an informal talk involving a small group of people or only two; the activity of talking in this way (非正式)交谈,谈话 a phone conversation 电话交谈 The main topic of conversation was the likely outcome of the election. 谈话的主题是选举可能的结果。 I tried to make conversation (= to speak in order to appear polite). 我设法找些话题。 - conversation with somebody
I had a long conversation with her the other day. 前几天我与她作了一次长谈。 She was engaged in conversation with a colleague. 她正在和一位同事谈话。 - (British English)
to get into conversation with somebody 开始与某人攀谈 - (North American English)
to get into a conversation with somebody 开始与某人攀谈 - conversation between A and B
I overheard a conversation between two colleagues. 无意中听到两个同事的对话。 - conversation about something
We had to listen to endless conversations about high prices and food shortages. 我们不得不听那些关于高物价和食品短缺的无休无止的谈话。 - in conversation
Don was deep in conversation with the girl on his right. 唐与他右边的女孩在专心交谈。 I spent an hour in conversation with him. 我花了一个小时和他交谈。 The conversation turned to gardening. 话题转到了园艺上。 Desperately he struggled to keep the conversation going. 他拼命努力让谈话继续下去。 I see no point in continuing this conversation. 我认为继续这场谈话没有意义。 She tried to steer the conversation away from the topic of marriage. 她试图把话题从婚姻上引开。 He felt a sudden alarm at the turn the conversation was taking. 在谈话即将开始的时候,他突然感到一阵惊慌。
Synonyms discussiondiscussion- conversation
- dialogue
- talk
- debate
- consultation
- chat
- gossip
- discussion a detailed conversation about something that is considered to be important:
Discussions are still taking place between the two leaders. 两位领导人仍在进行讨论。
- conversation a talk, usually a private or informal one, involving two people or a small group; the activity of talking in this way:
a telephone conversation 电话交谈
- dialogue conversations in a book, play or film:
The novel has long descriptions and not much dialogue. 这部小说描述多,对话少。
dialogue 亦指两个团体间为解决问题或结束争端进行的正式对话、讨论、交换意见: The President told waiting reporters there had been a constructive dialogue. 总统告诉等候的记者,刚才进行了一次富有建设性的对话。
- talk a conversation or discussion, often one about a problem or something important for the people involved:
I had a long talk with my boss about my career prospects. 我和老板就我的事业前景进行了一次长谈。
- debate a formal discussion of an issue at a public meeting or in a parliament. In a debate two or more speakers express opposing views and then there is often a vote on the issue:
a debate on prison reform 关于监狱制度改革的辩论
- consultation a formal discussion between groups of people before a decision is made about something:
There have been extensive consultations between the two countries. 两国之间进行了广泛磋商。
- chat
a friendly informal conversation; informal talking. The countable use of chat is especially British English: I just called in for a chat about the kids.指友好的非正式交谈、聊天 - gossip a conversation about other people and their private lives:
We had a good gossip about the boss. 我们讲了好一会儿老板的闲话。
- a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip about something
- a discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation on something
- in (close) discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation with somebody
- to have a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip with somebody
- to hold a discussion/conversation/debate/consultation
Express Yourself Conversation openersConversation openers 打开话题 What can you say when you have to speak to someone for the first time or when you have to open a meeting? Here are some possible ways of starting a conversation or getting the audience's attention before a talk or speech: 与人初次交谈时打开话题,会议开始要讲话,或者演讲之前引起听众注意,可用以下方式: Do you mind if I sit here? 我坐在这儿可以吗?
Hello, is this seat taken? 你好,这个座位有人吗?
May I join you? Can I get you a coffee? 可以和你一起吗?我给你拿杯咖啡好吗?
Lovely weather we’re having!/Can you believe this rain/wind/cold/sunshine? 多好的天气呀!/真想不到会下这么大雨/刮这么大风/这么冷/阳光这么灿烂!
Excuse me, could I ask you a question? 打扰一下,可以问您一个问题吗?
