Promptness (迅速) and punctuality (準時) are major expectations in the American workplace. People who 1B appointments are considered to be dependable, and those who do not are seen as 2C . It is considered polite to 3A if one is going to be even a few minutes late. Arriving ten minutes late to a 4B business appointment (without having called ahead of time) is considered rude and conveys a 5C of organization. Some companies have been 6A to fine their executives 7B tardiness (緩慢;遲;拖拉) to meetings. This American cultural concern with every minute 8D with other cultures’ views about time. In many parts of Latin America, for example, 9B thirty to forty-five minutes late is not necessarily seen as 10D . Saying that one ran 11C an old friend could be a 12A excuse for tardiness but such an explanation would not be 13A in the American work-a-day world, 14B “time is money”.

　　在美國的工作環(huán)境中，迅速和準時的十分推崇的。守約的人被認為是可靠的，而那些失約的人則被認為是不可靠的。如果遲到，就算是幾分鐘，也必須電話告知，這是禮貌的做法。如果在一個預先定好的商務會議中遲到10分鐘(而且沒有提前打電話告知)，這會被認為是無禮的行為，而且是缺乏組織性的表現(xiàn)。有些公司會對那些開會遲到的主管采取罰款的懲罰，這是很多人都知道的。這個美國文化比其他文化更加注重時間概念。比如在拉丁美洲的一些地區(qū)，遲到30到40分鐘并不會被認為是無禮的行為。碰到老朋友這種說法可以成為拖拉的有效借口，但是對于天天都是工作日的美國，這種說法是不可接受的，因為在美國，時間就是金錢。

　　The American workday usually begins at 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., or 9 a.m., not at 8:10, 8:40, or 9:10. An employer who 15D that an employee is regularly coming in several minutes late may give the employee a 16D to be on time. In many countries, employees feel that they can stop working if the boss is not 17C . Of course, this also happens in the United States but Americans feel they are not 18A their time well if they are not 19A during most of the day. Perhaps because the American culture 20A daily progress, there is a great emphasis on not wasting time.

　　美國的上班時間通常是早上8點，8點半或者9點，而不會是在8點十分，8點40或者9點10分。如果老板見到有雇員總是遲到幾分鐘上班，那他就會警告此員工必須準時上班。在很多國家，雇員會覺得如果老板不在旁邊，他們就可以停下手中的工作。當然這種情況在美國也有，但是美國人會覺得如果他們不能在一天大部分時間中有效產出，那他們就是沒有有效地利用時間。也許是因為美國文化很看重每天所取得的進步，所以美國人非常珍惜一分一秒。

　　1. A. make B. keep C. call D. do

　　2. A. unbelievable B. unimaginative C. unreliable D. unchangeable

　　3. A. call B. tell C. talk D. say

　　4. A. fixed B. scheduled C. before D. prior

　　5. A. possess B. meaning C. lack D. concept

　　6. A. known B. famous C. demanded D. treated

　　7. A. since B. for C. after D. as

　　8. A. compares B. conquers C. deals D. contrasts

　　9. A. reaching B. arriving C. getting D. saying

　　10. A. disrespect B. dishonest C. disabled D. disrespectful

　　11. A. with B. off C. into D. for

　　12. A. sufficient B. enough C. reasonable D. sensible

　　13. A. acceptable B. regarded C. considered D. believable

　　14. A. when B. where C. which D. of which

　　15. A. thinks B. detects C. traces D. notices

　　16. A. threat B. punishment C. risk D. warning

　　17. A. well B. up C. around D. on

　　18. A. using B. taking C. making D. treating

　　19. A. productive B. prospective C. purposeful D. hasty

　　20. A. values B. evaluates C. estimates D. focuses