Take Away English-Hollywood Wedding Bells 好莱坞婚礼钟声

A wedding with all the trimmings

It was the Hollywood wedding of the year. Heartthrob Tom Cruise married his young bride Katie Holmes in a fairytale castle in Odescalchi near the Italian capital, Rome.

About 150 relatives and friends gathered for the ceremony which was shrouded¹ in secrecy². The guest list included many of the rich and famous from both sides of the Atlantic. Actors Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith were there along with the comedian³ Jim Carrey and model Brooke Shields. One of Britain's top celebrity⁴ couples David and Victoria Beckham were invited but only Victoria managed to attend the wedding ceremony because her husband David was ordered back to Spain to play a Real Madrid football match.

The groom⁵ is a member of one of the world's most recent religions, Scientology, which was founded in 1955 by the science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard. It's a controversial religion because some people think it tries to recruit new members by using coercive methods.

The wedding was a Scientologist service and although it had many elements familiar to traditional marriage ceremonies, including rings and wedding vows⁶, it also included certain aspects which are fundamental to Scientology, such as vowing⁷ never to go to sleep at night without talking about any differences or disagreements first.

A spokesman for the Church of Scientology said its wedding ceremonies are not legally recognised in Italy so Katie and Tom will also have to have a civil union to make their marriage legal in the eyes of the law.

Fans who waited for a glimpse of the bride, groom and their famous wedding party were disappointed. They had to wait under overcast⁸ Italian skies to catch even the most fleeting⁹ sight of the celebrities¹⁰ as they rushed by in limousines¹¹ or under umbrellas.

But despite the rain, there's an old Italian proverb that Katie can take heart from for the rest of her married life – a wet bride is a lucky bride. That means that if it rains on your wedding day, it's a sign you'll have a happy marriage.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
fairytale 童话，童话般的 from both sides of the Atlantic 大西洋两岸(英国和美国) celebrity couples 名流伉俪 science fiction writer 科幻作家 to recruit 招/征收（成员） wedding vows 结婚誓言 not legally recognised 无法律效应的 a glimpse 一瞥 rushed by 来去匆匆的 proverb 谚语	shrouded in secrecy 充满神秘的 comedian 喜剧演员 ordered back 被召回 controversial 有争议的 coercive 强迫的；威逼的 fundamental 原本的；基本的 a civil union 民事结婚登记 the most fleeting sight of 短促的一瞥 limousines 大型/加长高级轿车 take heart from 聊以自慰/欣慰

 

1 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

3 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

4 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

5 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

6 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

7 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

8 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

9 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

10 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

11 limousines   

n.豪华轿车( limousine的名词复数 )；（往返机场接送旅客的）中型客车，小型公共汽车

参考例句：

• Elearor hated to use White House limousines because she didn't want people spying on her. 埃莉诺很不愿意使用白宫的小轿车，因为她不愿让人暗中监视她。 来自辞典例句
• Maybe they are seeking for spacious houses and limousines. 也许在追求阔宅豪车。 来自互联网