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49 美国的婚礼
DATE=6/11/ 01
TITLE=THIS IS AMERICA #1068 - Weddings
VOICE ONE:
More than two-million (1)marriages are performed each year in the United1 States. June is one of the most popular months for these wedding ceremonies. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Shirley Griffith. We tell about weddings on our report today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((CUT ONE: INSTEAD OF THEME, "TRUMPET2 VOLUNTARY"))
VOICE ONE:
More than four-million Americans get married each year. Some of these people will have a (2)traditional wedding (3) ceremony in a (4)religious center, a hotel or a social club. These couples may invite hundreds of people to their (5)celebrations.
Other couples will have a simple ceremony performed by a judge in a public building. They will invite only close family members and friends. They may not have the money to spend on a big wedding. Or they may want to save money for a wedding trip to a faraway place or to help them buy a house.
Americans get married in different ways. But the meaning of all these weddings is the same. The bride and groom4 promise to spend the rest of their lives together.
VOICE TWO:
Big weddings have created a huge business in the United States. A big wedding (6)requires special clothing, flowers, food preparation, photographs and music. Experts say the average American wedding costs about twenty-thousand dollars. Some (7)estimates say Americans spend as much as seventy-thousand-million dollars a year for everything connected with weddings.
Traditionally6, the bride's parents plan and pay for the wedding. Sometimes the (8) groom 's parents share this (9)responsibility. Today many Americans are older when they get married. So they often organize and pay for their own weddings.
VOICE ONE:
For example, a businessman and a nurse in (10)Boston, (11)Massachusetts will marry later this month. They will have a traditional American church wedding. The bride will wear a long white dress and a white head covering called a (12) veil7. She also will wear four other traditional things: Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. And something blue. These four things are supposed to bring her good luck.
During the ceremony she and her groom will accept each other as husband and wife. They will promise to love and honor8 each other always. The groom will place a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the bride's left hand. The bride will place a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the groom’s left hand. The (13) clergy9 member performing the ceremony will (14)declare that they are husband and wife. Then the bride and groom will kiss.
VOICE TWO:
In the past few months the couple agreed about all the plans for their wedding except the music. The groom wanted a friend to play a (15)string (16)instrument called a (17) banjo during the ceremony. The bride wanted a friend to play a string instrument called a harp11. Now they have (18) compromised12. They agreed that another friend will sing one of the most popular songs heard at American weddings. Celine Dion sings this song, "My Heart Will Go On."
((CUT TWO: MY HEART WILL GO ON))
VOICE ONE:
Couples planning their weddings can get wedding advice from married friends. They can study magazines published especially for people getting married. They can pay a professional13 wedding planner to help organize the ceremony and party. And they can also use the Internet computer system to plan their wedding.
"Modern Bride" magazine says more than one-million couples buy wedding products and services on the Internet. The bride and groom can (19)communicate with family members and friends who will take part in the celebration3.
They can look at pictures of clothes they may wear during the ceremony. They can choose flowers. They can decide where to hold the wedding party, and what food and drink will be served. They can study where to take a wedding trip. They can buy tickets for (20) transportation14 and hotels.
VOICE TWO:
Some couples also (21)establish their own Web15 sites. This way, they can provide needed information to people invited to the wedding from distant places. For example, two-hundred people were invited to a recent wedding in Chicago, Illinois. The couple had the ceremony in a church near the bride's home. But more than half of those who attended lived far from Chicago.
The wedding couple's Web site advised these guests about places to stay and things to do in the city. It provided16 maps showing how to reach the church and the club where the wedding dinner would be served. The bride said she saved time and money by not having to mail this information to the guests.
VOICE ONE:
Wedding guests traditionally give a gift to the bride and groom. Computer (22)technology also is making it easier for guests to find the perfect gift. Sometimes guests can do this without leaving home.
For example, a couple can go to a store and choose gifts they would like to receive. These include things for their home like dishes and cooking (23)equipment. The store can print a list of all these things. This list also can be found on the Internet. Guests can buy a gift at the store or on the Internet.
VOICE TWO:
Sometimes the bride and groom give gifts to their guests. These gifts may be baskets filled with candy and small bottles of wine. Or the baskets may (24)contain objects that will help guests remember the wedding celebration. For example, a bride from South Carolina loves to play tennis. Her gift baskets included tennis balls printed with the couple's names and the date of their wedding.
Another bride and groom were married in a hotel garden. The ceremony took place on a hot spring day. Guests received gifts of hats to protect them from the sun.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Experts say about half of American weddings this year will not be costly17 or require months of planning. Melinda Reed10 is a (25)clergywoman at a (26) Protestant church in Bethesda, Maryland. (27) Reverend Reed says many couples today choose simple, nontraditional weddings. This is especially true of older people who have been married before.
She recently performed a nontraditional wedding for an older couple. Their wedding ceremony was held in the garden of a private home. The couple had a total of ten children from their earlier marriages. Their many grandchildren18 all took part in their ceremony.
Reverend Reed also performed a nontraditional wedding ceremony for a bride and groom who were more than eighty years old. They were married quietly in an office in the church. But later, the couple danced at a big party for family and friends.
