中美极品差异：克林顿都不敢迟到

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　　在快节奏的美国社会，美国人是恪守时间的，因为时间与效率紧密相连。请欣赏克林顿不敢迟到。

　　Early in 1994, President Clinton was once late for a meeting onnational affairs. This resulted in fierce criticism by the press. Beinglate means you lack the ability to manage time, they pointed out; ifyou can't manage your own time, how can you manage the affairs of state?

　　In the face of this sharp criticism, Mr. Clinton was careful toattend future meetings on time. But a few months later, he was lateagain. Of course, it did not escape the attack of the press. Articlessuch as "Look at This Guy - late Again" topped the papers again。

　　Is this sort of relentless criticism of the president's tardinesstoo tough? Isn't it a little too fussy to complain about the busypresident's occasional tardiness? Americans don't think so。

　　America is a society on a schedule. Whether it's a personalappointment or a public conference, the starting time should be exact.Those who are late are often considered lazy and inconsiderate and theylose the trust of others. In personal relationships, a friend may belost, in business, an opportunity。

　　The reason why American are so concerned about time is that time isconnected to efficiency. In the fast pace of America, people fill theirschedules to the limit。

　　Nobody can patiently wait for half an hour beyond the designatedtime, because the next item on the timetable would be affected. Beinglate means losing opportunities and diminishing efficiency。

　　For purposes of my visit to the United States, my American friendsplanned my schedule as they would an American's. Sometimes, in one daythere would be two meetings in the morning and two meetings in theafternoon. And these meetings were not at the same place; there wereconsiderable distances between appointments。

　　After one meeting, I had to get to the next one within half anhour. Once I got there, we would exchange "hellos" and then plunge rightinto the topic at hand without much additional greeting. During thetalk, we all looked at our watches now and then in order to determinewhat other subjects we would discuss in the remaining time。

　　When we finished, the host allowed us to leave without attemptingto persuade us to stay longer. We all had other things to do。

　　We depended on our map to reach the next appointment locationwithin half an hour. Fortunately, in the U. S., the street signs arevery clear. The signs not only indicate the name of the street but alsothe range of numbers on that particular block, a real convenience forforeigners who are looking for a building. Generally, the destinationcan be reached within half an hour。

　　But one time in New York, an accident occurred on the subway; thetrain didn't come at all. Sonia and I were forced to take a taxi. "Ihope we're not going to be late," Sonia said anxiously. As soon as wegot out of the taxi, Sonia pulled me up the stairs in a run. In the end,we weren't late。

　　After I came back to China, a cultural affairs officer at the U. S.Embassy asked me what I thought of the visit. I recalled this sort ofintense arrangement. Then she asked if the USIA should develop a morerelaxed schedule for future visitors. I said they shouldn't. Foreignersshould get the chance to experience the rapid rhythm of American lifeand the U. S. Concept of time - that's the real America。