Small Talk, Large Effect
Have you ever found yourself waiting at the stop for your bus to arrive and have a stranger ask an ordinary question? Perhaps you’ve stood in line waiting for a coffee and feel the need to just look over to the person next to you and ask about the weather.
(This is small talk, and despite the name) it’s actually a big part of daily life.
“Small talk may seem trivial (微不足道的), but it’s a natural way for people to connect. It may seem like a waste of time. But it serves an important role in our social interactions (交往). Big relationships are built on small talk,” Lindy Pegler, who has a master’s degree in psychology, wrote on Medium.
In fact, we spend a lot of our time making small talk. Often, we find ourselves making small talk with the same people on a regular basis. Coming up with small conversations is the foundation (基础) of these relationships.
The benefits of such conversations can actually contribute to our happiness and benefit our lives as a whole. In a recent study, researchers found that having a healthy amount of acquaintances ( 相识的人) and keeping these relationships contribute to one’s sense of belonging to a community.
So how does one start making small talk? It can be as simple as admiring one’s shirt, asking about their day or commenting on the traffic. “First and foremost, small talk is an act of politeness,” Pegler noted. “Our small talk at our first meeting is our chance to show who we are,” she added.
Who knows where this can lead? Nowadays, the small connections we make can lead to big results. You might find someone who has a common interest, or maybe even someone who turns out to be a close friend.
There is one thing for sure: Making small talk can brighten our day, even if it’s just a nice comment or a thoughtful question.
So the next time you find yourself waiting for the bus or checking your watch while you wait in a line, take the opportunity to look up and talk to someone around you. After all, it takes a small connection to lead to a larger one.
1. What is actually a big part of daily life?2. What did the researchers find in a recent study?
3. According to Pegler, why do we make small talk?
4. Would you like to try to make small talk in your daily life? Why or why not?
When Laura was twelve, she started taking classes at Miss Grace’s School for Art. At first, she didn’t enjoy it; the “novice artists”—the kids who hadn’t really done art before—worked mostly with clay, and Laura didn’t do well in it.
It wasn’t until her third year that Laura found something she was really good at—charcoal drawing (素描). She loved watching the lines spread across the page as she moved the charcoal back and forth over the paper.
One day, Sophia, the best artist in her class, sat down and set up her easel next to Laura. Laura felt uneasy. She’d actually found an art form that she enjoyed—and was good at—and now Sophia was going to outshine (胜过) her again? Laura fought back tears when Miss Grace entered the room.
“Hello class,” Miss Grace said. “We’ll continue to work on the project today.”
What masterpiece (杰作) would Sophia have come up with?
Laura looked at Sophia’s easel and she couldn’t believe it—it was a mess! For a brief moment, Laura couldn’t actually believe her drawing was better than Sophia’s. But then she looked at Sophia, who was watching Laura with an anxious expression.
“I... I couldn’t decide what to do,” Sophia said. “And you’re so good. Sometimes I feel like my work is just so bad in comparison.”
Laura looked to see if Sophia was joking, but she seemed completely serious. Now Laura was shocked. “I’m not talented... Miss Grace seldom praises me. You’re the best one in our class!”
Sophia raised her eyebrows. “I might be a really good copier, but I have no idea what to do when it comes to making up my own images. You are so great at making new things out of the old ones. I’ve loved your works.”
“I’ve loved yours, too,” Laura said.
“Well, definitely not this one,” Sophia said.
Laura smiled. “Maybe not right now. But if you move these lines up...” she said, pointing her finger on Sophia’s paper.
Sophia was quiet for a moment. “That’s a great idea!” she said finally.
Laura smiled and turned back to her drawing, looking every so often at Sophia’s work to see that she was taking her advice, down to the last line.
1. When Laura started art classes, she ________.| A．didn’t do well in the course | B．didn’t feel confident in drawing |
| C．didn’t like working with clay | D．didn’t get along with her classmates |
| A．Because she was punished by her teacher. |
| B．Because she had not really done art before. |
| C．Because she thought Sophia was better than her. |
| D．Because she had no idea what Sophia wanted to draw. |
| A．failure is the key to success |
| B．your character is shaped by your beliefs |
| C．everyone has their own talents and skills |
| D．interest is the greatest driving force for learning |
3 . 某英文网站正在开展以“做更好的自己”为主题的征文活动。假定你是李华，请用英语写一篇短文投稿，谈谈为了成就更好的自己，你做过什么，有什么收获。
提示词语：challenge, take action, improve, confident提示问题：
(1) What did you do to make you better?
