On Punctuality
論守時
A punctual person is in the habit of doing everything at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.
一個守時的人養成了按時做亊的習慣，這樣的人言必信，行必果。
The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do with the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. There is a proverb that says,"Time flies never to be recalled". This is very true. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact time is life itself, and the unpunctual man is forever wasting and mismanaging his own valuable asset as well as others'. The unpunctual man is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or to return calls, or to keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through his immense amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every appointment promptly and deal with every piece of work when it has to be attended to...
另一方面，不守時的人卻從不按時完成他應該做的事情。他 總是匆匆忙忙的，到頭來卻既浪費了時間、又敗壞了自己的名譽。 有句諺語說道：「光陰一去不復返。」此話千真萬確。一件東西丟 了可能找回來，而弄丟了時間可就永遠找不回來了。時間較之財 富更加珍貴，實際上，時間本身就是生命！因此，那些不守時的人 既在浪費自己的寶貴財富，同時也是在浪費他人的珍貴財產！那 些不守時的人總是在抱怨，說自己沒有時間去寫回信、沒有時間 回電話、或者沒有時間按時赴約。然而那些真正有大量亊情要處 理的人則會小心翼翼地利用時間，很少抱怨說時間不夠用。他們 知道，除非自己按時赴約和按時處理好應處理的每一件事情，否 則他們是不可能做完這一大堆事情的……
Failure to be punctual is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to a dinner and arrives later than expected, he keeps all the other guests and the host waiting for him alone. This is great impoliteness.
不守時是對他人極大的不尊重。如果一個人應邀去參加晚 宴，卻沒有按時出席，結果讓所有的客人和主人等他一個人—— 這就是非常的無禮。
Unpunctuality is very harmful when it comes to doing one's duty, whether private or public. Imagine how it would be if those who are entrusted with important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men. And the unpunctual man is a source of annoyance both to others and to himself.
履行義務的時候——無論是公事還是私事——不守時是非 常有害的。設想一下，如果把一件重大使命委託給一個不守時 的人，結果他沒有在恰當的時間和地點完成這項任務，那麼結果 會怎麼樣呢？如果一個人以不守時而「聞名」，他怎麼可能得到 朋友和同亊的信任！不守時的人既惹別人生氣，又弄得自己不快活。
punctuality [.pʌŋktju'æliti] n. 準時
proverb ['prɔvə(:)b] n. 諺語,格言
regain [ri'gein] v. 恢復,重回,復得
promptly ['prɔmptli] adv. 敏捷地,迅速地
immense [i'mens] adj. 巨大的,廣大的
disrespect ['disris'pekt] n. 不敬,失禮,無禮
impoliteness [.impə'laitnis] n. 不禮貌,失禮
entrust [in'trʌst] v. 信賴,信託,交託
habitually [hə'bitjʊəli] adv. 日常地
annoyance [ə'nɔiəns] n. 煩惱,可厭之事
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