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.

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 faced each other's weaknesses and strengths frankly.

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.

"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 can 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."

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".

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. "

Fifth unit

My daughter smokes.

When she did her homework, her feet rested on the bench in front, and the calculator clicked out the answers to the geometry questions. I looked at the half-smoked pack of "Camel" cigarettes that she threw at hand.

I picked up my cigarette and went to the kitchen to have a closer look. The light there is better-thankfully, cigarettes have filters.

I feel very sad in my heart.

I want to cry.

Actually, I cried. I stood by the fire with a white cigarette in my hand. It's very delicate, but it will kill my daughter.

When she smoked Marlboro and Preil cigarettes, I hardened my heart not to feel sad. No one I know smokes these two brands.

She didn't know that my father, her grandfather, smoked "Camel" cigarettes before his death.

But before he started smoking machine-made cigarettes-he was young, poor and bright-eyed-he smoked his own hand-rolled cigarettes with Albert Pro Ace tobacco.

I still remember the bright red tobacco box with a picture of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, wearing a black tuxedo and holding a cane.

By the late 1940s and early 1950s, in my hometown of Eaton, Georgia, no one had made cigarettes by hand (almost no women smoked).

The tobacco industry, coupled with Hollywood movies in which both male and female protagonists are heavy smokers, has completely won people like my father who are hopelessly addicted to smoking.

However, my father has never been as fashionable as Prince Albert. He is also a poor and fat man who works hard to support a big family. He is black, but he always has a white cigarette in his mouth.

I don't remember when my father started coughing.

It may not be obvious at first, but I have a slight cough when I light my first cigarette in the morning.

When I was 16 years old, that is, my daughter's age now, he wheezed as soon as he breathed, which made people very uneasy; When he goes upstairs, he stops to have a rest every three or four stairs.

Besides, he often coughs for an hour.

The pain in my lungs made my father weak. In a severe winter, he died of a disease called "the friend of the poor"-pneumonia.

He has been coughing for so many years that I don't think anything in his lungs is complete.

A few years before his death, his breathing was so weak that he had to rely on something.

I remember a family reunion when my daughter was only two years old. He gave her a hug for a while so that I had time to take a picture of them. But obviously, he had a hard time.

He gave up smoking before the end of his life, mainly because his lung function was extremely damaged.

I gained a few pounds after quitting smoking, but I was so thin that no one noticed.

When I travel to third world countries, I see many people like my father and daughter.

There are huge billboards of these two kinds of people everywhere: strong, confident or fashionable mature men, and beautiful, "sophisticated" young women, all smoking.

Just like the old cities and Indian settlements in the United States, in these poor countries, money that should have been spent on food has flowed into tobacco companies. Over time, people not only lack food, but also lack air, which not only greatly damages children's physique, but also makes them addicted to cigarettes and eventually leads to their death.

I read in newspapers and gardening magazines that cigarette butts are very toxic: if a baby swallows a cigarette butt, it is likely to die, and boiling water plus a cigarette butt becomes a very effective insecticide.

As a mother, I feel deeply painful.

Sometimes I feel very weak.

I remember how careful I was when I was pregnant! How patient she was when she was taught how to cross the road safely!

Sometimes I think: What the hell am I doing? Is it because she struggled weakly for the rest of her life and then poisoned herself like her grandfather?

I especially like a famous saying written in a shelter for battered women: "Peace on earth begins with family."

I think everything in the world is like this.

I also remembered another quotation for people who want to quit smoking: "Every family should be a no-smoking area."

Smoking is a kind of self-destruction, and it also destroys those who have to sit next to you. Those people occasionally make fun of or complain about your smoking, but often they can only sit helplessly and watch.

I realize now that since I was a child, I have actually been sitting by and watching my father commit suicide all these years. For those tobacco tycoons whose business is booming, it must be enough to win such a victory in my home.

Unit 7

If you often feel angry and tired, as if the stress in your life is accumulating rapidly and will get out of control, then you may be damaging your heart.

If you don't want to hurt your heart, you need to learn to control your life within your power-and admit that there are many things that you can't control.

This is the opinion of Dr. Robert S. Eliot. He is a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Nebraska and the author of a new book, From Stress to Strength: How to Reduce Your Burden and Save Your Life.

Elliot said that there is a kind of person in this world, which he called "thermonuclear reactor type" (i.e. irritable person).

For these people, nervousness will lead to a sharp and rapid rise in their blood pressure.

Elliot said that researchers found that people who are stressed have higher cholesterol levels in addition to other symptoms.

"We have done research for many years, which proves that chemicals produced by excessive anxiety or tension can really damage myocardial fibers.

This often happens very quickly, less than 5 minutes. It will cause many short circuits, which will cause serious arrhythmia.

The heart doesn't jump like a pump, but like a bag with bugs (messy and soft). When this happens, we cannot live. "

Elliot, 64, had a heart attack at the age of 44.

He blamed stress in part for the heart attack.

For many years, he has been a "thermonuclear reactor".

On the surface, he seems calm, calm and poised, but the pressure inside him exhausted him. He is in good health now.

He said that the main predictors of the destructive degree of stress are the FUD factor-FUD refers to fear, hesitation and doubt-plus the feeling of lack of control.

For many people, the root of stress is anger, and the trick to deal with anger is to find out the source of anger.

Elliot asked, "Does this anger come from the feeling that everything must be perfect?"

"This is a very common reason among professional women. They think people should feel that they can do everything and do everything perfectly.

