Part B: Subheading Matching (2018)

Five ways to make conversation with anyone

Conversations are links, which means when you have a conversation with a new person a link gets formed and every conversation you have after that moment will strengthen the link. You meet new people every day: the grocery worker, the cab driver, new people at work or the security guard at the door. Simply starting a conversation with them will form a link. Here are five simple ways that you can make the first move and start a conversation with strangers.

41. ___________________

Suppose you are in a room with someone you don’t know and something within you says “I want to talk with this person”—this is something that mostly happens with all of us. You wanted to say something—the first word—but it just won’t come out, it feels like it is stuck somewhere. I know the feeling and here is my advice: just get it out. Just think: what is the worst that could happen? They won’t talk with you? Well, they are not talking with you now! I truly believe that once you get that first word out everything else will just flow. So keep it simple: “Hi”, “Hey” or “Hello”—do the best you can to gather all of the enthusiasm and energy you can, put on a big smile and say “Hi”.

42. ___________________

It’s a problem all of us face; you have limited time with the person that you want to talk with and you want to make this talk memorable. Honestly, if we got stuck in the rut of “hi”, “hello”, “how are you?” and “what’s going on?”, you will fail to give the initial jolt to the conversation that can make it so memorable. So don’t be afraid to ask more personal questions. Trust me, you’ll be surprised to see how much people are willing to share if you just ask.

43. ___________________

When you meet a person for the first time, make an effort to find the things which you and that person have in common so that you can build the conversation from that point. When you start conversation from there and then move outwards, you’ll find all of a sudden that the conversation becomes a lot easier.

44. ___________________

Imagine you are pouring your heart out to someone and they are just busy on their phone, and if you ask for their attention you get the response “I can multitask”. So when someone tries to communicate with you, just be in that communication wholeheartedly. Make eye contact. Trust me, eye contact is where all the magic happens. When you make eye contact, you can feel the conversation.

45. ___________________

You all came into a conversation where you first met the person, but after some time you may have met again and have forgotten their name. Isn’t that awkward! So, remember the little details of the people you met or you talked with; perhaps the places they have been to, the places they want to go, the things they like, the things they hate—whatever you talk about. When you remember such things you can automatically become investor in their wellbeing. So they feel a responsibility to you to keep that relationship going.

Options

[A]Just say it 

[B]Be present 

[C]Pay a unique compliment 

[D]Name, places, things 

[E]Find the “me too”s 

[F]Skip the small talk 

[G]Ask for an opinion 

答案解析 (Answers & Analysis)

41. 对应 [A] Just say it (直接说出来)
【定位】段落中提到 “the first word... won’t come out（第一个词说不出口）”、“it is stuck somewhere（卡在某处了）”。作者给出的核心建议是：“just get it out（把它说出来）”以及“once you get that first word out everything else will just flow（一旦你说出第一个词，剩下的就顺畅了）”。这完全契合 [A] 选项。

42. 对应 [F] Skip the small talk (跳过闲聊)
【定位】段落指出如果我们陷入“hi, hello, how are you”这种套路（rut）中，谈话将难以令人难忘。建议是：“don’t be afraid to ask more personal questions（不要害怕问更多私人问题）”。问私人问题即意味着跳过表面的寒暄（small talk），对应 [F]。

43. 对应 [E] Find the “me too”s (寻找“我也是”/寻找共同点)
【定位】关键词：“find the things which you and that person have in common（找到你和那个人的共同点）”。“have in common”是 [E] 选项 “Find the 'me too's” 的完美释义。

44. 对应 [B] Be present (身心在场/专注当下)
【定位】段落描述了对方只顾玩手机（busy on their phone）的反面案例。建议是：“just be in that communication wholeheartedly（全心全意投入交流）”并保持“eye contact（眼神交流）”。专注于对方且不分心，即为“Be present”，对应 [B]。

45. 对应 [D] Name, places, things (姓名、地点、事物)
【定位】段落列举了需要记住的细节：“forgotten their name（忘记姓名）”、“the places they have been to（去过的地点）”、“the things they like（喜欢的事物）”。这些列举项直接对应 [D] 选项的标题内容。