How to Improve Your Conversation Skills‏

If you want to improve your English conversation skills, you only have to do one thing:
TALK. Of course, that’s not as easy as it sounds. It takes courage to speak to
people in a foreign language. Besides that, it requires a willingness to make verbal

errors. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake that they never open their mouths. And that’s the biggest blunder of all.
如果你希望能增進你英語會話的技巧，那麼你只須做一件事就夠了，那就是：說！當然，
聽起來很容易，但做起來卻不然。用外文和人交談，是需要勇氣的。除此之外，你還要
肯犯口語上的錯誤。有些人因為非常害怕犯錯，而不願開口，那其實是最愚蠢的錯誤。
Like city traffic, a conversation in a foreign language doesn’t always flow smoothly. Not to worry, though. When you hit a “traffic jam” in your conversation, you can find a way around it. Here are a few ideas:
When you don’t understand—"Excuse me, but could you say that again? I didn’t catch it."
When the speaker talks too fast—"Could you speak more slowly, please?"
When you don’t agree—"I’m not sure I can agree."
When you want to change the subject—"By the way . . . “ or “Speaking of . . ."
Sad to say, but all good things must come to an end. Whether you're in a conversation (or an article, like this one), you need to find a way to exit gracefully.
就像市區的交通，用外語對話並不總是那麼流暢。但別擔心，當在對話中發生了「交通
阻塞」，你可以找一個迂迴之法。下面是幾個點子：
當你沒聽懂時——「抱歉，能否請你再說一遍，我沒聽懂。」
當說話者速度太快時——「能否請你說慢一點？」
你不同意時——「我不認為我同意你…」
你想換個話題時——「題外話…」或「說到…」
很可惜的是，所有美妙的事總有個結束；不論你在一段談話中或是一篇文章裡——就像
這一篇——你都需要找到一個優雅的退場方式。
Whatever you do, don’t just stop suddenly and say, “Goodbye!” Instead, give your partner a signal like the following:
＊ "Well, I really need to be going . . ."
＊ "It was nice talking to you." (Note past tense.)
＊ "Well, I’m sure you’ve got other things to do."
＊ "Oh, look at the time!"
Unless your partner ignores your signal (which is very rude), you can begin to negotiate an end to your conversation:
＊ "OK, talk to you later."
＊ "Take care."
＊ "Have a nice (weekend)."
不論你在做什麼，別突然地打住，然後說「再見！」相反的，給你的談話對象一個
如下的信號：
＊「唔，我真的必須走了…」
＊「和你談話真好（注意英文用過去式）」
＊「嗯，我想你一定還有其他的事要做…」
＊「哇，時間過得真快！」
除非對方忽視你的信號（這是很不禮貌的作法），那麼你就可以給你的談話轉而做個結束：
＊「好了，下次再和你聊。」
＊「保重。」
＊「祝你有個愉快的（週末）。」Have you ever experienced the frustration of not being able to find the right English word? It’s no fun, is it? You’ve almost got it—the word is on the tip of your tongue—but you just can’t get it to come out. Developing a good vocabulary will help decrease your discomfort. It goes without saying that studying vocabulary is a key part of language learning.
你是否曾因找不著合適的英文字而感到挫折呢？這一點也不好玩，對不對？你幾乎就
快想到了——那個字幾乎就要脫口而出了——但你就是說不出來。建立豐富的字彙有
助於減輕你的痛苦。不用說也知道，學習字彙是學習語言的一個主要部份。



⊙Word Bank
verbal (adj) 口頭上的
blunder (n) 愚蠢的錯誤; 謬誤
catch something (v phr) 聽到, 瞭解某事
traffice jam (n phr) 交通擁擠, 此指障礙
negotiate (v) 商議frustration (n) 挫折
discomfort (n) 不適; 不快
on the tip of one's tongue (prep phr) 就在嘴邊上; 一時記不起來



@The Day's Phrase

Doing your own marketing may not be as hard as you think
DIY行銷
自己做行銷或許沒有你想得那麼困難
In an effort to save space in landfills, the government made it illegal for shops to give free plastic bags with purchases.
政府致力於節省垃圾掩埋場的空間，於是制定法令規定商家不得免費提供購物塑膠袋。
Please don't litter! Your garbage makes the park less beautiful for others.請不要亂丟垃圾！你的垃圾會破壞公園的美觀。

My adventures in South Korea began with an important language lesson
我學會韓文的好玩方式
我在南韓的冒險旅程從一堂重要的語言課程開始
Last year, because of the drought, we had water rationing every other day.
去年，因乾旱之故，我們每隔一天實施限量供水。

Meet the Gentlemen of the Road
蒙福之子樂團
來見識蒙福之子樂團
Maggie won't buy that brand of tuna because they have a bad reputation for catching dolphins in their fishing nets.
梅姬不買那個牌子的鮪魚罐頭，因為他們有用漁網捕捉海豚的惡名。