特别广播英语第 86 课：Marriage in Iran and America: A Study in Contrasts
伊朗和美国的婚俗：一项对比研究-2

At the actual wedding ceremony, the father of the bride symbolically gives his daughter to the groom. 在真正举行婚礼时，新娘的父亲才象征性地做做样子把他的女儿交给新郎。

It's only a custom, I think, because the bride and groom already know each other quit well. 我认为，这样做只是按风俗习惯办事而已，因为新娘和新郎互相间早已经很了解了。

The bride and groom stand together in front of the religious leader or government official to be married. 新娘和新郎一起站在宗教领袖或政府官员面前被宣布正式结婚。

The official reads from a short prepared speech and then asks both the man and woman if they are willing to be married to the other. 这位政府官员在宣读了一篇现成的简短演讲词以后就会问当事人的男女双方，他们是否愿意同对方成亲。

If they both say "yes," and nobody attending the wedding stands up to object, they are declared "man and wife." 如果他们二人都回答"愿意"，然后参加婚礼的人中又没有人站起来反对他们结婚，那么他们就被宣布为"正式夫妻"了。

It is interesting that the two families are asked if there are any objections right during the ceremony. 就在举行婚礼的过程中，要征询双方的家人，有没有反对这两人结婚的意见，这实在太滑稽有趣了。

Perhaps it is because the family members are not as involved in the wedding preparations as they are in Iran. 也许这样做是因为这两家的家庭成员都不像在我们伊朗那样要参与婚礼的筹备工作的缘故吧。

Marriage is different in a number of ways in my country. 操办婚事在我的祖国有很多做法都是跟美国不同的。

In Iran, courting is more serious, and is performed strictly for the purpose of marriage. 在伊朗，提亲要更加严肃。提亲的目的很严格就是要成亲结婚。