1.conversation的意思是“谈话,会谈”,指两个或两个以上的人非正式地互相交换意见、思想、消息,侧重于“交流”。其内容可以是令人愉快的,也可以是令人厌烦的。
2.conversation在多数情况下是可数的,泛指谈话时是不可数名词。
3.conversation与动词have, hold等连用时,要加不定冠词,但与动词make连用时不加不定冠词。作主语或作介词宾语时也不加不定冠词,但有形容词修饰时要加不定冠词。

conversation piece
可作话题的东西 unusual object that stimulates discussion
Edy had a large portrait of a nude over his fireplace which he could always rely on to be a conversation piecewith anybody who came to visit him.埃迪在壁炉上方挂着一幅巨大的裸体画,他可以指望同任何来拜访他的人就它作为话题。

get〔enter〕 into conversation with
和…攀谈 talk with sb
He warned her against getting into conversation with other passengers on the train.他警告她不要在列车上同其他旅客攀谈。

have〔carry〕 on a conversation with
与…会谈 take a talk with sb/sth
We'll carry on a conversation with her tomorrow.我们将于明天与她会谈。
It's difficult to have a conversation with each other.彼此难以交谈。

in conversation with
(在)和…谈话 having a talk with sb
I saw him in conversation with a friend.我见他和朋友谈话。
Mrs. Smith spends a lot of time in conversation with her neighbour.史密斯夫人经常把许多时间花在同邻居谈话上。

The conversation is light and gay.谈话轻松愉快。
No conversation while I'm playing the piano, please.我弹钢琴时,请不要交头接耳。
Their conversation appeared to him thoroughly dull.他们的谈话对他似乎没啥意思。
He monopolized the conversation by boasting of his own prowess at hunting and fishing.谈话中尽是他在吹嘘自己打猎、捕鱼的高超技艺。
She used the dialogue to stimulate free conversation among her pupils.她利用那个对话来引起学生们的交谈。
He is easy in conversation and graceful in manner.他谈吐从容,举止优雅。
There was a brief pause in the conversation.谈话中有短暂的停顿。
Can I have a literal version of the conversation?我能获得一份这次谈话的确切文本吗?
The accident was the sole topic of conversation.那事故是谈话的唯一话题。
I heard only a fragment of their conversation.我只听到他们谈话的只言片语。
I'm tired of your stupid conversation.你们那愚蠢的谈话我已听够了。
We had a conversation last night.昨晚我们谈了一次话。
They had a long conversation the whole night drinking cups of brandy.他们彻夜一边喝着白兰地,一边长谈。
It's difficult to carry on a conversation at a noisy party.在闹哄哄的聚会上,很难进行交谈。

conversation, chat, dialogue, discussion
这四个词都可作“谈话”解。其区别在于:conversation是非正式会谈,可能是热烈和令人兴奋的,也可能是乏味和令人厌烦的; chat是朋友间非常随便的交谈,所谈的往往是些有趣的事,但不是很重要的事; discussion一般指严肃地讨论某一个问题或难题,并且寻求结论或解决的办法, discussion有时可转变为辩论; dialogue是两个或两个以上的人之间的对话以及小说、戏剧等中的对白。例如:
In my conversation with him,I mentioned your business plan.我和他谈话时曾提及你的营业计划。
The two friends sat in a corner and had a chat about the weather.两个朋友坐在屋角闲聊天气。
There was a general discussion following his speech.他的讲话完后进行了一般性的讨论。
There is some good descriptive writing in the novel, but the dialogue is poor.这小说里有些很好的描写,但对白很差。

［同义词］   chat, talk
［词源］  ＜拉丁语convert, conversari(彼此不断地谈话)