Question

【題目】You are a new manager at the American branch of your German firm in Chicago. With a few minutes to spare between meetings, you go to get a quick cup of coffee.

“Hey, David, how are you?” one of the senior partners at the firm asks you.

“Good, thank you, Dr. Greer,” you reply. You’ve really been wanting to make a connection with the senior leadership at the firm, and this seems like a great opportunity. But as you start to think of something to say, your American colleague breaks in to steal your spotlight.

“So Arnold”, your colleague says to your boss, in such a casual manner that it makes your German soul cringe(畏縮), “So what’s your Super bowl prediction? I mean, you’re a Niners fan, right?” The conversation moves on, and you walk silently back to your desk with your coffee. You know how important small talk is in the U. S. , and you feel jealous of people who can do it well.

There’s nothing small about the role that small talk plays in American professional culture. People from other countries are often surprised at how important small talk is in the U. S. and how naturally and comfortably people seem to do it—with peers，men，women，and even with superiors. You can be the most technically skilled worker in the world, but your ability to progress in your job in the United States is highly dependent on your ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people at work. And guess what skill is critical for building and maintaining these relationships? Small talk.

What can you do if you are from another culture and want to learn to use small talk in the U. S. to build relationships and establish trust? Work hard to hone(磨練)your own version of American-style small talk. Watch how others do it. You don’t have to mimic what they do; in fact, that would likely backfire because people would see you as inauthentic. But if you can develop your own personal version, that can go a long way toward making you feel comfortable.

【1】 The author introduces the topic of the passage by __________.

A. raising an interesting question

B. telling a small jokes

C. making comparisons

D. describing an interesting scene

【2】What do we know about German people?

A. They usually make small talk in work breaks.

B. They don’t make so much small talk.

C. They hate making small talk.

D. They are good at making small talk too.

【3】 What makes people from other countries surprised in American professional culture?

A. The role small talk plays in work settings.

B. American workers’ attitude towards superiors.

C. The special meaning of small talk.

D. American workers’ ability to make progress.

【4】What does “backfire” underlined in the last paragraph mean?

A. be difficult B. be helpful

C. have the opposite effect D. have a good result

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】A

【4】C

【解析】

試題分析：本文向一名德國公司在美國的分公司的一名新經理介紹美國的小談話是多么的重要。來自其他國家的人們經常會對美國的小談話多么重要而感到驚訝。

【1】D推理判斷題。根據第一段You are a new manager at the American branch of your German firm in Chicago. With a few minutes to spare between meetings, you go to get a quick cup of coffee.你是芝加哥德國公司在美國的分公司的一名新經理。在會議之間抽出幾分鐘的時間，你去喝一杯咖啡。根據第三段最后兩句The conversation moves on, and you walk silently back to your desk with your coffee. You know how important small talk is in the U. S. , and you feel jealous of people who can do it well.談話繼續(xù)，帶著你的咖啡沉默地回到你的辦公桌。你知道在美國小的談話是多么重要，你會感到嫉妒那些做得很好的人。故選D。

【2】B推理判斷題。根據第三段第一句中in such a casual manner that it makes your German soul cringe(畏縮)。在這樣一種隨意的方式，結果使你的德國靈魂畏縮。可知他們不做這么多的小談話。故選B。

【3】A推理判斷題。根據第四段第二句People from other countries are often surprised at how important small talk is in the U. S.來自其他國家的人們經常會對美國的小談話多么重要而感到驚訝。故選A。

【4】C詞義猜測題。根據最后一段中Watch how others do it. You don’t have to mimic what they do; in fact, that would likely backfire because people would see you as inauthentic.觀看別人怎么做。你不必模仿他們所做的；事實上，這可能會適得其反，因為人們會認為你不真實�？芍猙ackfire的意思是“有一個相反的影響”。故選C。