When we meet new people, we don’t begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, like traffic or weather. People make small talk just about anywhere, but there are certain places where it is very common. Most often, small talk happens in places where people are waiting for something. People with many different relationships use small talk. The most common type of people to use small talk are those who do not know each other at all. Though we often teach children not to talk to strangers, adults are expected to say at least a few words in certain situations.
Small talk can start new friendship. When we begin conversations with new people, we use small talk to find common interests. Small talk even helps people get a job. So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job?
First of all, choose something around you that you share with the other person. Next, keep the conversations going. Compliment (赞美) the other person to make him or her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest. Third, talking to strangers is not an easy thing for shy people. But with more practice, small talk does get easier.
Some people think things like traffic or weather are just too small. However, small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a big deal!
1. Where does small talk happen most often?2. What type of people use small talk most common?
3. What advantages (好处) can small talk bring you?
4. About making small talk, how many pieces of advice did the writer give you?
5. How do you keep the small talk going?
相似题推荐
The graduation season is coming. Grade 9 students are going to say goodbye to each other. Everyone must have a lot to say to their classmates at this moment. But where can they put all their warm words? In the past, each student would buy a big beautiful notebook and ask their classmates to write on it. But things are a bit different now.
Grade 9 students use USB flash disks(U盘) instead of notebooks. Some students are not good at Chinese. They can't use sweet words to show how they love their friends. But with the USB flash disks, they can write words, draw pictures or even make cartoons for each other.
One of the students said, “I like the USB flash disk because it costs less than fifty yuan. And there is a lot of space for me to write in.”But some students still like notebooks better. They say words in computers are cold. It is bad for their eyes to use computers too much. “Although a notebook may have less space, I will still choose it. A notebook can keep my classmates' handwriting. That is sweet and means a lot to me，” said a boy.
Which way will you choose to say goodbye to your classmates?
1. Where did students write their warm words when they graduated in the past?2. Is the USB flash disk a better choice for graduates according to the second paragraph?
3. Why does the boy in the third paragraph choose the notebook?
4. Do you think that the USB flash disk is good? Why or why not?
【推荐2】You may have heard the saying, women are from Venus(金星) and men are from Mars (火星). It's a nice way of saying how men and women are quite different from each other in many ways.
These differences can be seen everywhere, even in how we communicate with friends. A recent study by the University of Oxford suggested that men and women keep relationships with friends far away in different ways.
Researchers questioned 30 students about their friendships just before they left for college. They followed up the questions nine months, and then 18 months later Robin Dunbar, who headed the research, told that how long friendships among women last depended on whether they made an effort to talk more to each other on the phone. Men, on the other hand, tended to (倾向于) do things differently. They went through months of not being with friends by planning meet-ups (见面) sometimes. This was the biggest difference between men and women.
Of course, gender (性别)isn't the only thing that influences how we stay in touch. The way we keep our friendships also depends on the preference(偏好) of each person, and it can take a while to find your own way of making your friendships work. One thing that is pretty clear though is that friends who make the effort to keep in touch, even if it's only through Wechat(微信)once a week, do tend to stay friends, no matter how far it is.
1. Did researchers question 30 high school students about their friendships?2. How did women keep their friendships according to the research?
3. What's the passage mainly about?
4. Do you think it's a good way for teenagers to keep friendships by planning meet-ups often? Why or why not?
Cooperation and competition are both important. They’re necessary for a person to achieve success in life.
Learn to be cooperative with others. No one likes a selfish or greedy person. However, everyone likes a cooperative and friendly person. Everything we do today, whether in doing business or making friends, depends on our ability to get along with one another. In our society, most tasks need cooperation in order that they can be finished successfully. So we must try to be cooperative. Each person is like a small part of a machine. If one part is out of order, the machine can’t be running well. Besides, transportation and communication systems are developing quickly, and people all over the world can keep in touch with each other more easily. It’s hard for a person that is away from the society to have a deep understanding of the world he lives in. Cooperation is becoming more and more important for a person to lead a good life.
