CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter September,September , 201
20 1 6
Is 2016 the worst year in history? If you
follow the news closely you could certainly
be forgiven for thinking so. From thebeginning of the year there has been a
constant stream of bad news.
Terror attacks, Zika virus, Brexit, policeshootings in the U.S, Trump, Syria,
extreme weather events, and the death of
pop icons David Bowie and Prince. It’s been
an unrelenting year that has many people
proclaiming 2016 “the worst year ever.”But are things really that bad, or do wejust notice the negative things more thesedays because we are so much moreconnected to what’s going on in the world?
It’s worth remembering that most of thenews we consume (nightly TV news, thedaily paper, online websites, social media)
is produced by businesses interested in one
thing above all – making money. These
Ellabusinesses have a vested interest
inproducing news that people feel they needto know about. In order to attract their
Janisaudience
they target their headline news atour negativity bias – the tendency to give
far more information to negative details,
and the confirmation bias which is ourtendency to selectively look at informationthat confirms our pre-existing notions,which are typically negative. Next time you
are watching the nightly news, take a look .
. . the major headlines in the first third of
the show will almost exclusively be badnews
stories.
Theseorganisations
understand that we, the consumer, aren’t
really that captivated by feel-good stories,
so these are relegated to the tail end of theshow.
So, back to the original question . . . is2016 really that bad? Statistics would
suggest ‘no’.

In 2016 you are much less likely to be thevictim of a violent crime than at almost any
time in the past one hundred years. You aremuch less likely to be inflicted with a life
threatening disease than at any other time inhistory, and you have more chance ofrecovering if you are.
For 2016 to be considered the worst year it
would have to beat out some real humdingers
from history. In 72,000 BCE a super volcano
erupted in Sumatra, plunging the earth into
darkness, resulting in food sources dying off.
The population of earth plummeted tobetween 3,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. In1348 the Black Death swept across Europe
killing a third of its population. In 1492
Columbus discovered the Americas. With
European occupation of the continent, thecombination of genocide and old world
diseases wiped out 90% of the indigenous
populations by the mid sixteenth century. Andof course, we could not leave out The GreatWar between 1914 and 1918 or indeed WWII
between 1939 and 1945.
So yes, there is plenty of bad news from2016, but is it the worst year ever? Certainlynot!
Article by MarkNET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Ten ancient disaster myths that might be real:www.smithsonianmag .com/science-nature/ten-ancient-stories-andgeological-events-may-have-inspired-them-180950347/?no-ist

Joshua Says: This month we welcome a new teacher to Crossroads. Matt
is from the northern part of England and has recently been teaching inChina. I’m sure many of you will be curious about his home town and,indeed, his experiences in China. Please don’t be shy, I’m sure Matt would
be glad to tell you all about his experiences, if you ask him.
Junko Says: As the Japanese working environment has been changing rapidly withaccelerated globalization, a new concept in education has been necessary to cope with the newworld. In one estimation, 65% of children who entered elementary school in 2011 will engage innew types of work that do not exist yet. A big part of this reform is in English education. Theysay the goal is to gain English skills in order to learn other skills. Osaka English Village openedin 2015 and Tokyo Village will open in 2018. I hope this big wave comes to Matsuyama soon.
Mark Says: While it might officially already be autumn, it sure doesn't feellike it yet. I was surprised when I walked into a Lawson the other day to seeoden already on sale. I love that stuff but it just doesn't feel right to be eating
it when it is 33° outside. I am pleased however to see the seasonal autumn
beers on sale. These go down very well on a hot & humid day.
Matt Says:
Hi Everyone! I’m the new English teacher here atCrossroads. For the last two years I have been living in China in acity called Zhangjiagang just outside of Shanghai. This is my firsttime ever in Japan so I am still getting used to all the newexperiences. Looking forward to meeting you all!
Danielle dit: Le mois de septembre est pour beaucoup d’élèves (et deprofesseurs) dans le monde synonyme de rentrée des classes. Il peut
parfois être difficile de retourner à l’école après un long été passé
tranquille, à se la couler douce. Bien sûr, cela vaut à la fois pour lesécoliers et étudiants que pour les professeurs ! Combien d’entre euxpasseront une nuit blanche avant leur premier jour ?
ACROSS
1 dropping or falling suddenly
6 unchanging
10 fixed and absolute
11 vague idea
14 stating, announcing, declaring
15 strongly attracted
16 something remarkably outstanding
DOWN
2 systematic killing of many people
3 far beyond normal
4 assigned to a lower position
5 never stopping or easing up
7 influence unfairly
8 a general inclination toward something
9 people originating in the land they inhabit
12 drop sharply
13 cause pain or damage(print version here)

