1 Reference Key for Simulated Test of Chapter 1 Section A Sample Talk When meeting old or new customers or business partners, people seldom get directly down to business after exchanging greetings because that might be thought too business like, cold and abrupt. Both parties need a bit warming-up. So they resort to small talk, talking about impersonal topics such as weather, food, local impression, etc.，among which, the safest and most popular topic is weather. People like talking about weather for it offends nobody, yet it affects everybody’s life. It is of great concern to business people who travel a lot. Whenever they come to a new place, the first thing they notice is the weather difference. Besides weather, you can talk about local food, people or places of interest. But be sure not to touch upon sensitive political or religious issues especially when your stand is at odds with your partner. If you do, amid heated discussion, you might lose your head, lose your temper and worst of all, lose the customer! Therefore, be careful with the choice of the topics for small talk. A congenial chat may pave your way to further business discussion while improper small talk may ruin your business opportunity. Section B Reference Key for Sentence Interpretation from Chinese to English： 1. 您一定就是我们盼望已久的客人莫卡帕先生吧。 You must be our long-expected guest, Mr. Mkapa. 2. 但愿您在（中国）这里逗留愉快。 I hope you’ve had a pleasant stay here. Section C Sample Dialogue Zhang Xiaoqiang: May I sit here? Judy Smith: Yes, please. Zhang Xiaoqiang: Another raining day, isn’t it? Judy Smith: Does it rain like this all year long in Nanchang? Zhang Xiaoqiang: No, no. Only for a couple of months....
