THIS IS AMERICA - Weddings

THIS IS AMERICA -June 3, 2002: Weddings

By Jerilyn Watson
VOICE ONE:

Almost two-and-one-half million marriages are performed each year in the United¹ States. June is one of the most
popular months for these wedding ceremonies. I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. We tell about weddings on our report today on the VOA Special English program, THIS
IS AMERICA.

((CUT ONE: “TRUMPET² VOLUNTARY”))

VOICE ONE:

Almost five-million Americans get married each year. Some of these people will have a traditional wedding
ceremony in a religious³ center, a hotel or a social club. These couples may invite hundreds of people to their
celebrations⁵.

Other couples will have a simple ceremony performed by a judge in a public
building. They will invite only close family members and friends. They may not
have the money to spend on a big wedding. Or they may want to save money for a
wedding trip to a faraway place or to help them buy a house.

Americans get married in different ways. But the meaning of all these wedding is
the same. The bride and groom⁶ promise to spend the rest of their lives together.

VOICE TWO:

Big weddings have created a huge business in the United States. A big wedding requires special clothing,
flowers, food preparation, photographs and music. Experts say the average American wedding costs about
twenty-thousand dollars or more. Some estimates⁷ say Americans spend as much as seventy-thousand-million
dollars a year for everything connected with weddings.

Traditionally⁸, the bride’s parents plan and pay for the wedding. Sometimes the groom’s parents share this
responsibility⁹. Today many Americans are older when they get married. So they often organize and pay for their
own weddings.

VOICE ONE:

Two computer experts from Reston, Virginia, were married Saturday. They had a traditional American wedding.
The bride wore a long white dress and a white head covering called a veil¹⁰. She also wore four other traditional
things: Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. And something blue. These four things are
supposed to bring her good luck.

During the ceremony she and the groom accepted each other as husband and wife. They promised to love and
honor¹¹ each other always. The groom placed a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the bride ’s left hand. The
bride placed a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the groom’s left hand. The clergy¹² member performing
the ceremony declared them husband and wife. Then the bride and groom kissed.

During the past year the couple organized all the plans for their wedding. For several months, they could not
decide what music they wanted to be played at their ceremony. Finally, they chose music often heard at weddings

– “Sheep May Safely Graze¹³”
by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Couples getting married on
Valentine's Day

((CUT TWO: “SHEEP MAY SAFELY GRAZE”)
)
VOICE TWO:
Couples planning their weddings can get advice in many different ways. They can ask their married friends. They

can study magazines published especially for people getting married.

 

Couples who are very busy sometimes hire a wedding planner to help them with their
preparations. For example, the planner helps the bride find a wedding dress. The planner
helps find a place for the party after the ceremony. This person organizes the food, the music
and all the details for the party.

VOICE ONE:

Couples also can use the Internet computer system to prepare for their wedding. Modern
Bride magazine says almost half of Americans getting married buy wedding products and
services on the Internet.

The bride and groom can use the Internet to communicate with family members and friends
who will take part in the celebration⁴. They can look at pictures of wedding clothes. They can
choose flowers. They can decide where to hold the wedding party, and what foods and
drinks will be served. They can study where to take their trip after the wedding. This trip is
called the “honeymoon¹⁴.
”
They can buy airplane tickets and decide on a hotel.

Some couples who are planning a wedding also establish their own Web¹⁵ sites. This way,
they can provide needed information to people invited to the wedding from distant places.
The Web site advises guests about places to stay and things to do in the area. It provides
maps showing how to reach the church and the place where the wedding dinner will be
served.

VOICE TWO:

Wedding guests traditionally give gifts to the bride and groom. Computer technology also is
making it easier for guests to find the perfect gift. Sometimes guests can do this without
leaving home.

For example, a man and woman who are getting married can go to a store and choose gifts they would like to
receive. These include things for their home like dishes and cooking equipment. The store can print a list of all
these things. This list also can be found on the Internet. Guests can buy a gift at the store or on the Internet and
have it sent to the couple.

VOICE ONE:

Sometimes the bride and groom give gifts to their guests. These gifts may be small baskets filled with candy and
little bottles of wine. The baskets may contain objects that will help guests remember the wedding celebration.
For example, a bride from New York City loves chocolate candy. Her gift baskets included large chocolate
candies in the shape of hearts. The couple ’s names and the date of their wedding ceremony were written on the
candies.

