四级阅读理解练习.docVIP

四级阅读理解练习(1)Americans?believe?no?one?stands?still.?If?you?are?not?moving?ahead,?you?are?falling?behind.?This?attitude?results?in?a?nation?of?people?committed?to?researching,?experimenting?and?exploring.?Time?is?one?of?the?two?elements?that?Americans?save?carefully,?the?other?being?labor.?? ????We?are?slaves?to?nothing?but?the?clock,”?it?has?been?said.?Time?is?treated?as?if?it?were?something?almost?tangible.?We?budget?it,?save?it,?waste?it,?steal?it,kill?it,?cut?it,?account?for?it;?we?also?charge?for?it.?It?is?a?precious?commodity.?Many?people?have?a?rather?acute?shortness?of?each?lifetime.?Once?the?sands?have?run?out?of?a?person’s?hourglass,?they?cannot?be?replaced.?We?want?every?minute?to?count.???? ??A?foreigner’s?first?impression?of?the?U.S.?is?likely?to?be?that?everyone?is?in?a?rush-often?under?pressure.?City?people?appear?always?to?be?hurry?to?get?where?they?are?going,?restlessly?seeking?attention?in?a?store,?elbowing?others?as?they?try?to?complete?their?errands.?Racing?through?daytime?meals?is?part?of?the?pace?of?life?in?this?country.?Working?time?is?considered?precious.?Others?in?public?eating?places?are?waiting?for?you?to?finish?so?they?too?can?be?served?and?get?back?to?work?within?the?time?allowed.?Each?person?hurries?to?make?room?for?the?next?person.?If?you?don’t,?waiter?will?hurry?you.You?also?find?drivers?will?be?abrupt?and?that?people?will?push?past?you.?You?will?miss?smiles,?brief?conversations,?small?courtesies?with?strangers.?Don’t?take?it?personally.?This?is?because?people?value?time?highly,?and?they?resent?someone?else?“wasting”?it?beyond?a?certain?courtesy?point????? This?view?of?time?affects?the?importance?we?attach?to?patience.?In?the?American?system?of?values,?patience?is?not?a?high?priority.?Many?of?us?have?what?might?be?called?“a?short?fuse.”?We?begin?to?move?restlessly?about?if?we?feel?time?is?slipping?away?without?some?return-be?this?in?terms?of?pleasure,?work?value,?or?rest.?Those?coming?from?lands?where?time?is?looked?upon?differently?ma