Question

【题目】Put a group of strangers in a room together, and they'll probably start a conversation. "Hot today, isn't it?" one might say. "You said it." another replies.
Why do we talk so much about the weather? When we meet new people, we don't begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, a polite conversation about something like traffic or weather.
Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships. When we begin conversations with new people, we want to feel comfortable, and so do they. We use small talk to find common interests. Once we have a common interest, a friendship can begin.
Small talk even helps people get hired. In order to impress at a job interview, you need to bond with the interviewer right away. Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.
So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job? First off, find common ground. Choose something around you that you share with the other person.
Next, keep the conversation going. Praise the other person to make him or her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest.
Third, keep eye contact. When you look people in the eye, they feel you take interest in what they are saying. It makes you appear honest and builds trust.
Naturally, talking to someone you don't know is not the easiest thing to do! Some experts say with more practice, small talk does get easier.
In fact, small talk is anything but small. It is a very big deal!

Title	Small Talk: A Deal
Introduction	We may make small talk when we meet people
	◆ Small talk can help people form friendships. ◆ Small talk can also help people get a .
Advice	◆ Find some topics which are with the other person.
	◆Keep the talk going by making sompicments and questions. ◆Keep eye contact in conversation to build . ◆ more in order to make small talk easier.
Conclusion	Small talk really a lot to us.

Answer 1

【答案】Big；first；Benefits/Advantages/Strengths；new；job/post；shared；asking；trust；Practice/Practise；matters/means
【解析】文章主要讲的是简短对话的重要性。素不相识的人通常以讨论交通状况或天气来开始他们的交谈。做题时注意联系上下文提取有效信息，并注意是否需要进行词形转换。
(1)根据最后一段“In fact, it is actually a very big deal!”可知，事实上，简短对话非常重要，a big deal是固定短语。故填deal。
（2） 根据“Put a group of strangers in a room together...”可知，陌生人见面可能会开始简短的聊天，由此可知，他们是首次见面。 故填first。（3） 根据第三段可知，简短的谈话可以帮助人们形成友谊，帮助人们找到工作，说明这里说的是好处或优点。故填Advantages/Benefits。
（4） 根据第三段“Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships.”可知答案。故填new。
（5）根据第四段“Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.”可知答案。故填job/position/post。
（6） 根据第五段“Select something around you that you share with the other person.”可知答案，这里用过去分词作后置定语。故填shared。 （7） 根据第六段“and ask questions to show interest”可知，通过提问问题来表示自己感兴趣，by后跟动名词。故填asking/rasing。
（8） 根据第七段“It makes you appear honest and builds trust.”可知，眼神接触能使人显得真诚，并建立信任。故填trust。
（9） 根据倒数第二段“Some experts say with more practice, small talk does get easier.”可知，简短对话经过多加练习之后就会变得容易。故填Practice/Practise。
（10） 根据最后一段“small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a very big deal!”可知，简短对话绝非不起眼，事实上，简短对话很重要。matter重要，相当于count。Mean a lot to sb对某人来说意义重大。故填matters/means。