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Unit 1 Differences in Culture and Customs

One You must have been here a long time already.
你肯定在這里等了很久了。

1 Introduction
A

Being on time is considered good manners. It’s not polite to be late for classes,meetings, or appointments. When we do business with foreigners, make sure not to be late. Foreigners keep punctual time. Punctuality can greatly increase your credibility, too.

準時被看作是很有禮貌。上課、開會或者約會遲到是很不禮貌的。當我們和老外做生意時，務必不要遲到。外國人很守時。守時作風也可以大大地提高你的信譽度。

B

In America, it’s impolite to call someone’s home very early in the morning or very late at night unless there is an emergency. For example, 8 A.M. is considered too early and 10 P.M. is considered too late. Especially on weekends, many people like to stay up late and get up late. So make sure not to disturb people who may be resting or sleeping.

在美國，除非有緊急情況，早上很早或者晚上很晚打電話到別人家是很不禮貌的。舉例來說，早上八點就被認為是很早，晚上十點就被認為是很晚了。尤其在周末，許多人喜歡晚睡晚起。所以確定不要打擾他人休息或睡覺。

Ⅱ?Sample Sentences
1.

She was here a moment ago.
她剛才還在這。

2.

Don’t worry, your father will come back after a while.
別擔心, 你爸爸一會就回來。

3.

The rent should be paid in advance.
房租要預先支付。

4.

We must hurry up if we want to be there on time.
如果想準時到那里的話，我們就必須動作快點。

5.

I wish I could stay here another month.?
我真希望我還能在這里再呆一個月。

6.

I think I can have it done in a couple of hours.
我想幾個小時之內(nèi)我就可以做好。

7.

Do you rent the camera by the hour or by the day?
你的照相機出租是按小時算，還是按天數(shù)算？

8.

I was five minutes late for work this morning.
今天早上我上班遲到五分鐘。

9.

Your watch is ten minutes ahead of time and you’re still late.
你的手表快了十分鐘，而你還是遲到了。

10.

He always leaves work at six on the dot. He won’t work an extra minute.
他六點鐘總是準時下班。他不會多工作一分鐘。

Ⅲ?Conversations
A Chinese girl is caught at the subway station by heavy rain. She is supposed to meet her friend, Hans, in the lobby of the Garden Hotel at 11:00 A.M., but she doesn’t have a watch, so she decides to ask a man for the time.
Girl:

Excuse me, Sir, do you know what time it is?
對不起，先生，你知道幾點了嗎？

Man:
Oh, it’s almost eleven twenty.
噢，快十一點二十分了。

Girl:
Thank you.
謝謝。

Man:
You’re welcome. The rain is quite heavy, isn’t it?
沒關系。這雨可下得真大，不是嗎？
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Girl:
Yeah. I was in a hurry and I forgot my umbrella today.
是啊。今天我匆匆忙忙忘了帶傘。
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Man:
I have one. We could share it. Which way are you going?
我有傘，我們可以共用。你往哪邊走？

Girl:
Oh, that’s very kind of you. I am going to the Garden Hotel.
噢，那太好了。我去花園酒店。

Man:
I am going there, too. We can walk together.
我也去那里。我們可以一起走。

Girl:
Sure.
當然。

Helpful Information:
Time and weather is the topic that two strangers often begin a conversation. Usually people begin to know each other by this way.
時間和天氣，是兩個陌生人之間常開始談論的話題。人們通常是這樣開始互相認識。