L60-1:Too early and too late
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. It is hard for energetic, quick-minded people to waste time, so they are often tempted to finish a job before setting out to keep an appointment. If no accidents occur on the way, like punctured tyres, diversions of traffic, sudden descent of fog, they will be on time.
punctuality /ˌpʌŋktʃuˈælɪti/ 准时
public affair 公共事务
bring to a conclusion 得出结论，核定买卖成交，作出结论
rural /ˈrʊrəl/ 农村的，乡下的
sparse /spɑːrs/ 稀少的;稀疏的; sparsely-populated 人口稀少的
disregard /ˌdɪsrɪˈɡɑːrd/ 漠视;不顾;不理会
tolerance /ˈtɑːlərəns/ 容忍;公差;宽容;忍受
intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/ n. 知识分子;脑力劳动者, adj. 智力的;脑力的;
abstruse /əbˈstruːs/ 深奥的，难解的
for the matter in hand 为手中的事
coordinate /koʊˈɔːrdɪnət/ 协调
forgiven /fərˈɡɪvn/ 原谅;宽恕
reproach /rɪˈproʊtʃ/ 责备
cut things fine 掐时间做事，把时间安排的不留余地
energetic /ˌenərˈdʒetɪk/ 精力充沛的;充满活力的
puncture /ˈpʌŋktʃər/ 在…上扎孔(或穿孔);(被)刺破;
tyre /ˈtaɪər/ 轮胎
diversion /daɪˈvɜːrʒn/ 改道、绕道 diversions of traffic 改道
descent /dɪˈsent/ 下降;下倾; 降临 sudden descent of fog 突然起雾
