Lesson33 Sorry! I'm Late
In Britain and the USA most people are careful about time.
If they want to see a friend, or meet a business colleague, they telephone

first to make an appointment. A lot of people don't like surprises. They

want to know when a visitor is going to arrive.
Have you arranged to meet someone at 3 o'clock? It's polite to arrive a few

minutes early. Of course, everyone is late occasionally. Cars break down,

trains are delayed and meetings go on too long. If you're late, just say

sorry, and explain what happened. Sometimes it's impossible to keep an

appointment, but if you don't arrive, the other person will be upset. Call

them to explain.
Some people usually spend time chatting and drinking tea or coffee before

they start a business meeting — but not in Britain or the USA. There, they

like to talk about business first and chat later — if there's time.
Office hours in Britain and the USA are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., but some

offices open at 8:30. People usually take about one hour for lunch (between

12 and 2). Shops open at 9 or 9:30, and stay open until 5:30 or 6. Most

shops are open all day on Saturday, and are closed all day on Sunday.

抱歉！我迟到了
英国人和美国人大都很在意时间。
如果他们要拜访朋友或会见业务伙伴，会首先打个电话预约。许多人不喜欢不速之客。

他们希望了解客人将在何时到达。
你曾安排三点与人会面吗？提前几分钟到是礼貌的做法。当然，每个人偶尔都有迟到的

时候。车坏了，火车晚点了，会议开得太晚了。如果迟到了，要致歉并解释一下原因。

有时不可能准时赴约了，但你不到，会让对方失望，那就打个电话解释一下。
有些国家，人们通常在开会前聊聊天，喝杯茶或咖啡——但英国或美国不这样。这两个

国家的人喜欢先谈正事，有时间的话再聊天。
英国和美国的办公时间是早上九点到下午五点，但一些政府机关八点半上班。午餐时间

约为一小时（十二点到两点之间）。商店九点或九点半开门，一直营业到晚上五点半或

六点。大多数商店星期六全天营业，星期天休息。