第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

精彩对白：

Jane: Good morning, Gina.

Gina: Hi.

Jane: You haven't seen my Filofax anywhere, have you?

Gina: No.

Jane: No. Okay. I'll go look for it. Did you get those catalog pages in for George?

Gina: No.

Jane: Okay. No worries. I'll get them from production.

Casey: Attagirl. Show her who's boss.

Jane: I'm not her boss.

Casey: You're the boss's assistant. Same diff. What's the good of your job if you can't abuse the power?

Jane: Casey, go to Accounting.

Casey: Now you're bossy.

Jane: Where the hell did I put that thing?

Kevin: That is a great idea for the front page of the section.

Maureen: Oh, come on, Doyle. How many times have I heard this from you?

Kevin: I'm telling you, Maureen: It's a great idea.

Maureen: Really? As great as your last great idea, an expose on price-fixing at wedding bakeries?

Kevin: Yes! Yes! They're ripping people off. Flour costs pennies per ounce. That's an 800% markup. It's outrageous.

Maureen: Yes, it is. Also, no one cares.

Kevin: What about the piece I wanted to do on the exploitation of workers in lace factories? That is a killer piece.

Maureen: Oh, right. That's what people really wanna read about in the Style section. Kevin, this section practically pays for the entire paper: Our advertisers want fun, upbeat, colorful human-interest stories... opposite their products.

Kevin: So that's what we're about now? Making money?

Maureen: Get out.

Kevin: All right. Listen. That was not right. I get it. But this one is. Look, this woman has been in seven weddings-

Maureen: So?

Kevin: This year. She was in two on Saturday alone. But it won't just be about her. It'll be an incisive look at how the wedding industry has transformed something: That should be an important rite of passage into nothing more than a corporate revenue stream. In a fun, upbeat, you know, cheerful way. Look, Maureen, I am dying back there in Commitments. If I have to write another sentence about baby's breath, I'm gonna shoot myself. This is a real story. This is what I wanna do.

Maureen: I need you covering weddings. That's what you're good at. And that's what I need you to do.

Kevin: If you don't start giving me feature stories, I'm gonna have to quit.

Maureen: All right. One chance. If I don't like it, you go back to Commitments for the rest of your life with a big smile on that ridiculously handsome face of yours.

Kevin: Deal.[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

 

1. Filofax: 备忘记事本。Filofax是一种商标的名称，指一种轻便的活页文件夹，用来装日记本、文件、信用卡等，80年代雅皮士族经常备带。

2. Attagirl: 好啊，好棒，an informal expression of encouragement or admiration to a woman or girl（表达对女性的赞叹，非正式用语）。

如果赞叹的对象是一位男性，我们可以用attaboy来表达。

3. Same diff: 一回事。Same diff是一种 oxymoron（矛盾修辞法），用来形容something as being the same as something else（两件事其实是一回事），常在说错话时用来做借口。

例如："You said jackflap, not flapjack" "Same-diff"）“你刚才说的是jackflap，而不是flapjack。”“那不是一回事嘛。”

4. bossy: 专横的，盛气凌人的。

例如：No, she is stingy, narrow-minded and bossy.（不，她小气，心胸狭窄，又拔扈。）

5. front page: 头版。

例如：The news got a front-page splash.（该消息在头版醒目地登出），而排front page的版面，我们就可以说：to make up the front page。

6. price-fixing: 限定价格，指一种价格垄断行为。Maureen在这里是说，Kevin上次报道了婚礼蛋糕店“开天杀价”的行为。

7. rip off: 宰客，敲诈。

The used car advertisement is a big rip-off.（这个二手汽车广告是个大骗局），我们从不刊登这样的广告to rip off the customers（宰客）。

8. rite of passage: （标志人生重要阶段的）通过仪式，重大事件，a ceremony or an event that marks an important stage in sb's life. 比如出生、成人、结婚等等，所以有时也用复数rites of passages。

