订婚

[00:00.00]The man usually gives the woman a diamond engagement ring.

[00:04.85]That tradition is said to have started when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to the woman he wanted to marry.

[00:14.77]The diamond represented beauty.

[00:17.30]He placed it on the third finger of her left hand.

[00:22.31]He chose that finger because it was thought that a blood vessel or nerve in that finger went directly to the heart.

[00:32.23]Today, we know that this is not true.

[00:35.44]Yet the tradition continues.

[00:37.89]Americans generally are engaged for a period of about one year if they are planning a wedding ceremony and party.

[00:46.53]During this time, friends of the bride may hold a party called a bridal shower .

[00:53.97]Women friends and family members give the bride gifts she will need as a wife.

[01:00.10]These could include cooking equipment or new clothing.

[01:04.12]Friends of the groom may have a bachelor party for him.

[01:08.14]This usually takes place the night before the wedding.

[01:12.34]Only men are invited to the bachelor party.

[01:15.86]It is considered the groom's last night out as an unmarried man.

[01:21.63]During the marriage ceremony, the bride and groom usually exchange gold rings that represent the idea that their union will continue forever.

[01:33.58]The wife often wears both the wedding ring and engagement ring on the same finger.

[01:40.11]The husband wears his ring on the 3rd finger of his left hand.

[01:45.33]Many people say the purpose of the engagement period is to permit enough time to plan the wedding.

[01:52.74]But another purpose is to let enough time pass so the two people are sure they want to marry each other.

[02:01.12]Either person may decide to break the engagement.

[02:05.06]If this happens, the woman usually returns the ring to the man.

[02:10.96]They also return any wedding or shower gifts they have received.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

婚礼 1

[00:00.00]More than 4 million Americans get married each year.

[00:04.12]Some of these people will have a traditional wedding ceremony in a religious center, a hotel or a social club.

[00:13.80]These couples may invite hundreds of people to their celebrations.

[00:18.88]Other couples will have a simple ceremony performed by a judge in a public building.

[00:25.62]They will invite only close family members and friends.

[00:30.02]They may not have the money to spend on a big wedding.

[00:33.99]Or they may want to save money for a wedding trip to a faraway place or to help them buy a house.

[00:42.76]Americans get married in different ways.

[00:45.91]But the meaning of all these weddings is the same.

[00:49.49]The bride and groom promise to spend the rest of their lives together.

[00:54.97]Big weddings have created a huge business in the United States.

[01:00.18]A big wedding requires special clothing, flowers, food preparation, photographs and music.

[01:08.43]Experts say the average American wedding costs about 20,000 dollars.

[01:14.64]Some estimates say Americans spend as much as 70,000 million dollars a year for everything connected with weddings.

[01:25.13]Traditionally, the bride's parents plan and pay for the wedding.

[01:30.58]Sometimes the groom's parents share this responsibility.

[01:34.86]Today many Americans are older when they get married.

[01:39.40]So they often organize and pay for their own weddings.

[01:43.68]For example, a businessman and a nurse in Boston, Massachusetts will marry later this month.

[01:51.69]They will have a traditional American church wedding.

[01:55.05]The bride will wear a long white dress and a white head covering called a veil.

[02:01.50]She also will wear four other traditional things: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

[02:12.06]These four things are supposed to bring her good luck.

[02:16.00]During the ceremony,she and her groom will accept each other as husband and wife.

[02:22.84]They will promise to love and honor each other always.

[02:27.25]The groom will place a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the bride's left hand.

[02:34.37]The clergy member performing the ceremony will declare that they are husband and wife.

[02:40.95]Then the bride and groom will kiss.

[02:44.02]In the past few months,the couple agreed about all the plans for their wedding except the music.

[02:51.62]The groom wanted a friend to play a string instrument called a banjo during the ceremony.

[02:58.29]The bride wanted a friend to play a string instrument called a harp.

[03:03.62]Now they have compromised.

[03:05.99]They agreed that another friend will sing one of the most popular songs heard at American weddings.

[03:13.87]Celine Dion sings this song, "My Heart Will Go On. "

 

 

婚礼 2

[00:00.00]Couples planning their weddings can get wedding advice from married friends.

