Americans think that no one can stop.

If you don't make progress, you will fall behind.

This attitude has created a country devoted to research, experiment and exploration.

Time is one of the two elements that Americans pay attention to saving, and the other element is labor.

People always say, "Only time can dominate us."

People seem to regard time as something almost real.

We arrange time, save time, waste time, grab time, kill time, shorten time and explain the use of time; We must charge for time.

Time is a precious resource, and many people deeply feel that life is short.

Time is gone forever.

We should make every minute meaningful.

The first impression foreigners have of the United States is probably that everyone is in a hurry-often under pressure.

City people always seem to be in a hurry to go where they want to go. In the store, they are eager for the clerk to serve them at once, or push others to finish shopping quickly.

People are also in a hurry when eating during the day, which reflects the pace of life in this country to some extent. People think that working hours are precious.

In public dining places, people are waiting for others to finish eating as soon as possible so that they can eat in time.

You will also find that drivers drive recklessly and people push past you.

You will miss smiling, talking briefly and chatting casually with strangers.

Don't take it personally,

This is because people cherish time very much and don't like others to "waste" time to an inappropriate degree.

Many people who have just arrived in the United States will miss the greetings at the beginning of business visits and other occasions.

They will also miss the polite communication when drinking tea or coffee, which may be a custom in their own country.

They may also miss the relaxed and leisurely conversation when talking business in restaurants or cafes.

Generally speaking, Americans don't judge their guests by chatting for a long time in such a relaxed environment, let alone take them out to eat or play golf in the process of enhancing mutual trust.

Since we usually evaluate and understand others through work rather than socializing, let's get to the point.

Therefore, time is always ticking in our hearts.

Therefore, we try to save time.

We invented a series of labor-saving devices;

We communicate with others quickly by fax, telephone or e-mail, instead of direct contact. Although face-to-face contact is pleasant, it takes more time, especially when there is heavy traffic on the road.

Therefore, we arrange most private visits at social gatherings after work or on weekends.

As far as we are concerned, there is little relationship between the impersonality of electronic communication and the importance of the matter at hand.

In some countries, if you don't make eye contact, you can't do big business, which requires face-to-face conversation.

In America, I usually need to sign the final agreement.

However, nowadays, people are meeting more and more on TV screens, and teleconference can not only solve domestic problems, but also solve international problems through satellites.

America is undoubtedly a telephone kingdom.

Almost everyone is doing business by telephone, chatting with friends, arranging or canceling social appointments, expressing gratitude, shopping and getting all kinds of information.

Telephone can not only save walking effort, but also save a lot of time.

This is partly because the telephone service in the United States is first-class, while the postal service is inefficient.

Some newcomers to the United States come from other countries with different cultural backgrounds. In their country, people think it is impolite to work too fast.

In their view, if you don't spend a certain amount of time to deal with something, then it seems insignificant and doesn't deserve proper attention.

Therefore, people think that spending a long time will increase the importance of what they do.

But in the United States, being able to solve problems or finish work quickly and successfully is regarded as a sign of proficiency and ability.

Generally speaking, the more important the work, the more money, energy and attention will be invested, and its purpose is to "get the work started".

Third unit

Gail and I are planning a low-key wedding.

In the two years of getting along, our relationship has experienced ups and downs, which often happens when a couple learns to understand, understand and respect each other.

But during these two years, we have frankly faced each other's weaknesses and strengths.

The racial and cultural differences between us not only strengthen our relationship, but also teach us tolerance, understanding and openness. Gail sometimes doesn't understand why other blacks and I are so concerned about racial issues. To my surprise, she seems to forget the subtle expression of racial hatred in American society.

As a married couple living in America, Gail and I have no unrealistic fantasies about the future. Mutual trust and respect are inexhaustible sources of strength for both of us.

Many couples get married for the wrong reasons, 10, and it takes twenty or thirty years to find out that they can't get along. They hardly took the time to get to know each other before marriage. They ignore the serious personality differences and hope that marriage will naturally solve all kinds of problems. We hope to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The fact shows this point even more: Gail's parents, who have been married for 35 years, are experiencing a bitter and painful marriage change, which has brought a great blow to Gail and once had a negative impact on our budding relationship.

When Dangul told her family about our planned wedding, she met with some resistance.

Her mother Deborah used to approve of our relationship and even jokingly asked when we would get married so that she could have grandchildren.

