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本帖最后由 图书馆 于 2015-11-2 20:53 编辑 . [9 J. ^% F' }: v' E
, g7 g4 G3 ~8 y: PHow to respond to "How are you?", "What's up?", and other conversation starters7 t# {. H) q" a/ v+ B3 _
, c& ]+ M, o0 eThere are a few questions that English speakers ask at the beginning of a conversation. These questions are simple tools to find out if there are any interesting topics to discuss.$ m6 m" H" y* g. S) y* k
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You've certainly heard these questions, but you might be confused about how to answer. Here's a list of common answers to the questions "How are you?", "How's it going?", "What's up?", and "What's happening?"
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How are you?
0 H2 b1 Z1 D6 o& ~6 @$ h+ vFine.+ `" P( D8 F. @) M
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This is a simple, straight answer. If you don't say anything else, though, it might be a signal that you don't want to continue the conversation.* I- ?+ R5 r! z* j3 o/ v) I6 A
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Not bad.
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This is a more friendly-sounding answer than "fine".- v7 R7 E8 T$ b- x6 H) Y+ i
! r1 B+ i) \5 LFine, thanks.
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This answer is formal. You might answer this way if someone you don't know, like a waiter at a restaurant, asks how you are.
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Very well, thanks.6 R& w |. q. r2 c1 q. H
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A person who likes to be grammatically proper might answer this way. Technically, the question "How...?" should be answered with an adverb. However, a lot of English speakers don't know or care about this. The people who do are "by the books" types who insist on using grammatically correct language.
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Pretty good.
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3 l2 d# `- z: N; @, a {If you don't care as much about grammar, you can answer "Good" or "Pretty good". It's more common and much, much more casual.% W9 k2 T, s: S( o
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Great! How are you doing?
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This is an enthusiastic, excited response. It's always good to ask a question back to the other person if you want to continue the conversation.0 A! d# d- q7 m1 w* A; F# k, S
, e6 ?$ a( ?$ l# r. ]* `) fI'm hanging in there.
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9 ^3 W0 o* t4 U; j# @This answer makes it sound like you're having a tough day.: X$ W2 O* o# U" ~8 M/ i+ L1 _
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I've been better.- k% s" v5 l) \+ N/ K3 z0 u
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People usually give positive answers to the question "How are you?" If you give a negative answer like this one, it usually means that you want to tell the listener your sad story. So they'll usually ask what's wrong:
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A: How are you?1 ?7 \& R& N5 h/ Y9 g, Z
! b1 V, {% ^' r( h! xB: I've been better.
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A: What's wrong?
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, l: _0 ^, p; Q# P8 P) SB: I just found out that I'm being laid off.
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6 {; d/ \: Q$ H* }# T/ N+ L5 m/ KHow's it going?
' L+ I+ j+ E6 KThis question is similar to "How are you". The answers discussed above all work for "How's it going?" as well.
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Here's another answer that will also work for "How's it going", but not for "How are you?"8 a( Z/ H4 O* V! w
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It's going well.
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This is a friendly, polite answer that's suitable for coworkers, clients, and acquaintances that you haven't seen in a while.
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/ X8 Y- T: E7 Y3 ~! U& sWhat's up?
! j) l4 v7 ~7 u3 w8 J8 }% e* f nThis question means "What's happening in your life?" But you don't have to answer honestly. If you don't want to start a long conversation, you can use one of these standard replies:# n& Q) I% Q% e. v* `( g1 z; ~
2 D0 q( I& G. i0 C2 F2 \& A5 H5 xNothing much.
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This is the most common answer. You can follow it by sharing something interesting that's happening: "Nothing much. Just getting ready for Vanessa's graduation."5 `5 p# m6 o, f# A! U4 B& n$ c! {5 w
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Not a lot.
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This is another really common answer. It's just a bit fresher than "Nothing much" because it's a little less common.0 C3 P1 N2 Z: H
: O, z4 }' a0 v, v- i( CNothing.9 I% Q. k& {; l8 N6 h7 j
/ ?3 c/ k( p6 t7 M6 U [7 sThis is more to-the-point. It might make you seem a little angry or rude.' [! S: r* e7 C4 R' I: c4 O9 x
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Oh, just the usual.1 b$ w9 X, X$ v
# E, o: Z% b: s2 _" \Answer this way if you do mostly the same things each day.
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; l; d+ J/ o/ YJust the same old same old.
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This phrase means that you're doing the same things every day, and you're a little bored of it.- s5 A0 Y4 Z5 R
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Oh gosh, all kinds of stuff!6 C% |" R& \8 N) {, j
6 Q; ^7 r) @. V. `You can answer this way if your life has been really busy and exciting lately., d( p0 L: Z5 I, W3 v6 e
; |8 O8 `" B/ N% D0 A* W, h, vWhat's happening?
) Y$ u4 j$ l) v' t; m2 NThis question means the same thing as "What's up" and can be answered in the same way.
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