讀點(diǎn)好英文:The BIessed Dress 幸運(yùn)的結(jié)婚禮服

The BIessed Dress 幸運(yùn)的結(jié)婚禮服

·Sandy Williams·

I got an engagement ring for Christmas. My boyfriend and I had been dating for almost a year and both felt the time was right to join our lives together in holy matrimony.

The month of January was spent planning our perfect Alabama June wedding. My mother, two sisters and I went to Huntsville, the closest town with a selection of bridal shops, to buy the gown that would play the leading role on my special occasion.

We had a wonderful time just being together and sharing silly jokes, but the day soon turned serious by afternoon：still no sign of the dress of my dreams. Both sisters were ready to give up and try another day in another town, but I coerced them into one more boutique.

I had a good feeling as we entered the quaint little shop filled with the scent of fresh flowers. The elderly clerk showed us several beautiful gowns in my size and price range, but none were right.As I opened the door to leave, the desperate shop owner announced she had one more dress in the back that was expensive and not even my size, but perhaps I might want to look at it anyway.When she brought it out, I squealed in delight.

“This was it！”

I rushed to the dressing room and slipped it on. Even though it was at least two sizes too large and more costly than I had anticipated, I talked Mom into buying it.The shop was so small that it didn't offer alterations, but my excitement assured me I would be able to get it resized in my hometown.

Excitement wasn't enough. On Monday morning, my world crumbIed when the local sewing shop informed me the dress simply could not be altered because of numerous hand-sewn pearls and sequins on the bodice.I called the boutique for suggestions but only got their answering machine.

A friend gave me the number of a lady across town who worked at home doing alterations. I was desperate and willing to try anything, so I decided to give her a call.

When I arrived at her modest white house on the outskirts of town, she carefully inspected my dress and asked me to try it on. She put a handful of pins into the shoulders and sides of my gown and told me to pick it up in two days.She was the answer to my prayers.

When the time came to pick it up, however, I grew skepticaI. How could I have been so foolish as to just leave a$1，200 wedding dress in the hands of someone I barely knew?What if she made a mess out of it?I had no idea if she could even sew on a button.

Thank goodness my fears were all for naught. The dress still looked exactIy the same, but it now fit as if it had been made especially for me.I thanked the cheerful lady and paid her modest fee.

One small problem solved just in time for a bigger one to emerge. On Valentine's Day, my fiance called.

“Sandy, I've come to the decision that I'm not ready to get married，”he announced, none too gently，“I want to travel and experience life for a few years before settling down.”

He apologized for the inconvenience of leaving all the wedding cancellations to me and then quickly left town.

My world turned upside down. I was angry and heartbroken and had no idea how to recover.But days flew into weeks and weeks blended into months.I survived.

One day in the fall of the same year, while standing in line at the supermarket, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see the alterations lady.She politely inquired about my wedding, and was shocked to discover it had been called off, but agreed it was probably for the best.

I thanked her again for adjusting my wedding gown, and assured her it was safely bagged and awaiting the day I would wear it down the aisle on the arm of my real“Mister Right”. With a sparkle in her eye, she began telling me about her single son, Tim.Even though I wasn't interested in dating again, I let her talk me into meeting him.

I did have my summer wedding after all, only a year later. And I did get to wear the dress of my dreams-standing beside Tim, the man I have shared the last eighteen years of my life with, whom I would never have met without that speciaI wedding gown.

桑迪·威廉姆斯

圣誕節(jié)的時(shí)候我得到了一枚婚戒。我和男友交往已快一年了，我們都感到是攜手步入神圣的婚姻殿堂的時(shí)候了。

整個(gè)1月我都忙于準(zhǔn)備我們6月將在亞拉巴馬州舉行的婚禮。我和母親，連同兩個(gè)姐姐前往最近的城市漢斯維爾的一些新娘禮服店去挑選結(jié)婚禮服，這可是婚禮中至關(guān)重要的一個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)。

我們母女四人高高興興，有說有笑。但是到了下午，仍然沒找到我夢想中的結(jié)婚禮服。大家都有點(diǎn)不耐煩，我的兩個(gè)姐姐都已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備就此打道回府，改天再到其他的城鎮(zhèn)去看看了，但是我硬拉她們陪我再多看一家小店。

當(dāng)我們進(jìn)入這家滿是鮮花的精致小店時(shí)，我有一種很好的預(yù)感。上了年紀(jì)的店員給我們介紹了幾件適合我穿的美麗禮服，價(jià)格也都在我的預(yù)算之內(nèi)，但都不是我想要的。正當(dāng)我打開店門準(zhǔn)備離開時(shí)，孤注一擲的老板娘喊著，在后面?zhèn)}庫里還有一件禮服，這件禮服很貴，甚至沒有我穿的號碼，但是也許我會(huì)看一眼。當(dāng)她拿出來時(shí)，我欣喜地叫出聲來：

