How did your friendships begin? Most start with a short conversation on a random day. Asking about a homework assignment in class or complaining about your painful legs after playing in a soccer game, you found your best pal by accident.

“Small talk is where all your relationships begin,” Forbes magazine summed up.

The following is a five-step guide to making small talk from Bernardo J. Carducci, the director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast, US. Let’s have a look.

Getting started

Begin by talking about the setting, such as the weather outside or the room you are in (“It’s cold in here, isn’t it?”). The purpose of talking about the setting is to show the other person that you are willing to make a conversation.

②The personal introduction

You should mention something about yourself, such as your name. A good personal introduction helps move the conversation forward.

③Looking for topics

At this point, you and your conversation partner need to find common ground. This is a good time to ask questions or to refer back to things you’ve said or heard earlier. Don’t worry if it gets quiet. The other person is probably just thinking of something to say.

④Expanding the topic

The goal is to keep the conversation going. At every stage, you should be careful not to talk too much. But don’t let the other person dominate the conversation either. If that starts to happen, mention something about yourself when he or she takes a breath.

⑤A polite ending

When ending a conversation, let the person know you’ll be leaving soon, express gratitude for the conversation and set the stage for a future conversation. For example, you could say, “I really must be going soon, but I had a great time chatting with you. I really liked hearing your opinion about that new movie. Here’s my phone number. Call or text me if you know of any other movies you think I might enjoy.”

1.According to the article, starting by talking about the setting is meant to ________.

A. find common ground                          B. impress the other person

C. make a conversation                         D. make the room warmer

2.What does the underlined word “dominate” mean in Tip④?

A. interrupt                   B. control                  C. adapt          D. simplify 

3.When ending a conversation, you’d better ________.

A. talk about how much you want to keep talking

B. show that you’ve not enjoyed the talk

C. mention a specific movie that you love          

D. give your opinion about the other person’s earlier comments

4.The main purpose of the article is to ________.

A. encourage students to make more friends

B. give students tips on making small talk

C. introduce popular topics for students  

D. teach students how to create friendships

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36---55各题后的 A B C D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
A gift left to her
Early in the morning, I was taken in a nylon bag into a truck. I felt horrible as well as ___36___What would she do with me? She was almost mad after the___37__of her husband.
A few minutes later, I heard the truck___38__its engine and move fast. I kept making sounds to show my protest, but failed to make any___39___ Finally she put me down in a __40__place. Maybe she didn’t want me to die from lack of air; she untied the bag.
I ___41___ out and looked up, only to see many strange faces and fingers pointing at me.
It turned out that my owner meant to___42___ me. I saw my owner on the truck, which was going farther and farther. So I cast my head ___43__the direction of the truck. The days we spent together was like a movie playing in front of my eyes as I ran after the truck. I saw my male owner, who suffered liver cancer; look at me with his sad eyes. I saw myself___44__my owner everywhere; I saw him lie in his dying bed, she all___45__.
I ran as fast as I could. And the___46___I saw her wave to me, my eyes became wet. I wouldn’t blame her for treating me like this for she was such a (n) ___47___ lady. She seemed even somewhat ___48___ at his leaving her alone, trying many ways to ___49___the pains of losing him. She ___50___ his pictures and clothes, and she redecorated the whole house. Now I was the only ___51___ thing to remind her of him. ___52___ later, I am pretty sure that she would realize how mad she was to do this…
The truck finally stopped when I was almost ___53___. She ran up to me and hugged me ___54___. I heard her ___55___: “I know you are a present he left to me.”
36. A. puzzled           B. excited          C. delighted             D. frightened
37. A. separation           B. absence       C. departure           D. death
38. A. run                        B. begin            C. start                    D. operate
39. A. sense                  B. trouble                 C. effort                      D. difference
40. A. usual                  B. strange              C. familiar               D. dark
41. A. walked        B. rushed           C. ran                      D. struggled
42. A. harm               B. desert            C. punish                      D. sell
43. A. into                    B. at                        C. in                            D. to
44. A. follow            B. bring            C. guide                        D. support
45. A. with tears            B. in tears                 C. out of breath        D. in silence
46. A. time                  B. direction       C. way                    D. moment
47. A. cruel                  B. unfriendly     C. unfavorable          D. unfortunate
48. A. calm                   B. depressed      C. angry                       D. sad
49. A. kill                        B. remove             C. bear                    D. prevent
50. A. kept                   B. burned                 C. sold                    D. hit
51. A. moving           B. walking         C. existing               D. blessing
52. A. But                    B. And                  C. Thus                   D. Then
53. A. worn out             B. knocked out    C. left out               D. made out
54. A. tightly            B. patiently        C. sadly               D. desperately
55. A. shout                  B. speak            C. whisper            D. talk

