礼节美语 Business Etiquette 071

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他中午吃饭在餐厅找到美国同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C：Amy, 能找到你，太好了。

A：Will you join me?

C：好啊，我正好有事问你。

A：What is it?

C：我有个同事两个星期后结婚。

A：Where is the wedding going to be held?

C：婚礼在北京举行，但是因为新郎和新娘都是美国人，所以要按美国的方式。

A：How interesting!

C：他们不回美国去结婚，是因为家里人想到中国来玩。

A：I can't blame them for wanting to see this beautiful part of the world where their relatives live and work.

C：这下我有机会体验一下美国式的婚礼了，不过我也遇到了一些问题。

A：I can probably guess what some of them are.

C：我记得你说过，要RSVP，就是不管能否出席，都要尽快跟人家说一声。

A：So did you?

C：邀请函里夹了回执卡和信封，我已经填好寄出去了。

A：Sounds as if you have it all figured out, Chen Hao.

CH：可我不知道应该送给他们什么礼物。

******

陈豪和Amy坐下边吃午饭。

C：我想知道美国人结婚，一般送些什么。

A：It is a tradition in change so you need to pay attention to what the bride and groom¹ want.

C：我怎么能知道新郎新娘需要什么呢？

A：In today's wedding world, couples often register² for gifts with an online registry.

C：什么叫Online Registry ？网上注册？

A：It's a wedding site on the Internet. Couples use registries to indicate gifts they like or need. You just go to the site they indicate and order.

C：哦，结婚的人可以上网注册，把需要的礼物列出来，供亲朋好友参考。可我怎么找到那个网站呢？

A：If the bride and groom have registered³, they will send you the website as part of the invitation or in a follow-up e-mail.

C：邀请函上好像是有个网址，不过我当时没太注意。好，我回去先看看他们注册的礼品单子上都有些什么。

A：That's the idea.

C：我买好了礼物，婚礼那天一块儿带去。

A：Oops. Bad idea.

C：为什么？我想看着他们打开礼物时高兴的样子。

A：Chen Hao, they will not open presents during the wedding ceremony or reception.

C：干嘛不拆礼物？

A：It is not part of the American tradition and it only complicates⁴ things.

C：我不太明白。

A：When the bride and groom have left the event, a family member or friend has to gather any gifts that were brought to the wedding and be responsible⁵ for keeping them for the newly-weds until they return from their honeymoon⁶.

C：那不是很麻烦吗？

A：It could be a lot to manage.

C：我知道了，所以最好是事先买好礼物寄过去。

A：You got it!

 

1 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。

2 register   

n.登记簿，花名册，注册员；v.登记，注册

参考例句：

• Please list your name in the attendance register.请在点名册上登记你的名字。
• He was looking over a hotel register.他正在仔细检查旅馆住宿登记表。

3 registered   

adj.登记的，注册的

参考例句：

• Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulation. 船只在外国注册以逃避有关雇佣和安全的规定。
• In former times, only property owners could be registered as voters. 从前，只有有财产的人才能登记作选民。

4 complicates   

使复杂化( complicate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• What complicates the issue is the burden of history. 历史的重负使问题复杂化了。
• Russia as a great and ambitious power gravely complicates the situation. 俄国作为一个强大而有野心的国家，使得局势异常复杂。

5 responsible   

adj.有责任的，应负责的；可靠的，可信赖的；责任重大的；vi.休息，睡；静止，停止

参考例句：

• He must be responsible to me for this matter.这件事他必须对我负责。
• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。

6 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。