Conversation is the most ___1___ ( 社交 ) of all human activities. And it is an activity only of humans. However ___2____( 复杂 ) the ways in which animals communicate with each other, they do not ___3___ (放纵) in anything that deserves the name of conversation. The ___4___ of conversation is that it does not really start from anywhere, and no one has any idea where it will go as it meanders or ___5___( 跳跃 ) and sparkles or just g___6____ . The enemy of good conversation is the person who has "something to say." Conversation is not for making a point. Argument may often be a part of it, but the purpose of the argument is not to ____7___( 说服 ) . There is no winning in conversation. In fact, the best conversationalists are those who are prepared to lose. Suddenly they see the moment for one of their best ___8____ ( 轶闻趣事 ) , but _____9___ (一眨眼) the conversation has moved on and the opportunity is lost. They are ready to let it go. 3 Perhaps it is because of my up-bringing in English pubs that I think bar conversation has a charm of its own. Bar friends are not deeply involved in each other's lives. They are __10____ (同伴) , not ___11____ (密友) . The fact that their marriages may be ____12____ (毁坏) , or that their love affairs have been broken or even that they _____13__ (心情不好) is simply not a concern. They are like the musketeers of Dumas who, although they lived side by side with each other, did not ___14_____( 深入探究 ) each other's lives or the ___15____( 隐秘处 ) of their thoughts and feelings.