VOA慢速英语2020 疫情期间的婚礼

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Marriage ceremonies, or weddings, are among the most important events in the lives of many people. The COVID-19 health crisis has severely¹ affected² weddings and damaged the multi-billion dollar industry that supports them.

Because of the virus, many couples in the United States and around the world have had to postpone³ "The Big Day" -- another way of saying wedding.

But now that some areas have eased rules on public gatherings⁴, plenty of couples are ready to say, "I do!" However, they may need to wear a face mask when they say it. And that has led to some problems.

Many couples are not willing to have a pandemic-looking wedding party. So, they are not willing to follow restrictions⁵ on large gatherings -- like wearing face masks, limiting the number of guests and social-distancing.

In early July, Reuters also reported that wedding venues⁶ in Turkey had re-opened, but with restrictions. Guests' temperatures were taken upon arrival. Tables had to be separated. And everyone -- including the bride and groom⁸ -- had to wear masks.

The marketing⁹ research company KPMG says that families in India spend an estimated $50 billion on weddings every year. The market in the U.S. is also huge, worth more than $72 billion a year.

To make couples happy, some places, or venues, in the U.S., are not following coronavirus safety restrictions. And this may be putting wedding industry workers at risk.

Wedding planners, photographers and musicians are just some of the people who earn money from wedding parties and related events. The pandemic quickly put a stop to their earnings¹⁰.

So now, as more couples are getting married, those employed in the wedding industry have little choice but to work. Recently, some have begun sharing stories of health risks.

One of them is Susan Stripling, a photographer from New York. She reported recently that some venues are not following guidelines on masks or limiting the number of wedding guests.

In Chicago, photographer Cherie Schrader told The Associated Press (AP) she felt tricked. Before taking a wedding job, Schrader had been told that all safety guidelines would be followed. Yet when she showed up for a July wedding, she found 165 unmasked people indoors and no signs of social distancing.

"It looked like a normal wedding pre-COVID," she said.

Alexis Alvarez of Chicago works as a wedding planner. She said her bridal parties have reduced the number of guests to help with social distancing. They are also asking guests to wear masks.

She told the AP, "The reality is guests that don't feel safe attending events ... aren't going to."

Alvarez uses other safety measures at her weddings.

Tables are spaced farther apart than usual. When possible, people are grouped by family. To avoid crowd issues, she advises some couples to hold separate celebrations with smaller groups of people at different times.

The face mask issue

Some couples argue that face masks will ruin the memories of their Big Day. Other couples are giving guests the choice to wear or not to wear a face mask. Still others are wearing beautiful face masks that match the wedding gown.

In Turkey, Biricik Kiziltas, a bridal gown designer, makes beautiful masks for the brides.

"Brides are already feeling sad, and they have no excitement," she told Reuters, "so we tried to make something to cheer them up."

Wedding planner Lynne Goldberg is organizing a December wedding party for 200 guests. The venue⁷ will be the home of the bride's parents in upstate New York.

Goldberg says the couple and their families do not want the pandemic to affect their wedding plans. So, there will be no face masks and no social distance warnings at the wedding.

Planning a wedding for 200 guests while social distancing is difficult, Goldberg said, "but doable." But asking 200 guests to not wear masks, she added, "is crazy."

Alexis Alvarez said she understands that face masks in photos and videos may ruin the look for many couples.

"The big question everyone needs to be answering right now," she said, "is -- what's the moral responsibility?"

Weddings causing COVID-19 outbreaks remain rare. But they do happen.

Back in early June, Reuters reported that a wedding party in Iran likely caused an increase in coronavirus infections. President Hassan Rouhani made this claim on state television, the story explained.

Reuters reported last month that Australia had banned singing, dancing and mingling¹¹ at weddings. Health officials did this after an increase in COVID cases were reported.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

I'm Anna Matteo.

And I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

couple – n. two people who are married or who have a romantic or sexual relationship

pandemic – medical noun : an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

guest – n. a person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor

bride – n. a woman just married or about to be married

groom – n. a man who has just married or is about to be married

photographer – n. a person who takes photographs especially as a job

cheer up – phrasal verb

crazy – adj. unable to think in a clear or sensible way

moral – adj. considered right and good by most people : agreeing with a standard of right behavior

mingle¹² – v. to move around during a party, meeting, etc., and talk informally with different people

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

4 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

7 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

8 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。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

12 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。