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1、Unit1Americansbelievenoonestandsstill.Ifyouarenotmovingahead,youarefallingbehind. Thisattitude results in anationofpeoplecommittedtoresearching,experimentingandexploring. TimeisoneofthetwoelementsthatAmericanssavecarefully,theotherbeinglabor. "Weareslavesto nothing but theclock,”ithasbeens
2、aid. Timeistreatedasifitweresomethingalmostreal. We budget it,saveit,wasteit,stealit,killit,cutit, account for it;wealso charge for it.Itisapreciousresource. Manypeoplehavearather acute senseoftheshortnessofeachlifetime. Oncethe sandshaverunoutofaperson’s hourglass,theycannotbe replaced. Wewan
3、teveryminutetocount. A foreigner’sfirstimpressionoftheU.S.islikelytobethateveryoneis in a rush --often under pressure. Citypeoplealwaysappeartobehurryingtogetwheretheyaregoing, restlessly seekingattentioninastore,or elbowing othersastheytrytocompletetheirshopping. Racingthroughdaytimemealsi
4、spartofthepaceoflifeinthiscountry. Workingtimeisconsideredprecious. Othersinpubliceating-placesarewaitingforyoutofinishsothey,too,canbeservedandgetbacktoworkwithinthetimeallowed. Youalsofinddriverswillbe abrupt andpeoplewillpushpastyou. Youwillmisssmiles, brief conversations,andsmallexchangesw
5、ithstrangers. Don’ttakeitpersonally.Thisisbecausepeoplevaluetimehighly,andtheyresentsomeoneelse“wasting”itbeyondacertainappropriatepoint. ManynewarrivalstotheStateswillmissthe opening exchangesofabusinesscall,forexample. Theywillmissthe ritual interaction that goes with awelcomingcupofteaor
6、coffeethatmaybea convention intheirowncountry. Theymaymiss leisurely businesschatsinarestaurantorcoffeehouse.Normally,Americansdonot assess theirvisitorsinsuchrelaxed surroundings overextendedsmalltalk;muchlessdotheytakethemoutfordinner,orforaroundonthe golf coursewhiletheydevelopasenseoftrust
7、. Sincewe generally assessand probe professionallyratherthansocially,westarttalkingbusinessveryquickly. Timeis,therefore,always ticking inourinnerear. Consequently,we work hard at thetaskof saving time. Weproduceasteadyflowof labor-