9. die back: 枯死，枝叶枯萎。Kevin在这里的意思是说，“我写《承诺》专栏写到闷”。

10.baby's breath: 水香花菜，满天星，这里泛指婚礼上的花束。

11:deal: 一言为定。这个词现在常单独使用，用来表示答应对方提出的条件。[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

1. 就是嘛，还不鸡毛当令箭？

_________________________
2. 像那篇揭发结婚饼开天杀价？

_________________________
3. 你专栏那页是全报最卖钱的。

_________________________
4. 我写《承诺》专栏写到闷。

_________________________

答案见下期

27 Dresses《新娘靠边闪》精讲之一    参考答案

1. This is a serious injury. I need you to give me some ice. You, give me a bottle of 100-proof liquor...and something she can bite on- stat!
2. Which part, the forced merriment, horrible music or bad food?
3. Don't you think it's a whole lot of ritual for something that…Let's face it- It's got about a 50-50 shot of making it out of the gate.
4. But, yes, marriage, like everything good and important, isn't easy. Cynicism, on the other hand, always is.[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

美国婚礼风俗（上）

"I do." To Americans those two words carry great meaning. They can even change your life. Especially if you say them at your own wedding. Making wedding vows is like signing a contract. Now Americans don't really think marriage is a business deal. But marriage is serious business.

“我愿意。”这句话对美国人来说包含深远的意义。它甚至可以改变一个人的生活，特别是如果你在自己的婚礼上说出这句话。发出结婚誓言就如同签订契约一般。如今美国人并不真正认为婚姻是一宗商业交易，但婚姻确实是件严肃的事。

It all begins with engagement. Traditionally, a young man asks the father of his sweetheart for permission to marry her. If the father agrees, the man later proposes to her. Often he tries to surprise her by "popping the question" in a romantic way. Sometimes the couple just decides together that the time is right to get married. The man usually gives his fiancée a diamond ring as a symbol of their engagement. They may be engaged for weeks, months or even years. As the big day approaches, bridal showers and bachelor's parties provide many useful gifts. Today many couples also receive counseling during engagement. This prepares them for the challenges of married life.

一切从订婚开始。在传统上，年轻男子先要请求女朋友的父亲允许自己娶她。如果女方的父亲答应，然后男方才能向女方求婚。男方时常尝试以罗曼蒂克的方式“蹦出这个问题”，想给女方一个惊喜。有时双方只是一起决定，该是结婚的时候了。男方通常会送给未婚妻一只钻石戒指作为订婚的象征。订婚期可以持续几个星期、几个月，甚至几年。当大喜的日子临近时，双方各自的好友在婚前派对上会赠送许多实用的礼物。今天，许多未婚夫妻在订婚期间还听取咨询意见，以此为应付婚姻生活的挑战作好准备。

At last it's time for the wedding. Although most weddings follow long-held traditions, there's still room for American individualism. For example, the usual place for a wedding is in a church. But some people get married outdoors in a scenic spot. A few even have the ceremony while sky-diving or riding on horseback! The couple may invite hundreds of people or just a few close friends. They choose their own style of colors, decorations and music during the ceremony. But some things rarely change. The bride usually wears a beautiful, long white wedding dress. She traditionally wears "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue". The groom wears a formal suit or tuxedo. Several close friends participate in the ceremony as attendants, including the best man and the maid of honor.

最后就该举行婚礼了。虽然大多数的婚礼沿袭长期以来的传统，但是仍有发挥美国人的个性主义的余地。例如，通常举行婚礼的地点是在教堂，但是有些人却在户外的风景点举行婚礼，少数人甚至在跳伞或骑马时举办仪式！新人可以邀请几百个客人，也可以只邀请几个最要好的朋友。婚礼的色调风格、布置和音乐都由他们自己决定。但有些事情很少会变化。新娘通常都穿一件漂亮的长长的白色结婚礼服。按传统习惯，新娘的穿着要包括“一点旧的，一点新的，一点借来的和一点蓝色的东西”。新郎则穿着一套正式的西装或无尾晚礼服。几位亲密的朋友参与婚礼作为陪伴，包括伴郎和伴娘。