Conversation Tips 交談溝通秘籍

　　* Speak about location: Americans love to talk about location. When speaking to a stranger, ask them where they are from and then make a connection with that place. For example: "Oh, I have a friend who studied in Los Angeles. He says it's a beautiful place to live." Most Americans will then willingly talk about their experiences living or visiting that particular city or area.

　　談論地點：美國人喜歡談論地點。和陌生人說話的時候，可以問問他們從哪里來然后找到自己跟那個地方的聯系。比如可以說：“啊，我有個朋友在洛杉磯學習，他說那地方很漂亮。”這時大部分美國人就會很愿意談起他們居住或者到過那個特殊的地方或地區的經歷。

　　* Talk about work: Americans commonly ask "What do you do?". It's not considered impolite (as in some countries) and is a popular topic of discussion between strangers.

　　談論工作：美國人通常會問“What do you do?”在某些國家會被認為這是不禮貌的，但美國不是的，這只是陌生人之間聊天的一個流行話題。

　　* Talk about sports: Americans love sports! However, they love American sports. When speaking about football, most Americans understand "American Football", not soccer.

　　談論運動：美國人超愛運動！不過，他們喜歡美國的運動。如果說到football，大部分美國人會理解成橄欖球而不是足球。

　　* Be careful when expressing ideas about race, religion or other sensitive topics: The United States is a multi-cultural society. Especially in the last few years, Americans are trying very hard to be sensitive to other cultures and ideas. Talking about sensitive topics like religion or beliefs, is often avoided in order to be sure not to offend someone of a different belief system. This is often referred to as being "politically correct".

　　說到種族、宗教或者其他敏感話題要小心：美國是一個多文化的社會。特別是近幾年，美國人對其他文化和觀點非常特別的敏感。像宗教或者信仰之類的敏感話題通常都不會在談話中提及，以免冒犯別人。這就是經常被提到的“政治正確”。