婚禮奏鳴曲

Love in Beijing（北京愛情故事）

【前情提要】

感冒的Paul在醫(yī)院巧遇了做胎檢的Sabrina，尷尬的二人第一次共同為還未出世的孩子奔波。而這樣的經(jīng)歷也讓二人重新審視了彼此的關(guān)系。

【本期劇情】

在小強(qiáng)的慶功宴上，他意外向Lily求婚，這讓Lily又驚又喜，疑慮重重的同時(shí)Lily還是很幸福地接受了小強(qiáng)；在婚禮上，剪不斷理還亂的其他主角也一一登場了。

【重點(diǎn)提示】

Language Focus / 語言點(diǎn)：

1. 語言背后的文化知識

2. 固定英語表達(dá)法

3. 閱讀難點(diǎn)解析

Situation Dialogues 情景對話

The Proposal 求婚

（小強(qiáng)和Lily一起出席了小強(qiáng)的慶功宴，風(fēng)姿綽約的Lily和衣冠楚楚的小強(qiáng)儼然就是一對金童玉女。）

Colleague 1: Hey， Qiang! Ganbei!

Xiao Qiang: (laughing) Oh man， not again.

Colleague 2: (putting his arm around Xiao Qiang) It's your duty as the guest of honour to get completely legless tonight， now come on!

Colleague 1: And you too， Lily – you have to support your man by getting equally drunk.

Lily: I would be able to support him a lot better on the way home if I weren't drunk!

(Laughter erupts.)

Client: And who is this beautiful young lady， Qiang?

Xiao Qiang: This is Lily. Lily， this is Mr. Dunn， an important client of mine.

Client: How do you manage to put in so many hours at work and still have such a gorgeous girlfriend， eh?

(Lily giggles nervously.)

Xiao Qiang: (laughing) Well， she's very supportive of me.

Boss Guy: (clinking his fork against his glass) Everyone! Apologies for interrupting while you're all eating， but I just want to say a few words about our guest of honour here tonight. (General applause erupts). Qiang has been with us for three years now， and in that short space of time he has managed to become indispensable to me， and to the company as a whole. I've come to rely on him a lot， and I know that at times this has been hard on him - what with the late nights and all the trips out of town – but I have to say， it's because I trust him that I work him so hard. And he has delivered the goods every time. So here's to our colleague， Qiang – for a great year， and hopefully many more to come.

(More applause and clinking of glasses as everyone toasts Xiao Qiang)

Xiao Qiang: Thank you， Mr. Wen， for your kind words. I'm so honoured that you're all here today.I honestly don't think that I'm any more deserving of such a tribute than any of my colleagues who sit here in this room. The guys on my team – Sheila， Jeff and Leo – you guys are fantastic.Without you， I couldn't do what I do. And also my wonderful clients， including Mr. Dunn here; I owe you so much. But the person I want to thank the most， from the bottom of my heart， is my girlfriend Lily. She's the single most important person in my life， and the woman that makes all the hard work worthwhile. Everything I do， I do for her. And without her support， I would never have gotten to where I am right now. So I guess I’m just mentioning this now in front of everyone because…well， I think she deserves to be celebrated here as much as I do， and I want everyone to know how much she means to me. So…without further ado…

(Xiao Qiang drops to one knee.)

Lily: Oh my god.

Xiao Qiang: (taking her hands in his) Lily， you've been my rock all these years. I can't imagine a life without you any more. Will you marry me and be my wife?

Lily: Oh Xiao Qiang….I would love to marry you!

(The two embrace as applause breaks out.)

Part Two: Going to the Chapel 盛大的婚禮

（在小強(qiáng)和Lily的婚禮上，每個(gè)賓客都喜氣洋洋，為豪華的婚禮增添了更濃重的歡樂氣氛。）

Paul: Sabrina， do you need anything to drink?

Sabrina: No thanks Paul， James has actually gone to get me some.

James: Here you are， Sabrina. Seltzer water with a twist of lemon.

Sabrina: Thanks! Oof， my feet are sore.

Paul: Put them up here in my lap， Sab.

James: Yeah， take your shoes off. Those things look like they pinch.

Sabrina: (Giggling) Boy， aren't I the princess? I have my two knights in shining armour looking after me. I can get too used to this.

James: Why not? (Taking a grand bow) We are at your service.

Paul: This is a lovely wedding.

Sabrina: I know. Can you believe that they pulled this together in less than a month? I was hoping I wouldn't be carrying this bump around by the time they tied the knot!

