高二英语演讲稿范文（推荐4篇）
高二英语演讲稿范文 篇1
Recently watching American TV Dramas has become more and more popular with youth in our country. There are various kinds of reasons. Generally speaking, TV Dramas are suitable for the psychology of youth. The network technology will be developed as well at the same time. What’s more, it can make our spoken English well. Every coin has two sides, but it shows off a humanism, and spreads bad influences such as violence, etc.
I think the positive influences are more important than negative ones.
First of all, a number of American TV Dramas express duty, family, freedom, justice and love concept. It’s useful to develop youth’s recessive education. Only in this way will TV Dramas play a positive part and make up for shortcomings in political education. Next, it can broaden our eyes and knowledge and make us know what is different from home and abroad. With this method, we can know the western society. We’ll be affected by different culture ambience and ideology concept. Under the background of the whole world, knowing the cultures of western countries can promote each country’s communications well. In addition, In this process, TV Dramas play a role of bridge. Then, it will develop independent personality. America uphold particular concept and suggest their educational productions. Youth is the most energetic generation, encourages people show off personality and dares to break the outmoded conventions. It’s the prerequisite of innovation.
Finally, TV Dramas also help you face reality and surmount ideality. Nowadays, some youth always depend on others, such as their parents or friends. They also have idealism and is extremely conceited or inferiority. They often don’t find themselves in society, due to the influences of life education environment.
By this we can make a conclusion. No matter how hard it will be, we should always be free and try our best to conquer the enemy, just like the actors in the film. Another thing we have to remember is the great development of China. TV Dramas’ productions suggest the culture and psychological state of the country from some kinds of degree. It can promote our country’s economic development. Watching TV Dramas is a way to follow fashion. Therefore, everyone should work hard to make our country stronger and stronger. Through American TV Dramas, we should strengthen our duty and proud of our country. Let’s work together!
高二英语演讲稿范文 篇2
i never considered myself unique, but people are constantly telling me, "you are a miracle." to me, i was just an ordinary "guy" with realistic goals and big dreams. i was a 19-year-old student at the university of texas and well on my way toward fulfilling my "big dream" of one day becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
我从未觉得自己与众不同，但人们常对我说：“你的生命是个奇迹。”对我而言，我只是一个普通人，有着现实的目标和远大的理想。我曾是德克萨斯大学一名十九岁的大学生，在通向理想之路上信步前行，梦想有一天我会成为一名整形外科医生。
on the night of february 17, 1981 i was studying for an organic chemistry test at the library with sharon, my girlfriend of three years. sharon had asked me to drive her back to her dormitory as it was getting quite late. we got into my car, not realizing that just getting into a car would never quite be the same for me again. i quickly noticed that my gas gauge was registered on empty so i pulled into a nearby convenience store to buy '2.00 worth of gas. "i'll be back in two minutes," i yelled at sharon as i closed the door. but instead, those two minutes changed my life forever.
1981年2月17日的晚上，我和交往三年的女友沙伦在为有机化学测试做准备。因为太晚了，沙伦叫我驾车把她送回宿舍。我们钻进汽车，谁能想到在今后的生命中我不能再如此矫健地重复这样一个简单的动作。我很快发现油表空了，于是我把车泊在附近的一家便利店旁，想买两块钱的汽油。“我两分钟就回来，”我关上车门朝沙伦喊到。但就是这短短的两分钟改变了我一生的命运，永远地改变了。
entering the convenience store was like entering the twilight zone. on the outside i was a healthy, athletic, pre-med student, but on the inside i was just another statistic of a violent crime. i thought i was entering an empty store, but suddenly i realized it was not empty at all. three robbers were in the process of committing a robbery and my entrance into the store caught them by surprise. one of the criminals immediately shoved a .38 caliber handgun to my head, ordered me to the cooler, pushed me down on the floor, and pumped a bullet into the back of my head -- execution style. he obviously thought i was dead because he did not shoot me again. the trio of thieves finished robbing the store and left calmly.
