案例分析 A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man-the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

This attitude toward manual （体力的） labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously （豪华地） furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess   probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward; furthermore, the dinner' will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

案例分析 Today Newton is a very clean place. Many years ago, however, there were millions of rats in it. They attacked the cats and dogs. Sometimes a great number of them knocked down a man or woman walking home at night. The rats were very large in size and they harmed many people.

The government ordered everybody to kill rats. Most people were lazy, so they didn't kill many. The government promised to pay some money for each dead rat. That made the people very happy. They killed thousands of rats everyday. A government officer put all the dead rats in a big pile. Sometimes a man brought hundreds in one day.

After two weeks there were not many rats in the city, but people still brought many rats to the government office. The government officer thought that people were stealing dad rats from the pile. He ordered his men to dig a deep hole and put the rats in it. Soon there were no more rats, and the government didn't pay any more money.

案例分析 When John and Victoria Falls arrived in New York City for one-year stay, they did not bring very many things with them. They had planned either to live in a furnished apartment or to buy used furniture. But they soon learned about a new system that more and more people are using. The renting of home furnishings （bed, tables, dishes, and so on） has become one of America's fastest growing businesses.

What kinds of people rent their home furnishings instead of buying them? People who are international business or government officials, foreign students, airline workers, young married couples-people whose job or business may force them to move frequently from one city to another. They save a lot of trouble and the cost of moving their furniture each time. They simply rent new furniture when they reach their new homes. Young people with little money do not want to buy cheap furniture that they may soon dislike. They prefer to wait until they have enough money to buy furniture they really like. Meanwhile, they find they can rent better quality furniture than they could afford to buy.

One family, who now have a large, beautiful home of their own, liked their rented furniture so much that they decided to keep renting it instead of buying new things. But usually people don't like to tell others about it. The idea of renting home furnishings is still quite new, and they are not sure what their neighbors might think.

案例分析 Once James Thornhill, a famous English painter, was asked to paint some pictures on the walls of the king's palace in England.

Then workers were sent for and a big platform （台子） was made.

With the help of a worker, Thornhill started painting on the platform. They worked for a whole year and at last the pictures were ready.

Thornhill was happy when he looked at the pictures, for they were really beautiful. He looked at them for a long time, and then took one step back and looked again. Now the pictures were even more beautiful. He took another step, then another. Finally he was at the very edge of the platform, but he didn't know it because he was thinking of his pictures.

The worker saw everything. "What should I do?" he thought. "Thornhill was at the very edge of the platform. If I cry out, he will take another step, fall off it and surely be killed. "So the worker quickly took some paint （漆） and threw it at the pictures.

"What are you doing?" cried the painter, running quickly forward to his pictures.

案例分析 Morgan Rees has always been a good businessman. He used to own three petrol stations and was busy most of the time. When he was 65, the normal retirement age, he decided that he didn't want to stop, so he carried on working for another two years. Eventually, when he was nearly 68, his wife, Dolly, asked him to retire because she wanted to enjoy their old age together. Reluctantly, he handed over the business to his son.

But he was unhappy. He didn't know what to do with himself. Although he read a lot of books and he went on holiday to interesting places with his wife, he was bored and began to get depressed because he hated being retired.

Then one day he saw an advertisement in the newspaper and, without telling his wife, he bought a small crockery （陶器） factory. The next week he told his family. They were horrified and worried. They thought he was too old at 71 to start work again.

He is now 76 and he has expanded the company considerably. He has increased the number of staff from 6 to 24 and he has found many new customers for the products. He has developed the export market and has improved profits by 200%. He has opened a new design office and employed three young designers. They have been all over the world to get new ideas, and one of them has gone to France this week to a major trade fair. Most importantly, he hasn't been bored since he bought the factory.

案例分析 Mr. Tom Forester lived by himself a long way from town. He hardly ever left his home, but one day he went into town to buy some things in the market. After he had bought them, he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table by himself. When he looked around, he saw several old people put glasses on before reading their newspapers, so after lunch he decided to go to a shop to buy himself some glasses too. He walked along the road, and soon found a shop.The man in the shop made him try on a lot of glasses, but Tom always said," No, I can't read with these. "The man became more and more puzzled （迷惑不解） , until finally he said, "Excuse me, but can you read at all?""No, of course I can’t!" Tom said angrily. "If I was already able to read, do you think I would have come here to buy glasses?"

案例分析 The residents of 24 Acacia Grove were dissatisfied with the condition of the property, so John Preston called a meeting to discuss things last week. At the meeting John suggested setting up a residents' committee. Everyone was so worried and angry about the agent's inactivity that they agreed, and they elected John as chairman of the committee. Many residents said that they were tired of telephoning the agent and tired of complaining about the flats. Although the agent was responsible for the flats, they thought that he didn't do enough. Therefore John was asked to write to the agent and say that they were disappointed with the management of the flats.

The next service payment was due at the end of the month. However, they agreed not to pay it until they were happy with the plans to improve the-property. They decided to tell the agent that he must start the work within one month. They all went away very pleased with themselves.

案例分析 One day a bookseller （书商） let a big box of books fall on his foot. "Go to see the doctor," said his wife. "No," he said. " I'll wait until the doctor comes into the shop next time. Then I'll ask him about my foot. If I go to see him, I'll have to pay him. "

On the next day the doctor came into the shop for some books. When the bookseller was getting them ready, he told the doctor about his bad foot. The doctor looked at it.

"You must put that foot in hot water every night. Then you must put something on it," said the doctor.

He took out a piece of paper and wrote on it. "Buy this and put it on the foot before you go to bed every night," he said.

"Thank you," said the bookseller. "And now, sir, here are your books. "

"How much?" said the doctor.

"Two pounds. "

"Good," said the doctor. "I shall not have to pay you anything. "

"Why?" asked the bookseller.

"I told you about your foot. I want two pounds for that. If people come to my house, I ask them to pay one pound for a small thing like that. But when I go to their houses, I want two pounds. And I came here, didn't I?"