VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Getting Married in A

KATHERINE COLE: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Katherine Cole.

MARIO RITTER: And I'm Mario Ritter. This week -- weddings in America.

(MUSIC: "Halleujah Chorus¹" / Handel's "Messiah")

KATHERINE COLE: A very special wedding took place on July thirty-first in a small town in New York State. Chelsea Clinton married Marc Mezvinsky.

Chelsea is the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and the current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Marc is the son of two former Democratic members of Congress -- Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and Edward Mezvinsky.

The Clintons tried to keep the wedding top secret. Guests were not told where the wedding was to be held until a week before the event.

But word leaked out that it was to take place in the town of Rhinebeck, about a two-hour drive from New York City.

People and businesses in the town who were involved in the wedding were not permitted to talk about it. Reporters were not permitted to go near the wedding. Planes and news helicopters were not permitted to fly over it.

Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky, her longtime boyfriend, at their wedding on July 31 in Rhinebeck, New York

About four hundred people reportedly attended the wedding. It was held in a huge tent on the grounds of a famous house called Astor Courts overlooking² the Hudson River.

It included traditions from both religions of the bride and groom³. Ms. Clinton is Methodist and Mr. Mezvinsky is Jewish.

The wedding got an extreme amount of attention from the media. Some called it the wedding of the year – or the decade – or the century.

(MUSIC: "Here Comes the Bride")

MARIO RITTER: But many other weddings are taking place in the United States this summer. The most popular months are June, July and August.

Each year, more than two million weddings take place in the United States. More than seventy billion dollars is spent on those weddings. And that does not include honeymoon⁴ travel for the newlyweds.

Some people have big weddings and invite everyone they know. Some have small, simple weddings and invite only their closest friends and family members. And some elope. They get married first and tell people later.

KATHERINE COLE: Spending on weddings has reportedly dropped about ten percent in recent years because of the economic recession⁵. Still, the average cost of a wedding is more than twenty thousand dollars.

However, people can find many ways to save money on their weddings. For example, they invite fewer people. Or they buy flowers from a local farmer's market instead of a professional florist⁶. The bride may buy a used gown rather than paying thousands of dollars for a new one.

Traditionally the bride's parents pay for the wedding. But Americans now get married at an older age than they once did. So working couples might pay for some or all of the wedding themselves.

Or the two families share the costs. Many parents of brides think this is a wonderful idea.

MARIO RITTER: Many couples plan their weddings themselves. But some hire a wedding planner to organize everything for them. The planner helps the bride find a wedding dress as well as dresses for her bridesmaids.

The planner helps find a place for the reception after the ceremony. And the planner organizes all the details for the celebration, from the flowers to the food to the entertainment.

Finally, during the ceremony and reception, the planner makes sure that everything takes place as planned.

(MUSIC: "Chapel⁷ of Love" / Dixie Cups)

KATHERINE COLE: Some couples have a religious ceremony. Others have a civil wedding before a judge or some other official. And some have both.

During a wedding, the couple might read special vows⁸ or promises that they have written for each other.

Many ceremonies share common customs. For example, the bride may wear a long white dress and have a white veil⁹ over her face.

An old tradition says brides should wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. These four things are supposed to bring good luck.

The groom traditionally wears a tuxedo¹⁰. Picture a nervous penguin¹¹ if the suit is black and the shirt is white.

Usually the bride's father or another relative walks her down the aisle¹² and presents her to the groom. Sometimes both parents share this tradition.

MARIO RITTER: Different cultures have their own traditions. For example, African-American weddings may include "jumping the broom." This is an old tradition where couples jump over a broomstick laid on the ground.

America is known as a nation of immigrants. Each group brings its own wedding customs and traditions to the mix. But one tradition at most weddings is music.

There might be recorded dance music or a live band at the reception.

At the wedding itself, many couples hire small chamber¹³ groups to play classical music before and at the end of the ceremony. One musical tradition is "Trumpet¹⁴ Voluntary."

(MUSIC)

Another classical favorite at weddings is "Sheep May Safely Graze¹⁵" by Johann Sebastian Bach.

(MUSIC)

During the reception, the guests dance to popular music, like this song.

(MUSIC: "I Gotta Feeling" / Black Eyed Peas)

KATHERINE COLE: Some couples have a "destination wedding." Think of it as a wedding and honeymoon all in one. The bride and groom invite a small group of guests to travel someplace special for the ceremony.

Some couples want to get married in a famous place like Disneyland or Las Vegas. Others choose a place that will not be too far for all the guests to travel.

Or they choose someplace where many other people have gotten married. Many couples get married on the beach in Hawaii, in Mexico or an island in the Caribbean.

With many weddings, the celebration lasts three days. Many of the guests are invited to a dinner on the night before the wedding. Then there is the reception after the ceremony, and often another meal the following morning.

(MUSIC: "Wedding March")

MARIO RITTER: Thanks to the Internet, couples can make a lot of their wedding preparations online. One popular website, for example, is theknot.com. It provides information and tools to plan a wedding -- from dresses to invitations to cakes.

Technology has also made it easier for other people to decide what to give the couple for a wedding gift. The future newlyweds can go to stores and choose the gifts they would like to receive. The information is entered into a list on a wedding registry.

Friends and relatives do not even have to go to the store to choose a gift from the registry. They can order online. Gift registries help the bride and groom get things they want and avoid things they do not want -- like three of the same gift.

Some couples planning a wedding create their own websites so they can provide information to the people they invite.

KATHERINE COLE: With all the planning that goes into some weddings, it is easy to forget what the event is all about.

A minister in Maryland advises couples to remember one thing. The wedding is over quickly, but the feelings for each other have to last a lifetime.

(MUSIC: "At Last" / Etta James)

MARIO RITTER: Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Shelley Gollust and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁶. I'm Mario Ritter.

KATHERINE COLE: And I’m Katherine Cole. Tell us about wedding traditions where you are. Go to voaspecialenglish.com or post your comments on Facebook or Twitter at VOA Learning English. You can also find transcripts¹⁷ and MP3s of our programs. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English
 

1 chorus   

n.合唱，合唱队，齐声

参考例句：

• Never before have I heard this song sung in chorus.我从来没有听过这首歌的合唱。
• The children repeated the words after her in chorus.孩子们跟她齐声朗读单词。

2 overlooking   

v.忽视( overlook的现在分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高，可以俯瞰全城。
• The house sits high on a hill overlooking a lake. 房子高高地坐落在可以俯瞰湖水的小山上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

4 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

5 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

6 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

9 veil   

n.面纱，掩饰物，修女；vt.给...戴面纱或面罩；vi.带面纱或面罩

参考例句：

• Please veil your face.请用面纱遮住脸。
• There was a veil of mist over the mountains.山上覆盖着一层薄雾。

10 tuxedo   

n.礼服，无尾礼服

参考例句：

• Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。
• Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

11 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

12 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

14 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

15 graze   

v.(牲畜)吃草；放牧；擦过(牲畜)；n.擦伤

参考例句：

• There is good grassland here for your cattle and horses to graze on.这里有很好的草地供你们放牧牛马。
• Nothing serious.Just a graze.没关系，就破了一点皮。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句