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Let’s Go to the Shining Island – by S(A)3S(A) 3’s Taro
From July 23 to August 4, I visited Sir Lanka. Although it was a business trip, I enjoyed it so much. Today, I will
introduce this island to you as an ideal resort. In the local language, Sinhalese, “sri”That’s
means“shine” and “lanka” is “land.”me!
I presume most people must associate Sri Lanka with curry. In fact, you can taste various kinds of curry there. WhileJapanese curry includes several ingredients mixed together (meats, carrots, onions, etc), Sir Lankan curries usually have only
one ingredient. They not only use chicken or fish, but also banana or jackfruit. Some guidebooks may tell you to eat curry andrice with your hand. Actually, you don’t have to take that seriously because they give tourists spoons and forks at many
restaurants. However if you can, “when in Sri Lanka, do as the Sri Lankans do.”If you book a hotel in Sri Lanka, you may choose one in Colombo, the biggest city. However, Colombo itself doesn’thave many attractions except for shopping. Therefore, I recommend that you visit other cities, too. First of all, the most
famous spot in this country is Sigiriya, at the center of this land. It is an ancient rock fortress where the king resided in the
5th century. Unfortunately, in spite of my earnest request, my boss cut it from our itinerary because we didn’t have enoughtime to include a visit there.
When you want to relax on the beach, I’m convinced that Trincomalee will satisfy you. This city is in the northeast of SriLanka. There are many resort hotels for foreigners and you can enjoy swimming, fishing and boating there. The only problem
there is the heavy afternoon downpours. If you take a nap by the poolside, you may be caught in a sudden storm.
Kandy, an old city, is located in the central area. This city has The Temple of theTooth, a famous sacred Buddhist temple. On our way from Colombo to Kandy, you candrop by Pinnalawa, where there is an Elephant Orphanage. It accommodates more than
50 elephants. You can have your picture taken with them.
I believe you will find it easy and comfortable to stay in Sri Lanka because many people
can understand English. Maybe it is because this country was colonized and influenced byEngland. Most banners and signs in the streets are written in both Sinhalese (the officiallanguage) and English. Furthermore, all of the people I met there had a good sense ofhospitality. I’m sure you will be moved by their generosity and kindness.
A Day In Mitsuhama with Yufuko from S(b)1
I went to Mitsuhama with a comic band. The band’s name is “Sugio Sugiyamada and Sweet Memories.” Sugio is thevocalist in the band. He has a funny face and a funny voice, and he sings famous old Japanesesongs by Seiko Matsuda. There are other instrumentalists in the group; a guitarist, bass player,accordion, sax, chorus girls, a guard, attendant and me! I am an actress in the band.
I pretend to be a crazy fan of Sugio who goes by the name of Mrs. Matsuhanada. She (I) always
follows Sugio and presents him with a bouquet of red sweetpeas. She is a strange woman! The band has musicians and actors
and an actress. They play music and perform a funny show on stage. When we were there we went to Mitsu, the old town, towalk around and take pictures. It was a very funny day!!
CMIAI
TS H R U B
SROLCUMMEO
E S T A T E
T A N N I NLDDCS T E E P E D
S T A L E
EYLPDP
P R I M A R I L Y
TCIIC U P P A
GOTR U I N
B R E W

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution

ACROSS
4 bush7 property, especially land
8 a bitter flavor (especially in wineor tea)
10 left in liquid to extract flavor
11 not fresh
12 mostly
13 a cup of tea
14 to destroy or make worthless
15 a drink made by boiling

DOWN
1 fruit such as lemon or orange
2 false or mistaken belief
3 a pleasant odor
5 combined into one
6 a type of flavor in some drinks
9 easily broken, damaged or destroyed

11 a small branch

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