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ALC Newsletter No. 070 10/17/07
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By the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
http://www.alc.co.jp/international
Contents:
1) The "Dear Readers" Column: Messages from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
2) Topics in Japan #26: Erika, a young and "big" actress
3) Quiz on Japan #9: "How crowded are Japan's commuter trains?"
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Dear Readers,
Greetings from Tokyo!
"Second Life" <http://secondlife.com> is an Internet-based 3-D
virtual world that was launched by a San Francisco-based venture
company, Linden Lab, in 2003. It now has nearly 10 million users
(membership holders) worldwide and the number is growing rapidly.
More and more corporations as well as educational institutions around
the world are setting up their SIMs (also called "islands") in Second Life.
For general information about Second Life, please go to Wikipedia at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life>.
ALC Press purchased a SIM in Second Life in July to set up an"International Education Island." We will not go into the detail about
what we are going to do there now, but we are developing it as a place
where Japanese visitors will get motivated to learn English, interact
with non-Japanese speakers and eventually go to study abroad in
real life. The first stage of the construction is done and we are going
to hold an opening event on October 19. This is going to be real fun!
Best wishes from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press.
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Topics in Japan #26: Erika, a young and "big" actress
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Erika Sawajiri, a 21-year-old actress, is now probably one of the hottest
celebrities in Japan. Erika started her career at the age of 12, first as a
model for magazines. After she appeared in several TV dramas and films,
she began to be recognized for her great acting skills and won many
awards. There are many other actresses around her age, but Erika now
surely exceeds the others with her performances.
However, Erika is currently being recognized for a totally different
quality: "arrogance." A few weeks ago, she appeared with other
performers in an opening event for a movie in which she is starring,"Closed Note." She was there to thank her fans for coming to see the
movie, tell them some behind-the-scenes stories about the movie, etc.
However, what she did was totally the unexpected ── she stared at
her lap, crossed her arms, and even glared at the interviewer! The
interviewer asked her about the episodes of the filming, but all Erika
said throughout the event were "Nothing" and "Not really."
Unfortunately, the movie, which is supposed to be a tearjerker, has
only succeeded in revealing Erika's arrogance before the fans. When
she appeared in TV shows a few days before the opening event, she
also seemed grumpy and arrogant. Her attitude during the course
of the promotion caused controversy both among the fans and the
media. The problem became bigger. It was not only about Erika
anymore, but her behavior also gave a bad impression of the movie
itself and also other performers.
She later posted a comment on her official website and apologized to
the public, admitting it was not a professional attitude and saying she
was truly sorry for her immature behavior. She didn't mention the
reason for her attitude, but some people are guessing that she was
probably tired of being asked the same questions again and again.
While many people are disappointed with her behavior, there are also
people who are praising her strong and unique character. For better
or worse, Erika is certainly a "big one."
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Quiz on Japan #9: "How crowded are Japan's commuter trains?"
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How much do you know about Japan? We'll give you a quiz in each
issue, so try to find the right answer!
［Answer to last week's quiz］
Last week's quiz question was "Who is not recommended to eat
autumn eggplants"? The answer is: (b) Daughter-in-law ─ because it
cools your body. Other than this, there are also two other explanations
about why a mother tells her daughter-in-law not to eat autumn
eggplants. One is "because autumn eggplants have less seeds, they
are not good for women who are hoping for a baby." And another one
is more simple and funny: "because autumn eggplants are so delicious,
why waste them on your daughter-in law?"
［Quiz for this week］
Crowded commuter trains are now a common sight in the large cities of
Japan. But do you know how crowded they actually are? Among the
four alternatives related to commuter trains below, which one is true?
(a) There's special clothing that protect commuters from others'pushing and scratching.
(b) Even if you hit someone and get arrested, your charge will be deemed less serious if it occurred on a crowded train.
(c) If you spend 30 minutes on a crowded commuter train, you burn off as much as 240kcal.
(d) There are professionals who push and force overflowing commuters into trains.
Check out the correct answer in the next issue!
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Thank you for reading!
*Back issues of the ALC Newsletter are available at:
http://www.alc.co.jp/international/Newsletter.html
*If you wish to be removed from this newsletter or change the e-mail
address to which it is sent, please let us know by e-mailing us at:
intl-mag@alc.co.jp
Publisher: ALC Press, Inc.
2-54-12 Eifuku, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-8611 Japan
Writers: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press / Ayako Ishimoto
Editor: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press
Copyright (c) 2007 ALC Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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