Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. Time communicates in many ways.
Consider the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work.
In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention. It is the same with telephone calls made after 11:00 p. m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstanding arises between people from cultures that treat time differently. In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one cannot escape. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses. The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate … "one thing at a time". Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time.
Americans look ahead and are concerned almost entirely with the future. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving many centuries.
Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind.
參考答案:时间也会说话。比起语言来说，时间的诉说更加平淡。时间能够通过许多途径以自己的方式与人们交流。
比如，拿一天的不同时段来说。某项事情结束在一天的什么时段对于那件事来说具有特殊的意义。美国的工厂管理者们清楚的认识到，如果在早上或下午工作的中间时段宣布一条通知，所有工人的工作都会受到影响。
在美国，人们一般不会在大清早打电话。如果你在大清早打电话给别人，或许他正在剃须或者在吃早餐，这个时候打电话意味着有非常紧急，需要马上处理的事情。同样的，晚上11点以后的电话也具有同样的意义。如果一个人在入睡的时间接到电话，他有理由相信这通电话关乎生死。讲究打电话的时间非常重要。
时间的意义在世界各地是不尽相同的。因此，掌握不同时间文化的人之间会产生误解。在美国，人们倾向于将时间看作是自然界中一种固定不变的东西，是一种人们无法从中逃脱的东西。就像一条法则似的，美国人把时间看成是通向未来的道路，人们在这条路上取得进步。这条未来之路有许多路段需要被区别看待……“一次只关注一件事情”。所以，如果美国人原定与某人的约会因为别的杂七杂八的事情的发生而受到影响，他会非常生气。
美国人放眼未来，对未来有着差不多整体的关注。然而美国人的未来观是也有限的。那是可以预见的未来，而不是几个世纪以后的不可预知的未来。
由于时间的意义根据文化的不同而不同，交流就常常会有障碍。如果我们认识到这一事实，那么我们就可能更好的理解对方。
