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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Small talk is meaningless conversation in terms of content,but is often seen as socially important in certain situations,or context.In many English-speaking countries,it can be viewed as rude or unfriendly not to make small talk. Discussing the weather with people who you don't really know is an example of small talk that many of us are very familiar with on a daily basis.We may chat about the weather with the cashier at the supermarket or with the attendant at the gas station.Small talk may also be related to the situation such as waiting in line.People in the line may comment to others about how slow it is in the post office or bank that day,for instance.We also engage in small talk with people we may see every day but don't really know such as those we share the elevator with in our office building. Small talk is common at parties when guests may know the host but not each other.It is considered rude not to mingle and speak with other guests at social functions,so small talk can break the ice and get guests chatting.Compliments may be a type of small talk such as one woman at party complimenting another on her dress. Some people like small talk because they find silence uncomfortable and/or they enjoy communicating verbally.Others enjoy meeting new people and use small talk to start conversations. When making small talk,especially with strangers or those you don't know very well,it's important to observe certain socially acceptable conventions.First,small talk should be general and not personal or about controversial topics. Second,while compliments are acceptable,they shouldn't refer to the person's body or sound like a pick-up line. Question: What do people usually talk about in small talk? Options: A: Light topics. B: Personal topics. C: Meaningless things. D: Controversial affairs.
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A


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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all and what is more,I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre,I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city. I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops then got it off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly. I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed. About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station, Question: The writer's real trouble was that  _  . Options: A: he couldn't speak the language B: he followed the policeman's direction C: he took the wrong bus D: he left the town-centre
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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: So there are four of them in this car heading north from Coleman in the heart of Texas to the town of Abilene  , some 53 miles away. It is a hot day, and the drive is dusty and boring. Someone has had the bright idea to interrupt a nice family game of dominoes   to go on a four-hour round-trip to eat at a really not very good restaurant. When they are back home again, one family member admits that she hasn't enjoyed herself all that much. One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home. "I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go," says everyone. No one wanted to go to Abilene. It had just happened. This story was first told by Professor Jerry Harvey in an article published in 1974 calledThe Abilene Paradox   and other meditations on management. It offers a wonderful insight into the way that decisions can sometimes just emerge, without ever being consciously "made". Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform  . A senior management team can find itself a long way down the track to a bad decision without realizing that the idea has very little support around the table. Close-knit   teams are easily influenced by the pull of groupthink. The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. Two key steps are to invite experts from outside into meetings, and to appoint at least one person to the role of "devil's advocate" -- a role that should be played by different people in different meetings. Question: When they are back home, they find that  _  . Options: A: they have not really trusted each other B: they have all enjoyed the trip except one family member C: they would have had a better time if they had stayed at home D: they have all had a good time although none of them wanted to go
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assistant: C