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Fighting Against Soft Time 准时？不准时？

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本  

As the older gentleman clamped his cell phone shut, he announced, “He’s late. He’s always late.” “No, he’s not,” the younger lady responded. “Our reservation is for eight o’clock, and that’s the time now. He called, so what’s the problem?”

当老先生收起手机时说道：「他迟到了，他总是迟到。」「他不算迟到。」一位年轻女士回应他。「我们订位的时间是八点钟，现在是八点钟。但是他打了电话来，这有什么问题？」

Welcome to “soft time”: the time in which expectations of when and where to meet shift because people expect others to be constantly reachable. With the proliferation of cell phones, more and more people feel less bound by their schedules because easy communication allows them to touch base with those who are waiting.

让我们来迎接「软性时间soft time」：指与人订约时间地点不停地变更，只因人们预期可以时时掌握对方的行踪。因为手机盛行，愈来愈多的人觉得不须被自己的行程绑死，因为沟通很容易，随时能与等待中的对方联系上。

But not everyone is willing to excuse being tardy with a phone call. In fact, some businesses have altered the practices because clients were habitually showing up late. As a means of bucking this trend, some restaurants, for example, no longer accept reservations, and some doctors consider patients with appointments “on the clock” even if they aren’t there yet. Some cell phone users have even taken the radical step of – Gasp – throwing away their cell phones in their frustration with the soft time phenomena.

但是不是全部的人都愿意因为一通电话而原谅迟到的行为。事实上，有些生意人已经因为客户习惯性迟到而改变了行事方式，以对抗这样的行为。譬如说，有些餐厅不再接受订位；而有些医生对于约诊病人过时未到，仍然照表计时。有些手机使用者甚至采取非常破斧沈舟的手段──天哪！──不再随身带手机了，只因为对这种流行现象感到挫折痛心。

Will the soft time trend continue? It seems likely. But then again, the world of wireless etiquette is still taking shape. Check out www.cellmanners.com for some practical advice.

这种软性时间的流行趋势会持久下去吗？似乎很可能。不过目前无线电话的礼节规范正逐渐成形中。不妨上网查阅 www.cellmanners.com 上面的一些实用建议。

Vocabulary

单词发音

clamp [klæmp] v. 紧紧抓住

proliferation [prə͵lɪfəˋreʃən] n.〔数量〕激增; 扩散

bound [baʊnd] adj. 受束缚的

touch base with 和……联系  to talk to someone; to confer with someone briefly

tardy [ˋtɑrdɪ] adj. 【美】迟延的，迟到的

habitually [həˋbɪtʃʊəlɪ] adv. 习惯地；惯常地

buck [bʌk] v.【美】【口】强烈反抗，反对

gasp [gæsp] v.（因惊讶等）倒抽一口气

etiquette [ˋɛtɪkɛt] n. 礼节；礼仪

take shape  形成,初具雏形

Sentence of the Day

Some people do things in their own sweet time.

有些人喜欢照自己的时间表做事。

in one’s own sweet time  任凭自己的意愿(常指不顾他人)

课文讲解

Philip and Carrie are waiting for their friend, David. Carrie has just hung up her cell phone:  菲利普和凯莉两人在等朋友戴维。凯莉刚讲完手机：

C: That was David on the phone. He’ll catch up with us in about fifteen minutes.

刚才手机上讲话的是戴维。他大约15分钟后和我们会合。

P: But he was supposed to meet us five minutes ago! Is he ever punctual?

但是他5分钟前就该和我们碰面了。他准时过吗？

C: Don’t blow it out of proportion. Sure, he’s late on occasion. But he had the courtesy to call us to let us know when he’ll arrive.

别渲染得过火。当然，有些时候他迟到。不过至少他还懂礼貌，拨个电话让我们知道他何时会抵达。

P: Come on, Carrie. If David were really polite, he would have showed up on time. Calling is no substitute when your friends are waiting. Rather, it seems like another excuse for dawdling.

少来了，凯莉。如果戴维真的懂礼貌，他就该准时到。明知朋友在等，只打个电话不算数。反而倒像是又一次慢吞吞的借口。

C: I disagree. He checked in with us, so we don’t have to worry about if he’ll show or not. That’s a polite gesture. Anyway, just imagine if we didn’t have cell phones.

我不同意。他有向我报备，所以我们并不操心他究竟来或不来，那是种礼貌的表示。无论如何，试想倘若我们没有手机将会如何。

P: Yeah, I guess I’d be more upset if I hadn’t heard anything from David. Still, he really should make an effort to be on time whether we have cell phones or not.

是啊，如果没办法联络到戴维，我想我会更烦恼。不过话说来，他实在应该不管我们有没有手机都尽量准时赶到。

C: Speak of the devil, there he is now! He’s not so late.

说曹操，曹操就到。他现在来了！他没迟到很久。

P: Good. Wow, it’s almost like he’s early! Now, we just have to make sure he turns off his phone inside the movie theater.

很好。哇，感觉上好像是他早到似的！现在我们可要确定他在电影院里会关手机。

－by Mark Hamilton

Vocabulary

单词发音

hang up 挂断电话

catch up with (somebody) 赶上(有时超过)(某人)

punctual [ˋpʌŋktʃʊəl] adj. 准时的

blow something out of proportion 小题大做; 夸大其词 to make more of than is reasonable; exaggerate

courtesy [ˋkɝtəsɪ] n. 礼貌，好意

no substitute 不能代替

dawdle [ˋdɔd!] v.〔做事等〕磨蹭﹐ 缓慢地做

check in with someone 向某人报到

speak of the devil【谚】【口】(用于说到某人, 某人就到的场合)说曹操, 曹操就到

Sentence of the Day

Better late than never.

迟到总比不来好。(亡羊补牢未为晚也)