James: You look amazing， Sabrina.

Paul: Absolutely. Glowing.

Sabrina: She looks so beautiful…（sighing）I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to walk down the aisle in a white dress?

Paul: Of course you will.

James: (Jokingly) I'm always here， remember?

(Sabrina continues to watch Lily and Xiao Qiang greet their guests. A silence settles over the three.)

Sabrina: (To herself) She looks so happy…they were really meant to be together. Look what they both went through to get here. Me， on the other hand…what do I really want? Paul is the obvious choice， since he's the father， but…I can't help feeling that we wouldn't be a natural match if things hadn't turned out this way. And James clearly cares for me…No， I have to stop changing my mind.Paul is the right choice for me. He's the father of the baby， and what I want is what's best for her.

James: (To himself) She's so beautiful…I just want to be with her and look after her. I don't care if that child isn't mine. If she would be with me， I would still love it like my own.

Paul: (To himself) We really ought to do something like this. Every woman dreams of her own wedding day， and Sabrina deserves to have one too. Once the baby arrives and we settle down into a routine as a family， I'll properly propose to her. I love her， and it's the best thing for the baby.

(At another table， Elena is watching Casanova chat to a growing circle of women.)

Casanova:…so I pulled the whole， I'm-a-foreigner-I-don't-speak-Chinese thing， but he got so pissed. I think it just annoyed him even more.

Girl 1: So what did you do?

Casanova: Well， get this. So by this point there are five of them surrounding me， not to mention about 20 to 30 bystanders hanging around， nothing better to do…

Girl 2: Oooh， you must have been so nervous.

Casanova: And this copper pulls out a pair of handcuffs! Can you believe that? So I was like， woah， and then I just dropped the whole not speaking Chinese thing and started to tell him that I worked with some very important foreigners who worked with some very important Chinese people. I said， just take the bike: it's not worth much to me anyway. But if you try to take me into custody， you're gonna get into more trouble than it's worth.

Girl 3: Wow! Did they buy it?

Casanova: Of course they bought…h(huán)ey， Elena， where are you going?

(He runs to catch up with Elena， who had gotten up from the table and was walking towards the exit.)

Casanova: Hey， what's the matter? Are you feeling okay?

Elena: I'm fine.

Casanova: No you're not – you look like you're about to cry. What is it?

Elena: You know what， I'm sick and tired of you showing off and flirting with other women at every given opportunity!

Casanova: What?!

Elena: Every time we go out， it's like I stop existing to you.

Casanova: That's absurd! I'm very attentive to you.

Elena: Oh really? In the last hour， how many times did you bother to look over at me to see if I was okay? Zero. But you managed to refill that girl's drink twice， and…

Casanova: What?! Which one?

Elena: It doesn't matter which one! I'm sick of feeling second best to you. I don't know why I even bothered for this long. I deserve better than this. I deserve someone who only has eyes for me.I'm done with this. (She begins to stalk out)

Casanova: Wait! Elena， I'm sorry. Sometimes I feel like I'm just being friendly with all these women， but I should be more sensitive to your feelings. I love you， Elena， and only you. You should feel confident about that. (Taking her face in his hands) Do you forgive me?

Elena: Right now， I'm still angry at you. Give me some time alone. I'm going to go hang out with the girls.

(After the last guest has departed， Lily， Sabrina and Elena sit at an empty table for a late-night， uninterrupted chat over coffee.)

Lily: How are you feeling， Sabrina? You must be tired.

Sabrina: I'm fine， I'm fine – I'm pregnant， not an invalid! Besides， we haven't had a girly chat in ages.

Elena: Yeah， what about you Lily – isn't your husband expecting you? It is your wedding night， after all.

Lily: Oh my god， I can't believe Xiao Qiang's my husband now! I'm married， girls!

Sabrina and Elena: (Rolling their eyes) Yeah， we know.

Sabrina: It was a beautiful wedding， Lily. And you look wonderful.

Elena: You really do. (Playfully throwing a straw wrapper at her) How dare you look so virginal after all the evil deeds you got up to in your youth!

Lily: Excuse me， I'm still young. I'm not letting being married cramp my style. You guys better not become those girlfriends who ignore me now just because I'm married! I'm still going to want those occasional nights away from the ball and chain.

Elena: (In monotone) We solemnly swear that we will not forsake you now that you've become a smug married person.

Lily: In all seriousness though…I never thought that， out of the three of us， I'd be the first one to go over to the other side.

Sabrina: You're telling me! I didn't think I'd be the one sitting here with a huge swollen belly and no ring on my finger.

