PartⅠCulture Referance

Background Information

Theme-Related Media

Part ⅡReading

In Class Reading

Exercises of Passage 1

After Class Reading

Exercises of Passage 2

Part ⅢTrying Your Hand

Senctence Writing

Applied Writing

Part Ⅳ Practice Test

Vocabulary

Reading

Conversation

Part V Just For Fun

In England， people don’t usually talk very much. You can go on a bus， or in a train，

and everyone sits looking out of the window. Often they read. They read books and paper，

but they don’t talk much. When you meet English people， they often talk about one thing －the weather. So when you meet someone in England， you can say，“Nice weather in the time

of year. ” “But it’s a little cold. ” Someone may answer. “But it’ll be warmer later!” you can say.

The English will think， “How friendly you are!”

为什么英国人喜欢谈论天气？

仅作为话头或打招呼（英国人内向、沉默寡言或太谨慎，谈论天气是一个很好的

话题）、英国的天气多变、英国人对天气的思考与谈论有悠久的历史等等.

与英国人谈论天气切记不要不同意或反驳对方的观点，这是谈论天气的礼节。

Just Making Conversation
“It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather,”

the 18th century writer Samuel Johnson famously remarked. This is often the case today, but

what makes the English as a nation obsessed with the elements?

Look at any book or website that teaches foreigners English and one of the first conversations

you can learn is about the weather. One site says, “English speakers love to talk about the weather. Learn the proper vocabulary and expressions, and you will find it easy to start a conversation

anytime and anywhere with anyone you meet!”
George Mikes in his book about English traits, How To Be An Alien, sums it up perfectly when

he says the weather is the most important topic in the land – an ever-interesting, thrilling subject

that you must be good at discussing. 
The Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, suggested another reason why people might discuss the weather.

In his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Gwendolen says, “Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain

that they mean something else.”
This is also what Kate Fox, author of Watching The English, thinks – conversations are not really

about the weather at all, but code to help us overcome our natural reserve and actually talk to each other. They serve as a simple greeting, an ice-breaker or back-up for when the conversation falters. 

3月23日是世界气象日，就让我们一起来谈谈“天”吧!

英国人最爱谈论天气，陌生人之间也通常以谈论天气开始搭讪。

他们都是怎么开始的呢？
Kevin: What's it like out?         
John: It's sunny.
哈，原来这么简单啊！
提示：询问天气如何还可以说 How's the weather?
干旱的地方，雨水是很重要的。有时候，人们也会这样开始：
Andy: Has it rained recently?
Adam: We haven't had a drop of rain for weeks.
（我们好几个星期都没有下过雨了。）评论：真是太糟糕啦！