Book6-Module1 Small Talk

Vocabulary and Reading

大竹中学 张剑锋

Pre-reading Activity 1 Look at the picture and discuss.

What do you think about Social Skills?

Have you ever crossed the road to avoid talking to someone you recognise?

Would you love to go to a party and talk confidently to every guest?

Do you want to make more friends but lack the confidence to talk to people you don’t know?

Are you nervous about the idea of being at a social event in another country?

Ask Yourself

Activity 2 Complete the sentences in A1,P2.

1. The singer was really good! She _________ me

a lot!

2. He had an accident and ________ his bicycle.

3. Don’t shout at the children. You should

_________ them to do better.

4. Make sure you _______ for your English

examination. Do more homework!

5. At the party, I __________ a boy who used to

attend my school.

impressed

damaged

encourage

prepare

recognised

1. When I meet strangers, I don’t like to talk about myself, so I _____ answering personal questions.

2. There are very few foreign visitors to my town, so we ____ the opportunity to meet people from other countries.

sigh yawn nod avoid lack smile

avoid

lack

Activity 3Activity 3 Complete the sentences Complete the sentences in A4,P3.

3. I said that we don’t have enough opportunity to speak English and he ______ his head in agreement.

4. I think the man I spoke to was tired—he _______ a lot.

5. He looked very sad when I asked him about his home. He _____ when he answered me.

6. I felt very welcome when I arrived at the party. The host ______ at me and shook my hand.

nodded

yawned

smiled

sighed

Activity 1 Read the passage and decide what kind of book it is from. Choose from this list.

• an English teaching book• a business course• a book which tells you what to do at social events• a book to help you prepare for a speaking examination

Skimming

How to do small talk

Dos and don’ts while listening

Introduction to the body of the passage by asking questions

The social rules

Part1 (pra.1-2)

Part2 (pra. 3)

Part3 (pra. 4-7)

Part4 (pra. 8)

Activity 2 Try to find the main idea of each part:

Skimming

hobby salary exam film age food music sport income study film/sport star religion( 宗教 ) politics travel weather pet

Which of these topics can/ cannot be talked about?

Learn how to do small talk

Fast-reading

hobby salary exam film age food music sport income study film/sport starreligion( 宗教 ) politics travel weather pet

True or False?

1.You can often change the topics according to your own interest.

2.We should keep good eye contact.

3.You can yawn and sigh while listening.

4.We should smile and nod while

listening.

Develop your listening skills

Read the passage and fill in the blanks.

Do … Don’t …

have some low-risk topics

show that you are listening

keep good eye contact

use positive body language

ask for more information

remember some social rules

look at your watch

yawn

sigh

look away from the person

change the subject

finish others’ sentences

What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. No pains, no gains.

B. The early bird gets the worm.

C. When in Rome, do as the

Romans do.

Learn the rules

Careful-reading Activity 1 True or False

1. It is quite difficult to develop the social skills.2. If you don’t want to damage your confidence then

you should avoid some topics to strangers.3. If you want to impress other people, don’t talk too

much.4. You shouldn’t ask any question while other

people are speaking.5. Changing the subject is necessary as a listener.6. Not all the flowers are welcomed by the host.7. Wherever you go, you’d better find out the social

rules there first.

Activity 2 Read the passage again carefully and choose the correct answers.1. To show you are a good listener, which of the following you mustn’t do? A. Use encouraging noises and gestures— smiling, nodding, saying “uh-huh” and “OK”, etc. B. Talk as much as possible. C. Ask for some information to show you are interested in the topic. D. Keep looking at the other person’s eyes.

2. According to the passage, which skill do most people lack during communication? A. Listening. B. Speaking. C. Body language. D. Eye contact.3. If you want to impress people, you’d better not do the following things except ____. A. use encouraging noises and gestures, and occasionally ask for more information to show your interest. B. look at your watch frequently. C. talk too much about yourself. D. change the subject or finish other people’s sentences for them.

4. It can be inferred from the text that _____. A. if you talk to a man about his private things, he will like talking to you B. if you talk to a man about the topics that he is interested in, he will have a lot to talk to you C. the man likes talking to you for hours if you talk to him about the topics you are interested in D. people are always interested in what they do not know

5. Which of the following can be drawn( 推论 ) from the passage? A. It is important for you to remember different social rules if you go to a social occasion in in another country. B. Listening is a skill which is as important as speaking. C. Learning some good social skills and having a good preparation for the topics can help you have a conversation at any social events. D. When you are talking to a man, you’d better talk as much as possible.

In order to have good social skills, we need to:

Think of “safe” small talk topics

Develop listening skills

Learn social rules of different countries

Post-reading Summary

Activity 1 Complete the passage based on the text.

• Small talk ________ you for more serious __________ . You should be _______ and have some _______ conversation openers ______.For example, you can think of a recent ___ ____ or tell people about your _____. In order not to damage your ________ you should talk about _______ things and avoid talking about some ______ to strangers.

preparesconversations prepared

low-riskready

news storystudiesconfidence “Safe

” topics

• Communication is a______ process– it ______ speaking and listening. You will _____ people if you ____ talk too much. By using ________ noises and ________ you can show that you are _______. You should use _______ body language. There are also some don’ts. For example, you shouldn’t _____ ____ from the person who’ s talking to you and don’t _____ the subject or____ other people’s sentences for them.

two-wayinvolves

impress don’tencouraging gestures

listeningpositive

look awaychange finish

• If you go to a ____ _____ in another country, remember that social ___ can be ______. In some countries, you have to arrive ___ ___ at a party; in other counties, you don’t need to.__ _______, you need to know how long you should ___. Also, in some countries, you _____ take flowers of a _____ color, because they are ______. Whatever it is, you should ___ ____ first.

social occasionrules

differenton time

In additionstay

mustn’tcertain unlucky

find out

⑴ be nervous about ⑺ 提前做计划

⑵ prepare for ⑻ 准备好某事

⑶ think of ⑼ 双向过程

⑷ eye contact ⑽ 感兴趣

⑸ look away from ⑾ 除了 ... 以外

⑹ find out ⑿ 某种颜色的花

对……紧张

为……做准备

想起

眼神交流

眼光从……移开

查出

do advance planning

get sth. ready

a two-way process

show interest in

in addition to

flowers of a certain color

Activity 2 Translate these phrases.

Homework

• Remember new words and phrases.

• Review the whole passage and finish

relative exercises.