New Century College English--Extensive Reading

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Directions: Please read the following passage within the limited time, and then do the exercise.

Length of Text: 321 words Time Allowed: 3.5 minutes

9. Time Talks

¹ Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. Time communicates in many ways.

² Consider the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work.

³ In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention. It is the same with telephone calls made after 11:00 p. m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

⁴ The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstanding arises between people from cultures that treat time differently. In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one cannot escape. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses. The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate … "one thing at a time". Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time.

⁵ Americans look ahead and are concerned almost entirely with the future. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is the foreseeable future and not the future involving many centuries.

⁶ Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind.

Comprehension Exercise

1.What is this passage mainly about?
A. Time is important in every country.
B. Different people spend time in different ways.
C. People have different attitudes towards time in the U. S. A.
D. People in different countries have different ideas about time.

2.If you telephone an American early in the morning, he might think that ______.
A. it is normal
B. there must be bad news coming
C. there must be something important or urgent
D. there is something wrong with the phone

3.Which of the following would be the most proper time for you to call an American friend?
A. 7:00 a.m.
B. 1:00 p.m.
C. 3:00 p.m.
D. 11:30 p.m.

4.What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
A. To do something, we should choose a better time.
B. To do something, we should do it during daytime.
C. The factory managers should know when to make announcements.
D. The factory managers should know how to make announcements.

5.The word "immediate" in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A. prompt
B. close
C. much
D. important

6.According to Paragraph 4, an American likes to ______.
A. do just one thing at a time
B. do many things at the same time
C. make appointments with different people at a time
D. make appointments with different people at a time

7.The sentence "The American idea of the future is limited" in the Paragraph 5 means: the ______.
A. Americans don't think they will have a good future
B. future of America is limited
C. Americans do not think much about the future
D. Americans only think about the near future

8.The author mainly talks about Americans because _______.
A. he likes the U.S. better
B. Americans value time
C. American customs are better
D. he wants to take the U.S.A. for example

9.The title of the passage "Time Talks" probably means that ______.
A. time is valuable
B. some alarm clocks can speak
C. doing things at different times has different meanings
D. people should talk about time more often

10.What can be inferred from this passage?
A. We should learn from the people in the U. S.
B. We should value time as American people do.
C. We should not do more than one thing at a time.
D. Time has different meanings in different cultures.

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