American Concept of TimeThe concept of time is one of the biggest differences among different cultures. Most misunderstandings and disagreements come from different views on time.
To Americans, punctuality is a way of showing respect for other people’s time. Being more than ten minutes late to an appointment usually calls for an apology, and maybe an explanation. People who are running late often call ahead to let others know of the delay. Of course, the less formal the situation, the less important it is to be exactly on time. At informal get-togethers, for example, people often arrive as much as thirty minutes past the appointed time. But they usually don’t try that at work.
America lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it if people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it its convenient. Only very close friends will just drop by unannounced. Also people hesitate to call others late at night for fear they might be in bed.
美国人的时间观时间观念是不同文化之间最大的差异之一。大多数的误解和争执是起源于对时间和不同看法。
对美国人来说，守时是一种尊重他人时间的表现。通常若约会迟到超过10分钟，就应该向对方道歉或解释原因。知道自己会迟到的人先打个电话，让对方知道自己人晚一点到。当然，会面场合愈不正式，准时的重要性就愈小。举例来说，在非正式聚会中，人们往往会在约定时间过后30分钟才到，不过，他们上班就通常不会这样做。
美国人的生活方式体现了他们多么尊重他人的时间。当人们在计划一项活动时，通常会在几天或几个星期前把时间定好。时间一旦确定，除非情况紧急，否则不会轻易改变。如果有人想到家里拜访你，他们通常会先打电话过来，以确定你是否方便，只有很熟的朋友才会未经通知就突然造访。同时，人们也太喜欢太晚打电话给别人，因为怕对方已经上床睡觉了。
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