美國人的時間觀

To Americans, punctuality is a way of showing respect for other people's time. Being more than 10 minutes late to an appointment usually calls for an apology, and maybe an explanation. People who are running late often call ahead to let others know of the delay. Of course, the less formal the situation, the less important it is to be exactly on time. At informal get-togethers, for example, people often arrive as much as 30 minutes past the appointed time. But they usually don't try that at work.

　　American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient. Only very close friends will just "drop by" unannounced. Also, people hesitate to call others late at night for fear they might be in bed. The time may vary, but most folks think twice about calling after 10:00 p.m.

　　對美國人來說，守時是一種尊重他人時間的表現(xiàn)。通常若約會遲到超過10分鐘，就應(yīng)該向?qū)Ψ降狼富蚪忉屧?。知道自己會遲到的人往往會先打個電話，讓對方知道自己會晚一點到。當(dāng)然，會面場合愈不正式，精確準(zhǔn)時的重要性就愈小。舉例來說，在非正式的聚會中，人們往往會在約定時間過后30分鐘才到，不過，他們上班通常就不會這樣做。

　　美國人的生活型態(tài)表現(xiàn)出他們對別人的時間有多尊重。當(dāng)人們在計劃一項活動時，通常會在幾天或幾個星期前把時間定好。時間一旦決定，除非情況緊急，否則不會輕易改變。如果有人想到家里拜訪你，他們通常會先打電話過來，以確定你是否方便，只有很熟的朋友才會未經(jīng)通知就突然造訪。同時，人們也不太喜歡太晚打電話給別人，因為怕對方已經(jīng)上床睡覺了。何時才算太晚并不一定，不過，大部分的人若想在晚上10點鐘以后打電話，都會再三考慮。

　　To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people don't try to control time, but to experience it. Many Eastern cultures, for example, view time as a cycle. The rhythm of nature-from the passing of the seasons to the monthly cycle of the moon-shapes their view of events. People learn to respond to their environment. As a result, they find it easier to "go with the flow" than Americans, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable.

　　Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time-like money-slips all too easily through our fingers. And time-like the weather-is very hard to predict. Nevertheless, time is one of life's most precious gifts. And unwrapping it is half the fun.

　　對外人而言，美國人似乎很依賴時鐘;其它文化背景出身的人則看重人際關(guān)系甚于時間表。在那些社會型態(tài)中，人們不會設(shè)法去控制時間，而是去經(jīng)歷享受它。舉例來說，很多東方文化把時間視為一個周期。從季節(jié)的更替到每個月亮圓缺變化的周期，這些大自然的節(jié)奏塑造了他們對事情的看法。人們學(xué)習(xí)去因應(yīng)環(huán)境的變化，因此他們比美國人更容易視情境而作彈性的應(yīng)變;而美國人則喜歡將計劃固定好不要更動。

　　不過連美國人都承認(rèn)，沒有人能夠完全掌握時間。時間就像金錢一樣，很容易就從我們的指間溜走;時間也像天氣一樣，是很難預(yù)測的。然而，時間是生命中最寶貴的禮物之一，而拆開(這項難以掌握和預(yù)料的)禮物本身就已經(jīng)是一種樂趣了。