Part 1 Before the Wedding 结婚准备

Dialogue Script 对话原文

Nancy: Have you heard about Dana?
Scott: No, I haven't talked to her for a couple of months. How are things with her?
Nancy: Well, she is just so-so right now. She had a little accident last week in her new car.
Scott: Oh, you are kidding. Was anybody hurt? Was there much damage?
Nancy: No, it was really a small accident and everybody was fine. It was the other driver's fault.
Scott: Well, that's good. Other than that, how's she doing? Is she still going out with David?
Nancy: Haven't you heard yet? They're getting married!
Scott: You are kidding!
Nancy: She said he gave her a ring on her birthday.
Scott: That's great!
Nancy: Yeah. Everybody's really happy about it. He is a great guy.
Scott: Lucky, too.

讲解：

1. 在西方，恋爱中的男女要结婚，首先要由男方向女方求婚（propose），在求婚时男方应向女方赠送订婚戒指（an engagement ring）。因此，当人们提到 "He gave her a ring" 时，其意义通常是He proposed to her, she accepted, and they are now engaged.（男方向女方求婚，女方接受了求婚，两人现在已经定婚了）。

2. 订婚的男女应立即将他们的结婚计划告之各自的父母，通常由新娘的父母宣布定婚和婚礼。按照传统，由新娘的家庭承担大部分婚礼费用，而新郎家一方则负责彩排宴和其他事宜。婚礼正式开始前一两天应有一个彩排，这样做的目的是使参加婚礼的每个人都熟悉他们在婚礼上要例行的程序。

3. 婚礼在西方国家是一个非常重要的场合，在举行婚礼前好几个星期，亲朋好友就会收到邀请信。婚礼是在教堂而且是在白天举行，如果你获邀请，那么在参加婚礼时着装应非常正式。女宾客穿鸡尾酒会礼服或长衬衫加节日外套或毛衣；男宾客则要穿礼服。值得注意的是，女士穿裤子是不合适的，无论裤子是什么颜色。

4. 送礼是许多民族的共有的习惯，那么亲朋好友结婚时送什么好呢？我们提供一些原则供大家参考：首先是可能为受礼人所喜欢的物品，其次是不要太昂贵，再有就是要具有实用性。送结婚礼物有一个一年的“宽限期”。只要你在新婚夫妇结婚一周年纪念日送出礼物都是可以的。传统的礼物包括银器、瓷器、水晶制品以及经久耐用的东西。不过，如今的结婚礼物也包括电器设备和实用物品。

5.在这段对话中，Nancy向Scott介绍了他们共同的好朋友Dana的近况。令Scott感到些许惊讶的是，Dana就要和她的男朋友David结婚了。Nancy向Scott都为Dana感到高兴。hear about，听到关于某人（某事）的消息。Have you heard about Dana? 戴娜的近况你听说了吗？另外，关于hear还有两个常用的词组，一个是hear from，意为“接到某人的来信、来电等”；另一个是hear of，听说过。注意，not hear of sth 是“不允许某事”的意思，for instance, He won't hear of my walking home alone.他 不允许我单独一人走回家。

6. Other than that, how's she doing? 除那以外，她其它方面怎么样？以前的教科书总是这样教我们，在向人问好时可以说How are you?然而实际上现代人——特别是年轻人在打招呼时往往更多地说，How are you doing? 希望大家能够记住这个用法。另外，just so-so,意思是“一般化，还算凑合”。

7. 当Scott问Nancy，Dana是不是还在和David约会时，Nancy回“They are getting married.”意思是，他们就要结婚了。请大家注意，这里用的是现在进行时，但表示的意思却是将在发生的事。
Part 2 On Wedding Day 西方婚礼的传统和习俗

Dialogue Script 对话原文

Julia: I would prefer a sincere affair of a few people. Here you really felt that it was a meaningful thing, and not just a showy prestigious affair for...for parents to show off what they can provide for their daughters or son.
Ray: But that's an important thing for the parents to do, isn't it? I mean, parents at that...it ought to be ...parents ought to be allowed to do this.
Julia: But one is getting married, not one's parents.
Ray: Yes, but it's the parents who are paying for it. And it's the parents who've, if you like,...brought up this young girl or man to...
Julia: Surely the money that is spent...I'd prefer to see the money spent on something more worthwhile.
Ray: Yes, but it's not...it may not be your money as such. And I think if the parents are paying for it, then they should have a great deal to say about it. If they prefer a large wedding and they prefer to...to invite Aunty Fole, Uncle Bill who you haven't seen since you were two years old, well, I think that's their prerogative.
Julia: So it really boils down to what they prefer rather than what...the son or daughter prefers...
Ray: Well, not entirely. But nevertheless I think it is important that they should...that they be consulted.

