“新郎学院”教男友烹饪熨衣铺床

 　　A new service has launched which promises to transform undomesticated grooms² into perfect husbands-to-be, yours for only ?199.

　　一项新的服务项目横空出世，声称可以让从未染指家务的新郎，摇身一变成为完美的准老公，而你只要花费199英镑。

　　Edinburgh's Double Tree by Hilton hotel has dubbed³ its concept The Groom¹ Academy, and teaches hapless fiancés how to hone their skills at ironing, bed-making, cooking and even cocktail⁴ making.

　　爱丁堡(Edinburgh)的希尔顿逸林酒店推出了“新郎学院”的概念，教倒霉的未婚夫们学习熨衣、铺床、烹饪，甚至是调鸡尾酒的技巧。

　　Jennifer Hutchinson, 28, from Falkirk, may already have agreed to marry Nick Hogarth, her boyfriend of eight years, but still felt he was in dire⁵ need of a crash course in general housekeeping.

　　28岁的詹尼弗·哈钦森(Jennifer Hutchinson)，来自英国福尔柯克（Falkirk），她本已打算嫁给交往八年的男友尼克·荷加斯(Nick Hogarth)，但她仍觉得对方急需恶补一下如何做家务。

　　新郎学院

　　She said: 'Nick has always put football, Playstation, work and his mates before me and he’s awful with dates!

　　她说：“尼克老是把足球、游戏机和他的狐朋狗友看得比我重要，而且他的时间观念还很差！”

　　'He never helps with the washing up, never tidies up after himself and his time management is awful. He’s got tons of bad habits and I’ve still not got it through to him that leaving the toilet seat up just isn’t on.

　　“他从不帮忙洗衣服，从不自己做卫生，时间观念还很差。他有一堆的坏习惯。直到现在，他还不能按照我说的在如厕后把马桶盖掀起来。”

　　'Sometimes I feel more like his mother than his fiancée, so I decided⁶ I’d had enough, it was time for the Groom Academy.'

　　“有时我觉得自己更像是他的妈妈，而不是未婚妻。我受够了，是时候把他送去‘新郎学院’了。”

　　From her point of view, at least, it was a resounding⁷ success.

　　至少在她看来，这个决定很成功。

　　'It was great fun,' she said. 'Nick clearly learned a lot and he’s definitely more aware of cleaning up after himself.'

　　“太有意思了，”她说道，“尼克显然学到不少，他更加注重个人卫生。”

　　'I normally have to iron his shirts but hopefully he’ll be able to do that for himself now. It was great fun seeing him learning the things I’ve had to do for him for year.

　　“往常总是我帮他熨衬衫，但现在他能独立完成。看他学做这些原本我帮他做了多年的家务，这真是太有趣了。”

　　'He looked quite confused a lot of the time but now he’s got all the skills he needs to be a great husband.

　　“一开始他很迷茫，但现在他已经全部掌握当一名好丈夫的技能了。”

　　'I love him to bits and I think he’ll be a great father one day but he needed whipping into shape and hopefully this experience has done that.'

　　“我很爱他，我认为将来他会成为一名好爸爸。但他需要打造，希望这次的经历能帮助他成长。”

　　The couple first met while Jennifer was working as a waitress at Nick’s hotel during her time at university.

　　这对情侣第一次邂逅时，还是在校大学生的詹妮弗在尼克所在的酒店兼职当服务员。

　　Nick, who proposed to Jennifer last year, said: 'It wasn’t my decision to come to Groom Academy, and I can’t say I was looking forward to it - but I’ve really enjoyed the experience.

　　尼克去年向詹妮弗求婚了，他说：“不是我自己决定去‘新郎学院’的，也不能说我对此很期待，但我得承认我还蛮享受这个过程的。”

　　'I’ve never been a domestic god - not by any stretch. I could throw a sheet and make a vodka and coke but that’s about as far as it goes.

　　“我从来不是家务能手，一点也算不上。我会把床单一扔，来一杯伏尔加酒加可乐。但这样的日子离现在可远了。”

　　'I play football regularly. Monday to Friday I’m at work, I play football two to three times a week and I go out drinking with my friends at weekends.

　　“我常踢足球，周一至周五上班，每周踢个两三次，周末和朋友出去喝点酒。”

　　'With all that in mind, I think it’s fair to say I don’t spend enough time with Jen so Groom Academy has taught me a lot of valuable lessons.

　　“有这堆事情在脑子里，确实和詹妮弗待在一起的时间不多，‘新郎学院’给我上了不少宝贵的课。”

　　'Learning how to iron properly was really interesting and, now that I know how to make the bed like a professional, I can’t really get away with leaving it in a mess again!

　　“学着如何正确熨衣服还真有趣，现在我也知道怎么专业地铺床了。我再也不会让房间一团糟就离开！”

　　'I’ve learnt an awful lot and I’m looking forward to being a better husband and being able to help a bit more.'

　　“我学了很多，希望将来能成为一个更好的丈夫，能为家里帮点忙。”

　　Nick and Jennifer are due to be married at Rothesay Castle on the Isle⁸ of Bute in August and they plan to spend their honeymoon⁹ touring the United States.

　　尼克和詹妮弗定下今年八月在布特（Bute）岛的罗思塞(Rothesay)城堡举行婚礼，他们准备去美国度蜜月。

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 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

3 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 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。

7 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

8 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

9 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。