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Spatial Order: A. The Stairway

The writer describes their earliest memory of living in a strange house as a young child. They only remember the narrow, squeaky stairway that was difficult for them to climb due to the high steps. At the top of the endless-seeming stairs stood an elegant middle-aged woman dressed in blue who stared at the writer silently as they passed by her room each time. They later learned this woman was actually a mannequin used by their aunt for dressmaking. The strange atmosphere of the stairway remains one of the writer's earliest memories.

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629 views1 page

Spatial Order: A. The Stairway

The writer describes their earliest memory of living in a strange house as a young child. They only remember the narrow, squeaky stairway that was difficult for them to climb due to the high steps. At the top of the endless-seeming stairs stood an elegant middle-aged woman dressed in blue who stared at the writer silently as they passed by her room each time. They later learned this woman was actually a mannequin used by their aunt for dressmaking. The strange atmosphere of the stairway remains one of the writer's earliest memories.

Uploaded by

M M
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Spatial Order

A. The Stairway
When I was two or three years old, I lived in a house that had a strange atmosphere. I do not
remember anything about the house except the stairway. It was dark, squeaking, and quite narrow,
and its steps were a little high for me to climb up. From the bottom of the stairway, it seemed like an
endless climb to the top. Beyond the darkness at the top of the stairway, there was an elegant,
middle-aged lady leaning against the wall. I had to pass her every time I went to my room, for my
room was the first room beyond the stairs on the second floor. The lady wore a beautiful dress with a
quiet pattern and a tinge of blue, and her peaceful eyes stared at me every time I went up the stairs.
As I carefully climbed up the last step, her eyes became fixed on me. She didn't talk, nor did she
move. She just stood there and watched me clamber up the stairs. 0ne day I touched her, but she did
not react. Her face did not change expression, nor did she even blink. She just kept staring at me with
her I glittering eyes. Later, we moved out of the house, and I never saw her again. Now I know that
the lady was a mannequin. My aunt, who lived in the house, used it for her dressmaking class. I did
not know my mother. Maybe I imagined that the mannequin standing at the top of the stairs was my
mother. The stairway with the strange atmosphere has an important place in my earliest memories.

Questions
1. What does the writer say about the atmosphere of the house in the first sentence?
2. How does the writer describe the stairway? Underline the words that describe it.
3. When the writer first describes the woman, is he looking up at her or down at her? What does he
describe about her first? What does he describe last?
4. Find and underline the spatial order words and phrases used in the model paragraph "The
Stairway"

B. My Banana Garden
(1)Behind my childhood home, there is a large piece of land that is surrounded by banana trees
growing in wild disorder. (2)Crowds of banana trees grow freely everywhere. (3)Their green leaves
are so thick that sunlight cannot pass through. (4)Underneath the trees, the ground is so moist that
wild mushrooms and plants grow there all year around. (5)In the center is an open field where the
children of my village often fly kites. (6)Every evening, just before sunset, some birds arrive to
look for a place to rest their tired wings. (7)They want to land in the dark banana garden, but the
banana leaves are too wide to be made into nests. (8)The birds cry out and then fly away, seeking a
better place to nest. (9)During the rainy season, it rains for days and days, and the banana leaves
become glossy and slick. (10)The rain also makes the banana garden produce a very strange melody.
(11)On rainy days, I used to sit near my window and listen to this wonderful song. (12)Now, whenever
I hear the plop-plop-plop of raindrops on the roof of my small, tidy2 apartment in the city, I
remember the beautiful, wild banana garden of my childhood.

Questions
1. Find the topic sentence of this paragraph. What is the topic? The main idea?
2. Does the paragraph have a concluding sentence?
3. Circle any spatial order expressions you can find.
4. What adjective is repeated four times in the paragraph (in sentences 1 , 4 , 5, and 1 2)

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