April The Newsletter of

CROSSROADS Language Studio 2003

For westerners,
there are three important things
to think about in April!
1. TIME. In America, the first Sunday
in April begins Daylight
Savings Time. People set
their clocks ahead one hour
so they have longer summerdays! (In Europe, it’s the lastSunday in March).
2. TRICKS. April Fool’s Day iscelebrated in many places.
On this day, people playpractical jokes on eachother. Putting salt in thes u g a r bowl is a popular
trick. Be careful, anything
can happen!
3. TAXES. In some countries, people arecalculating their taxes now.
In the U.S.A., taxes are due
April 15th. In Canada, taxes
are due the 30th. Because oftax day, many people don’t
like April!

Over the years, a lot of interesting
things have happened in April. For
example: April 19, 1775 - The Revolutionary
war began and led to American
independence from England April 9, 1865 - The American Civil
War ended.
 April 6, 1896 - The first modern
Olympic Games began in Athens,Greece.
April 14, 1912 - The Titanic sank.
 April 9, 1947 - Jackie Robinson
became the first black major league
baseball player.
The Jewish holiday Passover begins
April 16th.
The Christian holiday Easter falls on
April 20th. On Easter Sunday,
children everywhere painteggs and have Easter egg
hunts while they watch
for the Easter Bunny!

GLOSSARY (These words are in green in the story)

Joshua Says: April begins a new term for CROSSROADS. It’s extra
special because it’s the first new term of the year. There is also excitingenergy now because it’s spring. People and nature all become more
active. You’ll even feel the energy of spring among students and staff atCROSSROADS!
Junko Says: I have good news and bad news. The bad news is: theJapanese government will no longer pay 80% of your cost for English
lessons. They will soon pay only 40%. The good news is: you can still get
80% from the government if you enroll at CROSSROADS this month!
Ask me for details.
Joanna Says: It’s here! Finally spring has come, yet I’m still finding it
difficult to get out of bed in the morning! I can’t wait for Golden Week
when I’m hoping to go to Kyushu with a friend to see small monkeys. I’m
also looking forward to taking a dip in some of Kyushu’s famous hot
springs!
Drew Says: Last month I experienced Japan’s health care system. I had
a small injury to my left knee, so I went to a clinic near Dogo. The people
were very friendly and because of Japan’s national health insurance,
treatment was inexpensive, only about 4,000 yen. In America, it would beequal to 40,000 yen!
Tamara Says: I’m hoping to travel to Tokyo at the end of the month forGolden Week. I’ve been doing lots of research, but if you have somesuggestions of where I should visit and what I should do while I’m inTokyo, please make sure to tell me.

Greg Says: April begins with April Fool’s Day. This is when people playjokes on each other. For example, in 1978 a famous businessman towed
an entire iceberg by boat from Antarctica into Sydney Harbor. People
were amazed, until it rained and they saw the iceberg was only shaving
cream!
Yuka Says: Spring used to be my favorite season, but not anymore.
Although we can enjoy beautiful flowers, wonderful weather, and a goodnight’s sleep, there is one problem…hay-fever! For several weeks I havebeen suffering from eye irritation and a stuffy nose. Does anyone know agood remedy for this?

Tomomi Ninomiya Says: Goodbye! I passed my university entrance
exams and I am moving to Fukuoka in April to study biology at Kyushu
University. I will miss everyone at CROSSROADS and in my class! Bye-bye!
Naoko Ono and Kayo Otani Say: We went to Okinawa and our picture wastaken in traditional costume. Naoko says: “The sea is a beautiful shade ofblue.” Kayo says: “The people are warm and friendly, and everyone is treatedequally!”
Kazumi Toshida Says: I am going to live with my daughter in Florida for fourmonths beginning in April! She just had a baby boy (named Hideki) so I am going tohelp her out.

Congratulations To:
Tohru Shimizu - his research about space is printed in the American Institute ofPhysics Journal this month.

a, an, or the?
Use a or an when you
talk aboutsomething for the first time. Use thewhen you talk about it again. For
example:“I had an apple for lunch. The apple
was good.”“I saw a man talking to a woman. The
man was tall. The woman was short.”
With special words, we use the. For
example: the bank / the post office / thearmy / the police
Do you have a question? Please, ask us!

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy tocome to CROSSROADS for English
lessons? Try our lessons on the internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home! You
get CROSSROADS’ great teachers,materials, even classmates, on-line! Callfor details.
NET SITE OF THE MONTH: Do you
like to travel? See where you’re going,
anywhere in the world at:www.maps.com.
NETNOTEBOOK: Check out theinternet activity notebook in our openhouse. You’ll find games, news andEnglish learning sites.

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089) 921-7595
Fax: (089) 921-7319
Email:info@crossroadsco.com
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com