VOICE TWO:
Couples can have simple wedding ceremonies almost anywhere. Some people have their weddings on a beautiful beach or in a wooded area. Others marry in the home of a friend. Friends and family members help prepare the wedding meal. A couple in Washington19, D-C was married almost thirty years ago in a public park. Now their twenty-seven-year-old son is planning to marry this year. He says he and his bride will be married in the same park.
VOICE ONE:
Earlier this month, Reverend Reed performed a wedding at a famous (28) monument20 in Washington. The couple had received permission to marry at the Jefferson Memorial21. This (29) circular22 white memorial contains a (30) statue of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.
Visitors to the memorial gathered nearby to watch and listen. The statue of President Jefferson watched over the wedding couple as they promised to live together for the rest of their lives.
((WEDDING MARCH FROM A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM INSTEAD OF THEME))
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by George Grow. Our studio23 engineer was Keith Holmes. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(1) marriage [ 5mAridV ]n.婚姻, 婚姻生活
(2) traditional [trE5dIFEn(E)l]adj.传统的
(3) ceremony [`serimEni] n.典礼, 仪式, 礼节, 报幕员
(4) religious [ ri5lidVEs ]adj.宗教的
(5) celebration [ 7seli5breiFEn ]n.庆祝, 庆典
(6) require [ ri5kwaiE ]vt.需要, 要求, 命令
(7) estimate5 [ 5estimeit ] n.估价
(8) groom [^rUm] n. 新郎
(9) responsibility [ ris7pCnsE5biliti ]n.责任, 职责
(10) Boston [ 5bCstEn ]n.波士顿(美国马萨诸塞州首府)
(11) Massachusetts [ 7mAsE5tFu:sits ]n.麻萨诸塞州
(12) veil [veil] n.面纱
(13) clergy [`klE:dVi] n.(集合称)圣职者, 牧师, 僧侣, 神职人员
(14) declare [ di5klZE ]vt.宣称, 宣布
(15) string [ striN ]n.琴弦
(16) instrument [ 5instrumEnt ]n.乐器
(17) banjo [ `bAndV[u] n.班卓琴, 五弦琴
(18) compromise [ `kRmpr[maiz] n.妥协, 折衷 v.妥协, 折衷, 危及...的安全
(19) communicate [ kE5mju:nikeit ]v.联系
(20) transportation [9trAnspC:`teiF[n] n.运输, 运送
(21) establish [ is5tAbliF ]vt.建立v.建立
(22) technology [ tek5nClEdVi ]n. 技术
(23) equipment [ i5kwipmEnt ]n.设备, 器材
(24) contain [ kEn5tein ]vt.包含
(25) clergywoman [ 5klE:dVi7wumEn ]n.女牧师
(26) Protestant [ `prRtistEnt] n.新教, 新教徒 adj.新教的, 新教徒的
(27) reverend [ `rev[rEnd] adj.(对牧师的尊称,前面与the连用)尊敬的
(28) monument [ `mRnjUmEnt] n.纪念碑
(29) circular [ `sE:kjUlE] adj.圆形的, 循环的
(30) statue [ `stAtjU:] vt.以雕像装饰 n.雕像
1 united | |
adj.和谐的;团结的;联合的,统一的 | |
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2 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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3 celebration | |
n.庆祝,庆祝会;典礼 | |
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4 groom | |
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁 | |
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5 estimate | |
n.估计,估量;评价,看法;vt.估计,估量 | |
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6 traditionally | |
adv.传说地;传统地 | |
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7 veil | |
n.面纱,掩饰物,修女;vt.给...戴面纱或面罩;vi.带面纱或面罩 | |
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8 honor | |
n.光荣;敬意;荣幸;vt.给…以荣誉;尊敬 | |
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9 clergy | |
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员 | |
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10 reed | |
n.芦苇,芦丛,簧舌,簧片 | |
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11 harp | |
n.竖琴;天琴座 | |
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12 compromised | |
[医]妥协,让步的,缺乏抵抗力的,缺乏免疫力的,妥协的 | |
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13 professional | |
adj.专业的;职业的;n.专业人员;职业运动员 | |
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14 transportation | |
n.运输,运输系统,运输工具 | |
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15 web | |
n.网,蛛丝,蹼,织物,圈套,卷筒纸;vi.生蹼,形成网;vt.织蜘蛛网于,使落入圈套 | |
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16 provided | |
conj.假如,若是;adj.预备好的,由...供给的 | |
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17 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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18 grandchildren | |
n.孙子;孙(女),外孙(女)( grandchild的名词复数 ) | |
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19 Washington | |
n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都) | |
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20 monument | |
n.纪念碑;遗址,遗迹;有永久价值的作品,不朽的功业 | |
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21 memorial | |
adj.记忆的;纪念的;n.纪念碑,纪念堂 | |
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22 circular | |
adj.圆(形)的,环形的;循环的;n.传单,通报 | |
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23 studio | |
n.摄影棚(场);演播室;画室;工作室 | |
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