Question

In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”. Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something that both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. In the UK people usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching. “Great game, isn’t it?” At bus-stops, people may comment on the transport system. “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”

1.Small talk is ________.

A. a kind of conversation with short words

B. a greeting used when people meet each other

C. to let people disagree about something

D. something we talk about to start a conversation

2.The favorite topic of small talk for English people is _________.

A. the weather B. politics

C. games D. languages

3.The passage suggests that when we learn a language _________.

A. we should learn about the transport system of the country

B. we should only master the grammar and the vocabulary

C. we should learn the culture of the country

D. we should understand the importance of the language

4.When we say “Great game, isn’t it?”, we are in fact __________.

A. asking a question B. having a conversation

C. make a comment D. making small talk

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：你會閑聊嗎，以什么樣的話題開始你們的閑聊？這篇文章告訴了我們答案。

1.由“Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation.”可知， 閑談是指開始對話時所說的小事情。因此選D。

2.細節(jié)理解題。由“In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather.”可知，一些說英語的國家，人們喜歡以聊天氣開始閑談。故選A。

3.3】判斷推理題。由 “In the UK people usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk.”可知英國人經(jīng)常聊天氣開始談話，這樣的談話比較安全；但是人們在宗教和政治方面意見會有分歧，所以這樣的話題最好避之不談。因此學語言的時候了解一個國家的文化很重要。故選C。

4.4】細節(jié)理解題。由 “At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching.”可知，觀看比賽時，人們喜歡以聊比賽而開始閑談。故選D。

考點：文化類短文閱讀。