首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
All cultures have some system of measuring duration, or keeping time, but in Western industrialized societies, we keep track of
All cultures have some system of measuring duration, or keeping time, but in Western industrialized societies, we keep track of
admin
2013-01-19
58
问题
All cultures have some system of measuring duration, or keeping time, but in Western industrialized societies, we keep track of time in what seems to other peoples almost an obsessive fashion. We view time as motion on a space, a kind of linear progression measured by the clock and the calendar. This perception contributes to our sense of history and the keeping of records, which are typical aspects of Western cultures.
Although our perceptions of time seem natural to us, we must not assume that other cultures operate on the same time system. For instance, why should we assume that a Hopi raised in the Hopi culture would have the same intuitions about time that we have? In Hopi history, if records had been written, we would find a different set of cultural and environmental influences working together. The Hopi people are a peaceful agricultural society isolated by geographic feature and nomad enemies in a land of little rainfall. Their agriculture is successful only by the greatest perseverance. Extensive preparations are needed to ensure crop growth. Thus the Hopi value persistence and repetition in activity. They have a sense of the cumulative value of numerous, small, repeated movements, for to them such movements are not wasted but are stored up to make changes in later events. The Hopi have no intuition of time as motion, as a smooth flowing line on which everything in the universe proceeds at an equal rate away from a past, through a present, into a foreseeable future.
Long and careful study of the Hopi language has revealed that it contains no words, grammatical forms, constructions, or expressions that refer to what we call time-the past, present, or future-or to the duration or lasting aspect of time. To the Hopi, "time" is a "getting later" of everything that has been done, so that past and present merge together. The Hopi do not speak, as we do in English, of a "new day" or "another day" coming every twenty-four hours; among the Hopi, the return of the day is like the return of a person, a little older but with all the characteristics of yesterday. This Hopi conception, with its emphasis on the repetitive aspect of time rather than its onward flow, may be clearly seen in their ritual dances for rain and good crops, in which the basic step is a short, quick stamping of the foot repeated thousands of times, hour after hour.
Of course, the American conception of time is significantly different from that of the Hopi. Americans’ understanding of time is typical of Western cultures in general and industrialized societies in particular. Americans view time as a commodity, as a "thing" that can be saved, spent, or wasted. We budget our time as we budget our money. We even say, "Time is money", We are concerned in America with being "on time"; We don’t like to "waste" time by waiting for someone who is late or by repeating information; and we like to "spend" time wisely by keeping busy. These statements all sound natural to a North American. In fact, we think, how could it be otherwise? It is difficult for us not to be irritated by the apparent carelessness about time in other cultures. For example, individuals in other countries frequently turn up an hour or more late for an appointment-although "being late" is at least within our cultural framework. For instance, how can we begin to enter the cultural world of the Sioux, in which there is no word for "late" or "waiting". Of course, the fact is that we have not had to enter the Sioux culture; the Sioux have had to enter ours. It is only when we participate in other cultures on their terms that we can begin to see the cultural patterning of time.
The concept of time as a commodity in the third paragraph means that ______.
选项
A、time can be used and spent like consumer goods
B、people who work long hours will be paid handsomely
C、people can buy time just like they buy a product
D、time is considered priceless that people can’t afford
答案
A
解析
在第四段中,时间是商品的概念是指可以像使用和耗费商品那样使用和耗费时间。根据本段第三句和第四句,美国人把时间看作是商品,可以看作是能够节省、能够消耗和能够浪费的东西。美国人不仅把金钱纳入预算也把时间纳入预算。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/z32O777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
UndergroundRailroadinU.S.historywasalooselyorganizedsystemforhelpingfugitiveslavesescapetoCanadaortoareasof
Ifexcellentworkresultsinfrequentpayincreasesorpromotions,theworkerswillhavegreater______toproduce.
Towhatextentaretheunemployedfailingintheirdutytosocietytowork,andhowfarhastheStateanobligationtoensureth
Thebusinessofadvertisingistoinventmethodsofaddressingmassiveaudiencesinalanguagedesignedtobeeasilyaccessible
AnIndiananthropologist.ChandraThapar,madeastudyofforeigncultures,whichhadcustomssimilarto【1】ofhisnativeland.O
Millionsoftonsofwaterare______byacomplexsystemofdykes.
Hurricanesareviolentstormsthatcausemillionsofdollarsinpropertydamageandtakemanylives.Theycanbeextremelydange
____initialrecognitionwhilestillquiteyoung.
ExxonMobilhasspentDollars3.5bnontheclean-up,environmental_____andcompensation,voluntarilypayingDollars300mtomore
随机试题
某项被评估资产2000年购建,账面原值为10000元,2005年进行评估,已知2000年和2005年该类资产定基物价指数分别为120%和150%,则被评估资产重置成本为
血栓闭塞性脉管炎治疗措施不正确的是
构成牙的主体的部位为()
女性,20岁,大学生,发病前两周曾到云南旅游并有草丛休息史,发热8日伴畏寒头痛、结膜充血。查体:左侧腹股沟可及一蚕豆大小淋巴结并查见一直径约4mm圆形溃疡,肝、脾肋下未及。血象:WBC4.0×109/L,可见核左移。为明确病因,检查首选
根据《著作权法》规定,下列选项中,可以作为著作权客体的是()。
监理招标的评标主要侧重于对( )的评定。
小王和小李在公交车上因抢座发生争执,小王失手将小李打成轻伤,甲派出所对小王作出罚款500元,并支付小李的医药费1000元的处罚决定。下列表述中,不正确的是()。
英雄骑马射箭,路遇猛虎,相距50米,适逢箭矢已尽,遂驱汗血宝马逐之,意欲生擒。今知宝马步幅较猛虎为大,宝马2步值猛虎3步,然猛虎动作较宝马迅捷,宝马奔跑3步之时猛虎已经狂奔4步,则英雄追上猛虎之时,汗血宝马跑了()米。
ThewinneroftheNobelPrizeinphysicsdedicatedthehonortohishighschoolphysicsteacher,hehadbeenaninspirationduri
PASSAGEFOUR
最新回复
(
0
)