Question

【题目】

Do you want to become better at making small talk with new people? Do you want to become better at networking with others? Nothing will improve your networking ability and your ability to make a successful conversation with other people rather than your curiosity(好奇心) about them.

When you are curious about other people, you will want to discover some of the interesting ways that they are similar to you. When you are curious about them, you’ll also be interested to discover the ways in which they think differently and live differently from you.

When you have curiosity about others, you will be much less self-conscious and your conversations will work a lot better. Instead of worrying yourself, “What can I say next that won’t sound stupid?”, you will be focused on learning more about the other person.

Making small talk with strangers can be tricky. We’ve all heard the advice that we should pick something out of our immediate environment and use that as a main point to start our small talk with the other person.

It’s true that thiscan be a great starting point for a conversation. However, when you focus too much on discussing things like the weather in your city, you can bring the conversation to a painful end very quickly. The other person will sensethat you are trying to make a conversation, but that you have no interest in really getting to know him or her.

How can you keep small talkfrombecoming boring?

One way is to watch the other person for clues.(线索）.The clues they will give you about what is really interesting to them. When you get these clues, use them to start making the conversation a bit more about their life, their opinions, and their experiences.

After you have had a couple of minutes to break the ice, try looking for ways to make the conversation a little bit more personal. Ask the other person forhisor her opinion about something that is a bit more personal but not extremely so. The first few minutes of talking to someone new will not be the best time to ask the other person his or her opinion on religious（宗教的） or political（政治的） matters. However, he or she might be happy to discuss his or her favorite team or musical band.

【1】In Paragraph 1, the writer mainly wants to tell us that___________.

A. curiosity can help us make a good talk

B. it’s hard to make a talk with new people

C. curiosity helps us know new people quickly

D. it’s hard to make a successful talk with others

【2】The underlined word “self-conscious” in Paragraph 3 probably means_____.

A. self-centered B. self-controlled C. serious D. nervous

【3】While carrying on a conversation, we should_____.

A. think about what won’t sound stupid

B. show our interests to the other person

C. try to learn more about the other person

D. discuss things like the weather in the city

【4】What is the best title for the passage?

A. The way of starting small talk.

B. Improving our small talk with curiosity.

C. The importance of small talk in our life.

D. Improving our relationship through small talk.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】 A

【2】 D

【3】 C

【4】 B

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文，谈论好奇心能提高你的社交能力和与他人成功交谈的能力。

【1】题意：在第一段中，作者主要想告诉我们___________。考查细节理解。A. curiosity can help us make a good talk好奇心可以帮助我们好好交谈；B. it’s hard to make a talk with new people很难和新朋友交谈；C. curiosity helps us know new people quickly好奇心有助于我们快速了解陌生人；D. it’s hard to make a successful talk with others很难与他人成功交谈。根据第1段第3句Nothing will improve your networking ability and your ability to make a successful conversation with other people rather than your curiosity(好奇心) about them.（没有什么能比你对他人的好奇心更能提高你的交际能力和与他人成功交谈的能力。）可知“在第一段中，作者主要想告诉我们好奇心可以帮助我们好好交谈”；故选A。

【2】题意：第3段中下画线单词“self-conscious”可能的意思是___________。考查词义猜测。A. self-centered自我中心；B. self-controlled自我控制；C. serious严重；D. nervous紧张。根据第3段When you have curiosity about others, you will be much less self-conscious and your conversations will work a lot better. （当你对别人有好奇心时，你将不那么害羞了，你的谈话也会变得更好。）句意可知“self-conscious”可能是“害羞，紧张”的意思；故选D。

【3】题意：在谈话时，我们应该__________。考查细节理解。A. think about what won’t sound stupid想想什么话听起来不蠢；B. show our interests to the other person向他人展示我们的兴趣；C. try to learn more about the other person试着多了解对方；D. discuss things like the weather in the city讨论城市的天气等问题。根据第8段第三句When you get these clues, use them to start making the conversation a bit more about their life, their opinions, and their experiences.（当你得到这些线索时，用它们开始更多地谈论他们的生活，他们的观点和经历。）可知“在谈话时，我们应该试着多了解对方”；选C。

【4】题意：这篇文章的最佳标题是什么？考查主旨理解。A. The way of starting small talk. 开始谈话的方式；B. Improving our small talk with curiosity. 用好奇心改进我们的谈话；C. The importance of small talk in our life.谈话在我们生活中的重要性；D. Improving our relationship through small talk. 通过谈话改善我们的关系。本文是一篇议论文，本文第一段是本文的中心段，通读全文结合第一段第3句Nothing will improve your networking ability and your ability to make a successful conversation with other people rather than your curiosity(好奇心) about them.（没有什么能比你对他人的好奇心更能提高你的交际能力和与他人成功交谈的能力。）可知本文主要谈论好奇心能提高你的社交能力和与他人成功交谈的能力。根据本文主要内容，可知“这篇文章的最佳标题是用好奇心改进我们的谈话”；选B。