(2) What have you learned from doing so?
Everyone may look forward to being better. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . 假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Chris所在的学校正在举办“中国文化周”活动。他给你发来邮件，询问有关中国传统节日的信息，以便在活动中进行分享。
请你用英语回复一封邮件，介绍一个中国的传统节日、节日的庆祝活动及意义。提示词语：the Spring Festival, dumplings, get together, wish
提示问题：· What festival do you want to share?
· What do you often do to celebrate it?
· Why do people celebrate it?
Dear Chris,
I’m glad to know that you’re interested in our traditional festivals. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I hope the above is helpful. Please feel free to ask for more information.
Yours,
Li Hua
5 . Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one’s personal life or in the society. Progress shows a person’s ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead to a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only if people choose to accept technology and find new and more efficient (高效的) ways to move forward.
However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and whenever they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication tools, such as mobile phones and iPads, people often do not take the effort to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with its additional feature of having to be in the person’s presence for as long as the visit lasts.
With efficiency also comes mass production (大规模生产). Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy (精确) than any human hand. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handicrafts (手工艺品) are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.
Nevertheless, we must not make the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.
It is people’s attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people’s attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to think again about their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.
1. Progress can benefit people when they are willing to ________.| A．live a better life than before |
| B．look for more efficient methods |
| C．change the way of living at the moment |
| D．accept technology and find ways to move forward |
| A．To explain supply can increase the demand. |
| B．To stress efficiency may have a negative effect. |
| C．To suggest factories should improve efficiency. |
| D．To show handmade objects may be of low quality. |
| A．Progress can meet the needs of daily life. |
| B．Technology can be used in different ways. |
| C．A new past can be created by making progress. |
| D．People’s attitude decides the use of technology. |
| A．Technology can make the old products new. |
| B．Technology may cause fewer personal visits. |
| C．Technology can lead to higher quality in production. |
| D．Technology may reduce people’s contact with others. |
6 . We rely on our memory for sharing stories with friends or learning from our past experiences. Yet evidence shows that our memory isn’t as consistent as we’d like to believe.
There are countless reasons why tiny mistakes might happen each time we recall past events. And whenever these mistakes happen, they can have long-term effects on how we’ll recall that memory in the future.
Take storytelling for example. When we describe our memories to other people, we might ask ourselves whether it’s important to get the facts straight, or whether we only want to make the listener laugh. And we might change the story’s details depending on the listener’s attitudes. It isn’t only the message that changes, but sometimes it’s also the memory itself. This is known as the “audience-tuning effect”, showing us how our memories can change automatically over time, as a product of how, when, and why we access them.
In fact, sometimes simply the act of repeating a memory can be exactly what makes it easy to change. This is known as “retrieval-enhanced suggestibility”. In a typical study of this effect, participants watched a short film, then took a memory test a few days later. But during the days between watching the film and taking the final test, two other things happened. First, half of the participants took a practice memory test. Second, all of the participants were given a description of the film to read, which contained some false details. Participants who took a practice memory test shortly before reading the false information were more likely to reproduce this false information in the final memory test.
Why might this be? One theory is that repeating our memories of past events can temporarily make those memories malleable. In other words, retrieving（找回）a memory might be a bit like taking ice-cream out of the freezer and leaving it in direct sunlight for a while. By the time our memory goes back into the freezer, it might have naturally become a little misshapen, especially if someone has influenced it purposely in the meantime.
These findings lead us to wonder how much our most treasured memories have changed since the very first time we remembered them. Remembering is an act of storytelling, after all. And our memories are only ever as reliable as the most recent story we told ourselves.
