陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他中午吃飯在餐廳找到美國同事Amy。
(Office ambience)
C:Amy, 能找到你,太好了。
A:Will you join me?
C:好啊,我正好有事問你。
A:What is it?
C:我有個同事兩個星期后結婚。
A:Where is the wedding going to be held?
C:婚禮在北京舉行,但是因為新郎和新娘都是美國人,所以要按美國的方式。
A:How interesting!
C:他們不回美國去結婚,是因為家里人想到中國來玩。
A:I can't blame them for wanting to see this beautiful part of the world where their relatives live and work.
C:這下我有機會體驗一下美國式的婚禮了,不過我也遇到了一些問題。
A:I can probably guess what some of them are.
C:我記得你說過,要RSVP,就是不管能否出席,都要盡快跟人家說一聲。
A:So did you?
C:邀請函里夾了回執(zhí)卡和信封,我已經填好寄出去了。
A:Sounds as if you have it all figured out, Chen Hao.
CH:可我不知道應該送給他們什么禮物。
******
陳豪和Amy坐下邊吃午飯。
C:我想知道美國人結婚,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 ?網上注冊?
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,結婚的人可以上網注冊,把需要的禮物列出來,供親朋好友參考。可我怎么找到那個網站呢?
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:邀請函上好像是有個網址,不過我當時沒太注意。好,我回去先看看他們注冊的禮品單子上都有些什么。
A:That's the idea.
C:我買好了禮物,婚禮那天一塊兒帶去。
A:Oops. Bad idea.
C:為什么?我想看著他們打開禮物時高興的樣子。
A:Chen Hao, they will not open presents during the wedding ceremony or reception.
C:干嘛不拆禮物?
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:那不是很麻煩嗎?
A:It could be a lot to manage.
C:我知道了,所以最好是事先買好禮物寄過去。
A:You got it!