Module 1 Small Talk【外研版高中英語必修六課本文本（word版）】

Module1SmallTalk

Introduction

Readthedictionarydefinitionsofsmalltalkandanswerthequestions.

Whichdefinitionsmakesmalltalksoundlikeapositivething?

Whichdefinitionsrefertoplaceswheresmalltalkmighttakeplace?

Whyisitaproblemifsomeonehasnosmalltalk?

WhatdoyouthinkistheChinesefor"smalltalk"?

smalltalkinformalconversationaboutthingsthatarenotimportant

MacmillanEnglishDictionary

smalltalklightconversationthatpeoplemakeatsocialoccasionsaboutunimportantthings:Westoodaroundmakingsmalltalk.

CollinsCobuildEnglishLanguageDictionary

smalltalkpolitefriendlyconversationaboutunimportantsubjects

LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish

smalltalkconversationaboutordinaryorunimportantmatters,usuallyatasocialevent:Hehasnosmalltalk(i.e.heisnotgoodattalkingtopeopleaboutordinaryorunimportantthings).

OxfordAdvancedLearner'sDictionary

Lookattheconversationtopicsbelowandanswerthequestions.

careers;cars;examinations;filmstars;music;politics;sport;travel;weather;food

Ifyoutalkaboutthesetopics,istheconversationseriousorsmalltalk?

Whichofthetopicsdoyouliketalkingaboutwithyourfriends?

Whichofthemdoyoutalkaboutwithyourparents?

Whichofthemdoyoutalkaboutwithyourteacher?

Whichofthemdoyounevertalkabout?

VocabularyandReading

Completethesentenceswiththecorrectformsofthewordsinthebox.

damage;encourage;impress;prepare;recognise

Thesingerwasreallygood!Shemealot!

Hehadanaccidentandhisbicycle.

Don'tshoutatthechildren.Youshouldthemtodobetter.

MakesureyouforyourEnglishexamination.Domorehomework!

Attheparty,Iaboywhousedtoattendmyschool.

Readthepassageanddecidewhatkindofbookitisfrom.Choosefromthislist.

Thetextisfrom____.

abooktohelpyouprepareforaspeakingexamination

abusinesscourse

anEnglishteachingbook

abookwhichtellsyouwhattodoatsocialevents

HowGoodAreYourSocialSkills?

Haveyouevercrossedtheroadto

avoidtalking

tosomeoneyourecognise?

Wouldyoulovetogo

toapartyandtalk

confidently

toeveryguest?Doyouwantto

makemorefriends

but

lacktheconfidence

totalktopeopleyoudon'tknow?And

areyounervousabout

theideaofbeingatasocialeventinanothercountry?Don'tworry—wecanhelpyou!

Youneedn'tworryaboutsituationsliketheseifyouhavegoodsocialskills.Andtheyareeasytolearn.Peoplewithgoodsocialskillscommunicatewellandknowhowtohaveaconversation.Ithelpsifyoudoalittle

advance

planning.

Hereareafewideastohelpyou.

Learnhowtodosmalltalk

Smalltalk

isveryimportantandpreparesyouformore

serious

conversations.

Beprepared

!Havesomelow-risk

conversationopeners

ready.Forexample:

thinkof

arecentnewsstory—nottoo

serious

,e.g.astoryaboutafilmstarorsportsstar

thinkof

thingstotellpeopleaboutyourstudies

thinkof

"safe"things

youcanaskpeople'sopinionsabout—music,sport,films,etc.

thinkof

topicsthatyouwouldavoidifyouweretalkingtostrangers—andavoidtalkingaboutthem!Thatway,youdon't

damageyourconfidence

!

Developyourlisteningskills

Listeningisaskillwhichmostpeople

lack

,butcommunicationisatwo-wayprocess—itinvolvesspeakingANDlistening.Alwaysremember—youwon'timpresspeopleifyoutalktoomuch.Herearesomeideastomakeyouabetterlistener:

Do...

showthatyouarelisteningbyusingencouragingnoisesandgestures—smiling,nodding,saying"uh-huh"and"OK",etc.

keepgoodeyecontact

usepositive

bodylanguage

askformoreinformationtoshowyourinterest

Don't...

lookatyourwatch

yawn

sigh

lookawayfrom

thepersonwho'stalkingtoyou

changethesubject

finishotherpeople'ssentencesforthem

AlwaysrememberthewordsofBenjaminDisraeli,BritishPrimeMinisterinthenineteenthcentury:"Talktoamanabouthimself,andhewillspeaktoyouforhours!"

