1 What’s the Big Deal.doc

What’s the Big Deal About Small Talk? You pull into the parking lot, turn off the engine, and sit for a minute dreading the next two hours. An important client has invited you to an open house in celebration of their new downtown office. You hate these things. You don’t know what to say, you don’t know anyone except the client, and you always feel like you’re trying not to look lost; so you eat and drink more than you should, just to stay occupied. You must attend—that’s a given—but you sink deeper into the front seat and agonize over how long you have to stay. Will dropping by for thirty minutes do the trick, or will you insult one of your best clients if you don’t stay for the whole event? You search for excuses to get yourself out of there early. You could have someone page you at a specified time with a supposed emergency; perhaps one of the kids has a big game; or maybe you’ll just allow your anxiety to carry you right into an illness. VERB?坐下;跪下If you sink, you move into a lower position, for example by sitting down in a chair or kneeling.VERB?感到极度焦虑；苦苦思索If you agonize over something, you feel very anxious about it and spend a long time thinking about it.PHRASAL VERB?顺道拜访;造访If you drop by, you visit someone informally.1.Sometimes a few choice words will?do the trick.?有时说几句尖酸刻薄的话就有人听了。 2.Inhalations of menthol may?do the trick.?吸入薄荷醇或许可以起到作用。 3.I think ten thousand dollars would probably?do the trick. ?我们花一个草头,也许可以提前两天. ”VERB?（在公共场合通过广播）呼叫If someone who is in a public place is paged, they receive a message, often over a speaker, telling them that someone is trying to contact them. Casual conversation happens at least a dozen times a day—on the way into the office, picking up your daughter from soccer practice, riding the elevator with a colleague, fielding a phone call from your mother-in-law, attending an industry meeting, taking a client to lunch, going to a job interview—the list is endless! Yet for some of us, these demands for small talk don’t ever make sm