进入这家便利店就如同踏上了阴阳间的奈何桥，门外的我还是个健康的，活蹦乱跳的未婚大学生，而门内的我却成了暴力犯罪的又一个牺牲品。我还以为店里没有人，但我突然发现我错了——有三个匪徒正在打劫这家店，而我的进入让他们有些惊慌失措。其中一个匪徒迅速掏出一把口径为38毫米的手枪用力指着我的头，勒令我走到冷冻机旁，然后把我推倒在地，像执行死刑般从后面朝我头部开了一枪。他没再朝我开第二枪，显然他以为我死了。打劫完后三个劫匪逃之夭夭。
meanwhile, sharon wondered why i had not returned. after seeing the three men leave the store she really began to worry as i was the last person she saw entering the store. she quickly went inside to look for me, but saw no one-only an almost empty cash register containing one check and several pennies. quickly she ran down each aisle shouting, "mike, mike!"
与此同时，沙伦对我的不归忧心忡忡。看到这三个匪徒离开便利店后她真的很担心，因为我是她见到的最后一个进入店里的人。她赶快跑进店来找我，只见几乎被一扫而空的收银机上挂着一张帐单，还有几枚硬币散落在上面，四周无人。她在货架间飞快地跑着、喊着：“迈克，迈克!”
just then the attendant appeared from the back of the store shouting, "lady, get down on the floor. i've just been robbed and shot at!"
这时一名服务员从店后面走出来叫到：“小姐，过来一下，我刚才被打劫了，他们还向我开了枪。”
sharon quickly dropped to the floor screaming, "have you seen my boyfriend? he has auburn hair." the man did not reply but went back to the cooler where he found me choking on my vomit. the attendant quickly cleaned my mouth and then called for the police and an ambulance.
沙伦跌跌撞撞地过来哭喊到：“你见到我的男朋友了吗?长褐色头发的。” 那人默默走到冷冻机旁，找到了我，此时呕吐快令到我窒息了。他赶忙帮我擦干了嘴，叫了警察和救护车。
sharon was in shock. she was beginning to understand that i was hurt, but she could not begin to comprehend or imagine the severity of my injury.
沙伦被吓坏了。渐渐地她才明白我受伤了，但是她根本想象不到伤势的严重性。
when the police arrived they immediately called the homicide division as they did not think i would survive and the paramedic reported that she had never seen a person so severely wounded survive. at 1:30 a.m. my parents who lived in houston, were awakened by a telephone call from brackenridge hospital advising them to come to austin as soon as possible for they feared i would not make it through the night.
警察来了，他们很快断定是杀人案，因为没人相信我还能活过来，而救护人员说她从来没有见过伤势如此严重的人可以逃离死劫。下午一点半，我住在奥斯汀的父母被来自布莱肯瑞吉医院的电话铃惊醒，医院通知他们尽快赶到奥斯汀，因为他们认为我熬不过当晚了。
but i did make it through the night and early in the morning the neurosurgeon decided to operate. however, he quickly informed my family and sharon that my chances of surviving the surgery were only 40/60. if this were not bad enough, the neurosurgeon further shocked my family by telling them what life would be like for me if i beat the odds and survived. he said i probably would never walk, talk, or be able to understand even simple commands.
但那晚我挺了过来，第二天清晨神经外科医生决定给我动手术。但他立即告知我的家人和沙伦我存活的机会只有百分之四十。然后他还雪上加霜地告诉我的家人，向他们描述如果我万幸活下来将面临怎样的生活——我可能再也不会走路了，不会说话了，甚至不能理解一些极其简单的命令。这些对我的家人来说都是莫大的打击。
my family was hoping and praying to hear even the slightest bit of encouragement from that doctor. instead, his pessimistic words gave my family no reason to believe that i would ever again be a productive member of society. but once again i beat the odds and survived the three and a half hours of surgery. granted, i still could not talk, my entire right side was paralyzed and many people thought i could not understand, but at least i was stable. after one week in a private room the doctors felt i had improved enough to be transferred by jet ambulance to del oro rehabilitation hospital in houston.
本来家里人祈望能从医生的口中听到一点点鼓励的话，而他悲观的言语让他们没理由相信我还会成为一个对社会有用的人。在经历了三个半小时的手术之后，我再次侥幸地活了下来。医生的话得到了应验，我不能说话，整个右边的身体瘫痪了，许多人认为我变傻了，但至少我身体状况是稳定的。在私人看护病房里呆了一个星期后，医生觉得我已经好转了许多，并可以坐救护飞机转到奥斯汀的德欧洛康复医院。
my hallucinations, coupled with my physical problems, made my prognosis still very bleak. however, as time passed my mind began to clear and approximately six weeks later my right leg began to move ever so slightly. within seven weeks my right arm slowly began to move and at eight weeks i uttered my first few words. my speech was extremely difficult and slow in the beginning, but at least it was a beginning. i was starting to look forward to each new day to see how far i would progress. but just as i thought my life was finally looking brighter i was tested by the hospital euro-psychologist. she explained to me that judging from my test results she believed that i should not focus on returning to college but that it would be better to set more "realistic goals."