[00:05.71]They can study magazines published especially for people getting married.

[00:10.95]They can pay a professional wedding planner to help organize the ceremony and party.

[00:17.76]And they can also use the Internet computer system to plan their wedding.

[00:23.48]"Modern Bride" magazine says more than 1 million couples buy wedding products and services on the Internet.

[00:33.16]The bride and groom can communicate with family members and friends who will take part in the celebration.

[00:41.40]They can look at pictures of clothes they may wear during the ceremony.

[00:46.20]They can choose flowers.

[00:48.06]They can decide where to hold the wedding party, and what food and drink will be served.

[00:55.54]They can study where to take a wedding trip.

[00:58.91]They can buy tickets for transportation and hotels.

[01:03.53]Some couples also establish their own Web sites.

[01:07.86]This way, they can provide needed information to people invited to the wedding from distant places.

[01:16.31]For example, 200 people were invited to a recent wedding in Chicago, Illinois.

[01:23.96]The couple had the ceremony in a church near the bride's home.

[01:28.45]But more than half of those who attended lived far from Chicago.

[01:34.06]The wedding couple's Web site advised these guests about places to stay and things to do in the city.

[01:42.82]It provided maps showing how to reach the church and the club where the wedding dinner would be served.

[01:50.86]The bride said she saved time and money by not having to mail this information to the guests.

[01:58.04]Wedding guests traditionally give a gift to the bride and groom.

[02:03.20]Computer technology also is making it easier for guests to find the perfect gift.

[02:10.17]Sometimes guests can do this without leaving home.

[02:13.82]For example, a couple can go to a store and choose gifts they would like to receive.

[02:20.87]These include things for their home like dishes and cooking equipment.

[02:26.76]The store can print a list of all these things.

[02:30.65]This list can also be found on the Internet.

[02:34.62]Guests can buy a gift at the store or on the Internet.

 

婚礼 3

[00:00.00]Sometimes the bride and groom give gifts to their guests.

[00:04.12]These gifts may be baskets filled with candy and small bottles of wine.

[00:09.65]Or the baskets may contain objects that will help guests remember the wedding celebration.

[00:16.69]For example, a bride from South Carolina loves to play tennis.

[00:22.33]Her gift baskets included tennis balls printed with the couple's names and the date of their wedding.

[00:30.10]Another bride and groom were married in a hotel garden.

[00:34.12]The ceremony took place on a hot spring day.

[00:37.70]Guests received gifts of hats to protect them from the sun.

[00:42.13]Experts say about half of American weddings this year will not be costly or require months of planning.

[00:51.21]Melinda Reed is a clergywoman at a Protestant church in Bethesda, Maryland.

[00:57.79]Reverend Reed says many couples today choose simple, nontraditional weddings.

[01:05.43]This is especially true of older people who have been married before.

[01:11.07]She recently performed a nontraditional wedding for an older couple.

[01:15.92]Their wedding ceremony was held in the garden of a private home.

[01:20.80]The couple had a total of ten children from their earlier marriages.

[01:26.17]Their many grandchildren all took part in their ceremony.

[01:30.53]Reverend Reed also performed a nontraditional wedding ceremony for a bride and groom who were more than 80 years old.

[01:40.00]They were married quietly in an office in the church.

[01:44.28]But later, the couple danced at a big party for family and friends.

[01:49.76]Couples can have simple wedding ceremonies almost anywhere.

[01:54.69]Some people have their weddings on a beautiful beach or in a wooded area.

[02:00.01]Others marry in the home of a friend.

[02:02.83]Friends and family members help prepare the wedding meal.

[02:06.77]A couple in Washington, DC was married almost 30 years ago in a public park.

[02:13.94]Now their twenty-seven-year-old son is planning to marry this year.

[02:18.90]He says he and his bride will be married in the same park.

[02:23.86]Earlier this month, Reverend Reed performed a wedding at a famous monument in Washington.

[02:30.62]The couple had received permission to marry at the Jefferson Memorial.

[02:35.78]This circular white memorial contains a statue of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.

[02:44.58]Visitors to the memorial gathered nearby to watch and listen.

[02:49.82]The statue of President Jefferson watched over the wedding couple as they promised to live together for the rest of their lives.