CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter September,September , 201
20 1 8For years children have been lambasted byteachers and parents for their lack of focus inclass, a phenomenon that seems to have been
exacerbated by kids’ continued exposure totechnology. Since the advent of personal
computers, video games and mobile phones, theeffect on youth seems to have culminated in theoccurrence of ADHD (attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder) in millions of American
teenagers, and along with it, prescriptions forhighly addictive and dangerous medications
such as Ritalin and Adderall to help them
maintain focus, attention and the ability to sit
still and stop fidgeting.
However, technology spreading into
adulthood also appears to be having someserious repercussions. Take the workplace, forexample, where each worker is said to lose
400 hours of productivity per year due to cellphone use – denting corporate profitsbyElla$15.5billion annually in the US alone! This
could also lead to quality issues in production,
possibly resulting in dangerous, inferior
Janis
goods, as well as threatening the quality andreliability of services related to health,education, government* and more.
(*Recently,aBritish
politician, Nigel Mills, forexample, was found to haveplayed a game of Candy Crush
for 2 hours while sat in theHouse of Commons during animportant legislative bill!)

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Here’s a list of negative effects technology has on us
according to RooGirl: http://roogirl.com/25negative-effects-of-technology/

Focus on the roads
is also slipping with analarming rise in drivers
using their phones and,more disturbingly, evenwatching TV whiledriving. This isobviously a very dangerous situation, notjust endangering bad drivers’ own lives,
but also threatening the lives of all otherroad users and pedestrians.
Do we blame, or fight a losing battle
against the ingress of technology – or cantechnology also offer a solution to theseissues? Driving, for one, may soon becomeless lethal as autonomous computer-driven
cars are due to start entering the market.
In the US these cars have already selfdriven over 15 million kilometers intesting, and the results are promising withconsiderably less accidents and issues
affecting the roads than when people arein control of their cars – 94% of the
1million road deaths per year are due tohuman error, but computers don’t fallasleep nor get distracted or muddled, andcan ‘see’ 360 around the car.
Japan faces numerous issues due to anageing population of drivers – including
slowing reactions, muddled decisionmaking and driving the wrong way down
highway lanes – yet with cars being anever-reliant means of travel for a society
where public transport is often limited, it
seems the perfect market here for selfdriving cars. What do you think – would
you prefer to control the car yourself, or
handover the responsibility and effort ofdriving to the car, and let your attention
wander into a good book or your favourite
TV show?

Article by MarkJoshua Says: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely
tenacity.” This is a quote from the famous aviator, Amelia Earhart. Everyone
understands the “never give up” (tenacity) sentiment in these words, but forme, the real message is in the part about making a “decision to act.” It takes
courage to make a decision and then act on that decision, but so many people I
have spoken to about starting English lessons can’t seem to get past this step!
Junko Says: A truly international hotel is about to open in Matsuyama. I call it “truly”
international because an essential requisite will be that all information, the restaurant’s
menus, guidance and instructions, etc, will be written in two languages, Japanese andEnglish. Also, this hotel is enthusiastically educating its staff in English (we are alreadyteaching there) to better serve their foreign guests and to accept foreigners on their staff. I feel
this is an important step for people in Matsuyama to become aware of “globalization.”
Mark Says: Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds of modern time, said
“Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work.” It sprang to mind thismonth when thinking of the success achieved by students’ hard work. Merely
thinking about achieving our dreams will never make them happen, but ideas
and imagination need to be followed by action, and in turn, withperseverance: Then anything is possible!
Darrin Says: As a continuation from last month when I talked about cyclones/
typhoons I thought I’d mention the interesting phenomenon known as theCoriolis Effect. It’s what makes typhoons turn anticlockwise in the NorthernHemisphere and makes cyclones turn clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
What’s most interesting about this is that it also applies to how the waterdrains from your bath or toilet. But did you know that on the equator, theCoriolis force is zero, which means the water drains straight down?
Mandcy dit: Anatole France disait que < le livre est l'opium de l'Occident>. En

effet. Nous adorons les lire. Et septembre est le mois de la diffusion de tous leslivres en France. En un seul mois, 5000 livres sortent dans les librairies. La
fraicheur arrive et il est temps de collectionner les livres et de s'adonner aux
joies de la lecture sous la couette.
1

2

ACROSS
1 the act of entering
44 people who travel by foot6 deadly
8 free of external control
11 the arrival of something, (usually expected) 10
13 relating to the making laws
14 confused
15 a large indefinite number
16 suppressing or depressing something
13DOWN
2 consequences of some action
3 reached a final or climatic stage
15
5 made worse
7 severely or angrily criticized
9 clearly evident
10 moving restlessly (especially a child)
12 causing apprehension or fear(print version here)
www.CrosswordWeaver.com

3568

911

1214167

Everyone knows that Crossroads specializes in adult and business English tuition. As ageneral rule, we have very few young learners with us. But there are some special exceptions.
We have just a few high and junior-high school students taking special private courses here.
Their goals are to enter overseas colleges and universities or international colleges here inJapan. Such colleges have high standards for entry. To achieve their goals, our young learners
study for acceptable scores in IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL and other proficiency exams that theirfuture colleges require. Here is a feature on two very special students:
That’s me!

\Yuika Matsumoto is somewhat unique atCrossroads. She is by far the youngest
student in our school. She is only 12years old and is attending Okada JuniorHigh. She has just done the TOEIC
test for the first time. Take a look at herscore! Yuika is indeed a very special
student and we are very proud to have
her studying with us.
Shione Chosokabe has just graduated from high school and is on her
way to the U.S. to start studying at Highline College in Seattle. She has
been with us for over a year and a half studying privately and has
worked very hard to achieve her dream. What is that? Shione wants toplay basketball. She had already visited Highline College and had been
invited to join the college team, no less. The problem was that she had
to gain 5 or better in the IELTS (English proficiency) exam in order tobe accepted as a student at the college. Well, she did it! And now sheis on her way!! Good job Shione and congratulations!
A L M A N A C
RS
I L L U M I N A T E
HV
D E V O U R E DENEA
NDFPMVOURRAOUFHR
T A L ER E I N S T A T E DACYODUITTOXSI M P E N D I N GTODESN
H I D D E N

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 a manual or referencebook
4 make lighter or brighter
5 eat greedily andcompletely
13 a light, not too serious
short story
14 restored to a previous state
15 close in time
16 kept out of sight

DOWN
2 drained of color, pale
3 extremely hungry
6 a change or bend in direction(usually light)
7 stay clear from
8 a period of time
9 an animal hunted for food
10 stranded, cut off, left behind
11 not genuine or real
12 acts of stealing

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.