More than 4 million Americans get married each year. Some of these people will have a traditional wedding ceremony in a religious center, a hotel or a social club. These couples may invite hundreds of people to their celebrations¹.
每年有4百多万美国人结婚。其中的一些人会在宗教中心、大饭店或是社交性的俱乐部举行传统的婚礼。这些夫妇可能会邀请成百上千的人参加他们的结婚庆典。

Other couples² will have a simple ceremony performed by a judge³ 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 trip⁴ to a faraway place or to help them buy a house.
有的夫妇则会在公共建筑中举行由法官主持的简单婚礼。他们只邀请近亲和很好的朋友。他们可能没有钱举办大型的婚礼。或者他们想省钱去远方结婚旅行或是省下钱来买房子。

Americans get married in different ways. But the meaning of all these weddings is the same. The bride and groom promise to spend the rest of their lives together.
美国人结婚的方式多种多样。但所有婚礼的意义却是相同的。新郎新娘互相承诺，共度一生。

Big weddings have created a huge business⁵ in the United States. A big wedding requires⁶ special clothing, flowers, food preparation, photographs and music. Experts say the average American wedding costs about 20,000 dollars. Some estimates⁷ say Americans spend as much as 70,000 million dollars a year for everything connected with⁸ weddings.
大型婚礼为美国创造了巨大的商机。一场大型的婚礼要求特别的服装、花卉、食物、照片和音乐。专家认为，平均每场美国式婚礼的花销大约是2万美元。据估计，美国人每年在与婚礼相关的事项上花费达700亿美元。

Traditionally, the bride's parents plan and pay for the wedding. Sometimes the groom⁹'s parents share¹⁰ this responsibility. Today many Americans are older when they get married. So they often organize and pay for their own weddings.
传统上，应由新娘的父母亲筹划婚礼并支付婚礼所需的开销。有时新郎的父母亲会分担这一责任。今天，许多美国人的结婚年龄较大。因此他们经常会自己安排婚礼并支付婚礼的开销。

For example, a businessman and a nurse in Boston, Massachusetts will marry later this month. They will have a traditional American church wedding. The bride will wear a long white dress and a white head covering¹¹ called a veil¹². She also will wear four other traditional things: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. These four things are supposed to bring her good luck.
例如，马萨诸塞州波士顿的一位商人和一位护士本月末即将结婚。他们将举行传统的美国式教堂婚礼。新娘将穿上白色的长裙，戴上白色的头罩—面纱。她还将带上其它四件传统饰物—有旧的、新的、有借来的和蓝色的。这四件饰物将给她带来好运。

During the ceremony, she and her groom will accept each other as husband and wife. They will promise to love and honor each other always. The groom will place a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the bride's left hand. The bride will place a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the groom's left hand. The clergy member performing¹³ the ceremony will declare¹⁴ that they are husband and wife. Then the bride and groom will kiss.
在婚礼中，新娘和新郎将互相接受对方作为自己的丈夫和妻子。他们承诺永远互敬互爱。新郎把金戒指戴在新娘左手的第三个手指上。新娘把金戒指戴在新郎左手的第三个手指上。主持婚礼的牧师宣布他们结为夫妻。然后新娘和新郎接吻。

In the past few months，the couple agreed about all the plans for their wedding except the music. The groom wanted a friend to play a string instrument¹⁵ called a banjo¹⁶ during the ceremony. The bride wanted a friend to play a string instrument called a harp. Now they have compromised¹⁷. They agreed that another friend will sing one of the most popular songs heard at American weddings. Celine Dion sings this song, "My Heart Will Go On."
在过去的几个月中，这对夫妇就有关他们婚礼的所有计划达成一致，但婚礼上的音乐还没有确定下来。新郎要一位朋友在他的婚礼上演奏一种名叫班卓琴的弦乐。新娘要一位朋友演奏一种名叫竖琴的弦乐。现在他们达成了一致。他们同意让另外一位朋友演唱一首婚礼上最流行的歌。Celine Dion演唱的这首"My Heart Will Go On"。

1. Why do some people choose to have a simple ceremony as mentioned in the report?
a. They do not have much time.
b. They do not want to spend too much money.
c. They have few friends and relatives.
d. They cannot find a suitable church.

2. How much does an average American wedding cost?
a. 2,000 dollars
b. 20,000 dollars
c. 7,000 dollars
d. 70,000 dollars

3. According to tradition, ______ will pay for the wedding.
a. the bride’s parents
b. the groom’s parents
c. the couple themselves
d. all the above mentioned

4. What’s the meaning of the four traditional things?
a. They are sign of family traditions.
b. They are sign of true love.
c. They are sign of good wishes.
d. They are just funny stuff, no special meaning.

5. What will be the music at the Boston couples’ wedding ceremony?
a. A friend of the groom will play the banjo.
b. A friend of the bride will play the harp.
c. A friend of them will sing a song.
d. Celine Dion will sing “my heart will go on”.

Key: 1. b 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. c

1. celebration n. 庆祝，庆祝仪式（活动）
2. couple(s) n. 夫妇，通常用作复数。
3. judge n. 法官
4. wedding trip 结婚旅行
5. huge business 巨大的商机 (business指“交易，买卖”)
6. require v. 需要，要求
例句：The new position requires a college degree.
这个新职位要求有大学学位。
7. estimate n. 估计；估价
例句：Official estimates put the damage at over $10 million.
据官方估计，这次损失超过了1000万美元。
8. connect with---connected with 和……相关、相连
例句：The young man is closely connected with the scandal.
那个年轻人和丑闻密切相关。
9. groom n. 新郎（bride指新娘）
10. share v. 分担，，分享，分摊
例句：I shared my happiness with my friends.
我与朋友们一起分享快乐。
11. head covering 头罩
12. veil n. 面纱
13. perform v. 主持，举行（通常用作“履行，执行”）
例句：① The ceremony was performed on April 1.
仪式在4月1日举行。（举行）
② One should always perform what one promises.
一个人总要说话算话。(履行)
14. declare v. 宣布
例句：The local government declared its support for the proposal
当地政府宣布支持这一建议。
15. string instrument 弦乐
16. banjo n. 班卓琴（一种有格子纹的细颈弦乐器）
17. compromise v. 妥协，和解，达成一致
例句：After arguing for an hour, we finally compromised on the issue.
在争论了一个小时后，我们最终在这个问题上达成了一致。