Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. Time communicates in many ways.
Consider the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work.
In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention. It is the same with telephone calls made after 11:O0 p. m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstanding arises between people from cultures that treat time differently. In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one can not escape. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one proGREsses. The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate... "one thing at a time".Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time.
Americans look ahead and are concerned almost entirely with the future. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving many centuries.
Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind.
Words: 313
Total Reading Time:___________
Words per minute:___________
Notes: plainly 明白地, communicate 交流, customary 通常的，习惯的，shaving 刮脸, urgent 紧急的, arise 出现，culture 文化，tend 趋向于，section 段，appointment 约会，concern with 与......有关系，involve 牵连
I. True or False:
1. An announcement made during the day in a factory may make everyone lose his job.
2. The writer thinks a phone call made after 11:00 p. m. is considered even more urgent than one made in the early morning.
3. The meanings of time are different in different parts of the world.
II. Answer the Questions
4. What is the American idea of the future?
_____________________________________________
5. What is the custom to telephone someone of us?
_____________________________________________
III. Multiple Choice:
6. An American may feel angry if __________.
A. he is to deal with many things at one appointed time
B. people from different cultures misunderstand him
C. he cannot escape from something fixed in nature
D. others do not keep things separate
7. The expression "the foreseeable future" could be most suitably replaced by __________.
A. the future that will not be far away
B. the future that one looks forward to
C. the future toward which one makes proGREss
D. the future which involves centuries
8. The writer concludes that people of different countries will understand each other better if __________.
A. they know how to communicate with each other
B. they are concerned with the future
C. they learn the way time communicates
D. they keep in mind that different cultures treat time differently
% Comprehension:__________
参考答案：
1．T。第二自然段最后"take everyone away from his work''即为此意。
2．F。大清早和深夜电话同样紧急。
3．T。第四自然段首句。
4．The American idea of the future is limited．
5．The custom is that not to telephone someone either very early in the morning or late at night．
6．A。参见倒数第三段最后一句。
7．A。从本句中推测。
8．D。文章最后二句即为本主题。