意识上的幻觉和生理上的病疾使我的病情预断非常的渺茫。然而时间的飞逝使我的意识开始变得清晰，大约六个星期以后我的右腿可以轻微地活动了，七周以后我的右臂开始缓慢地活动了，八周以后我终于开口说话了。说话对于我非常地艰难并且开始的时候说得很慢，但是总算是开头了。我开始寄希望于新的一天的到来，祈望着新的进步。但正当我以为生活总算初露光明的时候，医院里有个欧洲来的心理学家对我做了测试。她向我解释到，从检测的结果来看她坚信我不能再重返学校，劝我对此不要抱有任何希望，希望我最好树立些更现实点的目标。
upon hearing her evaluation i became furious for i thought, "who is she to tell me what i can or cannot do. she does not even know me. i am a very determined and stubborn person!" i believe it was at that very moment that i decided i would somehow, someday return to college.
她的这番结论让我怒不可遏，“她是谁，凭什么告诉我能做什么或不能做什么。她根本不了解我。我是很坚强而固执的人!”我相信就在那时我决定无论如何，总有一天我会返回学校的。
it took me a long time and a lot of hard work but i finally returned to the university of texas in the fall of 1983 -- a year and a half after almost dying. the next few years in austin were very difficult for me, but i truly believe that in order to see beauty in life you have to experience some unpleasantness. maybe i have experienced too much unpleasantness, but i believe in living each day to the fullest, and doing the very best i can. and each new day was very busy and very full, for besides attending classes at the university i underwent therapy three to five days each week at brackenridge hospital. if this were not enough i flew to houston every other weekend to work with tom williams, a trainer and executive who had worked for many colleges and professional teams and also had helped many injured athletes, such as earl campbell and eric dickerson. through tom i learned: "nothing is impossible and never, never give up or quit."
在经历了一年半垂死挣扎的生活后，在漫长的等待和艰辛的付出后，终于在1983年的秋天，我返回了德克萨斯大学。在奥斯汀接下来的几年里我生活得非常艰难，但我确信为了看到生活中的真善美你必须要经历一些苦难。也许我经历的苦难太多了，但我有一个信念——充实地过每一天，尽力做到最好。日子过的很繁忙、很充实，除了读书，每周我还在要在布莱肯瑞吉医院接受三到五次的治疗。如果这还不够忙的话，我还要隔周和汤姆·威廉斯飞到奥斯汀工作。汤姆是一个教练兼主管，他曾效力于许多大学校队和职业联队，并帮助过许多受伤的运动员，如：厄尔·坎贝尔和艾立克·迪克森。从汤姆的身上我学到“没有什么是不可能的，千万千万不要放弃，永不放弃。”
early, during my therapy, my father kept repeating to me one of his favorite sayings. i have repeated it almost every day since being hurt: "mile by mile it's a trial; yard by yard it's hard; but inch by inch it's a cinch."
早在我接受治疗的时候，父亲总是重复他最爱的那句话，每天当我感到痛苦的时候我也对自己重复那句话，那就是“脚踏实地，切勿急功近利。”
i thought of those words, and i thought of tom, my family and sharon who believed so strongly in me as i climbed the steps to receive my diploma from the dean of liberal arts at the university of texas on that bright sunny afternoon in june of 1986. excitement and pride filled my heart as i heard the dean announce that i had graduated with "highest honors", been elected to phi beta kappa, and been chosen as one of 12 dean's distinguished graduates out of 1600 in the college of liberal arts. the overwhelming emotions and feelings that i experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing ovation, i felt would never again be matched in my life-not even when i graduated with a masters degree in social work and not even when i became employed full time at the texas pain and stress center. but i was wrong!
