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次の英文を読んで、下記の問いに答えなさい。
Everyone knows what is supposed to happen when two English people
who have never met before come face to face ina train-they start talking
about the weather. In some cases this may simply be because they happen
to find the subject interesting. Most people, though, are not particularly
interested in analyses of climatic conditions, so there must be other
reasons for conversations of this kind. ,One explanation is that it can
often be quite embarrassing to be alone in the company of someone you
are not acquainted with and not speak to them. If no conversation takes
place the atmosphere can become rather , strained. However, by talking
to the other person about some neutral topic like the weather, it is possible
to strike up a relationship without actually having to say very much. Train
conversations of this kind-and they do happen, although not of course
as often as the popular myth supposes-are a good example of the sort of
important social function that is often fulfilled by language. Language is
not simply a means of communicating information-about the weather or
any other subject. It is also a very important means of establishing and
maintaining relationships with other people. Probably the most important
thing about the conversation between our two English people is not the
words they are using, but the fact that they are talking at all.
