Task 2
Directions: This task is the same as Task 1. The 5 questions or unfinished statements are numbered 41 through 45.
The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstandings arise between people from cultures that treat time differently. Promptness is valued highly in American life, for example, if people are not prompt, they may be regarded as impolite or not responsible. In the U.S., no one would think of keeping a business associate waiting for an hour, it would be too impolite.
This way of treating time is quite different from that of several other countries. This helps to explain the unfortunate experience of a certain agriculturist from the United States assigned to duty in another country. After what seemed to him a suitable waiting period, he announced that he would like to call on the minister of agriculture. For various reasons the suggested time did not suit the minister, there were indirect indications that the time was not yet suitable. The American, however, pressed for an appointment, which was finally granted.
Arriving a little before the appointed hour (according to the American way of showing respect), the agriculturist waited. The hour come and passed: five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. At this point he suggested to the secretary that perhaps the minister did not know he was waiting in the outside office. This gave him the feeling of having done something to solve the problem, but he had not. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty, then forty-five. To an American, there is little that can remove the damage done by an hour's wait in an outer office. Yet in the country where this story took place, a forty-five-minute waiting period was not unusual. Instead of being the very end of the allowable waiting scale, it was just the beginning, thus, when the American agriculturist left the office (after giving the secretary an angry message for the minister), his action seemed as unreasonable as it was impolite.
What does "to be prompt" mean in this passage？

A. It means "to keep one's word".
B. It means "to make good use of one's time".
C. It means "to be punctual".
D. It means "to keep good time".