新视野读写教程2的第一单元原文及翻译

Americans believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching, experimenting and exploring. Time is one of the two elements that Americans save carefully, the other being labor.

(美国人相信没有人会站着不动。如果你不前进，你就落后了。这种态度导致了一个致力于研究、试验和探索的民族。时间就是美国人谨慎保存的两个要素之一，另一个是劳动力。)

"We are slaves to nothing but the clock," it has been said. Time is treated as if it were something almost real. We budget it, save it, waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it;we also charge for it. It is a precious resource. Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each lifetime. Once the sand have run out of a person's hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every minute to count.

(有人说：“我们是时钟的奴隶。”时间被当作是一种几乎真实的东西。我们预算它，保存它，浪费它，偷它，杀死它，削减它，解释它；我们也恰恰为了它。是宝贵的资源。许多人对每一生的短暂都有相当敏锐的感觉。一旦沙子从一个人的沙漏中耗尽，它们就不能被替换。我们想要每一分钟都算数。)

A foreigner's first impression of the US is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, or elbowing others as they try to complete their shopping. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered precious.

（外国人对美国的第一印象很可能是每个人都处于压力之下。城里人似乎总是急着去他们要去的地方，不安分地在商店里寻求注意，或者在他们试图完成购物时，挤挤别人。在这个国家，白天吃饭是生活节奏的一部分。工作时间被认为是宝贵的。）

Others in public eating-places are waiting for you to finish so they, too, can be serve d and get back to work within the time allowed. You also find drivers will be abrupt and people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small exchanges with strangers.Don't take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else "wasting" it beyond a certain appropriate point.

（其他在公共饮食场所的人正在等待你完成，这样他们也可以得到服务，并在允许的时间内回到工作岗位。你也会发现司机会很突然，人们会推开你。你会错过微笑、简短的谈话和与陌生人的小交流。别把它当回事。这是因为人们高度重视时间，他们憎恨别人“浪费”时间超过某一适当的点。）

Many new arrivals in the States will miss the opening exchanges of a business call, for example.They will miss the ritual interaction that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be convention in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a restaurant or coffeehouse.Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings overextended small talk; much less do they take them out for dinner, or around on the golf course while they develop a sense of trust. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially,we start talking business very quickly. Time is, therefore, always ticking in our inner ear.

（例如，许多新到美国的人将错过商业电话的开放交流。他们将错过仪式互动，与欢迎的茶或咖啡，可能会传达在他们自己的国家。他们可能会错过在餐馆或咖啡馆里悠闲的商务聊天。