They think,' I should, I must, I must.' The pursuit of perfection is endless.

Perfectionists are hands-on.

They are angry because they have to carry everything on their shoulders and lose their temper.

Then they feel guilty, and then they repeat the whole process. "

"Others are angry because life has no direction.

They think traffic jams are as serious as family disputes, "he said.

"If you are angry for more than five minutes-if you are sulking and there is no safe exit-you must find out why you are angry."

"This is what happens at this time-people become more and more excited physically because of psychological pressure, and their bodies are more likely to collapse because of some kind of heart disease."

The way to calm yourself down is to admit that you have this tendency.

Learn to be less hostile to things by changing some of your opinions and negative thoughts.

Elliot advised people to control their lives.

"If there is anything that can replace pressure, it is control.

What you need is not the FUD factor, but the beauty factor-beauty refers to new, interesting and challenging experiences. "

"You have to determine which parts of your life you can control," he said. "Stop your steps and say to yourself,' I'm going to take out my compass and figure out what I need.' "

He suggested that people write down six things that they think are the most important and want to achieve in their lives.

Ben Franklin did this at the age of 32.

"He wrote down what he wanted to do, such as being a more loving father, a more considerate husband, being financially independent, active in thinking and keeping calm-he didn't do well either."

Elliot said, you can list 12 things first, and then compress them into six things. You should determine your priorities.

"Don't let yourself do the impossible. Do something that will affect your character, control and self-worth. "

"Write them on a card, you can carry them with you and look at them when you need them.

Since there can't be 26 hours in a day, you must decide what to do first. "

Remember: priorities will change over time.

"Children will grow up, dogs will die, and your priorities will change."

According to Eliot, another key factor in controlling stress is to "admit that there are some difficult things in life that you can hardly or completely control-such as the economy and politicians."

You must realize that sometimes things like traffic jams, deadlines and annoying bosses, "you can't fight or escape." You must learn how to be compatible with it. "

unit 10

1940 In the hot summer and early autumn, night after night, a deep and steady voice flew from Britain to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the United States, telling the story of Britain struggling to survive under repeated attacks by German bombers.

This powerful and steady voice, an American voice with a slight North Carolina accent, comes from Edward R. Murrow, who is the personnel director of CBS in Europe.

When bombs fell and flames spread all over the city, Murrow was broadcasting: "This is London."

In his voice, he expressed a kind of sorrow for the suffering of this ancient city, and at the same time conveyed a kind of confidence that no matter what kind of suffering he endured, London would stand firm.

London is indestructible.

The violent air raid began in mid-August, and Nazi bombs began to land on the coastline of the English Channel.

German bombers cast black shadows on the white cliffs in the Dover Strait. The British Civil Defence Forces are prepared to fight on beaches, cliffs and mountains until the last Englishman dies or the invaders are driven away.

The bomber pilots under Lieutenant General Goering are convinced that they will finally defeat Britain.

Hitler and Goering believed that when London was razed to the ground like Warsaw or Rotterdam, Britain would surrender.

But the British are luckier than the Poles in Warsaw and the Dutch in Rotterdam.

They have the English Channel, which is a natural barrier against Nazi ground forces, and the Royal Air Force to fight the Nazis in the air.

The suffering in London actually began in the first week of September, when Hitler finally became convinced that the British did not intend to surrender.

1940 On September 7th, nearly 400 German bombers bombed the city in broad daylight.

Goering once boasted: "This is the historic moment when our Air Force dropped a bomb directly into the enemy's heart for the first time."

Fires raged, houses collapsed, gas pipes burst, and thick black smoke rose from the streets.

Men, women and children all felt the power of the bomb.

Radar sirens are screaming, ambulances are flying from one place full of pain to another, and firefighters are facing the flames all the time.

It seems impossible for any city to continue fighting after such a heavy blow.

Bombs exploded around and planes strafed down from the air, making it impossible for citizens to work, go to work, eat, sleep and handle daily affairs as usual.

But the city held on.

Trains take people from the suburbs to the cities to work.

The bus bumped along the street.

The fire has been brought under control.

Bottles of milk were delivered to the door, and the women took them home as if the war had happened thousands of miles away. As soon as the newspaper came out, people went to buy it, hurried to work and read the report on the war in London.

Edward R. Murrow began to broadcast in a low and steady voice: "This is London."

He sounds as if nothing can stop him from saying these words.

When he said these words, he did not deliberately show a kind of heroism.

He just calmly told people the fact that the city still exists.

Murrow knows that the fate of Britain depends on the determination of these people: people in shops and streets, people who drink in hotels, housewives, people who watch the fire on the roof, people who face countless difficulties and pains.

The fate of Britain depends largely on a few pilots who take off day and night to meet groups of Nazi bombers.

These RAF pilots have reached the limit of fatigue, but they still go beyond their limits and continue to fight.

The people of London are also on the front line of the battle, but they can't get the satisfaction of directly fighting back against the enemy.

They can't fly to the sky to destroy enemy planes.

They must dig quickly in the basement to rescue friends buried under the rubble;

They must put out endless fires;

They must be strong and bear any disaster brought by the enemy.

In the broadcast of 1 940 65438+1October1,Murrow announced: "Please remember: these people are brave and patient; Everyone is equal under bomb bombing; This war is a contest between speed and organization; The political system that can best protect civilians and safeguard their dignity will win. "

Facts have proved that Murrow's prediction that ordinary people will win the final victory is correct.

Those Nazi forces were finally defeated by the allied forces.