Learntherules

Ifyougotoasocialoccasioninanothercountry,rememberthat

socialrules

canbedifferent.Insomecountries,forexample,youhavetoarriveontimeataparty;inothercountries,youdon'tneedto.

Inaddition

,youneedtoknowhowlongyoushouldstay,andwhenyouhavetoleave.Somehostsexpectflowersorasmallgift,butinotherplaces,youcantakethings,butyouneedn'tifyoudon'twantto.Rememberalsothatinsomecountries,youmustn'ttakeflowersofa

certain

colour,becausethey'reunlucky.Inmostplaces,youdon'thavetotakeagifttoaparty—but

findout

first!

Answerthequestions.

Accordingtothearticle,shouldpeopleplanwhatthey'regoingtosayatparties?

Whatdopeoplethinkaboutthosewhotalktoomuch?

Describetwothingsyoushouldn'tdoinaconversation.

Whyisitagoodideatonodandsmilewhentheotherpersonistalking?

WhatdoesthequotationfromBenjaminDisraelitellyouaboutpeople?

Completethesentenceswiththecorrectformsofthewordsinthebox.

sigh;yawn;nod;avoid;lack;smile

WhenImeetstrangers,Idon'tliketotalkaboutmyself,soIansweringpersonalquestions.

Thereareveryfewforeignvisitorstomytown,sowetheopportunitytomeetpeoplefromothercountries.

Isaidthatwedon'thaveenoughopportunitytospeakEnglishandhehisheadinagreement.

IthinkthemanIspoketowastired—healot.

HelookedverysadwhenIaskedhimabouthishome.Hewhenheansweredme.

IfeltverywelcomewhenIarrivedattheparty.Thehostatmeandshookmyhand.

Lookatthephrasesfromthepassageandanswerthequestions.

Ifyoucantalkconfidently,doesthismeanthatyouareworriedabouttalkingtopeople?

Whatkindofadvanceplanningcouldyoudobeforegoingtoapartyinaforeigncountry?

Canyougiveanexampleofalow-riskconversationopenerifyouweretalkingtoafriendofyourparents',forexample?

Whatencouragingnoisesandgesturescanyoumakewhenyou'rehavingaconversationinChinese?

Whatisanexampleofpositivebodylanguage?

Aresocialrulesthesameineverycountry?

Discussyouranswerstothequestions.

Whichoftheideasinthereadingpassagedoyouthinkareusefulinyoursociety?

Arethereanyconversationtechniquesthatyouthinkyouwilluseinthefuture?

Whichofthelisteningskillsareyougoodat?

Whichofthesocialskillsdoyouneedtoimprove?

WhataresomeoftheusualsmalltalktopicsinChina?

Function

Readthepairsofsentencesandanswerthequestions.

Youmustarriveontimeataparty.

Youhavetoarriveontimeataparty.

Youmustn'ttakeyellowflowersforthehost.

Youdon'thavetotakeyellowflowersforthehost.

Youdon'thavetotakeagift.

Youdon'tneedtotakeagift.

1.Whichofthefollowingistrueaboutthefirstpairofsentences?

Thefirstoneisanobligation,thesecondoneisasuggestion.

Theybothindicateanobligation.

Theyareonlysuggestionsaboutwhattodo.

2.Whichofthefollowingistrueaboutthesecondpairofsentences?

Thefirstoneindicatesthatsomethingisagainstthelaw.

Theymeanthesamething.

Thefirstoneisanobligation,thesecondoneindicatesalackofobligation.

3.Whichofthefollowingistrueaboutthethirdpairofsentences?

Thesecondoneisanobligation,thefirstoneisn't.

Theymeanthesamething.

Thefirstoneisanobligation,thesecondoneisn't.

