美國人的時(shí)間觀

       What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no control over, like the weather? Is time the same all over the world? That's an easy question, you say. Wherever you go, a minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes, a day is 24 hours, and so forth. Well, maybe. But in America, time is more than that. Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that's why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."

　　時(shí)間是什么？是一種像金錢一樣可以節(jié)省、花用或浪費(fèi)的東西嗎？或者它像天氣那樣，是一種我們無法掌握的東西？全世界的時(shí)間是不是都一樣呢？你會(huì)說，那是一個(gè)簡單的問題，不管你去那里，一分鐘都是60秒，一小時(shí)是60分鐘，一天是24個(gè)小時(shí)，以此類推。嗯，也許是這樣吧。但是在美國，時(shí)間的意義不只是如此而已。美國人視時(shí)間為一項(xiàng)重要的資源，也許這就是為什么他們喜歡說「時(shí)間就是金錢」的緣故。

　　Because Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People in the U.S. often attend seminars or read books on time management. It seems they all want to organize their time better. Professionals carry around pocket planners-some in electronic form-to keep track of appointments and deadlines. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time. The early American hero Benjamin Franklin expressed this view best: "Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

　　美國人認(rèn)為時(shí)間是一項(xiàng)有限的資源，所以他們?cè)囍巯r(shí)間且加以管理。美國人經(jīng)常參加有關(guān)時(shí)間管理的研習(xí)會(huì)或閱讀這方面的書籍，他們似乎都希望能把自己的時(shí)間安排得更好。專業(yè)人士隨身帶著口袋型記事本，有些甚至是電子的記事本，好隨時(shí)留意所訂的約會(huì)與工作截止日期。人們想盡辦法要在有限的時(shí)間內(nèi)擠出更多的時(shí)間來。早期的美國英雄班哲明?富蘭克林將這種想法表達(dá)得最淋漓盡致：「你愛生命嗎？如果愛就不要浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，因?yàn)樯词怯蓵r(shí)間組成的?！?/p>

　　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.

　　對(duì)美國人來說，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。舉例來說，在非正式的聚會(huì)中，人們往往會(huì)在約定時(shí)間過后30分鐘才到，不過，他們上班通常就不會(huì)這樣做。

　　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.

　　美國人的生活型態(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)先打電話過來，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)上床睡覺了。何時(shí)才算太晚并不一定，不過，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.

　　對(duì)外人而言，美國人似乎很依賴時(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。舉例來說，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，因此他們比美國人更容易視情境而作彈性的應(yīng)變；而美國人則喜歡將計(jì)劃固定好不要更動(dòng)。

　　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.

　　不過連美國人都承認(rèn)，沒有人能夠完全掌握時(shí)間。時(shí)間就像金錢一樣，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（這項(xiàng)難以掌握和預(yù)料的）禮物本身就已經(jīng)是一種樂趣了。