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本帖最后由 图书馆 于 2015-11-2 20:53 编辑 * I5 x/ {& U2 U/ h$ n
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How to respond to "How are you?", "What's up?", and other conversation starters
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4 {2 ?# }( n( V( |2 V9 P1 U2 s7 _There 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.
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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?
1 H- B& R" W) T" a- fFine." ]: ]# F0 \: g
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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.
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Not bad.; R5 V6 w! L* N7 _: x
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This is a more friendly-sounding answer than "fine".' V2 w5 y( e! |4 ]& F/ Z4 j8 y+ k
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Fine, thanks.
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+ q2 ~: |) t+ Z+ J: _. }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.
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+ I" ~* e6 p/ s3 x2 sA 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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. Y+ ^7 y7 r3 e5 N0 iIf you don't care as much about grammar, you can answer "Good" or "Pretty good". It's more common and much, much more casual.3 _3 C# Z7 w6 r' E2 Y# N
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Great! How are you doing?, g% x5 \2 W# b8 K, S& t% K! \3 Z! Y
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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.
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- ]' Z m. F% I k. R7 D n+ p8 w) [I'm hanging in there.) i: M. M7 q$ }6 i" C; {
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This answer makes it sound like you're having a tough day.
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: A$ }. E6 q( r' x' X) Q. Y" \I've been better.
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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: P$ Q: Z) l! M0 ~
/ T' Z+ B! X/ W: S8 M; |: L0 FA: How are you?: S" f2 |9 s: F2 w4 p+ t. Q
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B: I've been better.$ A+ q( ]/ q* L
# z3 Q: f3 B* N A; @3 q0 M4 X% t4 |A: What's wrong?" p* G/ G9 p0 ]8 c
M+ C$ A/ S! Q2 ZB: I just found out that I'm being laid off.9 p+ S4 |0 e+ ~
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How's it going?
8 i4 l N: [2 W( l5 ^; v/ A+ }This question is similar to "How are you". The answers discussed above all work for "How's it going?" as well.% p% n) I2 _& W- Y* Z g. `/ E+ j
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Here's another answer that will also work for "How's it going", but not for "How are you?"
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8 }1 P% _3 m7 }, u) TIt's going well. ; M% l$ s* h5 N5 Z4 ?
; m, I: V# J( ]# R* WThis 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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What's up?% Z& Z) p' t; P% B- c7 q
This 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:4 I, ?5 b+ ^& b9 D. o( p |
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Nothing much.$ D+ [/ X/ [( R
r9 G$ e( W" U4 ]7 G& Q( t0 ~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."
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Not a lot.; F( ?% i z2 h& w: N
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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.
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! m) _# [ D' b& @/ q+ h" PNothing.7 k4 V- K6 T4 X3 |
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This is more to-the-point. It might make you seem a little angry or rude.2 O/ _6 g5 Z6 h5 H2 m! n `7 J
* ]- M$ }7 L2 ?- f( u4 fOh, just the usual.
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- i6 ^1 L4 M: r9 G$ _Answer this way if you do mostly the same things each day.
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2 ^ r* [. N( a, b8 _5 X8 XJust the same old same old.
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" \) N& V, s4 B" rThis phrase means that you're doing the same things every day, and you're a little bored of it.
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Oh gosh, all kinds of stuff!
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You can answer this way if your life has been really busy and exciting lately.
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1 A' g* X \7 a# k! D' {% l5 q! Y7 CWhat's happening?
. V+ e3 b& F8 g7 tThis question means the same thing as "What's up" and can be answered in the same way.
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