新视野大学英语视听说教程 4 Unit 10-8

Now Your Turn
Task 1:
SAMPLE DIALOG¹
Maggie: Josh, you were late for work this morning.
Josh:   I was only about ten minutes late. Anyway, the boss didn’t say anything about it.
Maggie: As a friend, I must give you a warning. You should understand that Americans treasure time.
Josh:   What do you mean?
Maggie: You see, for them time is tangible². It’s a thing. “Time is money.” You can “spend time”, “waste time”, “save time”. You can even “kill time”!
Josh:   Does this strong sense of time affect their lifestyle?
Maggie: If you’re 20 minutes late for a business appointment, the other persons will be annoyed. They may not trust you anymore. Today you were ten minutes late for work. That was bad enough.
Josh:   I was caught in a traffic jam. What could I have done?
Maggie: You should have called the secretary to say you might be late. I learned³ the importance of punctuality when I studied at an American university.
Josh:   Tell me about it.
Maggie: Some students were late handing in assignments and the professors gave them poor marks. One professor even refused to read a term paper that was turned in after the deadline.
Josh:   But as far as I know, English-speaking people may be 15-30 minutes late for a dinner party.
Maggie: That’s true. For an informal occasion⁴ like that, punctuality is not so important. Also, a boss may keep his employees waiting for a long time.
Josh:   But if his secretary is late, she’s in trouble. She will probably be reprimanded.
Maggie: How true!
 

1 dialog   

n.对话，对白

参考例句：

• At last there can be a reasonable dialog between our two governments.我们两国最后终于能理智地进行对话了。
• Address every primary view and dialog possible.要尽可能考虑到所有主要的视图和对话。

2 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• 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 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。