To Americans， punctuality is a way of showing respect for other people‘s time. Being more than 10 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 30 minutes past the appointed time. But they usually don’t try that at work.

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往往会先打个电话，让对方知道自己会晚一点到。当然，会面场合愈不正式，精确准时的重要性就愈小。举例来说，在非正式的聚会中，人们往往会在约定时间过后30分钟才到，不过，他们上班通常就不会这样做。

Still， it‘s possible to go too far. At the end of the 19th century， some women even had ribs removed so they’d have that perfect narrow waist. Some people today have poison injected in the face to get rid of wrinkles， even though this means that their facial muscles will be paralyzed， unable to express certain emotions.

不过，还是有可能做得太过火。十九世纪末，有些女人甚至拿掉一些肋骨，只为拥有完美的柳腰。今天有些人在脸上注射毒药来消除皱纹，即使脸部肌肉会因此瘫痪而做不出某些表情，也在所不惜。

Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time-like money-slips all too easily through our fingers. And time-like the weather-is very hard to predict. Nevertheless， time is one of life‘s most precious gifts. And unwrapping it is half the fun.

不过连美国人都承认，没有人能够完全掌握时间。时间就像金钱一样，很容易就从我们的指间溜走；时间也像天气一样，是很难预测的。然而，时间是生命中最宝贵的礼物之一，而拆开（这项难以掌握和预料的）礼物本身就已经是一种乐趣了。

American 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 is convenient. Only very close friends will just “drop by” unannounced.

美国人的生活型态表现出他们对别人的时间有多尊重。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。时间一旦决定，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。