时间:2018-12-05 作者:英语课 分类:自考英语综合二上册 课文+单词


英语课

  [00:00.00]Lesson Three Text

[00:05.30]Go-Go Americans Alison R. Lanier

[00:12.15]Americans believe no one stands still.

[00:17.48]If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind.

[00:23.43]This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching,

[00:32.21]experimenting and exploring.

[00:36.75]Time is one of the two elements that Americans save carefully,

[00:44.12]the other being labor 1.

[00:48.69]"We are slaves to nothing but the clock," it has been said.

[00:54.94]Time is treated as if it were something almost tangible 2.

[01:02.01]We budget it, save it,waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it;

[01:14.97]we also charge for it.

[01:19.83]It is a precious commodity.

[01:23.70]Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each lifetime.

[01:31.85]Once the sands have run out of a person's hourglass, they cannot be replaced.

[01:39.79]We want every minute to count.

[01:44.86]A foreigner's first impression of the U.S.

[01:50.42]is likely to be that ery one is in a rush ,often under pressure.

[01:57.47]City people appear always to be hurrying to get where they are going,

[02:04.53]restlessly seeking attention in a store,

[02:09.70]elbowing others as they try to complete their errands.

[02:15.94]Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country.

[02:23.02]Working time is considered precious.

[02:27.28]Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish

[02:34.23]so they toocan be served and get back to work within the time allowed.

[02:42.09]Each person hurries to make room for the next person.

[02:48.15]If you don't, waiters will hurry you.

[02:53.11]You also find drivers will be abrupt 3 and that people will push past you.

[03:02.49]You will miss smiles, brief conversations, small courtesies with strangers.

[03:10.43]Don't take it personally.

[03:14.19]This is because people value time highly,

[03:19.55]and they resent someone else "wasting" it beyond a certain courtesy point.

[03:29.21]This view of time affects the importance we attach to patience.

[03:36.87]In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority.

[03:44.63]Many of us have what might be called "a short fuse."

[03:51.76]We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away

[03:59.20]without some return be this in terms of pleasure, work value,or rest.

[04:09.47]Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently

[04:16.31]may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments

[04:25.46]in both business and daily life.

[04:30.92]Many newcomers to the States

[04:35.67]will miss the opening courtesies of a business call,for example.

[04:42.15]They will miss the ritual socializing

[04:47.11]that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee

[04:53.07]that may be traditional in their own country.

[04:58.53]They may miss leisurely 4 business chats in a cafe or coffee house.

[05:06.18]Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors

[05:13.03]in such relaxed surrounding sover prolonged small talk;

[05:20.18]much less do they take them out for dinner,or around on the golf course

[05:28.12]while they develop a sense of trust and rapport 5.

[05:35.28]Rapport to most of us is I less important than performance.

[05:42.65]We seek out evidence of past performance

[05:48.21]rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies.

[05:55.58]Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially,

[06:04.64]we start talking business very quickly.

[06:10.10]Most Americans live according to time segments laid out in engagement calendars.

[06:19.38]These calendars may be divided into intervals 6 as short as fifteen minutes.

[06:28.73]We often give a person two or three (or more) segments of our calendar,

[06:37.87]but in the business world we almost always have other appointments

[06:45.63]following hardon the heels of whatever we are doing.

[06:52.00]Time is therefore always ticking in our inner ear.

[06:58.95]As a result we work hard at the task of saving time.

[07:06.61]We produce a steady flow of laborsaving devices;


  [07:13.37]we communicate rapidly through telexes 7,

[07:18.94]phone calls or memos 8 rather than through personal contacts,

[07:26.51]which though pleasant,take longer especially given our traffic filled streets

[07:35.05]We therefore save most personal visiting

[07:40.02]for after work hoursor for social weekend gatherings 9.

[07:47.77]To us the impersonality 10 of electronic communication

[07:54.83]has little or no relation to the importance of the matter at hand.

[08:02.56]In some countries no major business is carried on without eye contact,

[08:12.62]requiring face to face conversation.

[08:17.97]In America, too, a final agreement will normally be signed in person.

[08:27.53]However, people are meeting increasingly on television screens,

[08:35.68]conducting "teleconferences" to settle problems not only in this country

[08:43.05]but also by satellite internationally.

[08:48.82]An increasingly high percentage of normal business is being done these days

[08:56.27]by voiceor electronic device.

[09:01.62]Mail is slow and uncertain and is growing ever more expensive.

[09:09.49]The U.S. is definitely a telephone country.

[09:15.26]Almost everyone uses the telephone to conduct business,

[09:21.42]to chat with friends,to make or break social engagements,

[09:28.27]to say their "Thank you's," to shopand to abtain all kinds of information.

[09:37.33]Telephones save your feet and end less amounts of time.

[09:44.59]This is due partly to the fact that the telephone :is good here,

[09:52.04]whereas the postal 11 service is less efficient.

[09:57.47]Furthermore, the costs of secretarial labor,

[10:03.92]printing and stamps are all soaring.

[10:09.57]The telephone is quick.

[10:12.91]We like it.We can do our business and get an answer in a matter of moments.

[10:20.96]Furthermore, several I people can confer together

[10:27.02]without moving from their desks,even in widely scattered 12 locations.

[10:34.38]In a big country that, too, is important.

[10:40.91]Some new arrivals will come from cultures

[10:46.87]where it is considered  impolite to work too quickly.

[10:53.35]Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse,

[10:59.80]it seems in their eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant 13,

[11:08.73]not worthy 14 of proper respect.

[11:13.20]Assignments are thus felt to be given added weight by the passage of time.

[11:21.85]In the U.S., however, it is taken as a sign of competence 15 to solve a problem,

[11:30.81]or fulfill 16 a job successfully, with rapidity.

[11:36.97]Usually, the more important a task is, the more capital, energy,

[11:46.43]will be poured into it in order to "get it moving."



1 labor
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
2 tangible
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的
  • The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
  • There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。
3 abrupt
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的
  • The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
  • His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。
4 leisurely
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的
  • We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
  • He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
5 rapport
n.和睦,意见一致
  • She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
  • We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。
6 intervals
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
7 telexes
用户电报( telex的名词复数 ); 电传系统; 经用户电报发或收的消息; 电传收发机
  • It'sends up to800 telexes a day, mostly as confirmation for transactions. 它为它的1375个客户的其中50个客户维护184个电传帐号。
  • Several telexes arrived this morning. 今天上午收到了几份电传。
8 memos
n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 );(美)内部通知
  • Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧,备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
  • There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句
9 gatherings
聚集( gathering的名词复数 ); 收集; 采集; 搜集
  • His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
  • During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次,其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。
10 impersonality
n.无人情味
  • He searched for a topic which would warm her office impersonality into friendliness. 他想找一个话题,使她一本正经的态度变得友好一点。
  • The method features speediness, exactness, impersonality, and non-invasion to the sample. 该法具有快速、准确、客观和不损坏样品等特点。
11 postal
adj.邮政的,邮局的
  • A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
  • Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。
12 scattered
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
13 insignificant
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的
  • In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季,这种作用是不明显的。
  • This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。
14 worthy
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
15 competence
n.能力,胜任,称职
  • This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
  • These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
16 fulfill
vt.履行,实现,完成;满足,使满意
  • If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了,你就要履行你的诺言。
  • This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。
学英语单词
11-ketoetiocholanolone
a pep talk
abbreviated heading
accelerating anode
acervated
after-exposure
airevac
alkyl isothiocyanate
ameroseius vietnamensis
anticausative
audibert
Baltasi
bambina
built-up snap gage
calcined limestone
carson's transformation
chow meins
Cissus repens
claimsman
clytemnestra rostrata
commercial road transport vehicle
convexedly
coping demand
Crotalus cerastes
cybercasters
data of printing
de facto company
deauthorizations
deep-seabed
defensive line
degree programs
Dermatoxys
disinformation
dreamingly
dyspareunias
educationizing
effect of fewer birth on average income
El Daoud
equatorial convergense zone
Euphorbia sieboldiana
eusthenuria
fiberwise
find a mare's nest
fore-bemoaned
fractory
geranium molles
globiferous pedicellaria
groundely
holding notes
immune hemolytic plaque technique
imputing to
kiwisch's bandage
laakso
level width
Manihot dulcis
marriage put
midcabin
mitotic inhibitor
Mustafa
muthiah
Myitche
naltrexones
netops
nonpredator
Now's your time!
overlegislation
oxyflavyl
parkier
partlet
phosphor amplifier
pipelinings
plaster mould
ply
prefer...rather than
preventive measure
pushing tractor
pustulation
ratio inductive voltage divider
refrined
run-in table
same-day
scent mark
seventy-two
sibilances
single firm dominance
summary of year-end physical inventory bills
supply and marketing department
sweni
tendinitises
thyroidism
time resolution of uncertainty
totally matric algebra
toxicosis cupricus
Tyberton
unequivalved
us pizza
verdage
vertically split
width of corridor
wrothsome
yocto-grams