英语PK台 第11期:美中跨文化婚姻感受纪实(1)

 The teacher who falls in love

Francis Fremont Smith is Executive¹ Director at the United Foundation for China’ Health.

Her China story goes back many years, to the time US President Nixon made his historic² visit in 1972. Inspired by the future relationship she could see between both countries Fran decided³ to study Chinese. Starting first at the Connecticut College on Chinese and Asian Studies she moved to Hong Kong in 1978 on a Yale China Program to study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

She came to China, walking across the border at Lo Wu – there were no through trains and also no Shenzhen like we know today! Her travels took her up to Hangzhou, Beijing and on to Changchun where she taught English. After two years Fran moved down to Beijing, where she worked at the Academy for Agricultural Mechanization Sciences. She also worked part time at a branch college of then Foreign Languages Institute. It was then that life for Fran really changed – she met her husband there! A Chinese national, he was teaching English at the school.

Their relationship – one of the earliest Chinese-foreign marriages of that period. As this was a time when there were very few westerners living and working in China, there were problems and challenges on both sides, which they successfully overcame.

Their marriage was documented by the National Geographic⁴ in one of their TV series called ‘Four Americans in China’. Fran’s programme was a love story, ‘The Teacher who falls in Love’! She had found two loves – her husband and China!

Track one

I really wanted to work with younger kids

I was able to get a job teaching at a high school to college

Out at Baidaizi

I was teaching extra-curricular activities at that school

That’s the link – your husband was a teacher

He is from Harbin – at that point he was a teacher at the same school

We were both in the English Department together

I am looking at the photograph of the two of you

Was that a wedding photograph – that is our wedding photograph?

January 1982

Dressed in our ‘Mao jackets’ with our red roses

So different to the wedding photographs you see now all around Beijing

Definitely simpler times

I do not think our wedding cost us all that much money

We had to wrap up candy to give to friends and family

We had more of a civil ceremony in those days

It was quite an operation to get permission to get married in those days

Was it difficult having a relationship – going out together?

As foreigner with Chinese

Technically⁵ that answer is Yes

Needless⁶ to say we would draw a lot of attention

One of our first dates was out to the Summer Palace

People would see us together and obviously follow us and wonder what was going on

I had a mutual⁷ colleague who was gay

He also needed some cover so everybody thought he and I were boyfriend and girlfriend

So he was going off with his friends and I was getting to know my husband, my fiancé, a little better

Questions

1. What was Fran doing in her early days in Beijing?

2. Which department was her future husband in?

3. When did they marry?

4. What did they give as wedding gifts to friends?

5. What was difficult at first in the relationship?

Track two

How did his parents react to you marrying him, a Chinese?

He was brought up with his aunt and grandparents and his older sister

His parents and older siblings⁸ were still in Harbin

His parents did not have any issue but his aunt was a little bit hard

She was very traditional and he would marry a Chinese wife who would take care of her

When I was living in Guangzhou - people said it was very difficult for a foreigner to marry a Chinese girl

The ancestors – continuing the family line – which would be broken of it were a Chinese and foreigner

We never really had any issue of that discussion

Considering this was new for his family they pretty much welcomed me with open arms

The interesting thing about the process was that the Chinese insisted I had never been married before

I had to do that – to get a certificate through the British Embassy⁹ to say I had never been married

Those days none of the embassies¹⁰ had that much experience with this

There was no form to fill out at the embassy

So my family in America had to go through the State Department in the State of Massachusetts

To prove I had never been married in the State of Massachusetts

Get the red stamp from the official government staff

Then we had to have all of this translated and notarised and approved by the Chinese government

Before they would allow us to get officially married

Questions

1. Why was her husband’s aunt a bit hard about the marriage?

2. What would people in southern China think?

3. What about his family in Harbin?

4. What did Fran have to prove?

5. Where did she get the certificate from?

1 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

2 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 needless   

adj.不必，无须，不必要的，无用的

参考例句：

• Needless to say,I agree.无须说，我是同意的。
• It is needless to add that you are in want of a second.你需要一个助手，那是不必说的。

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

8 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

9 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

10 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句