陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他中午吃饭在餐厅找到美国同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C:Amy, 能找到你,太好了。

A:Will you join me?

C:好啊,我正好有事问你。

A:What is it?

C:我有个同事两个星期后结婚。

A:Where is the wedding going to be held?

C:婚礼在北京举行,但是因为新郎和新娘都是美国人,所以要按美国的方式。

A:How interesting!

C:他们不回美国去结婚,是因为家里人想到中国来玩。

A:I can’t blame them for wanting to see this beautiful part of the world where their relatives live and work.

C:这下我有机会体验一下美国式的婚礼了,不过我也遇到了一些问题。

A:I can probably guess what some of them are.

C:我记得你说过,要RSVP,就是不管能否出席,都要尽快跟人家说一声。

A:So did you?

C:邀请函里夹了回执卡和信封,我已经填好寄出去了。

A:Sounds as if you have it all figured out, Chen Hao.

CH:可我不知道应该送给他们什么礼物。

******

陈豪和Amy坐下边吃午饭。

C:我想知道美国人结婚,一般送些什么。

A:It is a tradition in change so you need to pay attention to what the bride and groom want.

C:我怎么能知道新郎新娘需要什么呢?

A:In today’s wedding world, couples often register for gifts with an online registry.

C:什么叫Online Registry ?网上注册?

A:It’s a wedding site on the Internet. Couples use registries to indicate gifts they like or need. You just go to the site they indicate and order.

C:哦,结婚的人可以上网注册,把需要的礼物列出来,供亲朋好友参考。可我怎么找到那个网站呢?

A:If the bride and groom have registered, they will send you the website as part of the invitation or in a follow-up e-mail.

C:邀请函上好像是有个网址,不过我当时没太注意。好,我回去先看看他们注册的礼品单子上都有些什么。

A:That’s the idea.

C:我买好了礼物,婚礼那天一块儿带去。

A:Oops. Bad idea.

C:为什么?我想看着他们打开礼物时高兴的样子。

A:Chen Hao, they will not open presents during the wedding ceremony or reception.

C:干嘛不拆礼物?

A:It is not part of the American tradition and it only complicates things.

C:我不太明白。

A:When the bride and groom have left the event, a family member or friend has to gather any gifts that were brought to the wedding and be responsible for keeping them for the newly-weds until they return from their honeymoon.

C:那不是很麻烦吗?

A:It could be a lot to manage.

C:我知道了,所以最好是事先买好礼物寄过去。

A:You got it!