Unit 2 The Olympic Games Using language课时作业

Ⅰ.阅读理解

　　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 agree 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