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 which 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. 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 in English. 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 about the transport system: “The bus service is terrible, isn't it?”
Greetings and small talk are an important part of conversation in any language. The way people great each and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another. This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it.
【小题1】Small talk ___.
| A．is a kind of conversation with short words |
| B．is a greeting when people meet each other |
| C．is to let people disagree about something |
| D．is something we talk about to start a conversation |
【小题2】The best topic of small talk is about ___.
| A．the weather | B．politics | C．Games | D．languages |
【小题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 vocabulary |
| C．we should know the culture about the country |
| D．we should grasp the importance of the language |
【小题4】When we say “Great game, isn't it?” we in fact___.
| A．ask a question | B．have a conversation |
| C．greet each other | D．begin a small talk |
【小题5】What we learn from the passage is that ___.
| A．different language has different grammar |
| B．small talk is an important part in a language |
| C．small talk depends on the purpose of the conversation |
| D．in English-speaking countries we should talk about the weather. |
