Additional Information：
 Most American weddings are held in churches.  The reception may take place in a rented hall such as a hotel banquet room.  Guests always give gifts at the reception.  Often the wedding reception is catered by the hotel or an outside catering service.  Alcoholic beverages are usually served including Champaign. 
大部分美國婚禮在教堂舉行。舉行宴會的地方有可能是在一個租用大廳，例如酒店的宴會廳。客人一般在宴會上贈送禮物。通常結婚宴席由酒店或者由外面一個承辦宴席行業(yè)承辦。各種酒飲料像香檳通常會供應。
【譯文】
——謝謝你邀請我來參加你朋友的婚禮。聽到新娘和新郎在婚禮上這樣互相說，我真驚訝。那樣很常見嗎？
——一些人使用一套標準的詞句，但是今天很多夫妻自己寫他們的結婚誓言。
——當他們上車時，你們傳統(tǒng)上的扔大米很有趣，但是在我看來不像是真正的大米。
——不是。是鳥食。我們不再丟大米是因為有人發(fā)現(xiàn)鳥兒一起來吃大米，很難消化。
——噢，我還沒想到了。這宴會讓我想起中國的婚禮。很多吃的喝的，音樂、跳舞，還有有趣的傳統(tǒng)儀式。
——你等著看下面的！新娘要準備丟花束了。我們過去看看。
——她周圍可圍了不少人。噢，看！那個小女孩捧到了！
——她是我朋友十歲的侄女。我猜這個家族很久不會再有人結婚了。

2.    Living together before getting married.
Zoe:  Hey Kevin, what are you doing here?  Don't you usually spend Tuesday nights at home studying?
Kevin:  I needed to get out of the house.  My parents just went ballistic6 over something my older sister told them.
Zoe:  What did she tell them?  Is she dropping out of college?
Kevin:  Nothing that serious.  She finally told them that she moved out of the dormitory a few months ago and has been living with her boyfriend.
Zoe:  And your parents took it badly? 
Kevin:  That's putting it mildly7.  My father started shouting at my sister and my mother just glared at her. 
Zoe:  Ouch, that sounds bad.  What did your sister do?
Kevin:  She started arguing back to my dad that how much she loves her boyfriend, how they're in love and it's not hurting anybody, and so on.  My dad said she's too young to do this, and that she should move out right away.
Zoe:  How long has your sister been with her boyfriend?
Kevin:  Three years.  They've been dating since freshman year.  They're even talking about marriage.
Zoe:  Really?  Then I guess living together would be a good idea.
Kevin: What do you mean?
Zoe:  Well, these days too many people are getting divorced.  If they live together, then at least they're finding out if they're really compatible8 or not.
Kevin:  I guess so.  Better to find out now than after you're married, when it's harder to get out.
Helpful Information： 
Since the 1960’s, America has been much more tolerant of couples living together—like husbands and wives—without being married. The issue of sex before marriage is generally not as upsetting to parents as it was before.
自1960年以來，美國對未婚同居的伴侶就越來越能夠接受。父母對婚前性行為通常也不會像以前那樣傷心。
【譯文】
——嗨，凱文，你在這兒干什么？星期二晚上你通常不是在家學習嗎？
——我當時是迫不得已要離開這個家。我父母對我姐姐告訴他們的事一下子大發(fā)雷霆。
——她對他們講了什么？她要從大學退學嗎？
——沒那么嚴重。她最后告訴他們幾個月前她搬出了宿舍，一直和她男朋友住在一起。
——那你父母覺得很不好嗎？
——那樣把事情說小了。我父親開始對我姐姐大喊大叫，我母親對她怒目而視。
——哎喲，聽起來很糟糕。你姐姐怎么做？
——她開始對我父親回嘴說她有多么愛她的男朋友，他們怎么相愛，而且沒有傷害任何人等等。我父親說她太小了不該這樣，而且她應該馬上搬出來。
——你姐姐和她男朋友在一起多久了？
——三年。他們從大學一年級開始就一直約會。他們甚至在談論結婚。
——真的嗎？那么我想在一起生活還是個好主意。
——你什么意思？
——唔，現(xiàn)在太多的人離婚。如果他們在一起生活，那么至少他們會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們是否能真正和睦相處。
——我想也是。現(xiàn)在發(fā)現(xiàn)比結婚后發(fā)現(xiàn)要好，到那時就很難擺脫了。

3.   Talking about mother in laws.
Ned:  Hi, Becky, what's up?
Becky:  Not much, except that my mother-in-law is driving me up the wall9.
Ned:  What's the problem?
Becky:  She loves to nit-pick10 and criticizes everything that I do.  I can never do anything right when she's around.
Ned:  For example?
Becky:  Well, last week I invited her over to dinner.  My husband and I had no problem with the food, but if you listened to her, then it would seem like I fed her old meat and rotten11 vegetables.  There's just nothing can please her. 
Ned:  No, I can't see that happening.  I know you're a good cook and nothing like that would ever happen.
Becky:  It's not just that.  She also criticizes how we raise the kids.
Ned:  My mother-in-law used to do the same thing to us.  If it wasn't disciplining12 them enough, then we were disciplining them too much.  She also complained about the food we fed them, the schools we sent them too, and everything else under the sun13.
Becky:  You said she used to?  How did you stop her?
Ned:  We basically sat her down and told her how we felt about her constant14 criticizing, and how we welcomed her advice but hoped she'd let us do our things.  She understood, and now everything is a lot more peaceful.
Becky:  That sounds like a good idea.  I'll have to try that.

《零距離美語會話[家庭]Lesson2:Herecomesthebride》永久閱讀地址: http://www.jiazhineng.cn/yingyu/1786/