特别广播英语第 85 课：Marriage in Iran and America: A Study in Contrasts
伊朗和美国的婚俗：一项对比研究 -1

Though marriage is practiced in almost all countries of the world, the customs are quite different from one culture to another. 虽然几乎全世界所有国家的人民习惯上都操办婚事，但结婚的风俗具有某一种文化观念的国家同另外一些文化观念的国家却完全不同。

It is interesting for me to compare the customs of marriage in the United States with those in my country. 让我来比较一下美国的婚俗跟我的祖国伊朗的婚俗是很有趣的。

I've lived in the U.S. for four years now, but I'm still not comfortable with the customs here. 虽然到现在为止我已经在美国生活四年了，但我对这里的风俗仍然感到不习惯。

In fact, what seems strange to me is that courting or dating is not always for the purpose of finding a husband or wife. 事实上，令我感到不可思议的事情就是在美国求爱和约会异性的目的并不总是为了要找到丈夫或老婆。

Some people seem to do it as a hobby. 我觉得有些美国人把求爱和约会异性当成了一种嗜好。

Here in the United States, I have noticed that courting is begun by the young couple themselves, and they seem to have a lot of freedom to decide and do what they want. 在美国，谈恋爱是由一对一对的年青人自由自主开始进行的。我的思想上觉得美国青年人在决定或者做他们想做的事情方面有很大的自由。

Both young men and women date a number of different people. 青年男女双方都跟为数众多的异性约会过。

They do it without the knowledge or help or their parents. 他们跟异性约会时，他们的父母连知道都不知道，也插不上手来帮帮忙。

In fact, I have known several friends who got married without even telling their parents or other family members. 事实上，有认识好几个美国朋友，他们在结婚时，甚至连自己的父母或家中其他的人都没有告诉。