讲解：

1. Modern wedding customs and traditions have their origins in the past, many coming from the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome, the bride wore a girdle fastened with many tiny knots. The groom had the pleasure of untying all those knots before he could bed his new wife.

Up until the 1400's, the bride usually wore her best dress regardless of the color. It was Queen Victoria (1840) who began the present day fashion of wearing white as the wedding dress. It is also considered unlucky for the bride to make her own wedding dress.

The idea of having bridesmaids, pages, a best man and ushers originated with the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couple's happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people.

The custom of the best man probably goes back to the days when the groom took a friend with him when he went to kidnap the bride from her home. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community. These were the ancestors of our stag and hen parties.

东方人自古以来，喜欢用浓重的颜色表示自己的快乐与喜庆；西方人，特别是虔诚的耶稣的信徒们，更是从宗教信义上出发，认为男女的结合是圣洁的，代表着神圣的生儿育女生活的开始，所以必须用圣洁的白色来妆点它，这才是最完美的。因此，西方人的婚礼多用白色来布置，从古老的教堂婚礼到现代的前卫婚礼，无不见新娘们穿着雪白的婚纱，挽着闪着珠光的白色小拎包，洁白的纱手套上捧着的是一大捧粉白的百合。这样的习俗延续了几百年，至今未变。

婚礼中配伴娘、男童、男傧相和迎宾员的观念源于这样一种信仰，即嫉妒新人幸福的邪恶幽灵会冒出来伤害他们，但如果婚礼上有许分着装类似的人，就能迷惑幽灵。配男傧相的习俗大概要追溯到那种年代，那时新郎往往要用上一个朋友去新娘家把她绑架出来。铃在婚礼上叮当作响原是为了吓走邪恶幽灵，而在婚礼之前举办热闹的庆祝会也是为了把那些邪恶幽灵从新人和他们的亲朋好友中赶走。这就是"雄鹰会"和"母鸡会"的由来。

西方人婚礼上随处可见花，从教堂到酒店，小到教堂中的每一把椅子，无处不有花的存在。他们喜爱使用粉色系的花，粉白，粉兰，粉红，粉绿，粉紫，粉黄...而且他们喜欢使用新鲜的花朵，绝不会采用假花。一般每对新人结婚，鲜花的使用量是相当大的。随处可见的就是花，因为每一位盛装出席的女士，不论其年龄，都会在发髻处戴上一小束花以示对新人们的尊重。

在西方国家，通常婚礼的活动就是抛花球的游戏，其他小游戏很少。在步出教堂后，新娘要背转身将手中的花球向后抛去，最后被哪个女宾接到，她就是下一个幸福的新娘。所以在这个时候，所有未婚的女宾都会主动站到前一排来，做好抢花球的准备，为的是沾沾新娘的喜气。

2. 在这段对话中，Julia和Ray在讨论父母在子女结婚时所扮演的角色。Julia认为婚礼是子女们自己的事儿，不必兴师动众，大操大办。父母亲不应将其视为向别人炫耀的平台。Ray 则认为，由于婚礼的费用主要来自父母，因此他们应该有一定的发言权，况且，从尊重长辈的角度出发，无论如何，在终身大事的问题上与父母商量也是很重要的。

3. showy, 浮华的，（过分）艳丽的；show off是“向人炫耀，卖弄”的意思。

4. provide常常有两种用法，一种是provide sb with sth，另一种是provide sth for sb，表达的意思差不多；另一个是bring up，意思是“教育，培养，抚养成人”。

