Question

Although Americans are well known for getting down to business, Indians working in overseas teams, MNCs, and BPOs should know the importance of small talk. While Indians have a true interest in talking to Americans and getting to know them, they also hesitate to do so for some reasons. Americans engage in less personal small talk than Indians. And the topics and questions used in English vary widely based on language differences and cultural differences. Here are three things to keep in mind while you are trying to make small talk with your American clients and colleagues.

      Amencans love to ask about, and then complain about the weather. They may talk about how the weather prevented them from having fun or how the weather supported their outdoor events. You can talk about the weather with them to begin a conversation. While talking, they always try to follow up on their answer by asking another open-ended question or make a statement, such as "Wow, that sounds like fun ! " or "You went to St. Louis. In which state is that?" Be creative in your questions. Feel free to ask one or two, but not very personal ones about relations. Stick to the facts or events that were already referred to.

      Sometimes, some words used in India will totally confuse an American. For example, Americans use the word "weekend" instead of "holiday"  for Saturdays and Sundays ( non-working days) , and use the word " vacation"  or " days off"  instead of " out-of-station" .

      Always be interested, optimistic and happy. Talk with a smile! Vary the sound of your voice. Do not sound like a computer. If you are unsure how you sound, a good tip is to record yourself and listen to it later.  Doing this helps you know how your voice sounds, and if you don't sound as you want to be heard, it may be time to work on enhancing your voice.

1.For Indians, having small talk with American colleagues is         .

A. boring  B. useless C. important  D. interesting

2.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A. What Americans like talking about in their daily life.

B. How Americans usually start a conversation with others.

C. Why talking about the weather is good to begin a conversation.

D. What people can say when having small talk with Amencans.

3.What does the underlined word "enhancing" in the last paragraph mean?

A. Lowering.   B. Replacing.  C. Improving.  D. Examining.

4.What’s the writer's purpose in writing the passage?

A. To prove that having small talk is not very hard.

B. To explain why Indians hesitate to talk with Americans.

C. To show the differences between Americans and Indians.

D. To tell how to make small talk with American clients and colleagues.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析: 作者告诉印度人跟美国的同事或客户闲聊时应该注意些什么

1.C 考查推理判断题。根据第一段提到Although Americans are well known for getting down to business, Indians working in overseas teams, MNCs, and BPOs should know the importance of small talk可知与美国同事聊天是非常重要的，故选C项。

2.D主旨大意题。根据第二段的内容可知主要讲如何开始和继续跟美国人的闲聊，故选D项。

3.C词义猜测题。根据“if you don’t sound as you want to be heard”可知需要“改进”说话的声音，故选C项。

4.考查推理判断题。根据文章内容可知作者主要告诉印度人应该如何跟美国的同事或客户闲聊,故选D项

考点 ：文化类阅读。