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本帖最后由 图书馆 于 2015-11-2 20:53 编辑
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, z' M# `# t* o8 qHow to respond to "How are you?", "What's up?", and other conversation starters3 t0 ^* q9 B. y. d# [2 \/ R8 z3 M3 m
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There are a few questions that English speakers ask at the beginning of a conversation. These questions are simple tools to find out if there are any interesting topics to discuss.' q1 X3 F" T+ Q% [, Y; d
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You've certainly heard these questions, but you might be confused about how to answer. Here's a list of common answers to the questions "How are you?", "How's it going?", "What's up?", and "What's happening?"
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How are you?
* R" X+ a5 j; t; v6 yFine.2 q$ P( ]0 Q' g
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This is a simple, straight answer. If you don't say anything else, though, it might be a signal that you don't want to continue the conversation.7 W( x3 c# n- l5 d
( L4 l* \* A: Y; C$ T, Q* MNot bad.
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This is a more friendly-sounding answer than "fine".
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Fine, thanks.; Z) v% G& X5 y& U# j
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This answer is formal. You might answer this way if someone you don't know, like a waiter at a restaurant, asks how you are./ C6 E P, K$ V- c: U
) h {+ K0 L) C' @+ W4 x c" mVery well, thanks., E6 x- |; b' f6 j1 q! _8 Y# ^2 A
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A person who likes to be grammatically proper might answer this way. Technically, the question "How...?" should be answered with an adverb. However, a lot of English speakers don't know or care about this. The people who do are "by the books" types who insist on using grammatically correct language./ l. o2 a& |4 z6 ]! @) n
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Pretty good.
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4 l$ C# ]* j+ J/ JIf you don't care as much about grammar, you can answer "Good" or "Pretty good". It's more common and much, much more casual.# H4 b$ E5 g# P) U( O! l
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Great! How are you doing?( d4 U4 l1 K: J
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This is an enthusiastic, excited response. It's always good to ask a question back to the other person if you want to continue the conversation.
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, l7 Y& G. H# w' l' v$ r9 I) r3 kI'm hanging in there.
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This answer makes it sound like you're having a tough day.
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I've been better.; _. C5 @5 u& ]' n t) w
" K0 o9 o# X. C$ t& a9 PPeople usually give positive answers to the question "How are you?" If you give a negative answer like this one, it usually means that you want to tell the listener your sad story. So they'll usually ask what's wrong:$ L7 [( e" G8 E4 K4 r7 n* ~
; }# P3 v, O8 tA: How are you?8 B5 |' A# X# B) h# L3 F
" S" x K# P9 W8 H& g8 _5 ]B: I've been better.
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A: What's wrong?
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B: I just found out that I'm being laid off.
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9 Z9 U0 G' Y' v+ _' E6 D: BHow's it going?
% l( j% S* k9 {8 u% Z ]* OThis question is similar to "How are you". The answers discussed above all work for "How's it going?" as well.2 P) d; c1 l+ {6 R
' I& l0 v' Y6 |) R( ]3 {Here's another answer that will also work for "How's it going", but not for "How are you?"+ _4 ]" l- g- u5 _$ y
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It's going well. + m1 e: r) A `7 D& E1 J3 I
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This is a friendly, polite answer that's suitable for coworkers, clients, and acquaintances that you haven't seen in a while. ! D1 I: e2 I1 x. _5 f8 g
) H* L/ ]" O% W( B- ]( F' g- yWhat's up?
$ P, m' _$ u2 @" l. _This question means "What's happening in your life?" But you don't have to answer honestly. If you don't want to start a long conversation, you can use one of these standard replies:
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5 W. z5 M# ?/ i |# u( X3 nNothing much." n0 f7 ?, i w0 }/ g' {5 {
b( ~9 C3 b9 |! c- s+ wThis is the most common answer. You can follow it by sharing something interesting that's happening: "Nothing much. Just getting ready for Vanessa's graduation."7 o$ N, J; T( |% V
* R2 w0 U* u4 l* e; RNot a lot.
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$ A/ u8 K1 X, Y; }9 S' xThis is another really common answer. It's just a bit fresher than "Nothing much" because it's a little less common.; f5 w# N% O! h" N' }1 D: d; I
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Nothing.: v o4 ` _( T; f# `
! J9 q, K" e; K$ H1 ]/ mThis is more to-the-point. It might make you seem a little angry or rude.% ^9 o1 J7 @7 F# c
i7 x A& l2 OOh, just the usual.9 j& i7 b2 S' d8 F/ S' S1 m8 e
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Answer this way if you do mostly the same things each day.4 q7 ]$ D; @+ f' l2 Q! E! t: O: ^
- \/ Q% l# X |* RJust the same old same old.
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This phrase means that you're doing the same things every day, and you're a little bored of it.. v+ x$ o; u6 I8 X. [% _
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Oh gosh, all kinds of stuff!; |5 Q8 Q3 ^) Y" J" a9 e8 B( C
: g/ f9 {2 @2 w) z' x; qYou can answer this way if your life has been really busy and exciting lately.
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What's happening?7 H S6 B4 S" a) L ?
This question means the same thing as "What's up" and can be answered in the same way.+ j T: a0 W! f% \1 g
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