CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter December,December , 201
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If you need a shovel, or a rope, or abottle of washing liquid you probably
have a preferred location to buy it from,but there are several backup options ifthat place falls through. It’s the samewith just about everything in the world.
Some products, however, are different.
For some reason, there's one place thathas these things figured out, andthey're the best at it, period!
If you have a baby in an American
hospital then you can guarantee yourbaby will be wrapped in a towel madeby Medline. They have had a monopolyon them since the 1950’s. They’ve
produced almost 25 million since the80’s and with all the countless
washings you can understandEllawhy
almost every baby in America, andcountless aroundthe world, haveJanisbeen tucked intheir blankets.
The reason
why? Theblankets
cost muchlessthan theothers.
Thankfully,babies
aren’t fussy
aboutdesigns.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Here is a list, and some information on 10 monopolies:www.toptenz.net/10-companies-never-realized-monopolies.php

There has been a lot of talk about thePresident recently but did you know one
company has made nearly every
President’s shoes? Johnston & Murphy
trace their roots back to 1850 where they
were enlisted to make shoes for
President Millard Fillmore. They musthave done a fine job because they havemade just about every single pair ofpresidential shoes since then, including
shoes for Presidents Lincoln, Ford andObama. No doubt they are sizing up
Trump’s feet as we speak.

Some people see the fortune cookie asa mystical part of eating Chinese food.
In reality the Chinese neither eat nor
make these treats and they are entirely
an American invention. What isinteresting is that 99% of the fortune
cookies in America come from one single
factory in New York which makes 4
million of them a day! The factory
operates 24 hours a day and the cookies
sell so fast that if they shut the factoryfor 36 hours they would completely run
out of stock. What is even crazier is thatthey have a database of over 10,000
fortunes which were all written by justone person.
So next time you buy something froma shop, take a moment to think. It could
have come from a chain of factories
inthe next city or it could
have come from theundisputed mastersof making that product.

Article by Matt

Joshua Says: OK, I’ll confess! Apart from the daily newspaper and Internet articles(mostly) on the subject of teaching, I don’t read much. Yet, I’d like to encourage our students todo just that – in English (or other foreign languages) of course! Reading, more than watching
English movies (although these are a great help also) is perhaps the best way to develop yourvocabulary outside of the classroom. It often leads to interesting discussions in class too.
Junko Says: We want to expand our language training services and we want topromote our school to as many of Matsuyama’s people as possible. Increasing oursense of belonging to the International community and becoming more involved in
global activities is a really important step for Japan to make now. I hope, therefore,that everyone will support our 1+1 campaign and help us spread the word.
Mark Says: This X'mas, I thought, would be the first year that mydaughter would know the "truth" about Santa Claus. When we weretalking recently she divulged that she had known the “truth” for a longtime . . . and in knowing this she is much more grateful for what she
receives. It was a very proud "parent" moment for me. It was a reminderthat we should always show gratitude for what others do for us.
Matt Says: The final Formula 1 race of the season took place last month.
It turned out to be a very strange event. Lewis Hamilton drove very
slowly all race to try and stop Nico Rosberg from getting enough points
but to no avail. Rosberg won his first drivers championship then
immediately retired. 2016 has been a very strange year.
Danielle dit Pour moi, Noël étant au mois décembre, l’image que j’en ai est
celle d’une période froide et neigeuse où l’on passe les longues soirées près dufeu. Mais j’ai récemment réalisé que ce n’était pas le cas pour toute une moitié
du globe ! En effet, il ne m’était jamais venu à l’esprit que pour les pays dusud, Noël devait sûrement avoir l’image d’une longue journée passé dans lejardin à se faire un barbecue entre amis...
ACROSS
7 more bizarre or unusual
8 the end, nothing else will follow
9 unnecessarily worrying
10 beginnings
7
12 too many to count14 generally agreed upon
15 follow or go back over
16 beyond ordinary understanding
DOWN
1 things to chose from
2 hired for work or military service
3 surely, certainly
4 pleasurable things to eat
5 more desired than another6 one supplier controlling a particular market
11 circumstances relating to peoples lives
13 a hand tool
(print version here)

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Critic’s corner with S(a)3’s Taro: - “The Devil is Working in Japan!“Have you ever read a “light Novel”? It is a genre of books availableThat’sin Japan.
They are not serious novels,me!
but are books that can be read easily and casually. Nowadays, many Japanese people are too busy to readheavy volumes. Light novels don’t have many pages ((literally light in weight). They are written in such easy
words and phrases that you can read them with ease like cartoons and they are very popular among Japanesepeople, especially among teenagers. If you visit a bookstore, you will find many books categorized as lightnovels on the bookshelves. They are not “light” in regard to their market share.
Many light novels have a unique title to attract readers. The book I will introduce you
to today is called “The Devil is a Part-timer” (it sounds interesting, doesn’t it?). In theprologue, the King of the Devils was forced to leave his fantasy world after losing hisstruggle against the “Saintly Heroine”. After a long journey, the King of the Devils
arrived in another world, 21st century Japan, Tokyo. He lost his magical powers andbecame human in appearance. Without his powers, he was not able to go back to his own
world. Therefore, he decided to live in Japan for a while. He named himself Mr. Mao(“moa” means Satan in Japanese). He rented a one-room apartment and began working at
MacDonald’s to make ends meet. At first, Mr. Mao was often at a loss with the differences between his own
world and modern Japan. However, he tried his best to learn human languages and social manners. Within
three months, he became an ideal part-timer and was respected by his colleagues.
One day, on his way to work, Mr. Mao met his old rival again. It was the Saintly Heroine who had beenchasing the King of the Devils. When she came to our world, she also lost her magical powers. She named
herself Ms. Yusha (“yusha” is heroine in Japanese). She was working as a Japanese office worker but she
never forgot her real duty. As soon as she found Mr. Mao, she tried to attack him. However, just before she
attempted to slash her arch enemy with her sword, Ms. Yusha was arrested by the police. In her own world,Ms. Yusha had been a heroine of justice, but in Japan, she was seen as a dangerous, insane woman who wastrying to harm innocent Mr. Mao.
It was fortunate for Mr. Mao that his foe was arrested. However, he felt sorry for her. If he had not left
his world, Ms. Yusha wouldn’t have had to visit Japan. He decided to save her by explaining to the policemanthat it was a couple’s trivial quarrel. Ms. Yusha felt frustrated with being introduced as the devil’s girlfriend,
but she had to keep silent in order to get free from the police. Like this, Mr. Mao and Ms. Yusha sometimes
battled, and sometimes helped each other to live in Japan. When you go to MacDonald’s next time, look at
the staff carefully. There could be a visitor from another world among them!
L E G U M E SCNPOURMGIOBPGDNVAOE X T R A C T E DKA S S A U L TRLRINST
E D I B L EYSDOVC O M P O N E N TA
DETNG L Y C E R O LDE
G L A Z E
E X C R E T I O N S
DLast Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 types of beans or peas
8 removed or taken out of
9 physical attack
11 suitable for eating
12 a part of something
14 a sweet, syrupy alcohol obtained fromfat or oil
15 a shiny, thin coating
16 waste matter discharged from the bodyDOWN
2 loosely scatter or distribute3 put or add together
4 small lumps of (usually) precious metal
5 the part of a flower that produces fruit
6 foundation
7 come or develop from
10 fruit, not vegetables
13 inclined to do something

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.