Unit two

Space Invaders

Learning objectives

• To comprehend the whole story• To understand the structure of

the text• To appreciate the style and

rhetoric of the passage• To study on the western social

manners about personal space

Process I. Pre-reading questions II. Main idea of the text III. Structure of the text

IV. Text analysis V. Key words and structures

VI. Rhetorical features VII.The different attitude to

personal space in the world

Pre-reading questionsIs personal space important to

you? Why or why not?• Yes, but it depends on…• Yes, because…People become more and more

concerned about it;It can indicate the higher level

of social civilization and individual living standard.

Do we have a weaker sense of personal space than the westerners? Why?

• Yes, …• No, …

Main idea of the text

• The writer pointed out people are more and more concerned about themselves and a larger personal space now than decades ago, and then he analyses the causes of space invasion.

Structure analysis• This text can be divided into

3 parts:Part I (paras.1-2):The author’s experience of

how his personal space was invaded and how his individual border was intruded on

• Part II (paras.3-7)It shows that the phenomenon

of invading personal space has become more and more serious in the current society, and then

The author gives some explanation to this pervasive phenomenon.

• Part III (paras.8-9)It shows that the shrinking of

personal space is less a physical matter than people’s psychological withdrawal, and then,

The writer calls for people’s expansion of personal space, both physical and psychological.

The purpose of writing

A. To describe the conception and the types of space invader.

B. To argue that his personal space is being increasingly invaded.

C. To explore why the problem of space invasion is getting more and more serious.

Text I Space Invaders1 At my bank the other day, I was standing in a

line snaking around some tired velvet ropes when a man in a sweat-suit started inching toward me in his eagerness to deposit his Social Security check. As he did so, I minutely advanced toward the woman reading the Wall Street Journal in front of me, who, in mild annoyance, began to sidle up to the man scribbling a check in front of her, who absentmindedly shuffled toward the white-haired lady ahead of him, until we were all hugger-mugger against each other, the original lazy line having collapsed in on itself like a Slinky.

How did the author describe

the violation

of personal

space that happened in a bank?

2 I estimate that my personal space extends eighteen inches in front of my face, one foot to each side, and about ten inches in back — though it is nearly impossible to measure exactly how far behind you someone is standing. The phrase "personal space" has a quaint, seventies ring to it ("You're invading my space, man"), but it is one of those gratifying expressions that are intuitively understood by all human beings. Like the twelve-mile limit around our national shores, personal space is our individual border beyond which no stranger can penetrate without making us uneasy.

If a person

is invading

your space, what

would you do?

3 Lately, I've found that my personal space is being invaded more than ever before. In elevators, people are wedging themselves in just before the doors close; on the street, pedestrians are zigzagging through the human traffic, jostling others, refusing to give way; on the subway, riders are no longer taking pains to carve out little zones of space between themselves and fellow-passengers; in lines at airports, people are pressing forward like fidgety taxis at red lights.

Is “personal

space” out of date

nowadays?

impatient or uneasy

4 At first, I attributed this tendency to the "population explosion" and the relentless Malthusian logic that if twice as many people inhabit the planet now as did twenty years ago, each of us has half as much space. Recently, I've wondered if it's the season: T-shirt weather can make proximity more alluring (or much, much less). Or perhaps the proliferation of coffee bars in Manhattan — the number seems to double every three months — is infusing so much caffeine into the already jangling locals that people can no longer keep to themselves.

Do you agree

with the author

about the reasons of space invasion

here?

5 Personal space is mostly a public matter; we allow all kinds of invasions of personal space in private. (Humanity wouldn't exist without them.) The logistics of it vary according to geography. People who live in Calcutta have less personal space than folks in Colorado. "Don't tread on me" could have been coined only by someone with a spread. I would wager that people in the Northern Hemisphere have roomier conceptions of personal space than those in the Southern. To an Englishman, a handshake can seem like trespassing, whereas to a Brazilian, anything less than a hug may come across as chilliness.

The capital of West Bengal, in East India

What do you

think are the

reasons for the

different customs

of personal space?

6 Like drivers who_____ into your parked and empty car and don't leave a note, people no longer mutter "Excuse me" when they______ into you. The decline of manners has been widely lamented. Manners, it seems to me, are about giving people space, not stepping on toes, granting people their private domain.

plow

bump

We have been grieving at the deteriorated manners of our

society.