But when she heard the news that we were getting married this time, she didn't congratulate us, but advised Gail to think clearly about whether her decision was right or not.

"So I'm dating him, yes, but if I marry him, that's wrong. Mom, is it because of his skin color? " Gail later told me that she had asked her mother this question.

"First of all, I must admit that I had reservations about intermarriage at first. Maybe you can even call it prejudice.

But when I met Mark, I found him a charming and clever young man.

Any mother will feel ashamed of having such a son-in-law.

So, it has nothing to do with skin color.

Yes, my friends will gossip.

Some friends even expressed shock at what you did.

But their lives are different from ours.

So you have to understand that mark's skin color is not a problem.

My biggest worry is that you may marry Mark for the wrong reasons, just like I married your father.

When I met your father, in my eyes, he was cute, smart, charming and considerate.

Everything is so fresh and exciting. Moreover, both of us believe that our marriage is an ideal marriage, at least on the surface, and all the signs indicate that our marriage will last forever.

I didn't know until later that when we got married, I didn't quite understand the person I loved-your father. "

"But I have been with Mark for more than two years," Gail complained.

"The two of us have experienced a lot of things together.

We have seen the worst of each other many times.

I am sure that time can only prove that we love each other deeply. "

"You may be right. But I still think it's okay to wait a little longer. You are only 25 years old. "

Gail's father David-I haven't met him yet-treats our decision with the attitude of the governor's father.

He asked the same question as Gail's mother: "Why are you in such a hurry? Who is this mark? What is his citizenship? "

When he learned that there was something wrong with my citizenship, he suspected that I married his daughter because I wanted to stay in America.

"But, Dad, it's a terrible thing to say," said Gail.

"Then why the hurry?" He asked repeatedly.

"Mark has nationality problems, but he always handles them himself," Gail argued. "In fact, when we talked about getting married, he made it clear that if I had any questions about anything, I could totally cancel our plans."

Her father began to quote statistics to show that the divorce rate of intermarriage was higher than that of intermarriage, and also cited examples of intermarriage couples who had been consulted by him and had marital problems.

He asked, "Have you considered the possible sufferings of your future children?"

"Dad, are you a racist?"

"No, of course not. But you must be realistic. "

"Maybe our children will encounter some problems. But whose child won't? But there is one thing they will always have, and that is our love. "

"That's an idealistic idea. People will be cruel to children born of intermarriage. "

"Dad, we will worry about ourselves. But if we have to solve all the problems before doing anything, then we can hardly do anything. "

"Remember, it's never too late to change your mind."

Fourth unit

The digital clock above the information desk of Grand Central Station shows that it is six minutes to six.

John branford is a tall young officer. He keeps an eye on the clock to see the exact time.

Six minutes later, he will meet a woman who has occupied a special place in his life in the past 13 months, a woman he has never met, but has been giving him strength through letters.

Shortly after he volunteered to join the army, he received a book from this lady.

Along with the book came a letter wishing him courage and peace.

He found that many of his friends who joined the army also received the same book from this woman named Hollis Mignel.

Everyone got courage from it and thanked her for supporting the cause they were fighting for, but only he wrote back to Mignel.

He received her reply on the day he left for overseas battlefield.

Standing on the deck of the cargo ship that was about to take him into enemy territory, he read her letter over and over again.

13 months, she wrote to him faithfully.

Even without his reply, she wrote to him as always, never decreasing.

In those hard days of fighting, her letter encouraged and gave him strength.

After receiving her letter, he felt as if he could survive.

After a while, he believed that they loved each other, as if fate had brought them together.

But when he asked her for photos, she politely refused.

She explained, "If your feelings for me are true and sincere, what does it matter what I look like?"?

If I am beautiful, I will always be troubled, because I think you only love my beauty. That kind of love will disgust me.

If I am plain, I will always be afraid that you will write to me just out of loneliness and have no other choice.

Anyway, I will stop myself from loving you.

When you come to see me in new york, you can make your own decision.

Remember, at that time, both of us are free to choose to stop or continue-if that is our choice ... "

It's one minute to six ... branford's heart is pounding.

A young woman came up to him and he immediately felt the connection between himself and her.

She is slender and slender, with beautiful long blond hair curled behind her small ears.

Her eyes are like blue flowers, and there is a gentle firmness between her lips.

She is wearing a unique green suit, full of spring-like vitality.

He greeted her, completely forgetting that she was not wearing roses. Seeing him coming, a warm smile appeared on her lips.

