在办公室与老外闲聊的口语

Western Office Conversation

西方办公室对话

Westerners use a lot of 'small talk' in the office. 'Small talk' means that conversations are short, easy and impersonal. Some westerners love small talk and are very good at it, while others do not like it and avoid it. However, it is always polite and friendly, and you will never be regarded poorly for trying to make small talk.

西方人在办公室中有很多“闲聊”（small talk）。'small talk' 的意思是说这些交谈都很短、很简单，不是什么私人话题。有的西方人很喜欢闲聊，也对这个很在行。而也有人不喜欢，不怎么闲聊的。无论如何，闲聊总是礼貌而友好的。如果你试着开始闲聊，人们绝不会觉得你烦。

Every office is different, but people usually do not feel comfortable discussing religion, salaries, family relations (like parents, cousins or mothers-in-law) and occupational goals (like where your colleague may want to work next) in the office.

每个办公室都不同，但人们一般不会喜欢在办公室聊宗教、薪水、家庭关系（像是父母、表兄妹、岳母一类）以及职业目标（比如你的同事以后想在哪儿工作）

Westerners may feel uncomfortable if you answer this question negatively. Unless you are very familiar with a colleague (usually talk about personal lives, spend time together outside of the office), it is best to stay positive in your small talk.

如果你用否定的方式回答这些问题，西方人可能会觉得比较奇怪。除非你真的跟一个同事很熟（经常聊私人生活，或是下班也一起玩）。最好还是用肯定的答案回答这些“small talk”吧。