第三节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分,满分30分）
阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I hired a plumber（水管工） to help me restore an old farmhouse, and he just finished a rough first day on the job: a  41 tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient one ton truck refused to  42  .
   43  I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.    44  arriving, he invited me in to meet his   45 . As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small   46 , touching the tips of the branches with both   47 .
When   48 the door he passed through an amazing transformation. His brown face was in all smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his   49 a kiss.  50 he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my   51 got the better of me. I asked him about what I had   52 him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my   53 tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's   54 :those troubles don't   55 the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree    56  when I come home and ask God to    57 them. Then in the morning I   58 
them up again." "And the   59 thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't   60 as many as I remember hanging up the night before."
41. A. smooth                  B. broken                  C. failed                     D. flat
42. A. begin                     B. start                       C. set                         D. launch
43. A. While                    B. During                   C. As soon as              D. Though
44. A. In                         B. For                        C. On                         D. At
45. A. friends                   B. parents                   C. family                    D. home
46. A. room                     B. tree                       C. flower                    D. wood
47. A. arms                      B. hands                     C. fingers                   D. feet
48. A. opening                 B. closing                   C. knocking                D. covering
49. A. wife                      B. daughter                C. son                        D. baby
50. A. Meanwhile             B. Afterwards             C. Previously              D. Consequently
51. A. satisfaction             B. responsibility          C. occupation              D. curiosity
52. A. heard                     B. made                     C. seen                       D. let
53. A. comfort                 B. pain                       C. suffering                D. trouble
54. A. at length                B. for sure                  C. at risk                   D. straight away
55. A. belong in               B. hold back               C. fit in                      D. bring to
56. A. one day                 B. every morning        C. one night                D. every night
57. A. take note of            B. take care of            C. look for                 D. focus on
58. A. pick                      B. take                       C. bring                     D. choose
59. A. flexible                  B. funny                    C. casual                    D. humorous
60. A. almost                   B. roughly                  C. nearly                    D. approximately

People always say that the earlier one learns a language, the     it is to do so, in theory it is that,      , in my opinion, that refers to spoken language. Capability(能力) to practice some essential(基本的)     of a language and read between the lines can only be trained through proper reading ways and hard work     .So spending money to help      learn English may     up with disappointment. It is likely that the more you     ,the more you are let down.

The daughter of one of my friends     English in primary school,     her foreign teacher’s blindness     psychology. She did not want to go on     English until middle school,     a college student studying English slowly     her interest in the language.

It is better to have the child learn Chinese than to have some difficulty     learning English for several years. Having been engaged in English education,     find that despite(尽管) their excellent     , many students have     command of English words and phrases. So I suggest that children

     classical Chinese prose(散文),rather than     them to learn English hurriedly. Otherwise, they may let go the best time to    the language ability of their mother tongue.

1.A. easy            B. difficult          C. easier                         D. more difficult

2.A. but                 B. however          C. though             D. yet

3.A. opinions              B. regards           C. requests                        D. expressions

4.A. directly            B. orally                  C. properly                D. indirectly

5.A. people                          B. girls              C. children                         D. boys

6.A. begin                            B. start              C. finish               D. end

7.A. pay            B. get              C. buy              D. take

8.A. loved                   B. liked              C. disliked                         D. learned

9.A. because of                   B. because            C. instead of              D. instead

10.A. of                      B. at                           C. in             D. to

11.A. learning            B. to learn            C. with learning              D.for learning

12.A. while                    B. where             C. when                           D. as

13.A. introduced                B. practiced           C. explained                       D. developed

14.A. in              B. to                       C. at               D. of

15.A. He                     B. I                             C. She                      D. They

16.A. pronunciation  B. phrase              C. language             D. writing

17.A. few          B. less               C. little              D. fewer

18.A. write                           B. do                  C. remember               D. memorize

19.A. have                 B. let                 C. cause              D. make

20.A. study                           B. improve              C. learn                       D. master

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36---55各题后的 A B C D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

A gift left to her

Early in the morning, I was taken in a nylon bag into a truck. I felt horrible as well as ___36___What would she do with me? She was almost mad after the___37__of her husband.

A few minutes later, I heard the truck___38__its engine and move fast. I kept making sounds to show my protest, but failed to make any___39___ Finally she put me down in a __40__place. Maybe she didn’t want me to die from lack of air; she untied the bag.

I ___41___ out and looked up, only to see many strange faces and fingers pointing at me.

It turned out that my owner meant to___42___ me. I saw my owner on the truck, which was going farther and farther. So I cast my head ___43__the direction of the truck. The days we spent together was like a movie playing in front of my eyes as I ran after the truck. I saw my male owner, who suffered liver cancer; look at me with his sad eyes. I saw myself___44__my owner everywhere; I saw him lie in his dying bed, she all___45__.

I ran as fast as I could. And the___46___I saw her wave to me, my eyes became wet. I wouldn’t blame her for treating me like this for she was such a (n) ___47___ lady. She seemed even somewhat ___48___ at his leaving her alone, trying many ways to ___49___the pains of losing him. She ___50___ his pictures and clothes, and she redecorated the whole house. Now I was the only ___51___ thing to remind her of him. ___52___ later, I am pretty sure that she would realize how mad she was to do this…

The truck finally stopped when I was almost ___53___. She ran up to me and hugged me ___54___. I heard her ___55___: “I know you are a present he left to me.”

36. A. puzzled           B. excited          C. delighted             D. frightened

37. A. separation           B. absence       C. departure           D. death

38. A. run                        B. begin            C. start                    D. operate

39. A. sense                  B. trouble                 C. effort                      D. difference

40. A. usual                  B. strange              C. familiar               D. dark

41. A. walked        B. rushed           C. ran                      D. struggled

42. A. harm               B. desert            C. punish                      D. sell

43. A. into                    B. at                        C. in                            D. to

44. A. follow            B. bring            C. guide                        D. support

45. A. with tears            B. in tears                 C. out of breath        D. in silence

46. A. time                  B. direction       C. way                    D. moment

47. A. cruel                  B. unfriendly     C. unfavorable          D. unfortunate

48. A. calm                   B. depressed      C. angry                       D. sad

49. A. kill                        B. remove             C. bear                    D. prevent

50. A. kept                   B. burned                 C. sold                    D. hit

51. A. moving           B. walking         C. existing               D. blessing

52. A. But                    B. And                  C. Thus                   D. Then

53. A. worn out             B. knocked out    C. left out               D. made out

54. A. tightly            B. patiently        C. sadly               D. desperately

55. A. shout                  B. speak            C. whisper            D. talk