不同国家如何看待“准时”这件事？沙特：守时是什么?

　　在这个竞争激烈的时代，许多人都在与时间赛跑，然而在世界的其他角落，也有人慢慢悠悠地过着日子。正如爱因斯坦所说，时间是相对的，在某些国家看来不可饶恕的迟到，在另外一些国家则被视为家常便饭。

　　在不同的国家，对“准时”的理解也是千差万别。

　　韩国：说几点就几点

　　韩国人很注重守时，认为迟到是不尊重的表现。

　　In many respects, South Korea is a very ordered society. The influence of Confucian principles runs through every aspect of day-to-day living. Well, in theory, at least. Central to this is Kibun, the concept of saving face. As a result, confrontation is to be avoided at all costs and one way to avoid any unpleasantness is to be on time, all the time. And to be lax in this regard is to mark oneself out as a cad and a bounder.

　　韩国在很多方面都是一个秩序井然的社会。儒学的影响贯穿着韩国人日常生活的方方面面。至少在理论上是这样。其中最核心的就是“面子”观念。因此，无论如何都要避免面对面的冲突，而避免任何不愉快的一个方法就是永远都准时。如果不遵守时间，就会被视为粗鲁可鄙的人。

　　Confucian[kən'fjʊʃən]: adj. 孔子的，儒家的;儒家学说的

　　cad[kæd]: n. 无赖，下流人

　　bounder['baʊndə]: n. 暴发户;粗鲁的人

　　日本：崇尚守时

　　在日本，如果火车到站时间比预定时间晚了一分钟以上，就被视为晚点。

　　Despite being famous for their high-rolling gamblers the Japanese just don’t gamble with time, where tardiness generally results in groveling and sincere expressions of deep regret. However, the modern world being what it is, young Japanese people may well be more comfortable with the remorseless global lowering of societal standards than older generations, and might not expect you to beat yourself up too badly should you be late.

　　尽管日本赌客以出手阔绰闻名，但是日本人绝不跟时间赌博。迟到往往伴随着谦卑的道歉和深深的悔意。不过，在现代社会，随着全球标准的放低，日本年轻一代可不像老一代那样恪守时间了，如果你迟到了他们应该也不会太在意。

　　groveling['ɡrɔvəliŋ]: adj. 卑躬屈节的

　　德国：提前10分钟到

　　在德国参加会议，你应该比约定时间提前至少十分钟到达。德国过去是个工业社会，所以很守时。

　　In the case of Germany, being on-time is a risky enough tactic as your hosts will probably already be there waiting, wondering how on earth you could be so foolish as to allow the possibility of some unforeseen circumstance delay you by so much as a second.

　　在德国，准时到是有风险的，因为你的主人很可能早就在那里等候了，而且正在想你怎么会这么欠考虑，一点时间余量也不留，万一有意外耽搁了呢?

　　巴西：迟到是常规

　　在巴西参加社交约会，你不用准时到达，除非对方用了“英国时间”这个短语。

　　It has been said that in Brazil, there is a widespread tolerance for delays. For example, it is considered impolite to arrive on time for a social occasion. That is probably due to the fact that it is unlikely the hosts would even be ready to receive their guests! Having said that, if you are a visitor to the country and have an important business meeting, it’s probably best not to do as they do because, not being Brazilian, you haven’t earned the right to be on anything other than ‘English time’.

　　据说巴西人对迟到普遍都很宽容。举例而言，在社交场合准时到达被视为没礼貌。这很可能是因为主人都还没准备好接待他们的客人呢!尽管如此，如果你是到巴西参加重要商务会议的外国人，你最好不要效仿巴西人的做派，因为你不是巴西人，没有资格不守时。