1986年六月那个阳光明媚的午后，当我步履蹒跚地走上德克萨斯大学迪安文学院的台阶接受文凭的时候，我思索着这些话，想到汤姆、父母还有沙伦，他们都那么坚定地给予了我信任。当我听到院长宣布我以最高荣誉毕业时，我的心中充满了骄傲和自信。接着他还宣布我被选入美国大学优等生荣誉学会，并在1600名毕业生中当选为12名迪安文学院的杰出毕业生之一。当场有许多观众站起来为我鼓掌，那一刻令我心潮澎湃、百感交集。我甚至觉得生命中不可能再经历那样的感慨和激情，这种想法一直延续到我获得社会学的硕士学位，成为德克萨斯止痛减压中心的一名全职工作人员。但幸运之神再次眷顾了我!
on may 24, 1987, i realized that nothing could ever match the joy i felt as sharon and i were married. sharon, my high school sweetheart of nine years, had always stood by me, through good and bad times. to me, sharon is my miracle, my diamond in a world filled with problems, hurt, and pain. it was sharon who dropped out of school when i was hurt so that she could constantly be at my side. she never wavered or gave up on me. it was her faith and love that pulled me through so many dark days. while other nineteen year old girls were going to parties and enjoying life, sharon devoted her life to my recovery. that, to me, is the true definition of love. after our beautiful wedding i continued working part time at the pain center and completed my work for a masters degree. we were extremely happy, but even happier when we learned sharon was pregnant.
1987年5月24日，我觉得再没有什么能与此时的快乐相提并论，我和沙伦结婚了。沙伦是我高中时代的女友，风风雨雨九年来，她一直陪在我身旁。对我来说，她是我的奇迹，是我在这个充满困惑和伤痛的世界上拥有的一颗钻石。为了能日夜守侯在我的身旁，沙伦在我受伤的时候放弃了学业。她的爱从未动摇过，她从未抛弃过我。是她的忠诚和爱伴着我度过了无数个黑暗的日子。当别的十九岁的女孩子参加舞会、享受生活的时候，沙伦把青春献给了病床上的我，等待我的康复。对我来说，这就是爱的真谛。在那个美满的婚礼之后，我继续在止痛中心做着兼职的工作，并获得了我的硕士学位。我们非常的幸福，而沙伦怀孕的消息更让我们恩爱有加。
on july 11, 1990 at 12:15 a.m. sharon woke me with the news: "we need to go to the hospital… my water just broke." i couldn't help but think how ironic it was that my life almost ended in a convenience store and now on the date "7-11" we were about to bring a new life into this world. this time it was my turn to help sharon as she had helped me over those past years. she was in labor for 15 hours. at 3:10 p.m. sharon and i experienced the birth of our beautiful daughter, shawn elyse segal! tears of joy and happiness came to my eyes as our healthy, alert, wonderful daughter entered this world. we anxiously counted her 10 fingers and her 10 toes and watched her wide eyes take in the world about her. it was truly a beautiful picture that was etched in my mind forever as she lie in her mother's waiting arms, just minutes after her birth. at that moment i thanked god for blessing us with the greatest miracle of all-shawn elyse segal.
1990年7月11日12点15分，沙伦把我从梦中唤醒：“我们得去医院了……我羊水破了。”我忍不住想命运真让人啼笑皆非，它几乎让我在那家便利店里丢了性命，而在一个命名为“7·11”的日子里它却让我迎来新生命的出世。多年来沙伦帮我度过了一次又一次难关，这次该我来帮助她了。沙伦经历了15个小时的分娩。在3点10分的时候，沙伦和我一起迎来了我们美丽的女儿——萧恩·艾丽斯·斯高。当我看到美丽的女儿健康地来到这个世上，喜悦和幸福化作泪水夺眶而出。我们迫不及待地数着她的十个手指和十只脚趾，看着她大大的眼睛注视着她的世界。初生的婴儿躺在妈妈柔软的怀里如一副优美的图画将永驻我的心中。那一刻，我感谢上帝赐予我们如此最伟大的奇迹——我的萧恩·艾丽斯·斯高。
高二英语演讲稿范文 篇3
the family had just moved to rhode island, and the young woman was feeling a little melancholy on that sunday in may. after all, it was mother's day -- and 800 miles separated her from her parents in ohio.
一家人刚移居罗德岛。5月的那个星期天， 年轻女人感到有点儿忧伤。毕竟， 这一天是母亲节─而她却与俄亥俄州的父母亲遥距800英里。
she had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy mother's day, and her mother had mentioned how colorful the yard was now that spring had arrived. as they talked, the younger woman could almost smell the tantalizing aroma of purple lilacs hanging on the big bush outside her parents'back door.
