AN INTEGRATED ENGLISH COURSE

English Department

UNIT 2

Text 1 Space Invaders

Teaching Points I. Pre-reading discussion II. Introduction III. Text Analysis IV. Questions V.

Structural analysis and Rhetorical features

VI. Discussion about Text II

I. Pre-reading discussion 1. Is personal space important to you?

Why or why not? 2. Do we have a weaker sense of

personal space than the Westerners?

II. Introduction About the author Culture and Communication Space

About the author Richard Stengel is a senior writer

working for Time magazine.

The Structure of Culture

Material culture

Social culture

Ideological culture

Communication

Communication

Definitions Verbal communication refers to

the communication which is carried out in either oral or written form with the use of words.

Nonverbal communication refers to the communication through one’s voice qualities, facial expressions, gestures, bodily movement, attitudes towards space and time, etc.

CommunicationVerbal

CommunicationNonverbal

Communication

Oral Written GestureFacial

expressionBodilymove

HAND

Phone letter

Memo

E-mail

Blink

Eyebrow

Smile

Forward

Bend

speech Backward

Space

American famous anthropologist Edward T Hall created a word Proxemics ( 近体学 ) and discussed the communication among people in short distance. He stated that the change of space will influence the communication among people.

Space Patterns

Hall classified space into 3 kinds (1966):1. Fixed-feature space 2. Semi-fixed-feature space3. Informal space bubble of personal

space.

III. Text Explanations In the text, the writer points out that

nowadays people are more and more concerned about themselves and want to have a larger personal space than decades ago, and then he analyses the causes of space invasion.

Paragraphs 1-2 Analysis

The first two paragraphs tell us about the author’s experience of how his personal space was invaded and how his individual border was intruded on.

Language Work

1.  snake—move in a twisting way The train was snaking its way through the mountains 2. some tried velvet ropes—some slackened velvet

ropes 3. a sweat-suit—a loose cotton garment for the upper

part of the body; a sort of T-shirt 4.  inch—move very slowly and carefully Howard inched the van forward. 5. sidle—walk in a timid manner, especially sideways or

obliquely A man sidled up to me and asked if I wanted a

ticket for the match.

6. shuffle—walk by dragging one’s feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground

He slipped on his shoes and shuffled out of the room. A fat woman was shuffling along with a pushchair. Shuffle something off—avoid talking or thinking about

something because it is not considered important He shuffled the question off and changed the topic.

Shuffle out of something—try to avoid some unpleasant task by acting dishonestly I mistrust the way in which they shuffle out of sustained

efforts.

7.in mild annoyance—with a little anger or impatience mild—not very great in degree

We looked at each other in mild astonishment.

8.  scribble—write or draw (something) carelessly or hurriedly

9. … until we were all hugger-mugger against each other, the original lazy line having collapsed in on itself like a Slinky. — … until we were all pushing against each other, leaving the line in a disorder.

hugger-mugger—confused, disorderly

10. The phrase “personal space” has a quaint, seventies ring to it …

quaint—attractively unusual or old-fashioned seventies—1970s, in which American people

talked a lot about personal space ring—a quality, or an impression of having

the quality that is mentioned Her story had a ring of truth about it. The books he mentioned had a familiar ring about

them.

11.… but it is one of those gratifying expressions that are intuitively understood by all human beings. —… 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 The new plan may be gratifying to the

President.

12.penetrate—succeed in forcing through something They penetrated into the territory where no

man had ever been before.

13.make somebody uneasy—make somebody feel anxious that something may be wrong or there may be some danger

Paragraphs 3-7 Analysis This part shows that the phenomenon of

invading personal space has become more and more serious in the current society. The writer gives several explanations to this pervasive phenomenon. The shrinking of personal space is due to factors such as the geographical space, the general decline of manners, and more and more impudent space invaders

３ )What does the author mean by saying “personal space is mostly a public matter”?

Personal space, first of all, is the space you expect and are expected to keep between you and other people in public places in order to maintain the appropriate interpersonal relationship. Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension, for example, describes the social values applied by Americans to certain distances between people as falling into four main categories: “Intimate distance (0-1&1/2 feet), Personal distance (1&1/2-4 feet), Social/Consultative distance (4-10 feet), and Public

distance (10 or more feet)”.

　４） Do space invaders respect other people’s personal space?

No. They want to have as much space to themselves as possible.

Language work

　 14.  wedge→force into a narrow space Open the door wide and wedge it with a

pad of newspaper. The people sitting close to me wedged

me into the corner. 15. zigzag→move forward by going at an

angle first to one side then to the other We zigzagged up the hill. 16. jostle→push, elbow, or bump against

(someone)roughly, typically in a crowd

17. …riders are no longer taking pains to carve out little zones of space….

carve out→establish or create something through painstaking effort

18. press→push, move, or make (one’s way) strongly, especially in a crowd He pressed his way through the crowd. So many people pressed round the famous

actress that she couldn’t get to her car.

19.  fidgety→impatient or uneasy

20. attribute… to…→believe (something) to be the result of

Jim attributes his success to hard work/to how hard he has always worked/ to working hard.

21. Malthusian logic→Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834), British economist and clergyman.

22. … I’ve wondered if it’s the reason: T-shirt weather can make proximity more alluring (or much, much less). → … I have suspected that maybe the cause (of the space invasion) is the reason; 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 refers to the weather in which people wear T-shirts, mainly, in summer.

alluring→powerfully attractive or charming

23. Or perhaps the proliferation of coffee bars in Manhattan… is infusing so much caffeine into the already jangling locals that people can no longer keep to themselves. → 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.

