Personal Bubble and Comfort Zone
個人空間及舒適圈
語音播放：

How do you feel when a stranger sits beside you on the bus? What about when somebody stands so close that you can feel his or her breath? If this makes you feel uncomfortable, you could say that this person has entered your ‘personal bubble.’ This is an area of space around you that you consider yours. You don’t want others to occupy that space, unless you are intimate with them. The size of a personal bubble varies from culture to culture. Americans like to have 1.2 meters between themselves when talking to each other, but Japanese or Indians might still be comfortable with half the space. That is because Japan and India have much higher population densities so people are used to being closer together.
在公車上有陌生人坐在你旁邊時，你有什麼感覺？如果有人離你的距離近到你可以感覺到對方呼吸，感覺如何？如果以上行為會讓你不自在，你可以說這人已踏入你的個人空間。個人空間是你認為屬於自己的個人範圍。你不想要其他人佔用這空間，除非你和他們很親密。個人空間的範圍在各文化中皆為不同。美國人喜歡和他人保持在1.2公尺以上的距離交談，但日本人或印度人只要一半的距離即可感到自在。這是因為日本和印度的人口密度相當高，因此人們習慣與他人接近。

語音播放：

Although the expressions sound similar, a ‘comfort zone’ is not exactly the same as a personal bubble. Your comfort zone is an area or situation in which you feel comfortable, for example in your home or with your friends. The opposite is a danger zone, where you feel the most stress, such as while giving a speech. It is interesting to note that humans are the most successful when they are in between the comfort zone and the danger zone. A little bit of danger or stress pushes us to try new things.

儘管用詞聽起來很相似，但「舒適圈」和個人空間不徑相同。舒適圈指的是一個會讓你感到舒服的一個區域或情況，舉例來說，像是在自己的家中或是和朋友相處。反之即是危險圈，會讓你覺得最具壓力的狀況，像是演講。有趣地是，人類最成功的時刻會是處在舒適圈及危險圈交接處。少許的危機及壓力可以推動我們嘗試新事物。

Vocabulary 好字精選

1. bubble (n) an air filled space with a liquid/invisible shell  氣泡
Sage loves to blow bubbles in the park.        
Sage喜歡在公園吹泡泡。

2. zone (n) area  區域
This is a school zone; please drive slowly.    
這裡是學校範圍；開車請減速慢行。

3. stranger (n) someone you don’t know  陌生人
Many kids are taught not to accept candy from strangers.
許多兒童們被教導著，不能接受陌生人的糖果。

4. occupy (v) take up an area  佔領，佔據
The office building occupies one entire side of the street.
這棟辦公大樓佔據了這條街的一整側。

5. intimate (adj) close (romantically or just friends)  親密的(友人/情人)
Malinda and Bryan have been intimate friends since junior high.
Malinda 和Bryan從國中時就一直是好朋友。

Phrases and Sentence Patterns 句型解析

1. sth + vary from A to A (sentence pattern) something is different in each A  不同於A
Taste in food varies from country to country.
各國的人對於食物的喜好都不大相同。

2. population density (expression) the number of people per square km in an area  人口密度
Taiwan has one of the highest population densities in the world.  
台灣是世上人口密度最高的國家之一。

3. S + be + used to + Ving (sentence pattern) S has the habit of or is familiar with doing something  習慣於
Laney is used to saying goodbye to friends because her family moves a lot. 
Laney 已經習慣於和朋友道別，因為她和她的家人常常搬家。

4. it is adj to note that (sentence pattern) it is adj for us to point out that  要注意…
It is scary to note that last year was the hottest year on record.
注意到去年是歷史紀錄上最炎熱的一年是件可怕的事情。

Exercise 課後練習題

1. Sammy knew somebody was under the water because he saw lots of ____________ coming to the surface.
Sammy知道有人躲在水底下，因為他看到很多氣泡浮上表面。

2. You can’t throw the ball from this _______________ during the game.
在這場遊戲中，你不可以從這一區丟球。

3. Little Lisa feels nervous around ______________.
小麗莎在陌生人中會覺得緊張。

4. The church ______________ a large piece of land just outside the city.
這座教堂在城市外側佔據了一大塊用地。

5. How long have you been _____________ with her for?
你和她交往多久了呢？

6. Music preferences______________ person to person.
音樂喜好人人都不同。

7. The _______________ of Taiwan is 650 people per square kilometer. In Canada, the number is only 3.7 per square kilometer.
台灣的人口密度是每平方公里有650人。在加拿大，每平方公里只有3.7人。

8. Tim has been backpacking a lot so he is ____________ experiencing new customs.
Tim已當背包客旅行多次，所以他很習慣於體驗新的風俗。

9. It is amazing ____________ the earth is traveling around the sun at a speed of 30km/second.
地球以每秒三十公里的速度繞行太陽，這是一件很驚人的事情。

解答：
1. bubbles
2. zone
3. strangers
4. occupies
5. intimate
6. vary from
7. population density
8. used to
9. to note that

Comprehension Questions 閱讀理解

1. According to the article, at what distance from each other do Japanese feel comfortable having a conversation?
a. 30 centimeters
b. 60 centimeters
c. 120 centimeters
d. 240 centimeters

2. Amanda feels really nervous in the schoolyard because she is not used to playing with children of different ages. You could say that the schoolyard is her ________________.
a. Personal bubble.
b. Comfort zone.
c. Danger zone.
d. Area in between comfort and danger zone.

解答：
1. 根據文章描述，人與人之間的距離要保持多遠才會讓日本人覺得自在？
a. 30公分
b. 60公分
c. 120公分
d. 240公分

2. Amanda 覺得在學校遊樂場玩是一件很緊張的事，因為她不習慣和不同年齡的小朋友一起玩。你可以說學校遊樂場是她的危險區。
a. 個人空間
b. 舒適圈
c. 危險區
d. 介於舒適圈和危險區之間

 

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