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!