Writethreerulesforasocialeventinyourcountry.

Ifyougotoasocialeventinmycountry,

youhaveto____.

youdon'thaveto____.

youmustn't____.

Lookatthetwosentencesanddecidewhichexplanationiscorrect.

1.Weallknoweachother.Wedon'tneedtoworryaboutsmalltalk.Thismeans____.

itisn'tnecessarytoworryaboutit

unfortunatelyweworryaboutit

2.Thepartyisinformal.Youneedn'twearatie.Thismeans____.

wemustnotwearatie

wecanwearatieifwechoose

Completethesentenceswithverbstoexpressobligationorlackofobligation.

Stop!Yougiveyellowflowerstothehost!It'sunlucky!

Don'tworry.Youeatanythingyoudon'tlike.

I'msorry,youcan'tleave.Youwaituntiltheprizeshavebeengiven.

Itakesomefoodtotheparty?

Youtakeagifttothehost,butshewillbeverypleasedifyoudo.

ReadingandListening

Readandmatchtheconversationswiththeplaces.Thereisoneextraplace.

atasummerschool;duringajobinterview;inabusinessmeeting;onaboat

1:

A:

Wonderful,aren'tthey?

B:

Er...I'msorry?

A:

Thecliffs.

B:

Oh,yes,theyare.

A:

Beenherebefore?

B:

Pardon?

2:

A:

So...youwroteinyourapplicationformthatyou'reinterestedinmountains.

B:

Yes.

A:

Haveyoueverclimbedamountain?

B:

No.

A:

Haveyoueverreadanybooksaboutmountain-climbing?

B:

No.

3:

A:

Whendidyouarrive?

B:

Yesterday.

A:

Nicejourney?

B:

Verynice.

A:

Didtheimmigrationpeopleasktoseeyourvisa?

B:

Ididn'tneedtogetavisa.

A:

Really?Whynot?

B:

BecauseIwasbornhere.

A:

Ohyes,ofcourse!

Answerthequestionsabouttheconversations.

Doyouthinktheconversationsarebetweenpeoplewhoknoweachother?Givereasonsforyouranswers.

Whichoftheconversationswouldyoucallsmalltalk?

Whatdoyouthinkabouttheanswersintheinterview?

Theanswersshowthattheintervieweeisinterestedinthejob.

Theanswersaretooshort.

Theanswersareimpolite.

Listentothewholeofthefirstconversationandanswerthequestions.

DothepeoplebothspeakEnglishasafirstlanguage?

Whydidthewomanhaveproblemsunderstandingwhatthemanwassaying?

Howdidthemanhelphertounderstandhimbetter?

Listenandcheck.Choosethecorrectendingstothelinesfromtheconversation.

1.Sorry,Icouldn't____.

hearwhatyousaid

understandwhatyousaid

2.Ididn't____.

likewhatyousaid

catchwhatyousaid

3.Couldyou____?

repeatwhatyousaid

explainwhatyousaid

4.Youneedn'thave____.

spokentome

spokensoslowly

5.Ijustneededafewseconds____.

togetusedtoyourvoice

tounderstandyourvoice

Grammar

Readthesentencefromthelisteningpassageandanswerthequestions.

Youneedn'thavespokensoslowly.

1.Whosaidthis?

thetourist

theEnglishperson

2.Whydidshesayit?Chooseoneofthesepossiblereasons.

Theotherpersonwasspeakingtooquickly.

Theotherpersonwasspeakingtooslowly.

Theotherpersonwasspeakingslowlyanditwasn'tnecessary.

Rewritethesesentencesusingneedn'thavedone.

Itwasn'tnecessaryforyoutobringsomeflowers!

Youneedn'thavebroughtsomeflowers.

Thankyoufortidyingtheroom—butitwasn'tnecessary.

.

Therewasnoneedforyoutobuytheboxofchocolates.

.

Whydidyougotoschool?It'sSunday!

!

Thankyouforbringingthebooktoshowme,butIalreadyhaveit.

.

Readthesentenceanddecidewhichendingsarepossible.