Being competitive also has a place in life. If you want to get more success and be better than others, you must work harder and study more carefully. The desire to succeed and do better than others encourages us to work harder. If there were no competitions, a sports meeting would never be exciting or successful. We often compete to get a better environment. We cooperate with others to be more competitive.
1. 完成句子Everything we do today depends on our ability to2. 完成句子It’s hard for a person that is away from the society to have
3. 简略回答问题What should you do if you want to have more success?
4. 找出并写下全文的主题句
5. 将文中画线句子译成汉语
Find a true friend
Everyone has some friends, but it is not easy to find true friends. How do you really know he or she is a true friend? There are some ways you can know if a friendship is true.
A true friend will always be there to help you. They will accept（接受）you instead of trying to change you. And they will tell you if you make a mistake.
A true friend will keep your secrets for you. They will listen to you carefully even if they have no advice to share with you. But they will try their best to help you.
However, friendship is a two-way street. To find true friends and keep them, you must be the same to them. You should be there when they are having a hard time. If they meet problems, give them advice and try to help them. Be someone that your friends can depend on. In a word, if you are kind to your friends, you get true friendship. And to let it be stronger, better and longer, be true to them.
Find a true friend Here are the writer’s ideas on friends. According to him, true friends are |
The American writer Sally Seaman tells young students some smart ways to find friends. (A) Sally says founding friendship is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed (种子) and take care of it to make it grow.
First, you should choose a friend. What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and patient. (B)_________, if you have a bad day, a good friend could listen to your complaints (抱怨) and do his or her best to help you. To make a friend, you can’t be too shy. (C) 你们应该让彼此快乐并且分享你们的生活。
But things can not always be happy. Even the best friends have fights. What should you do when you have a fight with your friend? You have to talk to him or her. If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you can write a letter.
There are three steps to be friends again:
Tell him or her how you are feeling, say what your friend has done wrong and explain why you did this or that.
Remember that friendship is one of the most important things in your life.
1. 将(A)处的划线句子翻译成汉语。2. List one of the steps that could help to be friends again when you have a fight with your friend.
3. Which of the following is the best phrase to fill in the blank in Paragrah2? _________
| A．In general | B．For example | C．After all | D．However |
5. What do you think a good friend should be like according to this passage?
Yu Boya was a great musician. He was good at playing the qin and learning from nature to create beautiful music.
Once, he took a boat trip to the state of Chu. Along the way, the river water rushed toward the east, leaving the high mountains behind. Yu took out his qin and began to play. After a while, he noticed a woodsman (樵夫) standing on the riverbank and enjoying his music quietly.
Yu invited the man to the boat. The woodsman introduced himself, “My name is Zhong Ziqi.” After that, Yu would play the qin for Zhong. He played music that described the high mountains. Zhong said: “How wonderful it is! I seem to see the great Taishan Mountain.” He played music that described the flowing water. Zhong said: “How wonderful it is. I seem to see the rushing river.”
Yu was surprised by Zhong’s words. “You really understand my music.”
So the musician and the woodsman became good friends. They decided to meet each other again at the same place the following year. When that time came, Yu arrived on time, but did not see Zhong. He visited Zhong’s village and hear that his friend had died of an illness.
Yu felt very sad. He took out his qin and once again played the music of the “high mountains and flowing water”.
“My best friend has passed away,” he said. “No one in the world understands my music anymore.” Heather broke his qin and never played it again.
1. What was Yu Boya?2. How did Yu Boya go to the state of Chu?
3. How did Yu Boya feel after hearing Zhong Ziqi’s words?
4. When did the two friends decide to meet each other again?
5. Why did Yu Boya break his qin?
【推荐1】It’s normal for the human mind to wander (走神). So many things may fill your mind and pull your thoughts in different direction. This isn’t always bad. Sometimes a wandering mind can lead to a new creation. However, wandering thoughts can also stop you from getting things done, keep you up at night, or hurt your health. Don’t worry. Here is my advice about avoiding them.