5. Aunty Fole和Uncle Bill，指很久没见面的阿姨或叔叔，不特指哪一个阿姨或叔父，也许很多人。
Part 3 Some Marriage Traditions 西方婚俗趣谈

Dialogue Script 对话原文

Lisa: I have surprising news for you.
Billy: What's that?
Lisa: Barbara is getting married.
Billy: Well, isn't that simply wonderful! My best wishes to her. Who's the lucky guy?
Lisa: Jason. He proposed last Saturday night at the formal dance.
Billy: My, how romantic! When is the big day?
Lisa: This August.
Billy: Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding?
Lisa: Well, Barbara is a catholic. So, there will be a church wedding.
Billy: Good. So Barbara will be a bride. She will be very beautiful in her wedding gown.
Lisa: She's hoping I'll be her maid of honour.
Billy: Did you promise her?
Lisa: Yes, I did. It'll be my first time.
Billy: Who did Jason ask to be his best man?
Lisa: My boyfriend, Tom.
Billy: That's very interesting. The groom's best man is the maid of honour's boyfriend.
Lisa: And they will go to a large restaurant for the reception after the wedding ceremony.
Billy: That will be very expensive for the father of the bridegroom, won't it?
Lisa: No, the bride's family is responsible for the entire wedding——arrangements, costs, etc.
Billy: That's why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding.

讲解：

1. The giving of an "engagement" ring was first practiced when the groom "purchased" his bride. By giving a token, such as a ring, he pledged to marry her in return for her dowry and social status, among other things. The tradition of giving a diamond began with the Italians. It was believed that diamonds were created from the "flames of love" and represented everlasting love.

The Wedding Kiss dates back to Roman times. The kiss was to seal the marriage legally between the couple and must be witnessed by another person. In addition to the groom not being allowed to see the bride before the ceremony, the veil was also used to protect the bride from being seen by evil spirits and jealous suitors. To this day, it is considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony.

The rowdy bachelor parties were the invention of the Spartan Soldiers. It became customary for the groom to feast with his friends the night before the wedding, often celebrating his last night of freedom by getting severely drunk (not much has changed it seems). In modern times, women have decided they also want their night of fun, so now it is traditional for women to have Stagette or Bachelorette parties as well.

西方婚礼中的许多风俗都有独特的象征和内涵，这里我们向大家介绍一些。首先是赠送钻戒，《圣经》中说，在远古时代，男子向女子求婚所用证物就是指环。9世纪时，教皇尼古拉一世颁布法令，规定男方赠送婚戒给女方是正式求婚不可缺少的程序。

新娘礼服的色彩代表着传统，也有其特定的含义，例如白色代表纯洁的童贞。美国、英国新娘选用黄色礼服则象征爱神和富足。另外，新娘在婚礼当天佩戴头饰的习俗由来已久，古代女子在适婚年龄都头戴花环，以区别于已婚妇女，象征着童贞。西方女子在结婚时也有戴面纱的习俗，最初，新娘戴面纱是年轻和童贞的象征，而信奉天主教的新娘戴面纱则代表纯洁。因此，许多新娘赶赴教堂举行婚礼时都选择戴双层面纱。新娘的父亲将女儿交给新郎后，由新郎亲手揭开面纱。

最后，根据习俗，婚礼以新人的亲吻宣告结束。这一吻富有深刻的含义：通过接吻，一个人的气息和部分灵魂留在另一个人体内，爱情使他们合二为一。

2. 在这段对话中，Lisa告诉Billy，Barbara要结婚了。然后Billy说，Well, isn't that simply wonderful! 哇，那简直是妙极了！

3. 接下来Billy又问，Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding?那么church wedding不用多说，就是教堂婚礼；而civil wedding则是指不举行宗教仪式的世俗婚礼，公证婚礼。

4. 由于Barbara是个天主教徒，所以要举行教堂婚礼。在这里有几个词要讲一下，首先是wedding gown，大家一定能猜得出，它的意思是“结婚礼服”；另外，通过对话，我们知道了男、女傧相应该怎么说，男傧相是best man，而女傧相则是maid of honour。

5. That's why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding. 这句话的意思是，这就是为什么在美国，很多做父亲的开玩笑说他们宁可扶着梯子让女儿爬过去私奔，而不愿为她的婚礼付款。