CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊsStudio Ês Newsletter August,August , 201
20 1 6
It’s a common
misconception
that, next towater, coffee isthe most widely
consumed drink
in the world. Infact, tea consumption greatly exceeds thatof coffee at roughly 6 billion cups a day.
Black tea (or red tea in China andJapan) comes from a shrub called Camelliasinensis. The aroma, taste, and colour
depend on factors such as; the country andregion in which it was grown, the year andseason of harvest, the grade of leaf. Today,
tea is primarily grown in Sri Lanka, India,China and Kenya.
Some of the major types of tea include;
Ceylon: Grown in the mountains of SriLanka, this tea is lively andbright with citrus notes. EllaAssam: Grown in northeastern India, fullbodied, dark, and malty.
JanisDarjeeling: Grown on a small number of
estates in India's Himalayas.
Tea is usually graded according to thesize of the leaf. The most commonly usedgrade is Broken Leaf, sold as a loose-leaf orin good quality tea bags (Twinings, Dilmahetc). Fannings (leftover tips from highergrade teas) and Dust (leftover particles
only suitable for teabags) are used bylower quality mass market brands (Lipton,Tetley etc).
For a good brew a single origin is best,
but there are a few good blends available
such as English Breakfast, made from
Ceylon, Assam and Kenyan leaves, or Earl
Grey, usually a Ceylon leaf blended withbergamot.

So, just what is required to make that
perfect cup of tea at home?
According to tea tsar Stephen Twining,making a brew really shouldn’t becomplicated. Always use freshly drawn
water as it contains a lot of oxygen. Teashould be steeped for a minimum of threeminutes, but no more than five, as this will
result in the release of bitter tannins. If
desired, a splash of milk or a slice of lemon
can be added, but never sugar, as hebelieves this completely ruins the delicate
balance of flavours.
During the hot summer months what
could be more refreshing than a tall glass of
iced tea? Don’t make the mistake of
brewing hot tea and then cooling it as thiswill result in a stale, flat flavour. Simply
add five teabags (or the equivalent amountof loose-leaf) to one litre of cold water and
let it steep in the refrigerator for eight toten hours. Serve with a slice of lemon or a
sprig of mint. Cold brewed ice tea isnaturally sweet, but unlike hot tea, adding
a little sweetener is acceptable.
A good cup of rosy-lee,hot orcold, black or white, is adelicious
way to stay hydrated allyear
round . Co up led withits
potential health properties –three to five cups a day may
reduce blood pressure,diabetes and stroke risks –how could you go wrong?

Article by MarkNET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Here’s how they make a “cuppa” when in Yorkshire:https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-teas/how-tomake-a-proper-brew

Joshua Says: This month will be Colm’s last with us. He has finished his
contract and will be moving on at the end of the month. We thank him for thegood work he has done while with us and we all wish him success for his future.
Soon we will be inviting a new teacher, Matt, to take over Colm’s teaching duties
here. Matt will join us from September 1st, and as we wish Colm all the best for
the future, we are also looking forward to working with Matt from next month.
Junko Says: Did you know that NHK is broadcasting English TV
programs 24 hours a day? Here’s how to watch them. First go to the
NHK World home page. Next, click on the banner that says “NHKWorld” on the top page; then, click “live” in the menu bar. Now, you
can start watching various programs in English. This may be useful for
you to practice your English listening and comprehension skills!
Mark Says: Most summers in NZ I would skedaddle up to the Aoraki lakes
district to do some camping. Unfortunately, the humidity of West Japan
makes the prospect of summer camping seem a little unpleasant. I think I
will hold off until September. If you have any Autumn camping spot
recommendations for Shikoku, please let me know.
Colm Says: Obon is almost upon us and the weather is perfect forsome island-hopping. I plan to spend some time visiting the beautiful
islands of the Seto, or Inland Sea. From what I’ve seen online, thescenery of the area is beautiful. I hope it is the first of many special
trips in the lesser-seen spots of Shikoku.
Danielle dit: Ce mois-ci, c'est au tour de ceux qui prennent leurs vacances d'été aumois d'août de partir sur les routes afin de rejoindre leur destination estivale. Entre
ceux qui partent du centre pour aller en province et ceux qui en reviennent, lesgrandes routes de France se transforment généralement en véritable enfer. Ceux qui
préfèrent voyager en train ou en avion ne sont pas épargnés non plus. J'imagine quel'attente est le prix à payer avant de pouvoir profiter pleinement des vacances.
ACROSS
4 bush7 property, especially land
8 a bitter flavor (especially in wine or 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 destroyed11 a small branch(print version here)

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com

My favorite flower, the Tuyuk
Tuyukuuyukusa – by S(A)1’s Yukiko
In summer, we can see the beautiful blue flower, Commelina

That’s me!

communis (tsuyukusa in Japanese) near rice fields and aroundthe edges of forests and even in wastelands. They open earlyin the morning and close their petals in the afternoon, so they
are called “one-day flowers”. They love the environment
around rice fields, but are not an original Japanese plant.
When rice was introduced to Japan in about 400 B.C., they
were accidentally introduced along with the rice plants.
Even though they are immigrants, they have been popularwith Japanese people for a long time. In the oldest collectionof poems in Japan (Manyoshu), there are some poems about tsuyukusa.
I love the color of pure blue petals and yellow stamens. There are three types ofstamens and their shapes are very unique. Their uniqueness fascinated me. Fromtheir shapes, the stamens are classified into three types, looking like the letters x, π,o. In each flower there are three fake (because they have no pollen) x stamens, one π
stamen and two o stamens.
Having looked at these flowers carefully, I noticed the x-shaped fake stamens
were subtly different from plant to plant. But all the flowers of each individual
plant had the same peculiar x-shape. So, I assumed that the x-shape is controlled
genetically. I collected seeds from some plants that had different x-shaped stamens.
The next spring I sowed them. As I expected, each x-shape was carried over to thenext generation. My hypothesis was right! Speaking of the shape of the x-stamen,
there are two types. I named them the “butterfly-shape” and the “mushroom-shape.” Even when crossbreeding them, they can’t produce a hybrid offspring, though apparently they are the same species. Thatmeans they are a different sub-species. Now I keep four kinds of C. communis. One of them is found only inislands around Uwakia in Ehime. This species has interesting characteristics. Regrettably there is no paper
about this species, so I decided to keep on studying it.
ETMAILSNLMTD E R I V E SI G N O R A N C ENETRTSASTP R O P O S I T I O NLCHMIRA P P O R T I O N
I L L U S I O NERLGDH Y P O T H E S I S
C O N C E A L E DICTBAB I Z A R R E L Y
C A P A B I L I T YOE
E X T I N C T

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution

ACROSS
5 a result achieved by reasoning
6 lack of knowledge or education
8 an idea presented for consideration DOWN
10 allocate or distribute
1 a position higher than others
11 something that appears to be true 2 adds up to
but is not
3 surprisingly different
12 a concept that is not yet probed to 4 expressing one thing in terms
be trueof another13 hidden from view
7 a technique of representing the
14 being greatly unusual orreal world
unconventional
9 worthy of belief
15 having ability
16 no longer in existence

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