"Soldier, come with me?" She asked.

He involuntarily took a step closer to her. Then, he saw Hollis Mignel.

She is standing behind the girl, a woman in her forties with gray hair. In his young eyes, Mignel is simply a living fossil.

She is not generally fat, and her clumsy legs stagger.

But she wears a red rose on her brown coat.

The girl in green quickly passed by and disappeared into the fog.

Branford felt as if his heart had been compressed into a small cement ball. He wants to follow that girl, but he deeply yearns for the woman who really accompanies him and brings him warmth. She stood there.

Now he can see that her pale and fat face is full of kindness and wisdom.

Her gray eyes sparkled with warmth and kindness.

Branford resisted the impulse to follow the young woman, though it was not easy.

He took the book she sent him before going to war, so that Hollis Mignel could recognize him.

This will not become love, but it will become a precious thing, something more unusual than love-a friendship that he has always been grateful for and will continue to be grateful for.

He showed the book to the woman.

"I'm John branford, you ── you are Hollis Mignel.

I'm glad you came to see me.

Can I invite you to dinner? "

The woman smiled.

"I don't know what happened, son," she answered. "The young lady in the green suit-the one who just walked by-asked me to pin this rose on her skirt.

She said that if you invited me out with you, I would tell you that she was waiting for you in that big hotel near expressway.

She said it was a test. "

The Eighth Unit

It is often said that the saddest thing about youth is that it is wasted when you are young.

When I saw an investigation report about freshmen, I remembered this feeling of regret again: "If only I had known what I understand now!" "

This survey report confirms my previous inference based on the informal opinion polls of students in Macon and Robbins Residential Center: students think that if something (whatever it is) has no practical significance and cannot be regarded as wine, cigarettes or money, then "it" is basically worthless.

Based on the survey of more than 188000 students, it shows that today's freshmen are "more consumerist and less idealistic" than at any time since the poll began 17.

In this era of economic depression, students' main goal is to pursue "economic prosperity".

Compared with any time in the past, it is less important to establish a meaningful philosophy of life.

This situation is not surprising. So the most popular course today is not literature or history, but accounting.

Nowadays, people's interest in teaching, social services and humanities, and ethnic and women's studies is at a low ebb. On the other hand, the number of students studying business, engineering and computer science is increasing rapidly.

One more thing is not surprising. A friend of mine (a sales agent of a chemical company) earned twice as much as a university teacher in the first year of this job-even before she finished her two-year associate degree course.

She likes to say, "I'll tell them what's the use of studying music, history and literature!" " "That was four years ago. I can't even imagine how much money she earns now.

Frankly speaking, I am proud of this young lady (not for her attitude, but for her success). But why can't we have both? Can't we teach people how to make a living as well as how to live? I believe we can do it.

If we can't do this, it will be a denial of our entire education system from kindergarten, primary school, middle school to university. In an increasingly professional era, we need to know what is really important in life more than ever before.

This is the enlightenment that age and maturity can bring to people. Most people between the ages of 30 and 50 will eventually come to an inevitable conclusion that they should not only serve a company, a government agency or any other unit.

Most of us will eventually realize that the quality of life is not entirely determined by the balance sheet. It is true that everyone wants to be rich economically. But we also want to know something about the world outside the professional scope; We hope to serve our compatriots and God.

If people can't understand the meaning of life in middle age, isn't it the responsibility of educational institutions to clear the way for this understanding? Most people hate to deduct money from their wages to pay social insurance when they are young, but it seems that after only a few short years, they find themselves standing anxiously by their mailboxes (waiting for pension checks).

Although we all need a job very much, it's better to have a well-paid job. But it is also an indisputable fact that our civilization has accumulated great wealth of knowledge outside its respective fields.

And it is precisely because we understand these contributions in other fields-whether science or art-that our life is more perfect.

Similarly, while understanding the wisdom of others, we also learned how to think.

Perhaps more importantly, education allows us to look beyond our immediate needs and let us see the connection between things.

Every week, we read in the newspaper that the union went on strike for higher wages, only to bankrupt their boss.

No company, no job.

How short-sighted they are in the long run!

But the most important reason for all-round education is that we have improved our sense of morality while learning the knowledge accumulated from generation to generation.

Recently, I read a cartoon describing several businessmen sitting around a conference table, looking puzzled.

One of them is talking on the intercom: "Miss Baxter," he said, "can you call someone who can tell right from wrong?"

