Why We Talk About the Weather
為什麼我們聊天氣
— English reading, C1
文章
Foreigners are often puzzled by how much time the British spend discussing the weather. Far from being a sign of having nothing to say, however, weather talk serves a social purpose.
外國人常常不解，為什麼英國人花那麼多時間談論天氣。然而，聊天氣絕不是無話可說的表現，它有社交上的作用。
Anthropologists describe it as a kind of greeting ritual. Remarking that it is cold invites agreement, and agreement creates a small but real moment of connection between strangers.
人類學家把它描述為一種打招呼的儀式。說一句「好冷啊」會引來對方附和，而附和就在陌生人之間創造出一個雖小卻真實的連結時刻。
Notably, the rules are strict. One is expected to agree; contradicting someone's comment about the rain would be considered faintly rude.
值得注意的是，規則很嚴格。你應該表示同意；反駁別人對下雨的評論，會被認為有點失禮。
生詞
puzzled 困惑的
serve 發揮（作用）
anthropologist 人類學家
ritual 儀式
remark 說；評論
notably 值得注意的是
contradict 反駁
faintly 略微地