CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter August,August , 201
20 1 8

Did you catch the lunar eclipse
on the 27th of last month? Did you see thejaguar with bloodied teeth? No...?
The ancient Inca believed that every now
and again a jaguar
would attack theMoon and eat it.
That, they believed,
was what caused a“blood moon.” They
also believed that once the jaguar had
devoured the Moon, it would redirect its
attention towards the Earth. In order toprotect the earth, and themselves, the Inca
would shake spears at the moon, shout andbeat their dogs to make them bark. The noise
was enough to chase the jaguar away.
The ancient Mesopotamians believedthat during a lunar eclipse their king’s life
Ella him
was in danger, so they would replacewith a faux king for the duration of theeclipse while the real king stayed hidden.
HeJaniswould then reappear and be reinstatedonce the danger was over.
The Chinese believed that solar
and lunar eclipses were caused bya hungry dog named Tiangou("heaven dog"), trying to devour
the sun or moon. But Tiangou
was always stopped by the god ofchildbirth, Zhang Xian, an expert archer.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Watch a video explaining how a “blood moon”
eclipse happens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW2xRR75lKE

In a Korean myth, it’s also a case ofdogs, this time attempting to steal themoon and sun for their master, theruler of the “Dark World.” During theseattempted heists there is an eclipse, but as theobjects of the Dark King’s desire clearly
return, it was believed that the sun must havebeen too hot and the moon too cold for thedogs to hold on to for very long.
On the other side of the world, the Vikings tella tale of two ravenous wolves that chase the sunand moon in order to eat them. When either
catches its prey, we have an eclipse. The Greek
Goddess of the Moon was also said to have kept
company with wolves. Could
all these dogs in the sky havesomething to do with thewerewolf myth as well?
Mythology aside, what
actually causes a “blood moon?” Normally whenthe moon passes behind the earth, we see around silvery disk, a full-moon. It’s highenough in the night sky to avoid the Earth’s
shadow cast by the sun. But sometimes the fullmoon moves directly behind the Earth, in astraight line with the Sun and is then eclipsed.
Some sunlight still reaches the moon, refracted
by the Earth’s atmosphere,
and illuminates it with anashen to dark red glow.
Columbus was aware of thescience behind the “blood moon”
back in 1504. On his 4th voyage
to the new world he and his crew got maroonedin Jamaica. He had an almanac with him thatpredicted an impending eclipse of the moon.
When the natives refused to supply him and hiscrew with food, he told them that God was angry
with them and would make asigh of His displeasure inthree days. A “blood moon”
eclipse followed - and so didplenty of food for Columbus!

Joshua Says: How can you develop your vocabulary? There are basically only two steps,
but they require a lot of effort. First you have to find words. Reading with a dictionary, penciland paper, lots of reading, is a good choice. But how can you remember, or even know how to
use your new words correctly? This brings you to the second step; testing out the new words.
Try them out in class or in writing exercises that your teacher can check for you. Follow these
two steps regularly and often and your general English level will improve greatly.
Junko Says: We planted two different varieties of olive trees in front of our schoolbuilding because I believed that it was necessary to do so in order for them to bear
fruit. But two days ago I found out that one tree can bear fruit by itself. Olives begin
bearing fruit in the tree’s 3rd to 5th year and reach full production in 7 to 8 years afterplanting. This year one of our trees produced four olives. We may be able to have twokinds of olives next autumn. Can you imagine how nice they will look?!!
Mark Says: My mind this month, rather predictably if you’ve seen me
hobbling around the school, has been filled with matters of health… But notjust about ill health, but rather how readily we take good health for granted.
Please be conscious of how lucky you and your family and friends are to be insound mind and body, and celebrate every moment!
Darrin Says: As we brace ourselves for yet another typhoon, it brings to mind
summer in Australia when we have our cyclones. While they are the samestorm with a different name, Japan has way more of them then we do inAustralia. However, and this may be because Matsuyama never really seems
to get a bad one, the cyclones in Australia seem much more powerful andcause a lot more damage. And fingers crossed we still won’t get a bad one.
Mandcy dit: Quelles vacances de folie pour les français !! En effet, laFrance a réussi a remporté la coupe du monde et les gens dansaient etchantaient dans la rue pour fêter la victoire. De plus, cet été, il fait trop
chaud ! C’est la canicule. Le Tour de France, la compétition de vélo, estvraiment terrible pour les participants. Cet été aura été très effervescentpour les français. Vivement la fraîcheur de l’automne.
1ACROSS
1 a manual or reference book4 make lighter or brighter
5 eat greedily and completely
513 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

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Here are a few idioms to think about. Look at the list below and use the images in thepassage to complete the story.
1. a can of worms; an awkward, embarrassing, complicated matter.
2. under the weather; slightly unwell or in low spirits.
3. hold your (my) tong
tongu
ngue; stay quiet despite wanting to say something.
4. a chip off the old block; behaves like or resembles (usually) his father.
5. pull your (hi(his) socks up; make an attempt to improve.
6. heard (it) on the grapevine; to hear something through gossip.
7. let the cat out of the bag; to reveal a secret.
8. a storm in a tea cup; a small event that has been exaggerated.
9. drinks like a fish; to frequently drink a lot of alcohol.
10. take the bull by the horns; to deal with a difficult situation
directly and confidently.

My uncle’s son, my cousin, is a

11. let sleeping dogs lie; to leave a situation alone so as toavoid making
That’sit me!
worse.
12. in one ear and out the other; heard but quickly forgotten.
13. in the doghouse; In trouble with someone due to one's
misdeeds or blunders.
14. play it by ear; to have no game plan.
15. cry over spilled milk; don't be upset over something thatcannot be fixed,
16. couch potato; lazy, frequently watching television.
17. put your (my(my)my) foot in your (my) mouth; make a verbal
blunder that embarrasses others.

. He and his dad are a pair of. They sit

around the house all day watching TV. On top of that, my cousin
worries me, I usuallycause a! Although thisand never criticize him directly about it because it would only

if I did. However, I do think he should try toand behave moreresponsibly. The other day I complained to my cousin’s friend abut his attitude and hisfriend. I should havebecause later Iwith me for saying he was lazy. It seems I really didthat my cousin was very angry
this time and my cousin has been

ever since he heard what I had said to his friend. I suppose I should, speakwith him and explain that I didn’t mean to offend him but he never listens to anything Isay. Everything just goes. This is turning out to be a really bigand I will probably befor quite a while as far as my cousin is concerned. Well, whatis done is done and I can’t waist timeM
A S S I M I L A T ESONUI N T E G R A T I O NBGISEHOER
B R I M M I N G
R E P L I C A T I N GLSVNAB L E A KIGA U G M E N TAEAEUE N A B L I N G
D R U D G E R YTOHUE X O S K E L E T I O NNTDS P U R R E DMS. For now, I’ll justI’ve openedand hope for the best.

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution

ACROSS
2 take in or absorb
5 combining into a whole
7 filled to capacity
8 making an exact copy
9 offering little or no hope
10 make larger or increase
12 giving the ability to do something
13 hard monotonous routine work
14 exterior structure of many animals
such as snails
16 stimulated, urged onDOWN
1 selling or offering for sale
3 destroyed completely
4 obedient to authority
6 sudden and severe attack
11 many or plenty of something
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