Sham weddings

 　　NB: This is not a word for word transcript¹

　　Yvonne: I'm Yvonne Archer², this is 6 Minute English and Rob has joined me for today's

　　programme. Hello, Rob!

　　Rob: Hello, Yvonne, good to be here!

　　Yvonne: So, with the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton just a

　　few days away, I thought we'd talk about weddings – but weddings of a

　　different kind. Any ideas, Rob?

　　Rob: Hmm. Is it your wedding?

　　Yvonne: Well, before I reveal all – you'd better answer today's question!

　　Rob: OK then – fire away.

　　Yvonne: OK. How long was the world’s longest-lasting³ marriage?

　　a) 79 years

　　b) 82 years or

　　c) 86 years

　　Rob: Hmm. I’ll have a guess at 79 years – I think 86 and 82 years is just a little bit

　　too long.

　　Yvonne: Mm. As usual, I'll tell you the correct answer at the end of today's "6 Minute

　　English! Now, back to weddings, and today, we're talking about 'sham⁴

　　weddings'. Rob, would you explain what 'a sham wedding' is for us, please?

　　Rob: Yes, of course. Well, something that's 'a sham' isn't genuine – it's not real. So,

　　for example, in a sham wedding, one of the people getting married may be

　　doing it for money.

　　Yvonne: And you've got two more examples there for us haven’t you, Rob - adjectives

　　that describe something that isn't real or genuine.

　　Rob: Yes, we can say 'fake' or 'phoney' - which is an American English word. So, 'a

　　fake wedding', 'a phoney wedding'.

　　Yvonne: Thanks. Now, it's not just the people who are actually marrying each other who

　　are guilty in the event of a sham wedding. Alex Brown, a Church of England

　　minister was found guilty of conducting sham marriages at his church. Here's

　　June Kelly, the BBC's Home Affairs Correspondent, on what happened to him:

　　Insert 1: June Kelly

　　He was jailed for joining together 360 bogus brides and grooms⁵ over a four year period.

　　Now, if a couple want a C of E service and one of them is a non-European, they'd have

　　to apply for a common licence first; greater scrutiny⁶ for them and more controls on the

　　clergy⁷.

　　Yvonne: Alex Brown was actually jailed. The BBC's June Kelly describes what he did

　　over a four year period as: 'joining together 360 bogus brides and grooms'. Of

　　course, 'brides and grooms' are women and men who are about to be joined

　　together in marriage. But can you explain what 'bogus' brides and grooms are

　　for us please, Rob?

　　Rob: Well, 'bogus' is another adjective we can use to describe something that's not

　　genuine. For example, false information might be described as 'bogus'; 'I was

　　given a bogus address and phone number' for example.

　　Yvonne: Yes, that's a good example. As we heard, if a couple wants to have a C of E

　　wedding - that's short for 'a Church of England wedding' - and one of them is

　　non-European, they now have to apply for a common licence. Why, Rob?

　　Rob: Well, applying for a common licence means greater controls on the clergy -

　　that’s the vicars and ministers - so they can avoid conducting sham marriages.

　　And there will be greater scrutiny for couples - more thorough background

　　checks on them - to make sure they're not bogus brides and grooms.

　　Yvonne: The Church of England, together with the UK Border Agency, has developed

　　guidance to help stop vicars being exploited - or unfairly used - by people who

　　want them to carry out sham marriages. The British Immigration Minister,

　　Damian Green MP, explains more about what he thinks the guidance will

　　achieve.

　　Insert 2: Damian Green MP, British Immigration Minister

　　There's been more freedom for vicars to act in the past. So what this does is make it

　　necessary for them to take action, which will mean that anyone trying to marry in

　　church - which the criminal gangs that lie behind sham marriages have often exploited

　　as a fairly easy loophole - that loophole will now be gone.

　　Yvonne: Damian Green believes that a loophole will now be gone, making it much

　　more difficult for bogus couples, vicars and criminal gangs to carry out sham

　　weddings. So, how would you describe 'a loophole', Rob?

　　Rob: A loophole. Well, that’s something that allows people to escape punishment

　　even if they're doing something wrong, because the law doesn't specifically say

　　that it's illegal. For example, people sometimes escape paying taxes because of

　　a loophole in the law.

　　Yvonne: And it's a loophole that has lead to an increase - a rise - in the number of sham

　　weddings taking place here in the UK. So, we’ve mentioned a Royal Wedding,

　　a sham wedding and now for the world's longest marriage! Rob, how many

　　years did you say the longest lasting marriage went on for?

　　Rob And I said 79 years. Was I right?

　　Yvonne: No, it was actually 86 years!

　　Rob: Wow, that’s a long time!

　　Yvonne: It’s an American couple that’s been married for 86 years and eleven months.

　　Rob: Congratulations!

　　Yvonne: Now, as your reward, Rob, you get to remind us of some of the language we've

　　heard today!

　　Rob: Certainly, OK! We heard:

　　a sham wedding

　　6 Minute English ? bbclearningenglish.com 2011

　　Page 5 of 6

　　phoney

　　bogus

　　scrutiny

　　a loophole

　　Yvonne: Beautifully read, Rob! Now, that's all we’ve got time for on today's "6 Minute

　　English" - but we hope you'll join us again soon.

　　Both: Goodbye!

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

5 grooms   

n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• Plender end Wilcox became joint grooms of the chambers. 普伦德和威尔科克斯成为共同的贴身侍从。 来自辞典例句
• Egypt: Families, rather than grooms, propose to the bride. 埃及：在埃及，由新郎的家人，而不是新郎本人，向新娘求婚。 来自互联网

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。