A
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 Englishspeaking 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 something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agre
e 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 greet each other 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.
语篇解读：本文讲述了在西方文化中，经常用闲谈聊天来开始一段对话，而且对话的内容的选择也是有一定讲究的。
1．Which of the following is the common topic over small talk for native speakers of English?
A．Politics. B．Families.
C．Education. D．Weather.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第一段的“In Englishspeaking countries people often make small talk about the weather”可知选D。
2．Why do we make small talk according to the passage?
A．To let both people argue about something.
B．To let both people agree on something.
C．To enlarge our knowledge.
D．To kill our time.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一段的“The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something.”可知选B。
3．The passage suggests that when we learn a language,
.
A．we should understand the importance of the language
B．it's necessary to learn about the culture of the country
C．we should learn about the transport system of the country
D．it's enough to grasp the grammar and vocabulary of the language
解析：选B 推理判断题。通读全文可知，要掌握一门语言，学习这个国家的文化是很必要的。
4．It can be learned from the passage that ________.
A．it's important to find a suitable small talk subject
B．small talk depends on the purpose of the conversation
C．in Englishspeaking countries we should talk about the weather
D．agreeing with each other is the key to a successful conversation
解析：选A 推理判断题。根据文章可知，在谈话时找到一个合适的话题是非常重要的，故选A。