7 I've also noticed an increase in the ranks of what I think of as space invaders, mini-territorial expansionists who seize public space with a sense of manifest destiny. In movie theatres these days, people are staking a claim to both armrests, annexing all the elbow room, while at coffee shops and on the Long Island Railroad, individuals routinely commandeer booths and sets of facing seats meant for foursomes.

What does the author

mean by saying

“personal space

is mostly a public

matter”?

8 Ultimately, personal space is psychological, not physical: it has less to do with the space outside us than with our inner space. I suspect that the shrinking of personal space is directly proportional to the expansion of self-absorption: people whose attention is inward do not bother to look outward. Even the focus of science these days is micro, not macro. The Human Genome Project is mapping the universe of the genetic code, while neuroscientists are using souped-up M.R.I. machines to chart the flight of neurons in our brains.

Do you agree with the author that the contraction of the outer, personal space is proportional to the expansion of the inner space of morden man?

9 In the same way that the breeze from a butterfly's wings in Japan may eventually produce a tidal wave in California, I have decided to expand the contracting boundaries of personal space. In the line at my bank, I now refuse to move closer than three feet to the person in front of me, even if it means that the fellow behind me starts breathing down my neck.

Do you think

Chinese personal

space now the same as it was decades

ago?

Why does the author decide to expand his contracting boundaries

of personal space?

Key words and expressionssnake: move in a twisting way like snakese.g. The train was snaking its way through the mountains.The river snakes through the valley.河流蜿蜒流过山谷

inch: move very slowly and carefullye.g. Howard inched the van forward.你只有伏在地上慢慢的爬过一条狭长的地道才能进入山洞。You can only enter the cave by inching through a narrow tunne

l on your stomach.Prices are inching down.物价在缓慢下降。

sidle: 1) To move sideways:侧向移动：sidled through the narrow doorway.侧身穿过狭窄的门道2) To advance in an unobtrusive, furtive, or coy w

ay侧身而行：以一种不引人注目的、偷偷摸摸的或羞怯的方式行进：

The swindlers who sidle up to tourists.偷偷走向旅客的骗子v.tr.（及物动词）To cause to move sideways 使…侧向移动：We sidled the canoe to the riverbank.我们将独木舟侧移到河岸边他一边结结巴巴的说着道歉的话，一边羞怯的朝门口走去。

He stammered some apology as he sidled towards the door.

Shuffle: walk by dragging one’s feet曳脚走The crowd shuffled out of the theater.人群曳步挪出剧院He slipped on his shoes and shuffled out of the room. To move about from place to place; shift:移动 ,从一个地方挪到另一个地方 ,变换The seniors are now shuffling around looking for work.到处找工作~ sth. off: avoid talking or thinking about sth because it is not considered important.He shuffled the question off and changed the topic.~ out of sth.: try to avoid some unpleasant task by acting dishonestly.I mistrust the way in which they shuffled out of sust

ained efforts.

…until we were all pushing against each other, leaving the line in a disorder.hugger-mugger: confused, disorderlyadj.秘密的 , 杂乱的adv.秘密地 , 杂乱地n.秘密 , 杂乱In their ~ to catch their plane, they forgot to take their tickets.为什么对这个计划如此保密？Why is there such a ~ about the scheme?vi.偷偷干vt.保守 ...的秘密

The phrase “personal space” sounds old-fashioned and reminds one of the seventies…

Quaint: attractively unusual or old-fashioneda quaint old house一座古雅的老房子a quaint method一个奇怪的方法Seventies: 1970s, in which American people talked a lot about per

sonal spaceRing: a quality , or an impression of having the quality that is men

tioned, a suggestion of a particular quality声调：某种特殊性质的表示

e.g. Her story had a ring of truth about it.他的建议有一种让人怀疑的声调His offer has a suspicious ring. A telephone call:电话：Give me a ring when you have time.你有时间时给我打个电话

…but it is still one of the expressions which can be immediately understood by all people and give pleasure to people.

