Lesson 60 Too early and too late
Listen to the tape then answer the question below. Why did the young girl miss the train? Punctuality is a necessary habit in all public affairs in civilized society. Without it, nothing could ever be brought to a conclusion; everything would be in a state of chaos. Only in a sparsely-populated rural community is it possible to disregard it. In ordinary living, there can be some tolerance of unpunctuality. The intellectual, who is working on some abstruse problem, has everything coordinated and organized for the matter in hand. He is therefore forgiven if late for a dinner party. But people are often reproached for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting things fine.

太早和太晚
听录音，然后回答以下问题。 为什么那个年轻女孩错过了火车？ 准时是文明社会中进行一切社交活动时必须养成的习惯。 不准时将一事无成，事事都会陷入混乱不堪的境地。 只有在人口稀少的农村，才可以忽视准时的习惯。 在日常生活中人们可以容忍一定程度的不准时。 一个专心钻研某个复杂问题的知识分子，为了搞好手头的研究，要把一切都协调一致，组织周密。 因此，他要是赴宴迟到了会得到谅解。 但有些人不准时常常因为掐钟点所致，他们常常受到责备，