关键词：

没话题，超尴尬

I often don’t know what to talk to foreigners about: 和老外不知道聊什么

Every time we just talk about the obvious stuff: the weather, how long have you been here: 每次只能聊特别俗套的东西: 天气、你来中国多久啦

Same old, same old: 老一套

Meaningful topics: 有意思，有意义的话题

Run out of topics: 话题用完了

Awkward: 尴尬

怎么跟美国人有话题？

Sports is always a safe go-to topic: 体育永远是个安全的选择

Go-to topic:靠谱的话题

The four major professional leagues: 四大职业联盟

NBA (National Basketball Association): 美职篮

NFL (National Football League):美式橄榄球

MLB (Major League Baseball): 美职棒

NHL (National Hockey League): 北美职业冰球联赛

Sports can have lead to a lot of spin-off topics：体育能衍伸出很多有意思的话题

Many Americans have a local sports team that they support which they love talking about: 很多美国人都有一个自己特别支持的地方队，可以问问他们这个，可以衍生出很多有意思的话题

怎么和老外有谈资?

涉猎各类美剧

American TV shows are a great topic too: 美剧当然也是好话题

But the popular shows in China might not be as popular in America: 但是在中国特别红的美剧在美国也许受众没那么广

For example, Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls are mostly watched by tweens: 比如“生活大爆炸”和“破产姐妹”基本上是十几、二十岁的人看的，

More mature people don't really watch it: 再年长些的人不太看

What TV shows do Americans watch? 美国人看什么美剧？

Game of Thrones：权力的游戏

House of Cards：纸牌屋

And lots more...: 还有很多很多

下次我们聊聊美国人爱看的美剧吧？

音乐

What kind of music are you into？ 你喜欢听什么音乐？

What’s your favourite music? 你最喜欢什么音乐类型？

What type of music do you generally listen to? 你通常爱听什么音乐？

Pop: 流行乐

Rock: 摇滚

Jazz: 爵士

Reggae: 雷鬼

Indie: 独立摇滚乐

跟美国人发展话题的最佳途径：脱口秀

但重点不是听懂所有笑话

Talk shows：脱口秀

Current events: 时事

The point is not to understand every joke, but to know what’s going on in American: 重点不是要听懂每一个笑话，而是通过脱口秀了解美国正在发生的事儿、大众谈论的事儿、他们的看法

Societal news: 社会新闻

Politics: 政治

Election year: 大选年

You can really understand how Americans think and feel about these issues from watching talk shows：看脱口秀，你能了解到美国老百姓对时事怎么看、怎么想

Talk shows are a great entry point to understanding American humor: 脱口秀也是理解美式幽默最好的切入点

不同类型的脱口秀

Afternoon talk shows: 下午时段脱口秀

Late night talk shows: 深夜脱口秀

推荐两个收视最高的深夜脱口秀

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Late Show with Steven Colbert

They both air on major networks: 这两个节目都在美国最大的电视台播出

Jimmy Fallon is on NBC: Fallon是NBC的深夜脱口秀

Steven Colbert is on CBS: Colbert是CBS的

My personal breakthrough in learning English and understanding American pysche came from watching late night talk shows: 我个人学英语、理解美国文化思维的突破就是通过看脱口秀得到的

Edgy: 有胆量的，挑战思维的

聊真实的中国，是外国人最感兴趣的

Foreigners are always interested in finding more about China, the real China: 外国人最有兴趣的是了解真实的中国

If you want to make real friends, let them know who you really are: 想真正交朋友，要做你自己

Show your true colors: 展现真的你

这是个细水长流的过程

Approach it like a long-term, ongoing process: 这是个细水长流的过程

As you improve your English, you will naturally be able to talk about your life, your work and interesting things happening in China with foreigners: 英语水平高了，你自然能和外国人谈你的生活、关注，还有中国有意思的事情

When you understand their culture and their way of thinking better, you'll also find there's a lot you can talk about: 当你更了解他们的文化、思维，也自然会发现有很多能聊的话题

Of course, make friends you click with: 最后当然要交跟你合拍、气场对的朋友

Common hobbies and interests: 相同的兴趣爱好