首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Advance notice is often referred to in America as "lead time," an expression which is significant in a culture where schedules a
Advance notice is often referred to in America as "lead time," an expression which is significant in a culture where schedules a
admin
2011-01-05
26
问题
Advance notice is often referred to in America as "lead time," an expression which is significant in a culture where schedules are important. While it is learned informally, most of us are familiar with how it works in our own culture, even though we cannot state the rules technically. The rules for lead time in other cultures, however, have rarely been analyzed. At the most they are known by experience to those who lived abroad for some time. Yet think how important it is to know how much time is required to prepare people, or for things to come. Sometimes lead time would seem to be very extended. At other times, in the Middle East, any period longer than a week may be too long.
How troublesome differing ways of handling time can be is well illustrated by the case of an American agriculturalist assigned to duty as an attachê of our embassy in a Latin country, After what seemed to him a suitable period he let it be known that he would like to call on the minister who was his counterpart. For various reasons, the suggested time was not suitable; all sorts of cues came back to the effect that the time was not yet ripe to visit the minister. Our friend, however, persisted and forced an appointment, which was reluctantly granted. Arriving a little before the hour (the American respect pattern), he waited. The hour came and passed; five minutes--ten minutes--fifteen minutes. At this point he suggested to the secretary that perhaps the minister did not know he was waiting in the outer office. This gave him the feeling he had done something concrete and also helped to overcome the great anxiety that was stirring inside him. Twenty minutes--twenty-five minutes--thirty minutes--forty-five minutes (the insult period)!
He jumped up and told the secretary that he had been "cooling his heels" in an outer office for forty-five minutes and he was "damned sick and tired" of this type of treatment. This message was relayed to the minister, who said, in effect, "let him cool his heels." The attachê stay in the country was not a happy one.
The principal source of misunderstanding lay in the fact that in the country in question the five-minute delay interval was not significant. Forty-five minutes, on the other hand, instead of being at the tail end of the waiting scale, was just barely at the beginning. To suggest to an American’s secretary that perhaps her boss didn’t know you were there after waiting sixty seconds would seem absurd, as would raising a storm about "cooling your heels" for five minutes. Yet this is precisely the way the minister registered the complaints of the American in his outer office! He felt, as usual, that Americans were being totally unreasonably.
Throughout this unfortunate episode the attach6 was acting according to the way he had been brought up. At home in the United States his response would have been normal ones and his behavior correct. Yet even if he had been told before he left home that this sort of thing would happen, he would have had difficulty not feeling insulted after he had been kept waiting for forty-five minutes. If, on the other hand, he had been taught the details of the local time system just as he should have been taught the local spoken language, it would have been possible for him to adjust himself accordingly.
For an American, having to wait 15 minutes for an interview is ______.
选项
A、annoying
B、frustrating
C、tolerable
D、unacceptable
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/FmLMFFFM
本试题收录于:
C类竞赛(非英语专业本科)题库大学生英语竞赛(NECCS)分类
0
C类竞赛(非英语专业本科)
大学生英语竞赛(NECCS)
相关试题推荐
The"standardofliving"ofanycountrymeanstheaverageperson’s【C1】________ofthegoodsandservicesthecountryproduces.
FormanyyearsitwascommonintheUnitedStatestoassociateChineseAmericanswithrestaurantsandlaundries.Peopledidnot
Almosteverynewinnovationgoesthroughthreephases.When【C1】________introducedintothemarket,theprocessof【C2】________i
Manytheoriesconcerningthecausesofjuveniledelinquency(crimescommittedbyyoungpeople)focuseitherontheindividualor
(1)VintonCerf,knownasthefatheroftheInternet,saidonWednesdaythattheWebwasoutgrowingtheplanetEarthandthetim
(1)Longknownasatelecommunications-equipmentsuppliertoglobalcarriers,HuaweihasalreadytoppledSamsunginChina,thew
(1)Ifyourchildisoverweightorobese,thismeansthattheyarecarryingexcessbodyfat.Doctorsandnursescanchecktosee
HowtoGettheMostfromYourCollegeProfessors【T1】________yourprofessors.usetheschool’s【T2】________—thepr
(1)HumanitiesdepartmentsinAmericaareonceagainbeingaxed.Thereasons,onehears,areeconomicratherthanideological.I
HowcomeitissodifficulttofindEnglishfoodinEngland?InFranceyoueatFrenchfood,inItalyItalianfood,butinEnglan
随机试题
电动压力调节器开度突然变大的原因可能是()。
有"夏月之麻黄"之称的药物是
骨折近端向后倾斜移位骨折远端向后倾斜移位
慢性呼吸衰竭最常见的酸碱失衡是
对建筑物的基本要求是安全、适用、经济、美观,下列对建筑物的要求中,属于适用方面的要求是()。
由于职业判断贯穿于注册会计师审计工作的全过程,并且可能得到的审计证据有很多是说服性而非结论性的,因此,注册会计师的任何审计意见都不能绝对保证会计报表使用人确定已审计会计报表的可靠程度。 ( )
简要回答幼儿成长档案袋评价的含义及基本内容。
行政主体就是行政法律关系主体。()
某温泉旅游胜地村委会主任选举时,温泉度假村总经理姜某许诺给他投票的选民可以获赠温泉度假村门票10张,并为谋求镇政府支持送给镇长温泉度假村VIP钻石卡一张(价值10万元)。对于姜某的行为说法正确的是()
2017年11月25日,甲(2003年11月26日出生)在公共汽车上将手伸进丙的衣袋偷东西,丙发现后立即抓住甲的手。甲的同伙乙(2000年12月5日出生)见状拔出甲随身携带的匕首刺向丙胸部。丙情急之下拉过乘客陈某的胳膊挡在自己前面,乙刺中陈某胳膊,致其轻伤
最新回复
(
0
)