Ididn'tneedtobuyagiftformyhostfamily____.

soIdidn'tgetone

becauseIalreadyhadone

soIboughtone

soItookitbackandgotarefund

Completethesentencesusingdidn'tneedtoorneedn'thavedone.

Example:

ItwasaninformalpartysoIdidn'tneedtowear(wear)asuit.

Webroughtsomefoodtothepartybuttherewastoomuch,sowe(bring)any.

MyfriendspokegoodMandarinsoI(translate)thespeechforhim.

Theofficehadalreadyopenedwhenwearrivedsowe(wait)outsideinthestreet.

Igottothepartyat6p.m.buttherewasnoonethere,soI(arrive)soearly.

Itoldthehostallaboutmyhometownandthenhetoldmehe'dbeenthere.I(tell)himanything!

ReadingandWriting

Readtheemail.

Hi!Howareyou?Ihopeyouandyourfamilyarewell.

Ihaveafavourtoask.Nextweek,I'mgoingtoareceptionattheChineseEmbassyhereinLondonandI'mreallylookingforwardtoit.I'mgoingtomeetsomeseniorhighschoolstudentsandtheirteachers.TheonlyproblemisthatI'mnotverygoodatsmalltalkwithpeopleIdon'tknow—I'malwaysworriedaboutsayingthewrongthingormakingpeoplefeelbored.

IneedtoknowwhatIcantalkaboutwiththeChinesepeoplethatImeet.Iwonderifyouwouldbekindenoughtoanswerthesequestions.

HereinEngland,therearecertainquestionsthatyoushouldn'treallyaskpeoplethatyoudon'tknow—"Howoldareyou?"forexample,and"Howmuchdoyouearn?"Arethereanyquestionsthatyoushouldn'taskpeopleinChina?

WhatsortofthingsdoChineseteenagersliketalkingabout?Sport?Music?Films?Andwhatsortofthingsdotheyfindboring?Politics?Theweather?

Lookingforwardtoyourreply.

Alex

Writeareply.Answerthemainquestionsandofferotheradvice.Usesomeofthefollowingsentencestostartandfinishyouremail.

Verynicetohearfromyou.

Thankyouforyourinterestingemail.

Howareyou?It'salongtimesinceIheardfromyou.

Ihopethisinformationhasbeenuseful.

BestofluckattheChineseEmbassy.

Lookingforwardtohearingfromyouagainsoon.

ReadingandVocabulary

You'regoingtoreadastoryaboutasaleswoman.Discusswhatkindofsmalltalkyouneedasasalesperson.

TheWrongKindofSmallTalk

EstherGreenbaumwasa

saleswoman

fora

firm

of

fax

machinesandbusinesssupplies.Butshewasalsothemost

outspoken

humanbeing

intheworld—well,WestchesterCounty,atleast.Her

motto

was"EverytimeIopenmymouth,I

putmyfootinit

."

EstherGreenbaum'smajor

shortcoming

wasthatshehadacomplete

absence

of

smalltalk

.No,that'snotquitetrue.Shehad

smalltalk

,butitwasthewrongkind.Infact,shehadneverlearntthebasicrulesofsocialcommunication,and

asaconsequence

,shemade

systematic

mistakeseverytimesheopenedhermouth.

Itwasnocoincidence

eitherthatshewasn'taverygood

saleswoman

.

Onedayduringameeting,Estherwasintroducedtoanimportant

customer

,a

mature

woman.

"Nicetomeetyou,"shesaid."Howoldareyou?"The

customer

looked

awkward

.

"Forty?Forty-five?"saidEsther."Youlookmucholder.Andyourfriend...she'solderthanyou,butshelooksmuchyounger!"

Onanotheroccasion,Estherteaseda

typist

,"Hey!When'syourbabydue?"

The

typist

wentredandcontradictedEsther."Actually,I'mnot

pregnant

,"shesaid.

"Oh,sorry,"saidEstherwithoutany

apology

."Justputtingonalittleweight,huh?"

Estherwasnever

cautious

aboutotherpeople'sfeelings.Oneofheracquaintances,asalesmaninthe

firm

,wasgoingthroughavery

messy

divorce

andwasverydepressed.Shetriedtocheerhimup.

