英语博客-北美风情 222 You’re late!

 　　The idea for this episode¹ came from a Culips listener, Igor, who thought this might be an interesting topic. He was late to meet his friend, and his friend said, “I’m getting old here!” So here’s your episode, Igor. In it, Maura and Harp² talk about the importance of being on time and what to do if you’re late in Canada. They also explain Igor’s friend’s expression, and give you a few others you might hear if you’re late!

　　Harp:In Canada, it’s very important to be on time.

　　Maura:It is important to be on time. When you make a plan to meet someone at 3 o’clock, you should be there at 3 o’clock. Seems quite logical to me, but I guess because I’m Canadian, that’s why it makes sense.

　　Harp:Yup. And we know in other places being late is very often normal and when you say 3 o’clock, everyone knows that you mean 4 o’clock, but here in Canada, if you say 3 o’clock you mean 3 o’clock.

　　Maura:Right. And it’s easy to figure out because you don’t have to add another hour or be there early. The time that you’re supposed to meet is the time that you should be there. It is of course important to be on time in Canada and the US, but how much time do you think is socially acceptable³ to be late?

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

3 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。