UNIT 1

  Americans believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching, expermenting and exploring. Time is one of the two elements that Americans save carefully, the other being labor.
  "We are slaves to nothing but the clock," it has been said. Time is treated as if it were something almost real. We budget it, save it, steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it, we also charge for it. It is a precious resource. Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each lifetime. Once the sands have run out of a person's hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every minute to count.
  A foreigner's first impression of the US is likely to be that everyone is in a rush--often under perssure. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, or elbowing others as they try to complete their shopping. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered