Small Chat in Western Countries

□劉曉妮

Small Chat in Western Countries

□劉曉妮

在西方國家，人與人的交談中，要注意些什么才能避免尷尬呢？大家跟隨我來了解一下西方國家的閑談方式和話題吧！

Ways to have a small chat閑談的方式

1.Listen傾聽

Listening to what the other person is saying is the best way to keep a conversation going.Use their conversation to keep things going.For exam?ple,someone might say,“I went to Italy last year.”This one statement (聲明；陳述)offers a great opportunity(機會)to keep the conversation go?ing.You could ask,“Which part did you go to?What was your favorite part of the vacation?Would you recommend(推薦)going there?”Active listening offers endless ways to keep a conversation going.

傾聽是保持談話進行的最好方式，利用他們的談話內容讓對話繼續。例如，有人可能會說：“我去年去意大利了。”這一說法提供了一個可以繼續對話的好機會。你可以問：“你去意大利哪里了？你最喜歡度假的哪一段旅程？你推薦去那里嗎？”積極傾聽為繼續對話提供了無限的可能性。

2.Ask open-ended questions問開放式的問題

Questions which require more than just a“yes”or“no”answer en?courage people to talk for longer.For example,if you ask,“Do you like this restaurant?”a one word answer might be given.However,asking“What do you think of this restaurant?”offers a much greater possibility (可能性)to keep the conversation going.

不僅僅只需要回答“是”或“不是”的問題更能鼓勵人們長時間地交流。例如，如果你問：“你喜歡這家餐館嗎？”一個詞就能回答這個問題。然而，你問：“你覺得這家餐館怎么樣？”這種問法就提供了一個更大的可能性去繼續進行對話。

3.Just say it有話直說

Sometimes you fear the other person won’t enjoy the subject you have in mind.This fear is usually unnecessary.Next time you find your?self stuck(動不了的；被卡住的)in conversation,just say what is on your mind.You might just be pleasantly surprised.

有時你擔心其他人不喜歡你心里的主題，這種擔心通常是多余的。下次你發現自己談話不知所措時，你心里想什么就說什么。你可能會感到驚喜。

Topics to have a small chat閑談的話題

In Britain,the best topic is the weather.British weather changes quite often.The weather is a neutral(中性的)topic and do not involve(涉及)personal matters.So we can start with the weather and then lead to other topics.So it’s not to offend(冒犯)people,but also to break the si?lence,even in many occasions(場合)it can ease(減輕)the tension(緊張).So it is very practical.In America,people like to talk about sports, such as American football.Weather is a safe topic there,too.

在英國，最好的話題就是談論天氣，因為英國的天氣經常多變。天氣是中性話題，不涉及個人私事。若以談論天氣作開場白，再引出其他話題，這樣既不冒犯他人，又打破了冷場，甚至在許多場合下可以緩和緊張氣氛，因此是很實用的。在美國，人們喜歡談論體育運動，如美式橄欖球。在那里，談論天氣也是一個安全的話題。

Of course,there are also a lot of topics to avoid during small talks in Western countries.In formal situations,please don’t ask people“How old are you?”Age,especially for women,is usually a secret.Never ask“How much money do you earn?”It makes people uncomfortable.Don’t ask strangers whether they are married,have a girlfriend or boyfriend.Politics or religion(宗教)is not a good topic for two people who have just met,either.

當然，在西方國家的閑談中，還有許多話題是需要避免的。在正式的場合，請不要問別人“你多大了”。年齡，尤其對于女性來說，通常是一個秘密。更不要問“你掙多少錢？”這會讓人很不舒服。不要問陌生人他們是否結婚了，有沒有女朋友或男朋友。對于剛剛認識的兩個人，政治或宗教問題也不是一個很好的話題。