陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他中午吃饭在餐厅找到美国同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C：Amy, 能找到你，太好了。

A：Will you join me?

C：好啊，我正好有事问你。

A：What is it?

C：我有个同事两个星期后结婚。

A：Where is the wedding going to be held?

C：婚礼在北京举行，但是因为新郎和新娘都是美国人，所以要按美国的方式。

A：How interesting!

C：他们不回美国去结婚，是因为家里人想到中国来玩。

A：I can't blame them for wanting to see this beautiful part of the world where their relatives live and work.

C：这下我有机会体验一下美国式的婚礼了，不过我也遇到了一些问题。

A：I can probably guess what some of them are.

C：我记得你说过，要RSVP，就是不管能否出席，都要尽快跟人家说一声。

A：So did you?

C：邀请函里夹了回执卡和信封，我已经填好寄出去了。

A：Sounds as if you have it all figured out, Chen Hao.

CH：可我不知道应该送给他们什么礼物。

******

陈豪和Amy坐下边吃午饭。

C：我想知道美国人结婚，一般送些什么。

A：It is a tradition in change so you need to pay attention to what the bride and groom want.

C：我怎么能知道新郎新娘需要什么呢？

A：In today's wedding world, couples often register for gifts with an online registry.

C：什么叫Online Registry ？网上注册？

A：It's a wedding site on the Internet. Couples use registries to indicate gifts they like or need. You just go to the site they indicate and order.

C：哦，结婚的人可以上网注册，把需要的礼物列出来，供亲朋好友参考。可我怎么找到那个网站呢？

A：If the bride and groom have registered, they will send you the website as part of the invitation or in a follow-up e-mail.

C：邀请函上好像是有个网址，不过我当时没太注意。好，我回去先看看他们注册的礼品单子上都有些什么。

A：That's the idea.

C：我买好了礼物，婚礼那天一块儿带去。

A：Oops. Bad idea.

C：为什么？我想看着他们打开礼物时高兴的样子。

A：Chen Hao, they will not open presents during the wedding ceremony or reception.

C：干嘛不拆礼物？

A：It is not part of the American tradition and it only complicates things.

C：我不太明白。

A：When the bride and groom have left the event, a family member or friend has to gather any gifts that were brought to the wedding and be responsible for keeping them for the newly-weds until they return from their honeymoon.

C：那不是很麻烦吗？

A：It could be a lot to manage.

C：我知道了，所以最好是事先买好礼物寄过去。

A：You got it!