新视野大学英语Book2.1-A Pre-reading Activities
 
First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.
    Americans value time and save it carefully. Time is a real, precious resource to them so every minute must count. Visitors may think Americans are always in a rush and under pressure. Smiles, short conversations, and small exchanges with strangers don’t exist because Americans dislike “wasting” too much time. Americans assess others professionally rather than socially, so they start talking business immediately since they are always conscious of time. Americans work hard at saving time so they may have meetings using equipment like television screens and telephones rather than in person. Quickly solving a problem or doing a job successfully is a sign of skill. The more important the job, the more time and effort Americans will pour into it. 
  
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions with your own experiences.

1) What precious resource do Americans value and save?
2) What three behaviors do Americans consider are a waste of time?
3) In what different ways do Americans approach time in business relations?