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?”.

　　说起澳大利亚人，各个都可谓是口味独特，不同寻常。当你在周六烧烤会上遇到新朋友或者公交车上与某人聊天时，却总有一些特定的救场话题可以让你摆脱冷场，别再像大学里那样傻傻地问：“你叫什么?”“你从哪儿来?”“你学什么专业?”。

　　1. Football/rugby 澳式足球/橄榄球

　　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.

　　如果你位于澳大利亚的南部，那么需要去了解一下澳式足球的本土规则，或者你在北部，了解一下橄榄球的本土规则总是有百利而无一害的。这不仅有助于你欣赏世界上最棒的运动，而且无论是什么聚会，你总能赢得志同道合的粉丝。人们酷爱讨论任何大型比赛的细节，解析他们认为裁判犯下的错误，交流Instagram上运动员发布的内容。时常听听这些求胜心切的澳洲人之间的对话，你或许会觉得无聊又愚蠢，又或许会加入他们的行列，变成研究球队的新专家。

　　2. Music 音乐

　　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.

　　澳大利亚人喜欢他们的本土音乐，而天性好胜的他们自然想要成为第一个发现新乐队，并且将乐队介绍进自己的朋友圈的人。人们尤其喜爱培养本土新乐队逐渐成长，还常常乐意带着他们的朋友一起去听乐队的演奏会。你会遇到很多热衷于研究Spotify上“潮人聚会”歌单的人，或者是一些愿意将所有空闲时间花在听ABC电台的Triple J节目、倾听刚出道或是默默无闻的歌手的音乐迷。人们喜欢吹嘘“我在Vance Joy成为大明星五年前，就在酒吧看过他的演出”。有空多了解一下澳大利亚音乐潮流，或者仅仅听一下Triple J每周播出的Like a Version，听听歌手们自己最欣赏的歌曲，这些都会带给你许多有趣的谈资。

　　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.

　　另一件会使澳大利亚人变得争强好胜的事情是支持他们各自所认同的政治团体。指责“佼佼者”(表现出人意料的奉承者)以及拥护“澳洲斗士”(冷门团体)的行为似乎在澳洲文化中根深蒂固。这种文化延伸至政治领域，表现为人们对政府运作每个环节的争论不休。这种现象的顶峰发生在Tony Abbott担任总理却名存实亡的时期，这位总理在澳大利亚的历史上享有最低的支持率。在他重新启动古老的荣誉系统授予人们“骑士”与“女爵士”称谓，并且授予极不受欢迎的菲利普王子澳大利亚第一骑士称谓后，他本人所属的政党中甚至也开始出现反对的声音。

　　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.

　　与独立革命同时期，大量的小啤酒厂开始在澳大利亚遍地开花。人人都乐于尝试各种口味，并且与他人讨论自己的口味偏好。从Golden Ales到Stout，关于不同种类的啤酒总有聊不完的话题。当谈到自己家乡地区所酿的啤酒时，对家乡的自豪感总是油然而生。许多酒吧提供一些迷你杯供客人品尝，也防止客人由于尝试多个品种而撑破肚皮(或者醉倒)。若是曾经有过这样的经历，那你聊起天来可足以令你的听众们大为惊叹了。

　　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，明确一点：澳大利亚是个风景优美的地方。但这并不能满足澳大利亚人对于旅行的渴求，你会在亚洲乃至世界的各个徒步旅行胜地看见他们。澳大利亚人无时无刻不在计划着他们的下一次旅行，尤其是拥有着长假想要逃离枯燥学习生活的学生们。年轻人们总能及时获得关于新兴旅游胜地的小贴士。在旅行方面的经验能够丰富你的谈资，亦或者推荐一些你家乡的好地方也能为你在聊天中赢得好评。