Doing exercise and activities
Slow down and let your mind focus (专注) on your breathing. By controlling your breathing, you can bring your mind to work together with your body. Once you lose interest in what you’re doing, you can take a break from it. Go for a walk, do some exercise, take a shower or even lie down and think about nothing. These activities help a lot.
Focusing on tasks you’re doing
Do one task at a time. It won’t slow you down. Instead, it keep your mind focused and you’ll be able to get more done quickly. While doing tasks, don’t look around once in while. If there’s something keeping your mind wandering, allow yourself a specific (特定的) time to worry, think or plan. When the time is up, focus on your next task.
Controlling worrying thoughts
Writing down or sharing your worries helps to get them out of your head. When there’s a big task, it’s understandable to put it off. But by facing it bravely and trying to solve it, you can get away from your worrying thoughts. If it doesn’t work after you’ve tried everything, accept that there are always things you can’t change.
Title: | |
Doing exercise and activities | (1) You can (2) Once you lose interest in what you’re doing some activities help a lot, such as going for a walk, |
| (1) Do one task at a time. (2) Don’t look around from time to time while doing tasks. | |
Controlling worrying thoughts | (1) You can get them out of your head by (2) Try to accept that there are always things you can’t change after you’ve tried everything. |
Athletics vs. Gardening
The students of Sunshine School were asked to give their opinions about whether the school should run an athletic program or start a vegetable garden.
An athletic program is much better than gardening. How are we ever going to win anything at the Inter-School Athletics without proper training? We need experts (专家) to teach us things like throwing and high jump. I know lots of kids say they’re not interested in competitions, but that’s because they’ve never won anything. If they got better training and started winning things, they would soon change their minds. People always say kids don’t get enough exercise. Just because you do gardening outdoors and doesn’t make it exercise, so I don’t see how it matters. Athletics is much better for fitness and lots of kids can have a go at the same time. I don’t think there would be enough jobs for everyone in a garden. So I think a garden is a really bad idea. I don’t know why we’re even considering it. Liz, Grade 8 |
I think a vegetable garden is a great idea. We already do hours of sport, including athletics. And not everyone likes sport. Gardening is a great way to get exercise without worrying about whether you’re not good at it, or whether you’re going to win. And you really do exercise when you garden. There’s digging, weeding and watering. Even picking things can be hard work—pumpkins aren’t light ! There are lots of kids around here who don’t have gardens so they can’t grow things even they want to. If you really want to do more sport, you can join a club. And think about it: What helps you to be good at sport? You need to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. If we learn to cook all the things we grow, the garden will keep us all fit and healthy and then we’ll be better at sport. Sam, Grade 8 |
2. What is one reason Liz gives for saying “a garden is a really bad idea”?
3. What’s Sam’s opinion?
4. Why does Sam say, “And you really do exercise when you garden”?
5. If you were the headmaster, whose advice would you take? Liz’s or Sam’s, and why?
Studying makes you tired. How to deal with the worries and relax yourself? Here is some advice which may add happiness to your life.
Rest at weekends
Weekends are time for a rest. After a week’s hard work, weekends are the best time for you to relax yourself. Having a nice sleep is a good idea, because a good sleep makes sure of your study.
Cry out
If you feel sad, don’t try to hide your feelings. Crying out may help reduce (减少) your sadness.
Keep a diary
You can write down all that you want to say. That’s a great way to think about and remember life. You can do it on paper or on computers.
Enjoy a big meal
It’s not a good idea for a kid to lose weight, so you don’t need to eat less food. When you feel upset, enjoy a big meal. Eating delicious food will make you feel good.
Join in activities
Having a get-together is great fun. Going out with friends for a trip will make you happy. And it will also bring you a good sleep.
Rest at weekends | Having |
Cry out | Reducing |
| Writing down all that you want to say on paper or on computers. | |
Enjoy a big meal | Eating delicious food will make you feel good. |
Join in activities | Having a party or |
