CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter May,May, 202
20 2 1

If you believe animals can’t communicate withus, lack intelligence or can’t feel empathy
towards their human friends, these few
examples should make you think again.
Yang Yun was taking part in a diving
competition in North-East China. The tank she
was competing in was over 6 meters deep andthe temperature was sub-zero. She developed
cramps in her legs and could not get back to thesurface. She started to run out of air and to sinkfurther. Mila, one of the Beluga whales sharingthe tank with the competitors noticed Yun’s
predicament and came to her rescue.
Mila firstmaneuvered Yunwith her mouth ...

... then Milapushed thestricken
diver to thesurface.

Yang Yun survived unharmed and Mila isforever her hero.
You may think of rabbits as no more than a goodmeal, but for Simon Steggall living in England,aEllarabbit stew is the last thing he would eat. Mr.
Steggall, who is diabetic, was watching TV with hiswife when Dory, their pet rabbit, jumped on him andJanis
started furiously thumping on his chest. Just prior
to this, Mr. Steggall had fallen asleep, at least that’s
the impression his wife had had, but Dory’s behavior– he is never allowed to jump
onto the furniture - made her
take notice. She tried to revive
her husband, but couldn’t. She
then called an ambulanceservice and Mr. Steggall wassaved. Like I said, no rabbit
stew for this family, ever!

How did these animals
know that their human pals
were in danger? And what instinct (was itinstinct?) drove them to come to the rescue?

Therearemany
otherexamples of animal heroism
reported in the media and in theinternet. Take for example the Californian
toddler who was being mauled by aneighborhood dog. His family cat suddenly
leaped at the dog and chased it away saving the4-year-old from serious injury. The whole scene
was captured on the family’s security camera,
and you can watch this extraordinary scene on
You Tube, just tap in “A Cat Saved My Son”.
Not to be outdone by thefeline species, Khan, an
Australian
Doberman,proved his metal by saving
the family’s 17- month oldtoddler from a venomous snake. The child and thedog were playing in the backyard when the dog
noticed the snake. He tried to push her away butwith no luck, so he grabbed her nappy and flung
her a meter away over his shoulder. The baby wassaved, but the snake struck the dog. Khan was
rushed to a vet in time and survived. His behavior
is all the more impressive when you consider thatthe family only adopted Khan from an animal
shelter just 4 days before this happened.
“Mama, Baby!” criedWillie the parrot when herealized that Hannah, hisowner’s child, started chocking
on some food. Hannah’s
mother had just left the room,
but came rushing back at the sound of Willie’s
distress call. The little girl was turning blue but
Mom was able to dislodge the obstruction in thechild’s windpipe in time, thus saving her.
Willie is one more example to enter into therecords of amazing animal heroes. But, how dothey know something is wrong, and why do theyintervene to help us?

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Check out the hero cat from California here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckDVpihCPq8

Joshua Says: Have you wondered why we say “bless you” in English, or“gesunheit” in German when someone sneezes? Why would a sneeze be a
prompting for divine intervention? It comes from the belief that people once
had that sneezing was a prelude to the soul leaving the body and thus, todeath! Isn’t it fascinating to think how language evolves over time?
Junko Says: A milestone in housing has been set. On April 30th in Holland,tenants received their keys for the first 3D printed house. A 3D printed housecan be built much quicker and more affordably than usual houses with more
flexibility and potential for design including curves. In India, around 56m² ofhousing was built in just 5 days. This is a big step forward in the field ofconstruction. Next month, I’ll introduce 3D food in this column!
Marek Says: The rainy season has descended upon us much earlier thananticipated. In fact, rainy season in Shikoku started 3 weeks earlier than usual, theearliest it has ever happened, since the records began. However, an early start does notalways translate into early end, as past records show that often the early rainy season
will continue until its initially expected end date. The first serious deluge has alreadywrecked my freshly established garden, so I have to rethink my landscaping strategy.

Mandcy dit: Comment garder le moral pendant la période morose duconfinement??? Hé bien, la réponse est simple. Il faut s'occuper!!! Voici quelques
idées. 1- apprendre à jouer d'un nouvel instrument 2- regarder des films cultes
que vous n'avez jamais eu le temps de voir 3- lire des livres célèbres 4- se balader
sur le bord de mer ou dans la montagne. 5- faire du camping ou un BBQ 6dessiner, peindre, écrire, faire des vidéos et les partager sur le net. 7- apprendre
la cuisine française 8- faire beaucoup trop de sport Bon courage à tous!!!
1ACROSS
1 very difficult situation
4 extremely poisonous
6 great courage facing danger
7 related to the cat species
9 forcefully remove
12 to get involved and cause change
14 moving at high speed
16 painful muscle contractions
17 inborn non-rational behavior
18 experiencing pain or faced with danger
19 worn by infants
DOWN
2 action with a heavy, dull sound3 regain consciousness
5 a young child7 throw forcefully
8 compassionate understanding
10 something that blocks progressor movement
11 acting extremely or violently
13 attacked and injured badly
15 earlier in time(print version here)

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Riddles!

1. A rubber bandSee if you can answer these riddles.
(The answers are in the column to the right. Write the correct answer’s
number next to each riddle.)

2. A coin■ What can you keep after giving it to someone? ___3. A comb■ I will always closely follow you and copy your every

movement, but you can never touch me. What am I? ___■ What gets bigger the more you take away? ___4. A cold

5. A hole■ What kind of coat is best put on wet? ___6. A needle■ What kind of band never plays music? ___■ What goes through cities, fields and the countryside,

7. Your shadowbut never moves? ___I promise

8. Your word

■ What has a head and a tail but no body? ___■ What is so fragile that saying it breaks it? ___9. A coat of paint■ What can you catch but never throw? ___■ What can run but never walks, has a mouth but nevertalks, has a bed but never sleeps? ___10. Silence

11. A river■ What has many teeth but can’t bite? ___12. A road■ What has one eye, but can’t see? ___EO V E R S H A D O W E D
D I L U T I N GOURSWPFM
M I T I G A T E
ERAVNREC O N F E C T I O NEHDCKVQMTP E R I L O U S L YEUPRNAREE
G O R G EGGINRNUNCAI N S A T I A B L E
DYTAUII N F L A M M A T I O NLC R A V EIGEU N A S H A M E D L YGNP E R M U T A T I O N S

Last Month’s Puzzle SolutionACROSS
2 cause to seem smaller4 lessening the strength
8 lessen the seriousness
10 a rich, sugary food
14 dangerously
15 overeat immodestly
16 impossible to satisfy
17 painful, swelling caused byinjury18 a great desire
19 without shame
20 changes in character orconditions

DOWN
1 difficult to catch
3 inactive for the time being
5 watching over or protectingfrom danger
6 brief glances
7 the number of occurrenceswith a time period
9 in the nature of something
11 enjoying to excess
12 urgently requiring attention
or action
13 changing from liquid to solid

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