Unit Two Space Unit Two Space InvadersInvaders

Unit Two Space Unit Two Space InvadersInvaders

Richard StengelRichard Stengel

Text structureTo explore why the problem of space

invasion is getting more and more serious.

Part 1(1-2) The author’s experience of how his personal space was invaded and how his individual border was intruded on.

Part 2(3-7) The phenomenon of invading personal space has become more and more serious in the current society.

Part 3(8-9) The shrinking of personal space is less a physical matter than people’s psychological withdraw.

Part one• How did the author describe the

violation of personal space that happened in a bank?

• ---The author related his experience with a series of verb phrases and adverbials, which vividly described the process in which the people in line, though reluctant, had to give away their personal space to the invaders until they become hugger-mugger against each other.

Words and expressions

Para 1-2 ﹡ Snake: If a river, road, train, or line snakes somewhere, it moves in long, twisting curves ~ along/past/down etc

The train was snaking its way through the mountains.

The road snaked along the valley far below.

﹡Some tired velvet ropes: Some slackened (loose, less active) velvet

ropes It is personified. (personification) * Inch: n. v. to move very slowly in a particul

ar direction, or to make something do this• She is five feet six inches.• 她身高五英尺六英寸。• His legs are too long for his inches.• 就他的身高而言 , 他的腿太长了。• inch one's way forward 慢慢前进• Prices are inching down. 物价在缓慢下降 .

﹡ Deposit:1. to leave a layer of a substance on the surf

ace of something, especially gradually. When the River Nile is in flood, it deposits a layer of mud on the fields. 尼罗河泛滥时 , 便在田野上沉积一层泥。

2. to put money or something valuable in a bank or other place where it will be safe

You may deposit your returned books with the librarian. 你可以把要还的书留在图书管理员处 .

You are advised to deposit your valuables in the hotel safe.

*minute: adj. 1.extremely small• You only need a minute amount. Her hand

writing is minute.• 2. paying careful attention to the smallest

details• a minute examination of the rock He expla

ined the plan in minute detail .﹡ In mild annoyance: with a little anger or i

mpatience 温和的恼怒 in mild astonishment

﹡ Sidle: walk in a timid manner, esp. sideways or obliquely, to walk towards something or someone slowly and quietly, as if you do not want to be noticed

A man sidled up to me and asked if I wanted a ticket for the match.

* Scribble: write or draw carelessly or hurriedly; to draw marks that have no meaning ~ down

• shuffle sb. to and fro• 把某人调来调去• shuffle sth. out of sight• 把某物塞在看不见的地方• shuffle one's clothes on [off]• 笨拙 [ 匆匆 ] 地穿上 [ 脱下 ] 衣服• shuffle cards• 洗纸牌• shuffle the cards• [ 喻 ] 改变机构人事 ; 改变政策

﹡ 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. • have a familiar ring• if something has a familiar ring, you feel t

hat you have heard it before• His voice had a strangely familiar ring.…The phrase “personal space” sounds ol

d-fashioned and reminds one of the seventies..

﹡ Gratify:please satisfy gratifysb.'s taste满足某人的爱好be -fied with [at] the results对结果感到满意be -fied to know知道 ... 很高兴

﹡ Gratifying: giving pleasure or satisfaction

Eg: The new plan may be gratifying to the President.

• The rain penetrated (through) our clothes.• 雨水湿透了我们的衣服。• A smell of gunpowder penetrated the woods.• 森林中弥漫着火药味。• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the

East.• 西方观念逐渐传入东方。

Make somebody uneasy: make somebody feel anxious that something may be wrong or there may be some danger.

Para3-7 The following questions could be asked :1. Is “personal space” a phrase of the seventies? I

s it out of date nowadays? Why or why not?2.Do you agree with the author about the reasons

of space invasion given in Paragraph 4? What other factor have caused it?

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

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

n.• a wedge of cake• 一块楔形蛋糕vi.The box won't wedge into such a narrow s

pace.那盒无法塞进那么小的地方去。

• Vt.• wedge oneself into a crowd• 挤在人群中间• be wedged (in) between two persons• 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 windo

w.

﹡ zigzagAdj.a zigzag line一条锯齿形的线zigzag reflection多次反射

Adv.The path ran zigzag up the hill.这条小路曲曲弯弯地通往山上。vi.Lightning zigzagged across the sky.闪电曲折地在天空划过。

Vt.The office buildings were slightly zigzag

ged to fit available ground space.办公大楼为了配合可用的地皮建造得略呈

之字形。

﹡ Jostle:bump push shove thrust

Don't jostle against me.别推我。The crowd jostled into the new stadium.人群挤进了新体育场。

Riders are no longer taking pains to carve out little zones of space…:

subway passengers are no longer trying to establish some personal space between them

﹡ fidgety• adj. • Mary is always fidgeting about her mo

ther's health. 玛丽老是为她母亲的健康担忧。• What's fidgeting you? 什么事使你烦躁不安 ?