In the long run, this is what real education should do.

I think education can do this completely.

Not surprisingly, one of my college roommates, now the president of a large shipping company in new york, once majored in business.

However, he also hosted classical music programs on university FM radio, and he was still enjoying Wagner's music while studying accounting.

This is the way of education. Oscar Wilde put it well: We should put our talents into work and our talents into life.

We hope that our educators can satisfy students' desire for vocational education, but at the same time, we should also ensure that students can prepare for the day when they realize that they are short-sighted.

The meaning of life goes far beyond work.

Ninth unit

"Son, get up and be a promising person!" Although my mother has passed away, her words still echo clearly in my mind, just as I heard them when I was a child.

Her heart may be good for me, but at that time, in my opinion, her gentle motherhood was as severe as beating with a bamboo pole.

"My God!" I cried, "I am already a promising person." I have the right to get up late. "

"If there's anything I can't stand, it's abandonment." Her voice echoed in my mind. I couldn't refuse, so I got out of bed.

My father died after five years of marriage.

After he died, my mother had no money

She has three children to support and a lot of debts.

At that time, my mother had just entered the university, but she had to drop out of school to find a job.

A few months later, we lost our house, and my mother had nothing but fragments of life waiting for her to clean up.

My crazy grandmother had to be sent to a madhouse, and we had to stay at her brother Allen's house.

Finally, my mother got a job as a supermarket salesman with a weekly salary of 10.

Although my mother expects me to be a millionaire, she knows my ability very well. In this respect, she never deludes herself. Therefore, since I was very young, she encouraged me to develop in the direction of writing.

Mother's family has a long history of writing.

The most striking evidence is my mother's oldest cousin Edwin.

He is the executive editor of The New York Times and is famous for reporting on the Cuban missile crisis.

She often uses Edwin's example to tell me how far an ambitious person can go, even if he has no talent.

"Edwin James can type faster, but he is not smarter than others. Look how successful he is now, "my mother always says over and over again.

She always thought I had a gift for languages. From then on, she had a goal, and her whole life began to revolve around helping me develop my talents.

Although she is poor, she has ordered a set of reading materials suitable for middle and senior readers.

I receive a book worth 39 cents every month.

However, I am interested in newspapers.

I greedily absorbed every news: appalling crimes, terrible accidents, heinous crimes committed in wars in distant areas, and news of refugees who had to leave their homes.

I am fascinated by the reports of police corruption and the killer's death in the electric chair.

From 65438 to 0947, I graduated from Johns Hopkins University and applied for the post of police reporter for Baltimore Sun. Why they chose me is a mystery.

The salary is $30 a week.

I complain that my salary is too low, which is an insult to a learned man, but my mother disagrees.

"If you work hard at this job," she said, "maybe you can make a difference."

Soon, I was assigned to interview diplomats from African embassies in the United States.

After working for seven years, The Sun sent me to the White House for an interview.

For a journalist, being able to report back from the Oval Office has reached the pinnacle of his career.

When I tell my mother the news, I hope to see the joy on her face.

But if I can take into account the life course she has set for me, I should not have such expectations.

"Well, Lars," she said, "if you work hard at the White House, you may achieve something."

My mother is not completely sure of my grades.

No matter what I do, my achievements are insignificant to her.

This often gets on my nerves. She never congratulated me and never admitted that I had done a good job.

Even when I was successful, she said something negative.

"Even at the peak, be careful." She always hit the nail on the head and pointed out, "The greater the achievement, the heavier the fall."

In my first few years as a journalist, my uncle Edwin's achievements often haunted me. I often think how exciting it would be if The New York Times hired me, so that I can prove my value to my mother once and for all.

Later, even as a child, the new york Times knocked on the door himself.

Unfortunately, when I went to work in the new york Times, Uncle Edwin had already left there.

Finally, I was appointed to take the most glorious job that journalists dream of: as a commentator on The New York Times's regular column.

This proves that my mother's plan to encourage me to engage in pen and ink career as a child is completely correct.

From 65438 to 0979, I reached the peak of my career and won a major award-Pulitzer Prize.

Unfortunately, in the previous year, my mother's mind and health completely collapsed and she was admitted to a nursing home, and she was isolated from the world.

She never knew that I had won the Pulitzer Prize.

I can probably guess how she will react.

"Yes, son. It seems that as long as you work hard, you will become an excellent person one day. "