"Forgether!Shewasacomplete

fool

.Noonelikedheranyway."

Muchofthetime,Esthersaidthefirstthingtocomeintoherhead.Onedayatwork,a

clerk

cameintotheofficewithanewhairstyle.

"Nice

haircut

,"saidEsther."Howmuchdiditcost?"

Thewomanreplied,"I'drathernotsay."

Estherreplied,"Well,

anyhow

,eitheryoupaidtoomuchoryoupaidtoolittle."

Shemetaveryfamouswriteronce."Hey,whata

coincidence

!"shesaid."You'rewritingabookandI'mreadingone!"

ThetroublewithEstherwasshesaidwhatshethought,anddidn'tthinkaboutwhatshesaid.Ayoungmanwastryingtobe

modest

abouthisnewjobmanymilesaway.

"Iguessthecompanychosemesothey'dgetsomepeaceintheoffice,"hesmiled.

"No,Iguesstheychoseyoutodiscourageyoufromspendingyourwholecareerwithus,"Estherrepliedsweetly.

Once,Estherwenttoa

brunch

partytomeetsomeoldschoolfriendsonthe

anniversary

oftheirgraduation.Shegreetedthe

hostess

.

"Doyourememberthatguyyouweredating?Whathappenedtohim?"sheasked."Youknow,theuglyone."

Atthatmoment,amancameupandstoodbyherfriend."Esther,I'dlikeyoutomeetmyhusband,"shesaid."Charles,thisis..."

Estherinterruptedher,"Hey,soyoumarriedhim!"

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

WhatdidEstheroftendowhenshespoketoothers?

Whatdoyouthinkare"thebasicrulesofsocialcommunication"?

Whydidthecustomerlookawkwardwhenshewasaskedhowoldshewas?

HowdidthetypistcontradictEsther?

WhatwaswrongaboutEsther'sadvicetothesalesman?

WhatdidEstherthinkoftheclerk'shaircut?

Whydidtheyoungmanthinkthecompanygavehimanewjobmilesaway?

WhatdidEstherthinkofheroldschoolfriend'shusband?

Readthepassageandfind:

threethingsyoucansaywhenyoumakesmalltalk

twothingsyoushouldnotsay

onewayofreplyingtoquestionswhichyoudon'twishtoanswer

Thestyleofthispassageismeanttobehumourousandexaggerated.

Example:

Youlookmucholder.Andyourfriend,she'solderthanyou,butshelooksmuchyounger!

Lookformoreexamplesofhumourandexaggerationinthepassage.

Lookatthenewwordsinthebox.

absence;acquaintance;anniversary;apology;awkward;brunch;cautious;clerk;customer;fax;firm;fool;haircut;hostess;humanbeing;interrupt;mature;messy;motto;outspoken;pregnant;saleswoman;shortcoming;tease;typist

Findwordsfor:

aplaceofwork:

peopleorjobs:;;;;;;;

thingsyousayorwrite:;

personalcharacteristics/appearance:;;;;

aphysicalstate:

ameal:

Note:Notallthewordsfitthesecategories.

Answerthequestionsaboutthewordsinthebox.

absence;acquaintance;anniversary;apology;awkward;brunch;cautious;clerk;customer;fax;firm;fool;haircut;hostess;humanbeing;interrupt;mature;messy;motto;outspoken;pregnant;saleswoman;shortcoming;tease;typist

Whenisthenextimportantanniversaryinyourlife?

Dopeopleeverteaseyou?

Canyouthinkofapersonalmotto?

Whenwasthelastapologyyouhavegivenorreceived?

Whatareyoucautiousabout?

Doyouknowanyonewhoisoutspoken?

Discussthequestionsandgivereasonsforyouranswers.

Issmalltalkimportantinyoursociety?

Isitasimportantas"real"conversation?

DoyouthinksmalltalkismoreorlessimportantinEnglishthaninyourlanguage?