她那天早上给母亲打去电话， 祝母亲节日愉快。随后， 她的母亲向她提起， 因为春天已经来临， 所以院子里的色彩是多么绚丽。在她们通话的当儿， 年轻女人几乎可以闻到悬垂在父母亲后门外大灌木丛上的紫丁香醉人的芬芳。
later, when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs, he popped up from his chair. "i know where we can find you all you want, "he said. "get the kids and c'mon. "
so off they went, driving the country roads of northern rhode island on the kind of day only mid-may can produce：sparkling sunshine, unclouded azure skies and vibrant newness of the green growing all around. they went past small villages and burgeoning housing developments, past abandoned apple orchards, back to where trees and brush have devoured old homesteads.
后来， 她向丈夫说起她是如何怀念那些紫丁香时， 他突然从椅子上跃起。"我知道在哪儿能找到你想要的东西， "他说， "带上孩子， 走吧。"
于是， 他们就出发了， 驱车行驶在罗德岛北部的乡村小路上， 那种天气只有5月中旬才会有：闪亮的阳光、蔚蓝色的晴空以及生机勃勃、随处可见的绿意。他们穿过一座座小村庄和一座座拔地而起的房屋， 穿过废弃的苹果园， 来到了树林和嗄敬匝谟车睦吓┏ ?/span>
where they stopped, dense thickets of cedars and ju nipers and birch crowded the roadway on both sides. there wasn't a lilac bush in sight.
"come with me , "the man said. "over that hill is an old cellar hole, from somebody's farm of years ago, and there are lilacs all round it. the man who owns this land said i could poke around here anytime. i'm sure he won't mind if we pick a few lilacs. "
他们停下车。车道两边长满了茂盛的雪松、杜松和白桦树。眼前没有一棵紫丁香。
"随我来， "那个男人说， "翻过那座小山， 有个老地窖， 几年前是一个人的农场， 四周长满了紫丁香。这块地的主人说我可以随时到这儿来闲逛。我相信， 要是我们采几束紫丁香， 他不会介意。"
before they got halfway up the hill, the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them, and the kids started running. soon, the mother began running, too, until she reached the top.
there, far from view of passing motorists and hidden from encroaching civilization, were the towering lilacs bushes, so laden with the huge, cone-shaped flower clusters that they almost bent double. with a smile, the young woman rushed up to the nearest bush and buried her face in the flowers, drinking in the fragrance and the memories it recalled.
还没等他们到达半山腰， 紫丁香的芬芳已经向他们飘了过来。于是， 孩子们开始奔跑。不久， 那位母亲也开始跑起来， 直至到达山顶。
那里， 远离了过往司机的视野， 避开了纷扰的文明世界， 高耸的丁香花丛开满了硕大的圆锥形的串串花束， 几乎把花茎压成了两折。那个年轻女人微笑着冲到最近的一处花丛， 把脸埋在鲜花中， 啜饮着芳香， 陶醉在重新唤起的记忆中。
while the man examined the cellar hole and tried to explain to the children what the house must have looked like, the woman drifted among the lilacs. carefully, she chose a sprig here, another one there, and clipped them with her husband's pocket knife. she was in no hurry, relishing each blossom as a rare and delicate treasure.
finally, though, they returned to their car for the trip home. while the kids chattered and the man drove, the woman sat smiling, surrounded by her flowers, a faraway look in her eyes.
在那个男人察看地窖试图向孩子们解释这座房子必定是什么样子的当儿， 那个女人不由自主地走进了紫丁香花丛。她小心翼翼地从这儿摘一枝， 那儿挑一束， 然后用丈夫的袖珍小刀将它们剪下来。她不慌不忙， 像欣赏稀有珍宝似地欣赏着每一朵花。
然而， 他们终于还是返回了汽车， 走上了回家的路。孩子们叽叽喳喳说个不停， 那个男人驾着车， 那个女人坐在那儿面带微笑， 她周围放满了鲜花， 眼睛里充满着向往。
when they were within three miles of home, she suddenly shouted to her husband, "stop the car. stop right here!"
the man slammed on the brakes. before he could ask her why she wanted to stop, the woman was out of the car and hurrying up a nearby grassy slope with the lilacs still in her arms. at the top of the hill was a nursing home and, because it was such a beautiful spring day, the patients were outdoors strolling with relatives or sitting on the porch.
当他们离家不足3英里时， 她突然向丈夫大声喊道："停车， 就在这里停车!"