Elena: Oh come on， Sabrina， you have something amazing going on in there.

Sabrina: Yeah， and that \"something amazing\" makes me want to pee every two minutes and gives me flatulence.

Lily: Ew， too much information – I'm not planning on going through that particular experience for a long time， if ever.

Elena: Uh， don't you think that might be the sort of thing you need to discuss with your husband from now on?

Lily: Anyway， how's it going with you and Casanova?

Elena: Ugh， don't go there. I'm so pissed off at him right now.

Sabrina: I noticed you guys had a fight. What was it about?

Elena: The usual. His shameless flirting and constant grandstanding， blah blah blah.

Lily: You know what， Elena， I don't think he's right for you.

Elena: Oh here it comes， the smug advice from the married woman who knows better.

Lily: No seriously， you don't think I was paying attention to the goings-on over there? I was watching you guys， and you too， Sab.

Sabrina: What now? Why am I being told off?

Lily: I think you should just drop the whole Paul thing. The guy is too indecisive. James is the one you should go for. Don't you see the way he looks at you? He really wants to be with you; Paul just thinks he wants to be with you for the baby's sake. But what if， three years down the line， he suddenly decides that it was all a big mistake?

Sabrina: Geez Lily， you're not exactly holding any punches there.

Elena: This is exactly what I was worried about. Just because you managed to dupe a guy into walking down the aisle with you， now you're some kind of expert on relationships.

Lily: Say what you will， but if there's one thing I've learned， ladies， it's that when you know， you know. There's none of that， \"oh he'd be perfect if he would only do this or that\" crap. If there's something bothering you now， it's going to bother you forever. Just cut your losses and move on.And another thing – it's always better if the guy loves you more than you love him.

Elena: And the prophet has spoken.

【Language Focus / 語言點(diǎn)】

1 …as the guest of honour to get completely legless tonight

“the guest of honour”指的是慶功宴上的主角，對話中指代小強(qiáng)，而“l(fā)egless”是“drunk/trashed”的比喻說法，意即“喝醉酒”。

2 I work him so hard.

“work”在這句話中是使役動(dòng)詞，意思是“使……工作”。

3 And he has delivered the goods every time.

“sb delivers sth/goods”是個(gè)固定表達(dá)，意思是“某人在某方面表現(xiàn)出色或者做某事做得很好”。

4 tied the knot

這是一個(gè)比喻的表達(dá)方式，常用來比喻結(jié)婚的兩個(gè)人被聯(lián)系在了一起，和中文的“喜結(jié)連理”有異曲同工之妙。

5 …so I pulled the whole， I'm-a-foreigner-I-don't-speak-Chinese thing

“pull the whole…thing”是個(gè)固定表達(dá)方式，意思是“假裝是……樣的人或者表演……的動(dòng)作”。在對話中，Casanova為大家講了一件和警察起沖突的事情，在他講述的故事中他假裝自己是不會(huì)說中文的外國人想脫身。而這句話的翻譯實(shí)際上就是“我假裝自己是不會(huì)說中文的老外”。

6 stalk out

固定搭配，意思是“氣沖沖地離開”。

7 …the ball and chain

這是一個(gè)比喻說法。在古代，無論是西方還是東方，犯人的手腳總要被套上鐵鏈，甚至腳鏈上還會(huì)墜上大鐵球以防止逃跑。在對話中，Lily把婚姻比喻成鐵球和鐵鏈，是沒有自由的。

8 I'm so pissed off at him right now.

“be pissed off”是個(gè)固定的搭配，意思是“生氣”，在后面加“at”表示生氣的對像；另外，“piss off”則是“離開、走開的意思”。

9 grandstanding

形容詞，“嘩眾取寵、炫耀”的意思。

10 Why am I being told off?

“tell someone off”是個(gè)固定搭配，意思是“責(zé)備、透露”，在對話中，它的意思是“責(zé)備”。

11 …you're not exactly holding any punches there.

在拳擊中，“hold punches”指的是雙手抱拳于胸前，不出擊的狀態(tài)，而延伸開來“hold any/your punches”則成了一個(gè)常見的表達(dá)方式，意思是“言語婉轉(zhuǎn)、不尖銳、無攻擊性或者刻薄”。

【下期預(yù)告】

都說旅行是考驗(yàn)愛情最好的方法，Elena和Casanova就使用這一招來考驗(yàn)他們的愛情，旅行的地點(diǎn)是Casanova的家鄉(xiāng)——威尼斯。