“就是這一件了！”

我沖進(jìn)試衣間把身體“滑”進(jìn)去。盡管它要大上至少兩碼，價(jià)格也比我預(yù)想的要高很多，但我仍說服母親買下了它。這家店很小，連改衣服的服務(wù)都不提供，但是在激動(dòng)之余，我確信能在我們家附近的裁縫店把它改好。

然而盲目的激動(dòng)是無濟(jì)于事的。星期一早上，當(dāng)我們那兒的裁縫師告訴我因?yàn)槎Y服上手縫的珠子和飾片太多而沒法改動(dòng)時(shí)，我傻眼了。我打電話給那家服裝店尋求建議，聽到的卻只是機(jī)器的自動(dòng)應(yīng)答。

一個(gè)朋友給了我一個(gè)鎮(zhèn)上裁縫的電話，這個(gè)裁縫在家里干活。在絕望之余，我愿意進(jìn)行任何嘗試。于是我決定給她打個(gè)電話。

當(dāng)我趕到她在城鎮(zhèn)郊區(qū)的簡陋的白色房子時(shí)，她仔細(xì)地察看了我的禮服，并讓我穿上看看。她用別針將禮服的肩膀處和兩側(cè)別上，讓我兩天后來取衣服。她正是我祈禱的福音。

該去取衣服了，我卻忐忑不安起來。我怎么這么愚蠢，將一件價(jià)值1200美元的禮服交到一個(gè)一點(diǎn)也不了解的人手里。如果她改壞了怎么辦？我甚至不知道她會(huì)不會(huì)縫扣子。

謝天謝地，我的擔(dān)心都是多余的。禮服仍跟以前一樣，不過現(xiàn)在我穿上正合適，仿佛是為我量身定做的一樣。我謝過那個(gè)欣喜的女裁縫，并付了錢。

然而這只是解決了一個(gè)小問題，更大的問題還在后面。情人節(jié)那天，未婚夫打來了電話。

“桑迪，我決定了，我對婚姻還沒有做好準(zhǔn)備?！彼f著，語氣一點(diǎn)也不溫柔，“在成家之前，我要到各處走走，享受幾年單身生活。”

他把取消婚禮的所有麻煩留給我，道完歉就很快離開了這個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)。

我的世界顛覆了。我憤怒，心碎，不知道該如何撐過去。然而隨著日子一天天、一月月流走，我熬過來了。

在同年的秋季，一天在超市排隊(duì)結(jié)賬的時(shí)候，我聽見有人叫我的名字。一扭頭，是那個(gè)女裁縫。她很有禮貌地問起我的婚禮，當(dāng)?shù)弥蝗∠藭r(shí)她非常驚訝，但隨后告訴我這或許并不是件壞事。

我再一次感謝她成功修改了我的結(jié)婚禮服，并向她保證，禮服被我安全地放起來了，我等待著穿上它挽著我真正的“白馬王子”走上紅地毯的那天。她的眼睛里閃過亮光，開始跟我談起她的單身兒子提姆。盡管我對重新約會(huì)沒有興趣，我還是聽任她給我安排跟她兒子的約會(huì)。

我的夏季婚禮最終成為了現(xiàn)實(shí)，只不過是在一年以后。站在提姆身旁，我終于穿上了我夢中的結(jié)婚禮服。在隨后的十八年里，我們相親相愛，相濡以沫。如果不是因?yàn)檫@件特殊的禮服，我們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)相遇。

Practising&Exercise　實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升篇

核心單詞

engagement[in'geid?m?nt]n.訂婚；婚約

coerce[k?u'?：s]v.強(qiáng)制；迫使

anticipate[?n'tisipeit]v.預(yù)期，期望；預(yù)料

crumbIe['kr?mbl]v.粉碎，弄碎

skepticaI['skeptik?l]adj.懷疑的，多疑的

exactIy[ig'z?ktli]adv.確切地，精確地；完全地

assure[?'?u?]v.確定；確信

speciaI['spe??l]adj.特殊的；專門的，專用的

實(shí)用句型

I did have my summer wedding after aII, onIy a year Iater.我的夏季婚禮最終成為了現(xiàn)實(shí)，只不過是在一年以后。①did在這里表示強(qiáng)調(diào)。

②later是late的比較級，類似的表達(dá)還有earlier和early等。

翻譯練習(xí)

1.快穿上衣服跟我來。（slip on）

2.工作結(jié)束后請把工具收拾好。（pick up）

3.他的提議被否絕了。（turn down）