acoustics, its uniformed ushers(serving personnel in the Royal Airforce,
Army and Royal Navy), ball boys and girls,
blazered umpire perched on a pulpit-like highchair, hierarchical seating (with the best seatin the house reserved for the Queen in theRoyal Box) and – for the most part – wellbehaved and restrained spectators, it could beseen as an extension of the Church ofEngland. And for the English, whose players
rarely, if ever, do well, Wimbledon allows
them to put aside feelings of patriotism andescape the herd mentality that govern theearthbound spectators of football matches, forexample, and bestow their love andadmiration on a deserving individual, without
regard to nationality, colour or race.

However, the favourites of the Englishtend to be more English than the English
themselves. Chrissie Evert and Bjorn Borg two champions from the 1970s - were bothcontrolled, undemonstrative individuals
and, on the rare occasions when they lost,
gracious in defeat. The English like losers
but it is important to them how you lose. Do
your best, even if defeat is inevitable.
Congratulate the victor and - even better take pleasure in his victory (for this, theEnglish will adore you). Anger and badhumour are taboo. Tears, formerly
unacceptable, are now tolerated, evenwelcomed (but not generally men’s). Jana
Novotna, from the former Czechoslovakia,
lost in a close final in 1997 and burst intotears as she was presented with the runnerup’s trophy by the Duchess of Kent. ‘You
will win’ predicted the Duchess, and thefollowing year she did, much to the delightof the English crowd for whom victory
without struggle is meaningless.

Article by Jonathan

Wimbledon’scoverted Men’s and
Woman’s trophies

NET LESSONS: Try our lessons on the Internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home or office! You get
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even classmates, on-line! Call for details: 089 9217595

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
The official Wimbledon web page is here:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/history/index.html
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at theInternet activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll
find games, news and English learning sites.

Joshua Says: I’m very pleased to see the interest some of you areshowing in our new “Poet’s Corner”. This was started last month
by Jonathan’s S(b)1 group and it looks like it may be catching on.
So, if you feel like it, join in! Write a poem and give it to yourteacher and we’ll publish it! We are also hoping for some articles
for the front page. Any ideas!?

Junko Says: The Okaido Saturday night market is coming up
again soon. We have some space available for any of you who
might like to display your handy-crafts, or other suitable items,
show off your hobbies, or sell any items you have to offer. It starts
next month, and if you are interested in participating, please letme know and I will arrange it for you.

Jonathan Says: It seems strange to many native English speakers thealmost total absence of Kanji in Japanese shop signs. The names ofthese shops are more often than not displayed in romaji and English
words are extremely common. I’m afraid many pay little regard to themeaning of the words (it seems the visual element is all that matters).
Two of my favourites, both for clothes shops: Zero Style (= no style) andDouble Standard (one rule for you; another for me) Clothing.

Greg Says: Apart from it being the month midway through the year
heralding the summer, June brings with it the traditional bride as well as
the not so traditional Junebug. It is also a stressful time for many as it is
the only month without any public holidays (August has Obon, although
this is not deemed a public holiday). But there is something June has toease the stress on us all: many fun nights at the beer gardens! Cheers!!

Kevin Dit: Nous voici en juin ! Le temps passe décidement trop vite ! Letemps est vraiment éphemère, tout comme le sont les Hommes d'ailleurs.
Il faut donc profiter de chaque instant autant que possible, même s'il n'est
pas toujours facile de garder cela en tete. Mais l'arrivée de l'été promet debelles et longues journées, la bonne humeur y est donc souvent de mise. EnFrance, l'arrivée de l'été annonce également la derniere ligne droite avant
les vacances, qu'en est-il pour vous ? Un petit voyage en France peut-être ?

Here are three more poems, in haiku, for all our poetry lovers tohelp you celebrate this “rainy season” with.
From the ladies in S(b)1: Yukiko Yagi:Returning Swallows
I want to fly to somewhere
I have never beenAnd, Mami Kido:My baby follows
The swallows fly by, singing“Everybody grow”

And…, a joint effort from Yoko Tanimoto
and Noriko Azuma in A1 gives us thislittle ditty:

A Little green frog
Under the hydrangea bush
Listens to raindrops* If you would like to add your poem (any style) to the “Poet’s Corner”, just write it out and give it to your teacher.

The OKAIDO SaturdayNight Market
It starts next month again!
And if any of you would like tosell or display something in
the market, just check in withJunko and we will arrange
something for youG 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：
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９０分x 1回/週：
忙しい方のための週１レッスン
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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

Don’t forget next month’s “End-of-Term
Performance-Night Party”
It will be held on Saturday, the31st July and starts at
8:00pm. All the usual fun:Plays, Karaoke, good food andwine, and most of all, goodcompany. Everyone’s invited,
to join in and you can bringyour friends too! So,don’t miss it!!

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