Paragraph 5 Personal space, first of all, is the space you

expect and are expected to keep between you and other people in public places in order to maintain the appropriate interpersonal relationship. Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension, for example, describes the social values applied by Americans to certain distances between people as falling into four main categories: “Intimate distance (0-1&1/2 feet), Personal distance (1&1/2-4 feet), Social/Consultative distance (4-10 feet), and Public distance (10 or more feet)”.

Paragraphs 8-9 Analysis The last two paragraphs shows that

the shrinking of personal space is less physical matter than people’s psychology withdrawal. People in the present society tend to be more and more self-centered and self-absorbed. The writer calls for people’s expansion of personal space, both physical and psychological.

IV. Questions 1. How did the author describe the violation of

personal space that happened in a bank? 2. What does the author mean by saying

“personal space is mostly a public matter”? 3. Why is the personal space shrinking in

general? Because people are more self-absorbed than ever

before. In other words they are paying less attention to the outside world, including personal space, than before. The fact that people are care less about their personal space in effect encourages space invasion.

Structure Analysis and Rhetorical Features

Writing Style: a piece of description The causes of space invasion: the writer

attributes this phenomenon to population explosion first, then to the hot weather and the stimulation of caffine.

The nature of space invasion: the writer thinks that space invasion is a public matter. It is more psychological than physical.

VI. Discussion about Text II 1. Do you keep the same distance

from other people? No. the distance we keep from other

people depends on our interpersonal relationship. We tend to keep longer distance from strangers and shorter distances from close friends and family members.

VI. Discussion about Text II 2. Where do you usually sit in a meeting

room if you can make your choice? Try to explain why you have such a preference.

Tell your classmates whether you prefer to sit in the front, in the middle, or at the back of a meeting room. There can be different reasons for different people to make the same choice. For example, if you prefer to sit in the front, you might want to hear the speakers more clearly, or to catch the attention of the chairman or the speakers.

VI. Discussion about Text II 3. suppose a friend comes to see you

when you are watching an interesting TV play in your sitting room. Will you turn off the TV before you start your conversation?

In most cases we will turn off the TV before the conversation starts. Any delay will mean that the visitor comes at a wrong time and therefore he or she is not welcome, at least at this moment.

Post-reading Activities

Text A:1. Translation practice2. Language practice

Translation Translate the following passage into

English, using the words and phrases given in the brackets: 1. 那只鸽子被夹在树叉里，不一会儿就跌落下

来。 (wedge sth/sn.in) 2. 驾车人该付多少钱需要根据他对别人车子造

成损坏的程度而定。 (be proportional to) 3. 你只有伏在地上慢慢爬过一条狭长的通道

才能进入山洞。 (inch) 4. 他一面结结巴巴地说着道歉的话，一面羞怯

地朝门口走去。 (sidle)

Translation

5. 他尽力向我解释说不是因为我工作不好而解雇我 , 而是因为公司支付不了我的工资。 (take pains to)

6. 年轻士兵的入伍给军队带来了新的希望并鼓舞了士气。 (infuse into)

7. 一旦大一些的男孩子声称草坪属于他们 , 别的孩子就不敢去玩了。 (stake a claim to)

8. 跟在她身后的人让她心神不安 , 她不由 得 加 快 了 脚 步 。 (make sb. uneasy)

Translation Keys 1. The pigeon was wedged in the fork of a

branch but fell off after a while. 2. The payment that the motorist will have to

make will be proportional to the amount of damage he has done to the other person’s car.

3. You can only enter the cave by inching through a narrow tunnel on your stomach.

4. She stammered some apology as she sidled towards the door.

Translation 5. He took pains to explain to me that I

was being dismissed not because I didn’t do my work well but because the company could not pay my wages.

6. The enlistment of young soldiers infused new hope and morale into the army.

7. Once the older boys stake a claim to the lawn, no other boys dare go on it.

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

Translate the following passage into Chinese In some cultures a significant aspect of spatial

perception is shown by the amount of “personal space” people need between themselves and others to feel comfortable and not crowded. North Americans, for instance, seem to require about four feet of space between themselves and the people near them to feel comfortable. On the other hand, people from Arab countries and Latin America feel comfortable when they are close to each other. People from different cultures, therefore, may unconsciously infringe on each other’s sense of space. Thus just different perceptions of time may cause cultural conflicts, so too may different perceptions of space.

Translate the following passage into Chinese 在某些文化中，空间感觉的一个重要方面体现

于人们所需要的彼此感觉舒适却又不觉得拥挤的 “私人空间”。例如，北美人彼此感觉舒适所需的空间距离大约是 4 英尺。而阿拉伯人和拉美人反而是彼此靠近才会感觉舒服。因此，不同文化的人可能会无意间侵犯别人的空间感。正如不同的时间观可能会造成文化冲突，不同的空间观也可能引发同样的问题。

Language Practice

Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word or phrase taken from the box in its appropriate form

stake a claim be proportional to attribute… to sidle up plow into tread on carve out breathe down somebody’s neck

Language Practice 1. As I was about to leave the

restaurant, a young man ______ to me and said, “May I help you?”

2. Not satisfied with the present position in the company, he is trying to ______ a much greater role for himself.

3. Women tend to __________ their success ____ external causes such as assistance from friends.

sidled up

carve out

attributeto

Language Practice 4. Ronald’s success ________ for his

place in Germany’s world championship team.

5. My job is to challenge, but not threaten them. So I must be careful not_______ their toes.

6. A young lady and her little son were seriously injured when a car _______ them on a crossing.

staked a claim

to tread on

plowed into

Language Practice 7. Loss of weight _________

directly ______________ the rate at which the disease is progressing.

8. In contemporary society, most farmers have bank managers ______________ in order to secure their financial balance.

is…

breathing down their necks

proportional to

Assignment Write a short story Prepare the new unit