1 四级阅读理解练习(1) 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. "We are slaves to nothing but the clock,” it has been said. Time is treated as if it were something almost tangible. 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 commodity. Many people have a rather acute shortness of each lifetime. Once the sands have run out of a person’s hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every minute to count. A foreigner’s first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people appear always to be hurry to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, elbowing others as they try to complete their errands. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you don’t, waiter will hurry you.You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, small courtesies with strangers. Don’t take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else “ wasting” it beyond a certain courtesy point This view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system ...
