Small Chat in Western Countries

□刘晓妮

Small Chat in Western Countries

□刘晓妮

在西方国家，人与人的交谈中，要注意些什么才能避免尴尬呢？大家跟随我来了解一下西方国家的闲谈方式和话题吧！

Ways to have a small chat闲谈的方式

1.Listen倾听

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 (声明；陈述)offers a great opportunity(机会)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(推荐)going there?”Active listening offers endless ways to keep a conversation going.

倾听是保持谈话进行的最好方式，利用他们的谈话内容让对话继续。例如，有人可能会说：“我去年去意大利了。”这一说法提供了一个可以继续对话的好机会。你可以问：“你去意大利哪里了？你最喜欢度假的哪一段旅程？你推荐去那里吗？”积极倾听为继续对话提供了无限的可能性。

2.Ask open-ended questions问开放式的问题

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.

不仅仅只需要回答“是”或“不是”的问题更能鼓励人们长时间地交流。例如，如果你问：“你喜欢这家餐馆吗？”一个词就能回答这个问题。然而，你问：“你觉得这家餐馆怎么样？”这种问法就提供了一个更大的可能性去继续进行对话。

3.Just say it有话直说

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(动不了的；被卡住的)in conversation,just say what is on your mind.You might just be pleasantly surprised.

有时你担心其他人不喜欢你心里的主题，这种担心通常是多余的。下次你发现自己谈话不知所措时，你心里想什么就说什么。你可能会感到惊喜。

Topics to have a small chat闲谈的话题

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(场合)it can ease(减轻)the tension(紧张).So it is very practical.In America,people like to talk about sports, such as American football.Weather is a safe topic there,too.

在英国，最好的话题就是谈论天气，因为英国的天气经常多变。天气是中性话题，不涉及个人私事。若以谈论天气作开场白，再引出其他话题，这样既不冒犯他人，又打破了冷场，甚至在许多场合下可以缓和紧张气氛，因此是很实用的。在美国，人们喜欢谈论体育运动，如美式橄榄球。在那里，谈论天气也是一个安全的话题。

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.

当然，在西方国家的闲谈中，还有许多话题是需要避免的。在正式的场合，请不要问别人“你多大了”。年龄，尤其对于女性来说，通常是一个秘密。更不要问“你挣多少钱？”这会让人很不舒服。不要问陌生人他们是否结婚了，有没有女朋友或男朋友。对于刚刚认识的两个人，政治或宗教问题也不是一个很好的话题。