那个男人嘎地刹住车。还没等他问为什么， 女人就已经下了车， 匆匆走向附近的草坡， 怀里仍抱着紫丁香。山顶上是一家疗养院， 因为这是一个美丽的春日， 所以病人正在室外和亲友溜达或坐在门廊上。
the young woman went to the end of the porch, where an elderly patient was sitting in her wheelchair, alone, head bowed, her back to most of the others. across the porch railing went the flowers, in to the lap of the old woman. she lifted her head, and smiled. for a few moments, the two women chatted, both aglow with happiness, and then the young woman turned and ran back to her family. as the car pulled away, the woman in the wheelchair waved, and clutched the lilacs.
那个年轻女人走到门廊的尽头， 只见那里有一个上了年纪的病人正坐在轮椅里， 独自一人， 低着头， 背对着其他人。年轻女人越过门廊栏杆， 将鲜花放在了老太太的膝间。老太太抬起头， 露出了笑脸。两个女人聊了一会儿， 都兴高采烈。随后， 那个年轻女人转身跑回到家人的身边。当汽车开动时， 坐在轮椅里的那个女人挥动着手， 手里紧紧地握着那束紫丁香花。
"mom, "the kids asked, "who was that?why did you give her our flowers?is she somebody's mother?"the mother said she didn't know the old woman. but it was mother's day, and she seemed so alone, and who wouldn't be cheered by flowers?"besides, "she added, "i have all of you, and i still have my mother, even if she is far away. that woman needed those flowers more than i did. "
this satisfied the kids, but not the husband. the next day he purchased half a dozen young lilacs bushes and planted them around their yard, and several times since then he has added more.
"妈妈， "孩子们问， "那人是谁呀?你为什么把我们的花送给她?她是谁的母亲呀?"他们的母亲说， 她不认识那个老太太， 但今天是母亲节， 她看起来是那么孤独， 而鲜花会给任何人带来好心情。"再说， "她补充道， "我拥有你们， 而且我还有自己的母亲， 即使她离我很远。那个女人比我更需要那些鲜花。"
孩子们得到了满意的答案， 但她的丈夫却没有。第二天， 他买了半打紫丁香幼苗， 栽到了院子四周;而且从那以后， 每隔一段时间， 他就会增加一些。
i was that man. the young mother was, and is, my wife. now, every may, our own yard is redolent with lilacs. every mother's day our kids gather purple bouquets. and every year i remember that smile on a lonely old woman's face, and the kindness that put the smile there.
我就是那个男人， 那个年轻母亲是我妻子。如今， 每年5月， 我们自家的院子都会散发出浓烈的紫丁香的芬芳。每逢母亲节， 我们的孩子都要采撷紫丁香花束。而且每年我都会记起一位孤独的老太太脸上露出的笑容， 以及笑容里呈现出的那种慈祥。
高二英语演讲稿范文 篇4
he values Americans live by may seem strange to you. As a result, you might find their actions confusing, even unbelievable. This is my opinion about American Value. Whether you agree with me or not - or is willing to accept as valid any generalizations about Americans - my observations are thought-provoking.
Americans do not believe in the power of fate, and they look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or na-iv-e. In the American context, to be "fatalistic" is to be superstitious, lazy, or unwilling to take initiative. Everyone should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one's life are not seen as having resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one's lazineand unwillingneto take responsibility in pursuing a better life.
In the American mind, change is seen as indisputably good, leading to development, improvement, progress. Many older, more traditional cultures consider change disruptive and destructive; they value stability, continuity, tradition, and ancient heritage - none of which are considered very important in the United States.
Time is of utmost importance to most Americans. It is something to be on, kept, filled, saved, used, spent, wasted, lost, gained, planned, given, even killed. Americans are more concerned with getting things accomplished on time than they are with developing interpersonal relations. Their lives seem controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make their next appointment on time. This philosophy has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity Is highly valued In their country.
Equality is so cherished in the U.S. that it is seen as having a religious basis. Americans believe that all people are created equal and that all should have an equal opportunity to succeed. This concept of equality is strange to seven-eighths of the world which views status and authority as desirable, even if they happen to be near the bottom of the social order. Since Americans like to treat foreigners "Just like anybody else", newcomers to the U.S. should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended if they are treated in a lethan-deferential manner by waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores and hotels, taxi drivers, and other service personnel.