實用口語：五大不會冷場的聊天話題

Australians really are singular beasts with singular tastes. When it comes to meeting new people at a Saturday barbeque or chatting to someone who shares your bus, there are certain fallback topics which will get you out of the slump of asking the classic university triad: “what’s your name?”, “where are you from?”, and “what are you studying?”.

説起澳大利亞人，各個都可謂是口味獨特，不同尋常。當你在週六燒烤會上遇到新朋友或者公交車上與某人聊天時，卻總有一些特定的救場話題可以讓你擺脱冷場，別再像大學裏那樣傻傻地問：“你叫什麼?”“你從哪兒來?”“你學什麼專業?”。

　　1. Football/rugby 澳式足球/橄欖球

Knowing a thing or two about Australian rules football or rugby will not only help you appreciate the greatest sports on earth, but will also win you fans at any get together. People love discussing the ins and outs of any big game, deconstructing the mistakes they believe the umpires have made and talking about what the players have posted on Instagram. Listen to a few of these conversations between intensely competitive Aussies and you will either be bored witless or be a new expert on your team’s whole list.

如果你位於澳大利亞的南部，那麼需要去了解一下澳式足球的本土規則，或者你在北部，瞭解一下橄欖球的本土規則總是有百利而無一害的。這不僅有助於你欣賞世界上最棒的運動，而且無論是什麼聚會，你總能贏得志同道合的粉絲。人們酷愛討論任何大型比賽的細節，解析他們認為裁判犯下的錯誤，交流Instagram上運動員發佈的內容。時常聽聽這些求勝心切的澳洲人之間的對話，你或許會覺得無聊又愚蠢，又或許會加入他們的行列，變成研究球隊的新專家。

　　2. Music 音樂

Australians love their home-grown music and, following in our competitive nature, love to be the first to discover a new band and bring it to their friendship group. People are particularly interested in fostering new and local bands and taking their friends along to gigs. You’ll meet plenty of people who fervently study the “hipster house party” playlist on Spotify or spend all their free time listening to ABC Radio’s Triple J for new and unsigned artists. People love to brag about “when I saw Vance Joy play to an empty pub 5 years ago before he was big”. Knowing the ins and outs of the Australian music scene, or even just listening to Triple J’s weekly “Like a Version” segment, where they ask an artist to cover their favourite song, will launch you into hundreds of interesting conversations.

澳大利亞人喜歡他們的本土音樂，而天性好勝的他們自然想要成為第一個發現新樂隊，並且將樂隊介紹進自己的朋友圈的人。人們尤其喜愛培養本土新樂隊逐漸成長，還常常樂意帶着他們的朋友一起去聽樂隊的演奏會。你會遇到很多熱衷於研究Spotify上“潮人聚會”歌單的人，或者是一些願意將所有空閒時間花在聽ABC電台的Triple J節目、傾聽剛出道或是默默無聞的`歌手的音樂迷。人們喜歡吹噓“我在Vance Joy成為大明星五年前，就在酒吧看過他的演出”。有空多瞭解一下澳大利亞音樂潮流，或者僅僅聽一下Triple J每週播出的Like a Version，聽聽歌手們自己最欣賞的歌曲，這些都會帶給你許多有趣的談資。

　　3. Politics 政治

Yet another thing Australians can get competitive about is backing their political crowd. It’s deeply engrained in the culture to cut down the “Tall Poppies” (overachieving suck-ups) and champion the “Aussie Battlers” (the underdog). This culture extends to the political playing field where people argue over every aspect of the government. Of greatinterest at the moment is the potential sacking of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has the lowest approval ratings of any Prime Minister in Australian history. Even some of his own party has turned their back on him after he re-instated the archaic system of honouring people as Knights and Dames, and proceeded to make the hugely unpopularPrince Phillip the first Australian Knight.

另一件會使澳大利亞人變得爭強好勝的事情是支持他們各自所認同的政治團體。指責“佼佼者”(表現出人意料的奉承者)以及擁護“澳洲鬥士”(冷門團體)的行為似乎在澳洲文化中根深蒂固。這種文化延伸至政治領域，表現為人們對政府運作每個環節的爭論不休。這種現象的頂峯發生在Tony Abbott擔任總理卻名存實亡的時期，這位總理在澳大利亞的歷史上享有最低的支持率。在他重新啟動古老的榮譽系統授予人們“騎士”與“女爵士”稱謂，並且授予極不受歡迎的菲利普王子澳大利亞第一騎士稱謂後，他本人所屬的政黨中甚至也開始出現反對的聲音。

　　4. Beer 啤酒

In tune with the indie revolution, a bucket load of microbreweries have been taking off across Australia. Everyone’s keen to try them all and discuss the quirks of their flavours. There’s always a lot to be said about the different types of beer from golden ales to stout and everyone has a degree of hometown pride when it comes to brews of their region. Heaps of pubs offer tasting paddles of a range of mini bevvies so you can sample the whole range without getting too full (or drunk!). Once you’ve done that, you’ll have something to talk about that will truly wow your crowd.

與獨立革命同時期，大量的小啤酒廠開始在澳大利亞遍地開花。人人都樂於嘗試各種口味，並且與他人討論自己的口味偏好。從Golden Ales到Stout，關於不同種類的啤酒總有聊不完的話題。當談到自己家鄉地區所釀的啤酒時，對家鄉的自豪感總是油然而生。許多酒吧提供一些迷你杯供客人品嚐，也防止客人由於嘗試多個品種而撐破肚皮(或者醉倒)。若是曾經有過這樣的經歷，那你聊起天來可足以令你的聽眾們大為驚歎了。

　　5. Travel 旅行

Let’s get one thing straight: Australia is great. But that doesn’t stop Australians’ insatiable thirst for travel, and you’ll see them in every backpacking location across Asia and the world. Aussies are always planning their next trips, especially students blessed with long holidays and hoping to get away from the monotony of the academic life. Young people are always heard swapping tips on up and coming holiday destinations. Having some experience in travel, or even recommending good places in your home town will set you well on your way to small talk success.

首先，明確一點：澳大利亞是個風景優美的地方。但這並不能滿足澳大利亞人對於旅行的渴求，你會在亞洲乃至世界的各個徒步旅行勝地看見他們。澳大利亞人無時無刻不在計劃着他們的下一次旅行，尤其是擁有着長假想要逃離枯燥學習生活的學生們。年輕人們總能及時獲得關於新興旅遊勝地的小貼士。在旅行方面的經驗能夠豐富你的談資，亦或者推薦一些你家鄉的好地方也能為你在聊天中贏得好評。