【话匣子英语】你迟到了

加拿大人很注重准时的概念。今天讲的话题是迟到，关于朋友迟到后，你怎样的说辞，迟到也比没出现强是吧。晚点实现梦想也比从来没有去做过强是吧。都是一样的道理。

Maura: Today is a Chatterbox episode¹, and that is where Harp² and I get to chat about all different kinds of topics. Today’s episode was actually suggested by a Culips listener³ on Facebook.

 

Harp: Yes. Hello Igor Alfa! Thanks for this suggestion.

 

Maura: Right. Thank you so much. Igor wrote to us that he was meeting one of his friends and he showed up late. His friend said to him, “I’m getting old here.” And so that’s what Igor was writing us about. We’ll explain this expression in just a couple of minutes.

 

Harp: Yes. So today we’re gonna talk about being late. We’re gonna first talk about the cultural importance in North America to be on time.

 

Maura: And then we’re gonna look at some expressions, like Igor suggested, that are used to talk about when people are late. So, we have a proverb⁴ in the English language that is better late than never.

 

Harp: Yes. Better late than never.

 

Maura: And this means⁵ that it is better to be late than to never show up. Or it could also be used to mean it is better to finish something, like a project, late than to never finish it. But for this case, in this episode, we’re just gonna be talking about people being late.

 

Harp: Yeah. And 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 logical⁶ 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 acceptable⁷ to be late?

 

Harp: I would say maximum 15 minutes.

 

Maura: Yeah. I would agree. If you’re five, ten minutes late, or even 15 minutes late, it’s probably still OK and no one is going to be super mad at you. And with the technology today, you can always phone people or send them a message saying why you’re going to be late.

 

Harp: Yeah. If you’re gonna be late, it’s nice to let people know.

 

Maura: Yeah. Some people, though, are known⁸ to be more late than this and they’re just late people and you know that when you invite them somewhere they’re going to be later than 15 minutes. But if it’s your friend, you just accept this.

 

Harp: Why are you looking at me like that, Maura?

 

Maura: I didn’t say anything about you, Harp.

 

Harp: All right, let’s talk about it. Are you a late person or do you show up on time most of the time?

 

Maura: You know, I do like to be on time. If I’m going to meet a friend, I definitely⁹ want to be on time. If I’m invited for dinner, I might be just a few minutes late, fashionably¹⁰ late. But I generally do like to be on time. I don’t like the idea that someone is waiting for me. Maybe because I hate waiting

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 listener   

n.听众；收听者

参考例句：

• I'm a regular listener to her show.我经常收听她的节目。
• She became an attentive listener.她变成了一个专心致志的聆听者。

4 proverb   

n.谚语，格言，箴言；vt.使成为谚语，用谚语表达

参考例句：

• As the proverb goes,time is money.俗语说，时间就是金钱。
• "Practice makes perfect." is a proverb.”熟能生巧 ” 是一句谚语.

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 logical   

adj.逻辑(上)的，符合逻辑的；合乎常理的

参考例句：

• It is logical that the book is expensive.书贵是很自然的事。
• This is undoubtedly logical.这显然是顺理成章的。

7 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。

8 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

9 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

10 fashionably   

adv.随着流行，赶时髦地

参考例句：

• She was fashionably turned out in cream trousers and a red sweater. 她穿着米色长裤和红套衫，打扮得很入时。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She's a very snazzy dresser, ie She always dresses fashionably. 她衣着总是很时髦。 来自辞典例句