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Differences in time zones complicate international phone calls. But even more important are differen...
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Differences in time zones complicate international phone calls. But even more important are different concepts of time and approaches to time in different cultures.
People from the USA as well as other North Americans believe “Time is money”. This value of time is rooted in their ancestors. Early in the 17th century, their ancestors arrived on the Atlantic coast, a new, undeveloped land. To survive in the tough environment, they had to struggle day and night. Time meant so much to them that they had not even one second to waste. After decades of struggle, they developed the value of efficient use of time and passed it down. Thus far, the Americans are still eager to finish things quickly and are impatient with too reflective(深思熟虑的) people.
In some countries, the American work style of speeding everything up will have no significance. In the Arab East, the more important you are, the faster service you get. Close relatives take absolute priority; non-relatives are kept waiting. In the Middle East, a deadline, which is often established to show the degree of urgency or importance of work, will do nothing but stop the Middle Easterners from working, because they consider it rude and overly demanding.
Another aspect reflecting different concepts of time is the classification of monochronic-time and polychronic-time by Edward T Hall. People from monchronic(共时性的) cultures, such as the Germans, the Austrians, the Swiss and the Americans, do only one important thing at a time. In polychromic(多元时间模式的) cultures, people such as Arab, Asians and Latin Americans take an entirely opposite approach. They do several things at once. Time commitments, e.g. deadlines, schedules, are taken rather casually and changed often and easily. Miscommuication will arise when people from two cultures contact. Charlies Hawkins, a U.S. teacher, told me that many a time his appointments with Indians were interrupted constantly, not only by private phone calls, but also by long conversations with other people and even the neighbor’s children, which displeased and even annoyed him.
1.Why did the ancestors of the North Americans believe “Time is money”?
A. They had to work efficiently to survive. B. They got the idea from their past generations.
C. They didn’t like to deal with reflective people. D. They formed the habit of finishing work ahead of time.
2.What can be concluded from Paragraph 3?
A. Deadlines will make American people angry.
B. In the Arab East, you’d better speed everything up.
C. Middle Easterners can’t deal with demanding work.
D. People from the Arab East attach importance to relationship.
3.What can we learn about people from monochronic cultures?
A. They tend to interrupt others constantly. B. They can’t tolerate lateness or interruptions.
C. They are more likely to change their schedules. D. They like to schedule several activities at the same time.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. The importance of the diversity of culture B. The relationship between efficiency and culture
C. Different time values in different cultures D. Monochronic culture and polychronic culture
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