Gratifying: giving pleasure or satisfaction

e.g. The new plan may be gratifying to the president.

gratifying results

令人满意的结果

make somebody uneasy: make somebody feel anxious that something may b

e wrong or there may be some danger跟在她身后的人让她心神不安，她不由得加快了脚步。

The man following her made her uneasy and she couldn’t help quickening her steps.

an uneasy calm.难得的安静uneasy with strangers.与陌生人一起不自在an uneasy silence.令人局促的寂静feel uneasy about the future担心将来

wedge vt/viTo split or force apart with or as if with a wedge.楔入，劈开：用或好象用楔子劈开或使分裂To fix in place or tighten with a wedge.把…楔住，把…楔牢To crowd or squeeze into a limited space.挤入，插入：挤入或插入到有限的空间里wedge oneself into a crowd挤在人群中间be wedged (in) between two persons夹在两人当中wedge a window to prevent it from rattling用楔将窗户塞紧 , 使不作响He wedged himself through the narrow window.他从狭窄的窗户中挤了过去。插入 , 挤进 (in, into, through)The box won't wedge into such a narrow space.那盒无法塞进那么小的地方去。Open the door wide and wedge it with a pad of newspaper.那只鸽子被卡在树杈里，不一会儿就跌落下来。The pigeon was wedged in the fork of a branch but fell off after a while.

JostleTo come in rough contact while moving; push and shove:推挤：在移动中碰撞；推和挤：

jostled against the others on the crowded platform.在拥挤的站台上和别人推撞To make one's way by pushing or elbowing:开路：推开或推挤以求前进：jostled through the guests to the bar.穿过众多客人来到吧台To come into rough contact with while moving:在移动中与…碰撞：messengers who jostle pedestrians on the sidewalk.在人行道上与行人挤来挤去的送信人To force by pushing or elbowing:挤，推，撞：推推搡搡地挤进：jostled my way through the mob.从人群中挤过去To be in close proximity with:紧贴，贴近：“Books written in all languages . . . jostle each other on the shelf”(Virginia Woolf)“各种语言写成的书…紧挨着排在书架上”… subway passengers are no longer trying to establish some personal space between the

m…carve out: establish or create something through painstaking effortcarve out a way through the enemy从敌营中杀出一条血路

• Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834)

1. British economist and clergyman

2. Essay on Population (1798)

… I have suspected that maybe the cause (of the space invasion) is the season: summer may either make people want to be closer to each other or more likely, to keep a distance between each other.

T-shirt weather: The weather in which people wear T-shirt– in su

mmerproximity: nearnessBe in close ~ to她唅着泪水，两眼看上去晶莹闪亮。The brightness of her eyes was due to the ~ of tea

rs.alluring: powerfully attractive or charmingan ~ actressan ~ advertisement

• Or perhaps the increasing coffee bars in Manhattan attract more and more people ,who are stimulated and excited by the caffeine, so that they become eager to meet others and no longer want to remain in privacy.

Proliferation: rapid increase in numbersInfuse: soak in liquid to extract flavour or healing propertiesLet the tea stand a few minutes to infuse.让茶多泡几分钟使泡出味道来 .~… into/with :fill sb. with a quality年轻士兵的入伍给军队带来了新的希望并鼓舞了士气。The enlistment of young soldiers infused new hope and mora

le into the army.infuse new blood注入新鲜血液infuse new life into sb. [sth.]赋与某人 [某物 ]以新的生命infuse sb. with courage鼓起某人的勇气Keep to oneself: remain private保守秘密 , 不交际e.g. She doesn’t go out much; she likes to keep to herself.

• …privately we allow many people around us to invade our personal space in order to establish close relationships with them, which enxures that human beings develop a society of intimacy and love.

• “Don’t step into my space.” this could have been said only by a person who has a large personal space.

• Tread vi. To go on foot; walk.步行；走To set down the foot; step. 踏：放下脚步；踏步To press, crush, or injure something by or as if by trampling.

Often used withon or upon : 践踏：通过践踏或好象通过践踏一样压制、镇压或伤害某物。常与 on 或 upon 连用：

She trod lightly in order not to wake the family.她脚步轻轻地走 , 以免惊醒家里的人们。I am sorry that I trod on your toes.我踩了你的脚 , 对不起。Don't tread on the crops.不要踏庄稼。Tread on: set one’s foot down on top of somethingSomething with a spread: those people who have a farm and

thus have a large space to themselves

• wager v. bet, to make a bet. 赌博Wager ＄ 15 on a horse 在一匹马上押 15 美元的赌注I wager that it shall be so.我保证 ( 它 )会这样。lay [make, bet] a wager 打赌lose a wager 打赌输了None but fools and knaves lay wagers.[ 谚 ]只有傻瓜和骗子才同别人打赌。A wager is a fool's argument.[ 谚 ]只有傻瓜才以打赌来解决争论。win a wager 打赌获胜• Englishmen usually have a roomier concept of personal s

pace, therefore, even a handshake can be taken as an invasion, while Brazilians would only accept a hug as a warm greeting.