Shall we make a start? I think it's almost three o'clock. 我们马上开始好吗?我看都快三点了。
Shall we get started? I'd like to introduce our speaker. 我们开始吧?我来介绍一下演讲人。
I think everyone's here, so I'd like to welcome you to this conference. 我想大家都到齐了,在此我对出席本次会议的各位表示欢迎。
Extra ExamplesA chance conversation led to a brilliant new career for the young student. 一次偶然的谈话让这位年轻的学生进入了一个前景光明的新职业。 All conversation ceased and everyone turned around. 所有的谈话都停了下来,大家都转过身去。 All too soon the stilted conversation ran dry. 这次谈话本来就有点儿不自然,很快就没什么可说的了。 Cara kept up a one-sided conversation. 谈话时,卡拉只顾着一个人说个不停。 Don was in close conversation with the girl on his right. 唐正和他右边的女孩亲切交谈。 During the course of conversation, it emerged that Sheila had lived in Nigeria. 从谈话中得知,希拉在尼日利亚生活过。 He said that television had been the death of good conversation. 他说电视已取代了人与人之间愉快的交谈。 He was waiting for her to open the conversation. 他在等她先开口说话。 I got into a conversation with Chris about UFOs. 我和克里斯谈起了不明飞行物。 I got into conversation with one of the directors. 我和一个负责人交谈起来。 I had an interesting conversation with Dick Wortley. 我和迪克・沃特利进行了一次很有意思的交谈。 I managed to bring the conversation around to why they were leaving. 我设法将谈话转到了他们为什么离开这个问题上。 I overheard snatches of a conversation between two doctors. 我无意中听到两位医生之间的零星谈话。 I recall a conversation in which he told me he would never leave Paris. 我回想起他在一次谈话中告诉我他永远不会离开巴黎。 I tried to make conversation with the three people around the table. 我尝试和桌子旁 3 个沉默的人交谈。 I was courteous but didn't encourage conversation. 我谦恭有礼,但是不愿多与人交谈。 I was keen to strike up a conversation with him. 我渴望和他交谈起来。 In the Western world it is polite to maintain eye contact during conversation. 在西方国家,交谈时保持目光接触是礼貌的行为。 In the programme tonight we hear Dr Chris Toole in conversation with the artist Mary Witherspoon. 在今晚的节目中,我们将听到克里斯·图尔博士和艺术家玛丽·威瑟斯庞的谈话。 It's not a subject that often crops up in casual conversation. 这不是闲谈中常常会冒出来的那种话题。 Our hostess did her best to keep the conversation going. 我们的女主人尽了最大努力使谈话继续下去。 Police taped the conversation. 警方对谈话进行了录音。 She avoided conversation with the other passengers. 她避免和其他乘客交谈。 She could hear him over the buzz of conversation and laughter. 一片嗡嗡的谈笑声中,她能听到他的声音。 She ignored all my attempts at conversation. 我每次尝试和她谈一谈,她都不理睬。 She turned the conversation to her work. 她把话题转到了她的工作上。 The book became an instant best-seller and topic of water-cooler conversation. 这本书一出版就十分畅销,成为人们工作之余谈论的热门话题。 The conversation drifted away from babies. 话题不知不觉离开了婴孩。 The conversation drifted into family chat. 谈话不知不觉地变成了聊家常。 The conversation ended when the vacuum cleaner started up. 真空吸尘器一开,谈话就结束了。 The conversation moved on to other things. 谈话接着转到了其他事情上。 The conversation proceeded in French. 谈话用法语进行。 The main topic of conversation was the big football match. 话题主要是这场重要的足球比赛。 The two of you need to have a face-to-face conversation. 你们两个人需要面对面地谈一谈。 There is an ongoing conversation in society about how we raise our children. 社会上关于如何抚养孩子的讨论还在继续。 There was no time for a proper conversation. 没有时间进行一次象样的交谈。 They all relaxed and conversation flowed freely. 他们都很放松,自由自在地畅谈着。 They were deep in conversation and didn't notice the time. 他们谈得很起劲,没有注意到时间。 Think of prayer as a two-way conversation. 把祈祷想成一种双向的交谈。 We carried on a rather awkward conversation. 我们尴尬地进行了交谈。 We engaged in a long conversation. 我们进行了一次长谈。 We had a long conversation about old cars. 我们围绕旧汽车谈了很久。 We sat making polite conversation and feeling rather uncomfortable. 我们彬彬有礼地坐着交谈,感到有点儿不舒服。 When I tried to engage him in conversation, she always interrupted. 我试图让他参与谈话的时候,她总是打岔。 When did this conversation take place? 这次谈话是什么时候的事? When you are struggling with an unfamiliar language, the simplest conversations can be misinterpreted. 如果不熟悉一种语言,最简单的谈话都可能被误解。 You can't hold a private conversation there. 那里无法进行私人谈话。 Young children become quickly bored by adult conversation. 小孩子对大人的谈话很快就会厌倦。 a conversation between Jane and her parents 简和父母的谈话 a conversation on the topic of activities for children 以儿童活动为主题的谈话 a plain girl who had no conversation and no social graces 相貌平平、不善交谈也不懂社交礼仪的女孩 listening to endless conversations about high prices and food shortages 听那些无休无止关于价格高、食品匮乏的谈话 I got into a conversation with a man on the bus. 我在公共汽车上跟一个男人攀谈起来。 I tried to make polite conversation. 我设法说些应酬话。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brief
- short
- lengthy
- …
- snatch
- carry on
- have
- hold
- …
- occur
- take place
- continue
- …
- during conversation
- in conversation with
- conversation about
- …
- an attempt at conversation
- be in… conversation (with somebody)
- a buzz of conversation
- …
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘living among, familiarity, intimacy’): via Old French from Latin conversatio(n-), from the verb conversari ‘keep company (with)’, from con- ‘with’ + versare, frequentative of vertere ‘to turn’.