1. The writer takes storytelling for example to prove that ______.| A．it is impossible to change the listener’s attitudes |
| B．it is important to describe our memories directly |
| C．we can make other people laugh by telling stories |
| D．we may change our memories according to the listener |
| A．Our memories can change our personalities. |
| B．Our memories can correct mistakes on their own. |
| C．We can take a practice memory test to strengthen our memories. |
| D．We can reproduce the information while repeating our memories. |
| A．reasonable | B．valuable | C．changeable | D．controllable |
7 . First Impression
The day that I met my best friend for the first time, I was full of anxiety. I was trying to do some revision for an important oral exam in the local library and people kept disturbing（打扰）me. I was getting more and more annoyed and the more upset I got, the less I was able to concentrate. I couldn’t stand when I heard someone singing loudly behind me. I turned around and glared at the person who was singing. It was a tall girl about the same age as me and she was standing with a book in her hands. I picked up my books, looked at her and said angrily, “Thanks to your noise. I’ve been unable to study. You’re so selfish!” Then I left the library in a hurry.
When I got home, I realized I’d left my textbook behind and there was nothing I could do as the library was closed. I was so upset that I almost cried. Just then, the phone rang. A girl named Jenny had noticed my book in the library and she got my phone number from the librarian. She said she didn’t live far away and could bring it around for me.
I was so grateful and agreed to meet her at the store down the road. When I recognized Jenny was the girl I had shouted at for singing, I was filled with shame and apologized several times for my rude behavior.
Jenny was kind enough to pardon me. Ever since then we’ve been best friends and we got along very well. I often think how lucky I am! We two girls are much alike and I trust her more than anyone else.
From the experience I know that the first impression is untrue sometimes and we can’t judge a person only by the first impression.
1. The writer went to the local library to ______.| A．meet her best friend | B．borrow some books |
| C．prepare for the exam | D．get back her textbook |
| A．She left the library nervously. |
| B．She shouted at the girl angrily. |
| C．She was too upset to say a word. |
| D．She argued with the girl immediately. |
| A．Because she met kind Jenny. | B．Because Jenny pardoned her. |
| C．Because Jenny returned her book. | D．Because she passed the exam. |
8 . 某英文网站正在开展以“用心交流，学会沟通”为主题的征文活动。假如你是李华，请用英语写一篇短文投稿，谈谈你生活中一次有效沟通的经历以及你的收获。
提示词语：share, a good listener, respect, helpful提示问题：·How did you communicate with others?
·What have you learned from the experience?
It is very important for us to get along with other people. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . 从下面两个题目中任选一题，根据中文和英文提示，完成一篇不少于 50 词的文段写作。文中已给出内容不计入总词数。所给提示词语仅供选用。请不要写出你的校名和姓名。
题目①中国有很多传统节日，如春节、中秋节和端午节等。每个节日都有不同的习俗和意义。
题目②假如你是李华，你校英语社团正在开展线上交流活动，其公众号计划推送有关中国传统节日的系列内容。请你用英语给公众号留言，介绍一个最能体现中国传统文化的节日，内容包括：节日的时间、庆祝方式及意义。
提示词语：get together, dinner, enjoy, wish
提示问题：
1）What is the festival?
2）When and how do people usually celebrate the festival?
3）Why is the festival important?
There are some traditional festivals in China.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Making friends at school can be a little difficult, but it doesn’t have to be! There are some suggestions on helping you talk to people in your class and hang out with them outside of school. Before you know it, you’ll have a group of friends to have fun with every day!
Be friendly
Using proper body language will help. Stand up straight, make eye contact with people and smile! Try to avoid crossing your arms over your chest and looking closed off. The more open and friendly you look, the more people will want to get to know you.
Sit at a new table during lunch
Look for tables with an open seat. If you’re feeling a little nervous, pick a table that only has one or two people sitting down. Head over and ask if you can sit there then join in the conversation. Using proper body language will help. If you like the people you sit with, ask if you can join them again the next day.
Try out for a sports team
Pick a sport that you like (it could be soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, or anything in between), and try out for the team. Over time, you could become good friends with some of the other people on your team! If your school doesn’t have sports team, try looking for one at your local community center.
Join an after-school club
Meet friends who have the same hobby as you. Ask a teacher or your parents for a list of after-school activities and pick one or two of them that you’re the most excited about. Introduce yourself to everyone when you attend your first club meeting to meet new people and start a fun conversation.
1. How many suggestions does the writer give?2. How can you be friendly when you talk to people?
3. If you like the people you sit with, what can you do?
4. Which suggestion is the most useful for you? Why?
