Alone among strangers: Dealing with a difficult situation
在陌生人中独处：应对困境
Ben isn't the only person that has experienced this situation. Something similar has probably happened to most of us before.
本不是唯一经历过这种情况的人。类似的事情以前可能在我们大多数人中都发生过。
It's natural to feel unsure of ourselves when starting conversations with strangers.
与陌生人交谈时感到不自信是很自然的。
A good starting point is to ask the person questions about himself or herself, or talk about something you both like such as football or pop music.
谈话的开头最好是问关于对方的问题，或是谈论双方都喜欢的话题，比如足球或流行音乐。
This can make social situations more relaxed. Then you'll be glad you went to the party.
这会使社交环境更加轻松。之后你就会很高兴去参加聚会了。
Finally, I turned to the person next to me and introduced myself. "Hi," I said. "My name's Ben." "Hi, I'm Tania," the person replied shyly.
最后，我转向身旁的人并介绍自己。“你好吗？”我说。“我叫本”“嗨，我是塔尼亚。”那人腼腆地回答。
Then there was a long silence as I kept trying to think about what to say next.
之后是长时间的沉默，因为我一直在思考接下来要说什么。
I felt more and more nervous and the other person was looking uncomfortable, too.
我感到越来越紧张，而对方看起来也不太舒服。
In the end, all I could say was, "Well, it was nice meeting you," and I quickly walked away. I felt so embarrassed that I left the party.
最后，我只能说：“嗯，认识你很高兴。”然后我就很快走开了。我觉得很尴尬，并离开了聚会。
It was Friday night and I could hear loud music and people talking as I walked through the door.
这是星期五的晚上，当我走过大门时，我能听到嘈杂的音乐和人们在交谈。
My friend saw me and came over. "Hey, Ben! Thanks for coming to my party!" he said. "Thanks for inviting me. It looks like a great party," I replied.
我的朋友看到我就走过来。“嘿，本！谢谢你来参加我的聚会。”他说。“谢谢你的邀请。这聚会看上去太棒了。”我回答说。
But I had a secret feeling of fear. I realized that I didn't know anyone there. I moved towards the drinks table and got a drink.
但我有一丝隐隐的恐惧感。我意识到，我谁都不认识。我走向桌子弄了杯喝的。
Then I nervously stood in a corner, not quite sure what to do.
然后我紧张地站在角落里，不知道该做些什么。
