新东方王强口语第二册23-口语部分
口语部分
文化篇
Read the text carefully and be prepared to answer the question:
Conversational Style
People from some cultures are suspicious of the glib way Americans talk, and think of us as being insincere. Someone that has something to say about everything can't really know very much, right? But Americans think highly of people who have quick minds and can comment on anything. They make for a lot of merry chatter, especially among friends.
But there are also those, like the French, for example, who think that Americans are tiresome talkers. Ask one question, and you're sure to get a long, tedious reply, they say. But we think that if you ask us something, you want all the information we have. To us, talk isn't simply a meaningless discussion; it's an exchange of facts. In some cultures, people only listen to the opinion of a close friend. Not Americans. We want all the information so that we can form our own opinions. To those who study American culture, this is obvious in our love for statistics.
But we hate silence. If there is a break in conversation and no one has anything to say, there is an uncomfortable pause until somebody comes up with a new topic to talk about. For party on the edge of an awkward silence, almost any topic of conversation will be accepted. Americans are not all smooth talkers. Many young people spend their growing years glued to the television, and don't show much conversational skill. But these youngsters are not the best of their generation and will not do well, no matter where they end up.
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