2006年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-Getting Used to a New Name and New Identi

What’s in a name? When commentator¹ Taunya English got married, she found it wasn’t so easy to adjust to a new one or the new identity that went along with it.

Lately, when someone asks my name, I hesitate just for a second. My brain rifles through its Rolodex,which me should I turn over to that waiting pencil tip?

Taunya English is a journalist, who's always wanted to write children`s books. My student loan bills arrive ,addressed to her.

The married me is Taunya Washington. After Gordon and I got married, our health insurance card for Taunya Washington showed up in the mail. My new passport also says I’m Taunya Washington. I’ve got big plans for that passport. But right now it seems a little empty without all the colorful custom stamps I collected during my twenties.

These days every new introduction acquires quick calculations. I try to make a good first impression. But I must seem dizzy or may be shifty in the seconds it takes for me to decide who you are to me and who I want to be to you. At the dry cleaners, when I stumble over my name, the counter lady narrows her eyes as if I am trying to claim someone else’s husband’s lightly starched² shirts; at journalism³ conferences, I deliver a firm handshake but then flub my name.

The name Taunya Washington is one of the biggest adjustments of my shiny new marriage. And my gratitude⁴ for an easy-going husband doesn’t soothe⁵ the itchy irritation⁶ of a name that doesn’t suit me. Besides, someday I'll actually write that children’s book, and when I go to the library, looking for my book, I'll betray the little-girl dreamer in me if Taunya Washington’s name is on the cover.

When my husband Gordon and I got engaged, he suggested a destination wedding, something on the beach with a few friends willing to travel to Belize or maybe Costa Rica. That didn’t work for me. To feel married, I needed a little gospel music and the blessing⁷ of a Baptist preacher. I needed my mother on the front row wearing one of her huge church-lady hats, and I needed raspberry color tulips and bridesmaids dresses that matched. More than the marriage certificate, those details registered our marriage on my soul.

For Gordon, it’s different. When I asked him why he wanted me to change my name, he said “it makes us family”. That detail mattered to him. I could spend years strong-arming a longer explanation out of him, but he wants what he wants, and there's something about Gordon’s quiet answer that screams at me, pay attention.

Now I’m not gonna change my byline⁸, I worked hard to see the name Taunya English in print. But I do think about the details that make my husband feel married. And I oblige when they can. When I call ahead for carry-out for the third time this week, I'll use my married name. And the pizza guy will say, " see you in twenty minutes, Mrs.Washington. " Sometimes, though, it takes a second to remember, that’s me.

Taunya English is a freelance journalist living in Baltimore where both her last names are on her mailbox.

NEW WORDS & EXPRESSIONS:

stumble over 给...绊倒, 结结巴巴地说
flub take a mistake or do something badly
tulip 郁金香
bridesmaid 女傧相
Belize 伯利兹城(洪都拉斯首都)
Baltimore 巴尔的摩, 美国马里兰州的一城市

1 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

2 starched   

adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My clothes are not starched enough. 我的衣服浆得不够硬。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The ruffles on his white shirt were starched and clean. 白衬衫的褶边浆过了，很干净。 来自辞典例句

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

6 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

7 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。