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 fortable. People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion(宗教) or politics(政治) so these are not suitable topics for small talk. 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 ment on the transport system. “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”
【小题1】Small talk is . A．a kind of conversation with short wordsB．a greeting used when people meet each otherC．to let people disagree about somethingD．something we talk about to start a conversation【小题2】The favorite topic of small talk for English people is . A．the weatherB．politicsC．gamesD．languages【小题3】The passage suggests that when we learn a language . A．we should learn about the transport system of the countryB．we should only master the grammar and the vocabularyC．we should learn the culture of the countryD．we should understand the importance of the language【小题4】When we say “Great game, isn’t it?”, we are in fact . A．asking a questionB．having a conversationC．greeting each otherD．making small talk【小题5】What we learn from the passage is that . A．different languages have different grammarB．small talk is an important part of a languageC．small talk depends on the purpose of the conversationD．in English-speaking countries we should talk about the weatherD
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(答案→)D
解析：本文讲述了在西方文化中，经常用small talk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。
【小题1】D 细节题。根据第一段第二句Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation.说明D项正确。
【小题2】A 细节题。根据第一段3,4行In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?”说明天气是谈论较多的话题，故A正确。
【小题3】C 推理题。本题较难，文章中以small talk为题，主要就是告诉我们西方的文化，我们要学习一门语言，很重要的就是学习他们的文化。故C正确。
【小题4】D 推理题。根据文章倒数3,4行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?”说明这样说的目的就是为了引起一些small talk。故D正确。
【小题5】B 细节题。根据文章第一行In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”说明在很多文化中都是以small talk来开始对话的，说明small talk很重要。故B正确。