There is another way that guests can remember a wedding. There are small cameras that do not cost much and are
used to take only about twenty or thirty pictures. Many couples give such a camera to each group of guests at the
party after the ceremony. One of the guests takes pictures of all the other guests sitting around the table. Later,
the wedding couple or their families develop the film and send copies of these pictures to all the guests.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Experts say about half of American weddings this year will not be costly¹⁶ or require months of planning.
Sometimes people have simple marriage ceremonies so they can take a costly wedding trip. Many travel


companies offer trips for the wedding couple to faraway places. For example, a bride and groom can enjoy a
wedding trip to a historic¹⁷ castle in Britain. Or they can sail to islands in the Caribbean Sea on a large ship.

Some people have simple, nontraditional weddings. They have their weddings at home, sometimes in a garden if
the weather is nice. Friends may provide food and play music for the party after the ceremony. Other couples are
married by a judge in a public building.

A public relations worker in Baltimore, Maryland, and an airline pilot from Washington¹⁸, D.C., recently decided¹⁹
to get married. The pilot knew he would soon be called back into active service in the Marine²⁰ Corps²¹. So the
couple was married in a small room in a church called a chapel²². Only family members attended the ceremony.

VOICE ONE:

Other couples choose a special place for their wedding ceremony. For example, a businessman and a health
worker in Greenville, South Carolina are in their middle thirties. Each has been married before. This couple
drove²³ to Miami, Florida to be married. A clergyman performed their ceremony on a beautiful Atlantic Ocean
beach.

Many young couples plan nontraditional weddings that include traditions from their cultures. For example, one
bride is from Shanghai, China. She is studying in the United States. The groom is an American lawyer. Their
ceremony will honor both his Jewish²⁴ religious traditions and her Chinese customs²⁵.

A Protestant clergyman in the state of Maryland has performed hundreds of wedding ceremonies over the years.
He advises couples to remember that their wedding takes place in a single day. However, he says their feelings
for one another must last a lifetime²⁶.

((CUT THREE: “WEDDING MARCH”
FROM “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”))

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

3 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

4 celebration   

n.庆祝，庆祝会；典礼

参考例句：

• The celebration passed off successfully.庆祝活动圆满结束。
• The celebration of Christmas is a custom.庆祝圣诞节是一种习俗。

5 celebrations   

n.庆祝( celebration的名词复数 )；庆祝会（仪式）

参考例句：

• The mayor was there to dignify the celebrations. 市长的光临为庆祝活动增辉。
• Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations 维多利亚女王登基50周年庆典

6 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。

7 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 traditionally   

adv.传说地；传统地

参考例句：

• Traditionally,people clean the house before the Spring Festival.传统上，人们在春节前打扫房子。
• Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year.根据传统，医学奖是诺贝尔奖每年颁发的第一个奖项。

9 responsibility   

n.责任，职责

参考例句：

• The safety of the ship is the captain's responsibility.确保船的安全是船长的责任。
• The matter is outside my area of the responsibility.此事超出我的责任范围。

10 veil   

n.面纱，掩饰物，修女；vt.给...戴面纱或面罩；vi.带面纱或面罩

参考例句：

• Please veil your face.请用面纱遮住脸。
• There was a veil of mist over the mountains.山上覆盖着一层薄雾。

11 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

12 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。

13 graze   

v.(牲畜)吃草；放牧；擦过(牲畜)；n.擦伤

参考例句：

• There is good grassland here for your cattle and horses to graze on.这里有很好的草地供你们放牧牛马。
• Nothing serious.Just a graze.没关系，就破了一点皮。

14 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

15 web   

n.网，蛛丝，蹼，织物，圈套，卷筒纸；vi.生蹼，形成网；vt.织蜘蛛网于，使落入圈套

参考例句：

• The spider weaves a web.蜘蛛织网。
• You mean the World Wide Web?你是说国际互联网？

16 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

17 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

18 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

21 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

22 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

23 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

24 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

25 customs   

n.海关，关税

参考例句：

• The customs officials turned the man over to the French police.海关官员把那个人移交给了法国警察。
• They are collecting customs.他们正在收缴关税。

26 lifetime   

n.一生，终身，寿命，使用期限

参考例句：

• He wrote many books during his lifetime.他一生著作甚多。
• During his lifetime his work was never published.他的作品在他的有生之年从未出版过。