美國(guó)人的時(shí)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(duì)美國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，守時(shí)是一種尊重他人時(shí)間的表現(xiàn)。通常若約會(huì)遲到超過(guò)10分鐘，就應(yīng)該向?qū)Ψ降狼富蚪忉屧?。知道自己?huì)遲到的人往往會(huì)先打個(gè)電話，讓對(duì)方知道自己會(huì)晚一點(diǎn)到。當(dāng)然，會(huì)面場(chǎng)合愈不正式，精確準(zhǔn)時(shí)的重要性就愈小。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，在非正式的聚會(huì)中，人們往往會(huì)在約定時(shí)間過(guò)后30分鐘才到，不過(guò)，他們上班通常就不會(huì)這樣做。

　　美國(guó)人的生活型態(tài)表現(xiàn)出他們對(duì)別人的時(shí)間有多尊重。當(dāng)人們?cè)谟?jì)劃一項(xiàng)活動(dòng)時(shí)，通常會(huì)在幾天或幾個(gè)星期前把時(shí)間定好。時(shí)間一旦決定，除非情況緊急，否則不會(huì)輕易改變。如果有人想到家里拜訪你，他們通常會(huì)先打電話過(guò)來(lái)，以確定你是否方便，只有很熟的朋友才會(huì)未經(jīng)通知就突然造訪。同時(shí)，人們也不太喜歡太晚打電話給別人，因?yàn)榕聦?duì)方已經(jīng)上床睡覺(jué)了。何時(shí)才算太晚并不一定，不過(guò)，大部分的人若想在晚上10點(diǎn)鐘以后打電話，都會(huì)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(duì)外人而言，美國(guó)人似乎很依賴時(shí)鐘;其它文化背景出身的人則看重人際關(guān)系甚于時(shí)間表。在那些社會(huì)型態(tài)中，人們不會(huì)設(shè)法去控制時(shí)間，而是去經(jīng)歷享受它。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，很多東方文化把時(shí)間視為一個(gè)周期。從季節(jié)的更替到每個(gè)月亮圓缺變化的周期，這些大自然的節(jié)奏塑造了他們對(duì)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(guó)人更容易視情境而作彈性的應(yīng)變;而美國(guó)人則喜歡將計(jì)劃固定好不要更動(dòng)。

　　不過(guò)連美國(guó)人都承認(rèn)，沒(méi)有人能夠完全掌握時(shí)間。時(shí)間就像金錢(qián)一樣，很容易就從我們的指間溜走;時(shí)間也像天氣一樣，是很難預(yù)測(cè)的。然而，時(shí)間是生命中最寶貴的禮物之一，而拆開(kāi)(這項(xiàng)難以掌握和預(yù)料的)禮物本身就已經(jīng)是一種樂(lè)趣了。