﹡

﹡ Attribute…to…: believe sth. to be the cause of Malthusian logic:War, famine, or disease intervenes or eff

orts are made to limit populationT-shirt weather: weather in which peopl

e wear T-shirts, mainly in summer.

﹡ Allure:attract captivate charm fascinate infatuate tempt

Alluring: powerfully attractive or charmingVt.allure sb. From诱使 ( 某人 )离开 ...allure (sb.) into [to]把 ( 某人 )诱入 , 骗进They allured her into a snare.他们诱她落入圈套。

﹡ Proliferation: rapid increase in numbers ﹡ Manhattan: Manhattan Island, an island in New York city surrounded by the Hudson, East, and Harlem rivers

• infuse tea•泡 [沏 ]茶• infuse herbs•泡制草药• infuse sb. with courage•鼓起某人的勇气• vi. Let the tea stand a few minutes to infu

se.让茶多泡几分钟使泡出味道来。

﹡ Jangling: anxious﹡ Keep to oneself: remain private; avoi

d meeting peopleEg: She doesn’t go out much; she likes

to keep to herself.

The logistics of it vary according to geography. :

People in different regions are given different sizes of personal space

…we allow all kinds of invasions of personal space in private…:

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

• lay [make, bet] a wager•打赌 • lose a wager•打赌输了 win a wager打赌获胜

• 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。

﹡ To an Englishman, a handshake…Englishmen usually have a roomier

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

﹡chilliness: coldness, unfriendliness ﹡ plow: force a way of make a track

﹡bump: strike or knock against each other

﹡The decline of manners has been widely lamented.

We have been grieving at the deteriorated manners of our society

﹡I’ve also noticed an increase in the ranks of what I think of …

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.

﹡ Expansion• elastic expansion•弹性膨胀• territorial expansion•领土扩张• arms expansion•军备扩充

• expansion of output•扩大产量• There are plans for the expansion of our s

chool building.有扩大我们学校建筑的计划。• His big book is an expansion of the little

book he wrotebefore. 他的大部头书是他以前写的小部头的扩充本。

Annex: take control and possession of (land, small country,etc.) esp. by force; take without permission

Eg: There are examples of people occupying public squares and annexing the pavement next to their lands.

• n.• universities receiving annual state gra

nts每年都得到国家拨款的大学

• n. stake-boat航标艇 , (赛船时用以标示起点或路线的 )stake-line用桩标出的测线 stake-man打桩 [放样 , 标桩 ]工

• be burned at the stake 被绑在火刑柱上烧死 • be condemned [sentenced] to the stake 被判火刑处死 • drive [set, stick one‘s]stakes搭帐篷 ;[美 ]立界桩 ; 定居 , 住下

• go to the stake 受火刑 ; 为自己的信仰或行动受难

Para 8-9 ﹡ Self-absorption: the characteristic of thinking about things concerning oneself without noticing other people or the things abound him.

Questions to be asked: 1. Do you agree with the writer’s view that the c

ontraction of the outer, personal space is proportion to the expansion of the inner space of modern man?

1.2. Do you think we Chinese people have comparatively more personal space or less? Is Chinese personal space now the same as it was decades ago?

2.3. Why does the author decide to expand his contracting boundaries of personal space?

a breach of contract违反合同break the contract撕毁合同； 解除婚约draw up a contract草拟合同

negotiate a contract缔结契约keep a contract遵守［履行］合同put out to contract包出去， 给人承包I'm under contract to teach here for one yea

r. 我按照聘约要在这里教一年书。

vi.• They contracted to build the new brid

ge.• 他们签订合同造新桥。• Metals contract in cold weather.•金属遇冷天气收缩。

• contract an alliance with another country

•与别国结成同盟• contract a trade agreement•缔结贸易协议• contract a marriage缔结婚约

• contract friendship with与 ...交朋友• contract a bad habit染上恶习• contract pneumonia染上肺炎• contract huge debts by rash spending•因挥霍无度而债台高筑

Structural Analysis1. The author looks at the causes of space

invasion in Paragraph 4. He attributes this phenomenon to population explosion first, then to the hot weather and the stimulation of caffeine.

2. He examines the nature of space invasion and thinks that space invasion is a public matter. It is more psychological than physical.

Rhetorical Features Listed below are the verbs used by the author

to give a vivid and accurate description of the behavior of the space invaders

1) Verbs used to described the behavior of space invaders:

inch, wedge, zigzag, jostle, refuse, press, bump, etc.

2) Verbs used to describe the reaction of those whose space is being invaded:

advanced, sidle, shuffle