Present or Future?

Americans are future-minded．They really live in the future．The present is just a way station． This enthusiasm for the future is really not shared even by all European countries．The French are known to be present-minded while the British are often called past-minded．For Japanese Zen followers, time is like a pool of water．Things just happen．There is no past, present or future．Egyptians are well known for their past mindedness．

I did not grow up with a telephone．So the Yellow Pages were something brand new for me when I first arrived in the U．S．．I still had the habit of going to a store only to find out that it didn't have what I needed．My wife used to ask , "Didn't you call before going there?" The concept of calling ahead of time requires planning and a future mind, while my upbringing was in a present-minded culture．

One thing my nuclear family enjoys when my mom visits is her cooking．So normally I ask my mom a couple of days in advance what things she needs for the upcoming meals．She is always sure that she has everything．The truth is that many times, in the middle of cooking, she will ask for items we don't have．That shows a present mind．You deal with it when you get there instead of doing advanced planning．

Listening to weather forecasts and then living your life accordingly is a sign of a future mind． Normally, when I get to work and see everyone walking around with their umbrellas, I figure that it will rain today．Here people are trained from their childhood to figure out at least that day's expected weather before leaving the house．I am normally missing my umbrella because it was not raining and the sky did not have dark clouds．Here my present mind gets me wetevery time．

Mainstream Americans have put inside themselves the clock to a degree which is beyond the comprehension of many cultures across the globe．So the annoyance many Americans face when working with people from other cultures is understandable．In today's dialogue, building the bridge to the 21st century may turn out to be easier than building bridges with other cultures, which may appear to be so foreign．However, they are vital partners for our interdependent life on this planet．

60．The author was most likely born in ____．

       A．America            B．France                 C．Britain                 D．Egypt

61．Which is true about the author?

       A．He was more future-minded than his mother．

       B．He received most of his education in Japan．

       C．He learned to check the weather before going out．

       D．He disliked calling the store before going shopping．

62．What's the main idea of the last paragraph?

       A．Americans value time more than any other culture．

       B．Americans should be understood by other cultures．

       C．Communication between cultures is easier than before．

       D．Harmony should be achieved despite cultural differences．