Americans love work. It is meat and drink to them. In recent years they have learned how to play, but they make work of that, too. If it's skiing, they throw themselves into it with an effort that would kill a horse. If it's a vacation, they travel at sixty miles an hour, pause only 1ong enough to take pictures, and then discover what it was they went to see when they get home and look at the photographs.
Americans still like to be clever in using their hands at all things. College professors go in for making furniture or changing the shape of an old house in the country. Bankers put on aprons and become well-trained barbecue head cooks. Nearly everyone knows how to use tools, make simple repairs, or paint a wall. Far from being thought of as losing respect if he performs these unimportant tasks, a man is sure to be laughed at if he does not know how to perform them.

美国人热爱工作。工作就是他们吃的肉、喝的饮料。近年来他们已经学会了玩乐，并且将玩乐也当成了工作。要是去滑雪， 他们就猛打猛冲，那样子连马都会累死。如果去度假，他们就以60英里时速开车观光，沿途只停下来拍些快照。然后 ，发现了自己要看的东西是怎么一回事，就打道回府，回去欣赏照片了。

美国人仍然喜欢想着法儿什么都动手学着做。大学教授喜欢做家具或是改造乡下的老房子。 银行家系上围裙，就成了训练有素的烧烤主厨。几乎每一个人都懂得使用工具，懂得简单的修理活，还会刷墙。做这些无关紧要的“粗活”绝不会让人看作不体面，不会做才要惹人耻笑呢。