ReadingPractice

Lookatthetitleofthepassageandthewordsinthebox.Choosefivewordsandguesswhatthewriterusesthemtosay.

argument;compliment;conversation;curious;disagreement;dull;embarrassment;factual;genuine;hospitable;lively;relationship;sensitive;secretive;silence;spy;topic;violate;wealth

MakingFriendsintheUSA

IntheUSA,conversationislesslivelythaninmanyothercultures,whereeveryonetalksatthesametime.Whensomeonetalks,everyoneisexpectedtolisten,nomatterhowdulltheperson'sspeakingmaybe.

Ifyou'renotsurewhattotalkabout,youcanaskwhatpeopledo.We'redefinedbyourjobsandwe'reusuallyhappytotalkaboutthem,unlessyou'reaspy!

SomepeoplesaythatAmericanstalkabouttheirfeelingsmorethanAsians,butaremore

secretive

about

factual

matters.Youcansafelyaskquestionsaboutfamilies,whereyoucomefrom,leisureinterests,aswellasthelatestmovies.We'reinterestedinpeople'sethnicbackgroundtoo.Butit'sbesttoavoidpolitics,religionandothersensitivetopics.

Ahighlypersonalconversationcantakeplaceafteraveryshortperiodofknowingsomeone,butthisdoesn'tmeanthatyou'reclosefriends,ortherelationshipisverydeep.Butalotofpeopleareveryfriendlyand

hospitable

,andthefamousinvitation"Ifyou'reeverinMinneapolis/SanDiego/Poughkeepsie,docallbyandseeus!"isnevermadewithouta

genuine

desiretomeetagain.

ButwhilefewAmericanswillworryaboutthequestionsyoumayask,particularlyifyouclearlyshowyou'reawareofculturaldifferences,theymayhesitatebeforetheyaskyousimilarquestions.Infact,it'sasignthattheydon'twishto

violate

yourprivatelife.So,manyAmericanswilltalkaboutsafetopicsbecausetheydon'tdaretobetoocuriousorpersonal,butwillhappilytalkaboutmoreprivatemattersifyou

takethelead

.

Generallywedislikearguments,andweavoidtopicswhichleadtodisagreement.It'seasytoreturntodiscussingtheweather:"DoyouliketheUSA?Howdoyouliketheweather?"ormakingcompliments:"Whatlovelyflowersandwhatabeautifulvase!""That'safabulousdressyou'rewearing."Youshouldacceptcompliments

graciously

andsay"Thankyou!"

Thereareacoupleofdangeroustopicsofconversation:ageandmoney.Ageisnottreatedassomethingveryspecial,unlesssomeoneisveryold:"Isn'tshewonderfulforherage!"andtherearenospecialrulesorsignsofextrarespectforelderlypeople.Anyway,Americansalwayswanttolookyoungerthantheyreallyare,sodon'texpectanaccurate

reply

!

Incomeisaveryprivatematter,andyou'ddowelltoavoidaskinghowmuchpeopleearn,althoughsomepeoplemaynotonlybeopenaboutit,but

showoff

theirwealth.Wedon'taskhowmuchthingscost,either.

Butwhatwedon'tlikeissilence,andalmostanythingisbetterthantheembarrassmentofaquietpartyandsilentguests.

Readtheadviceonsmalltalk.Isittrueforyou?

Youcanaskaboutfamilies,whatpeopledoandlike,etc.

It'sOKtotalkaboutreligionandpolitics.

Youshouldn'ttalkaboutyourfeelings.

Don'taskpersonalquestions.

Makesureyoudon'ttalkabouttheweatherorgivecompliments.

Youcantalkaboutpeople'sageandtheirincome.

Choosethecorrectanswers.

1.Whenadullpersontalks,youshould____.

notaskpersonalquestions

askquestions

changethetopicofconversation

listen

2.It'salwaysOKtotalktoAmericansabout____.

ageandmoney

theirwork

religionandpolitics

theirprivatelife

3.WhenAmericansmakeaninvitationtovisit,____.

theygenuinelywanttoseeyouagain

theydon'treallymeanit

Theywanttofindoutmoreaboutyou

youshouldacceptit

4.Thebestwaytotalkaboutpersonalthingsisto____.

discusstheweather

talkaboutyourownprivatelifefirst

talkaboutyourjob

askthemhowoldtheyar