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本帖最后由 图书馆 于 2015-11-2 20:53 编辑
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How to respond to "How are you?", "What's up?", and other conversation starters
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7 p( A, Z1 s" t: {, _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.0 l( a F9 S j9 `' V
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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?") p2 s( j6 `5 P# z
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How are you?
/ h, e4 S% P' Z9 ^4 P+ F& BFine.% L. z+ c# @; s0 s3 m2 i5 A
: N O J9 _0 F4 f O+ a, DThis 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." l/ B& m6 O2 T7 r$ E
; w7 a/ w/ x/ BNot bad.
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This is a more friendly-sounding answer than "fine".
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[ m$ L) F% NFine, thanks.
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: s( K ?( S) jThis 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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) ^& }! h7 r; ~) qVery well, thanks. M% K5 ~2 i; L
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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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. _* v5 e3 I0 G, k) T8 t6 @6 l9 ]Pretty good./ W* K3 T; _% S3 N+ r; U
$ i7 U% z+ K g: s% eIf you don't care as much about grammar, you can answer "Good" or "Pretty good". It's more common and much, much more casual.
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Great! How are you doing?8 ]$ q- E) | N% Y* d( B! X1 H
, _# v8 `9 ~: e0 R3 c; SThis 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.7 G" |1 f& f A+ e! J% @
1 `- U9 P5 }( ?% F8 |2 \' r. PI'm hanging in there.
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This answer makes it sound like you're having a tough day.
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4 ^4 g8 H! H+ Y2 o8 `1 _7 Q) ~ CI'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:) k% v8 ^( ^' I) k. O& S" E7 U( Y
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A: How are you?1 `( V) X9 A1 h
5 V4 K4 [! ?) ^* s& \8 M- R u* YB: I've been better.- A: b+ m0 o+ ]6 X
z2 ]) P6 x: |3 j' \5 kA: What's wrong?
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7 j- Z2 q) g6 C4 i. @7 H1 m zB: I just found out that I'm being laid off.0 a2 b" ^, x. b7 c) C* R5 A
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How's it going?; y" c1 U3 Y7 D3 z p; I; P* h
This question is similar to "How are you". The answers discussed above all work for "How's it going?" as well.4 s; k% K( `* N: [4 J$ b0 ^
: i) Z% f! m0 a: c' AHere's another answer that will also work for "How's it going", but not for "How are you?"4 E3 g( c3 g/ g& [/ [
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It's going well. & U' I$ ?5 _. Z+ m! d
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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. 4 u! s" Q# m9 G4 b. ?% C1 O
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What's up?0 ~" ^) d2 u: k
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:2 S0 Y* e' b" r$ Y
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Nothing 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."
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|- W& b9 ?. UNot a lot.* \3 J* i; O6 K! M/ Y0 }3 i) ^
/ j% Q, L: V% u$ LThis is another really common answer. It's just a bit fresher than "Nothing much" because it's a little less common.5 _- _5 D0 X9 u, l8 c7 P, H
6 z; j/ d3 w* ~, G- @3 Z1 NNothing.
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This is more to-the-point. It might make you seem a little angry or rude.
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Oh, just the usual.: y+ m& I. R* X/ N
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Answer this way if you do mostly the same things each day.
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7 K+ m& x: |* _( V% AJust the same old same old.
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, D" v6 p4 q1 i hThis phrase means that you're doing the same things every day, and you're a little bored of it.
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" N% V) r, d# Q4 B: b- e: aOh gosh, all kinds of stuff!! ?4 O3 y' H( G% D" `2 k
1 U, Z$ c" o1 R M* DYou can answer this way if your life has been really busy and exciting lately.
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What's happening?
* o6 c7 k5 b% T- uThis question means the same thing as "What's up" and can be answered in the same way.
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