Do you get angry when someone stands too close to you or talks too loudly ?Many of us do. What makes us feel uncomfortable about these people?Perhaps it’s about personal space. Some scientists say that humans need a distance between themselves and strangers (陌生人).Personal space means not only space around the body, but around the senses (感官). People may feel uncomfortable when they meet certain sounds, smells or looks. For example, some people don’t like the sound of a man shouting into a mobile phone in a shop. Or maybe they don’t like sitting next to a woman on a bus with a lot of perfume (香水) on.While people like to protect their personal space, they may not know they are doing it. Many people hold newspapers in front of them on the subway. But perhaps they are using the newspaper to separate themselves from other people.How much people care about personal space is different from culture to culture. Some scientists say that people in the US need more personal space than people other countries. But in Latin cultures, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.
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