Trespass: enter someone’s land or property without permission

Trespass upon sb.'s property非法侵入某人的土地Chilliness: coldness, unfriendliness

Mutter vt/vi/nTo speak indistinctly in low tones. 咕哝：小声而含糊不清地说To complain or grumble morosely. 阴郁的抱怨或者嘟哝mutter and mumble吞吞吐吐mutter away to oneself喃喃自语To say in low, indistinct tones. 嘀咕 ;用小声的、不清楚的声音说话Are you muttering threats at me?你是在低声恐吓我吗 ?A low grumble or indistinct utterance. 咕哝 , 低声地嘟哝或者不清楚地说话LamentTo express grief for or about; mourn 悲痛 ,向…或为…表述哀痛；哀悼：lament a death.为死者哀悼哀悼朋 友的死lament the death of a friendTo regret deeply; deplore: 非常懊悔；痛惜：He lamented his thoughtless acts.他非常懊悔自己轻率的举动我们对他的缺席感到非常遗憾。We lamented his absence.

• I’ve also noticed that the problem of space invasion becomes more and more serious, and those space invaders acting in the same way as the territory expansionists usually do, seize public space as a matter of course.

Expansionist: a person adopting the policy of territorial or economic expansion.

• Stake a claim: make a claimStake: be assertive in defining and

defending a position or policye.g.He staked a claim to the land where he’d

found the gold.Annex: take control of by force; take

without permissione.g. There are examples of people occupying

public squares and annexing the pavement next to the lands.

• …individuals, as usual, occupy the booths and seats which are designed for four people.

Commandeer: take possession of something officially and unfairly, esp. by force

All automobiles in the town were commandeered by the army.

城中所有的汽车均被部队征用了。Foursome: n./ adj (of) a group of four persons or th

ings, especially two couples.A ~ competition 有四人组成的比赛A mixed ~ 混合双打

• Shrink1) To become constricted from heat, moisture, or cold. 收缩，皱缩：因

受热、潮湿或寒冷而变紧缩Will this soap shrink woollen clothes?这种肥皂会使毛织衣物收缩吗 ?2) To become reduced in amount or value; dwindle:缩小：在数量或价值方面变低；减小：His savings quickly shrank.他的存款急剧减少3) To draw back instinctively, as from something alarming; 畏缩：本能性地退却，如因遇到使人惊恐的某物The dog shrank from the whip.那狗退缩以躲避鞭子。4) To show reluctance; hesitate:表示出不情愿；犹豫：shrink from making such a sacrifice.对做出这样的牺牲犹豫不决• Neuroscientist: a scientist who deals with the structure or function of

the nervous system and brain• Soup up: increase the power of or an engine of ;to make more attracti

ve/vividHe likes to buy old cars and then soup them up.The grandpa souped up the old story.• M.R.I.: magenetic resonance imaging ( 磁共振成像 )

• Because the initial invasion of personal space can cause a chain of reactions, which may bring about a catastrophic consequence, as the breeze from a butterfly’s wings in Japan, if it initiates a chain of waves, may eventually produce a tidal wave in California, I have decided to enlarge the shrinking personal space.

• Tidal: relating to tides; tidal wave--tsunami

Grammar• Can表示“能够”，有时也表示“可以”。注意 can的

否定形式，它是 can’t， cannot 而不是 can not；You can spell the word, can’t you?We can do it this way, but we can’t do it that way.• Could 是 can的过去式，但现在的动作也可以用 could，使语句变得客气和委婉；

It was dark and could see nothing.Could you trell me how to get to the hospital? May用来表示“允许”，“可以”。用 may 提出的一般问

句常用来对别人提出请求。Might 是 may的过去式，用于过去式。但也可以用于现在的动作，使语句变的有礼貌和婉转。

May I ask you a Question? Yes, please do.Might I have a word with you? Sure, please do.