Unit 2
Text A
A Wedding Gift
Elizabeth Economies
I had always dreamed of being propod to in a Parisian cafe, under dazzling stars, like the one in a Van Gogh knockoff that hangs in m y studio apart m ent. Instead, m y boyfriend asked me to m arry him while I was wandering the bathroom mirror.
At 40 years old, it was m y turn. 1 had gracefully stepped aside and watched both m y twin sister and our baby sister take the m atrimonial plunge before m e? 1 had been a bridesmaid ven times and a m aid of honor three times. 1 had more pastel-colored, taffeta dress than a consignment shop.
My fiancé, George, and I are Greek-Am erican, but we wanted a sim ple, elegant affair. No entourage of bridesmaids and groomsmen. No silly slideshow revealing details of our courtship. This would be an intimate gathering, neither big nor fat, with 100 or so guests. In our families that is intimate.
My job as a publicist to a m onomaniacal orchestra conductor had just vanished, so 1 had lots of tim e to devote to m y new project. George, who worked 60 hours a week as a pharmacist, now had a cond job: listening to m e whine about the wedding. After all, this was m y show, and 1 was the director.
But the m ore time and effort 1 put in, the m ore the univer tried to thwart m e. The Greek band from Los Angeles that 1 wanted wasn't available. The stitching 1 had requested for m y cathedral veil was all wrong. My ivory silk gown was being quarantined somewhere in Singapore. And with our wedding just a few weeks away, 1 was annoyed that m ost of m y guests were responding after the deadline.
Then 1 received the call from m y mother, petite and brimming with energy at 68, who a few days before had been so thrilled about the wedding. She’d been to the doctor for her annual checkup. Although she felt fine, the diagnosis was stom ach cancer.
在线学习英语的网站Over the next few days, the question becam e not "What kind of wedding?" but "Wedding?" I had thought of it as m y Big Day. I realized that a Big Day without m y mother would be no day at all. Not having m y dad, who pasd away three years before, to walk m e down the aisle was painful, but the thought of not having Mom there was unbearable.
Within a few days, 1 m oved back hom e to Seattle from New York City and postponed the cerem ony. 1 switched from navigating wedding plans to navigating the health-care system. I had picked out the song to be played for our first dance as a husband and wife, but now 1 was hard-presd to remember what it was. My wedding, like a dream, was vanishing against the harsh reality of illness.
Meanwhile, my two sisters and I, who lived in three different cities, were united once again in a hospital waiting room. My twin sister flew in from Chicago despite being eight m onths pregnant. Our baby sister, who'd been looking after Mom since Dad's death, was gripped by fear as the familiar sights and smells were eerily reminiscent of his final days. After consulting with doctors, we learned that stom ach surgery was Mom's only option. We took the first opening.
On a drab autumn morning, as sheets of rain relentlessly poured over Seattle, Mom was admitted to the Swedish Cancer Institute. During a five-hour operation, surgeons removed two thirds of her stom ach. Pacing in the waiting room, terrified, I wondered what the future held for all of us.
George flew out to be with m e. "There's no place I'd rather be," he said. For three nights he slept on the dank floor in the hospital waiting area wrapped in a tattered sheet with a soiled sofa cushion under his head. A week after the operation, the surgeon gave us his prognosis: "The cancer has not
spread," he said. Tho were som e of the loveliest words in the English language. George squeezed m y hand as tears trickled down m y face.视听说4
The weeks that followed were exhausting. My m other had to rethink her diet, and I had to figure out what to prepare. Decadent Greek m eals were replaced by tiny portions and lots of protein, which would help mend the six-inch incision that ran from her breastbone past her navel. Protein would also bolster her immune system for the chemo and radiation that might follow.
Until then, m y idea of cooking had been microwaving the doggie bag from the chi-chi restaurant I'd eaten at the night before. But after two m onths, I mastered poached eggs and T-bone steaks. What's m ore, caring for my Mom made m e realize how consummately she had cared for all of us. I'll never forget when I went to e her in the intensive-care unit, just a few hours after her surgery. She was strung out with a m yriad of plastic tubes protruding from her arms, no, and mouth." Liz, make sure you eat som ething," she said in a strained, raspy voice.
Forget Paris. Mom's full recovery was m y dream now.
Recently, she went for a follow-up C-T scan. As she rem oved her gold wedding band for the exam, her fragile 98-pound frame trembled. There would be this scan, and m any m ore. But the doctor sai
d," Everything looks good." Soon, m y mother will be walking me down the aisle. I've forgotten what kind of stitching is in my veil. But when I remove it from my face , I’ll be staring at the two people I love beyond all reason: m y soon-to-be husband and the wom an who showed m e what' s really important.
结婚礼物
伊利莎白•埃科诺莫
我一直有这样的梦想：星光灿烂的网上，在一家巴黎咖啡馆能有人向我求婚。那个咖啡
馆就像梵高所画的“夜晚的咖啡馆”，我的工作室墙上就挂着一幅此画的翻印本。然而，我男朋友却在我用“稳得新”擦洗卫生间镜子的时候叫我嫁给他。
我已经上40岁，是该轮到我了，我已经体面地让开，眼看着孪生妹妹还有小妹在我之前出嫁，我做过女傧相7次，伴娘3次，我的淡颜色塔夫绸衣服比寄物店都多。
coupler我的未婚夫乔治和我都是希腊裔美国人，但是我们想办一个简朴、大方的婚礼。不需要很多伴娘伴郎。也不放映幻灯片，展示求婚的细节，那太傻了，这会是一次很温馨的聚会，请的人不多也不铺张，100个左右的宾客吧。在我们的家族，那算是小圈子内的聚会。
trugen我为一位偏执狂的管弦乐队指挥做公关刚刚结束，因而我有很多时间投入到我这个新的项目上。乔治是药剂师，每周工作60小时，现在又有一份工作：听我抱怨婚礼一事。这毕竟是我表现的时候，得有我说着算。
但是，我投入的时间和精力越多，万事就越和我过不去。没有请到我想要的洛杉矶希腊乐队。我到教堂时所戴面纱的针线活也很糟，不是我原来所要求的。我订的象牙色的丝绸礼服被隔离在新加坡的某个地方。眼看着婚礼也就没有几个礼拜了，我邀请的客人大部分在最后期限之后才回信，让我很是烦恼。
之后，我接到妈妈的电话。她个头娇小，68岁却依然精力饱满。几天前还为我即将举行的婚礼而感到兴奋不已。她刚去医院做例年的身体检查。虽然感觉不错，但被诊断是胃癌。
接下来的几天，问题不再是“举行什么样的婚礼”，而是“还办婚礼吗？”我把这看作是我的大喜日子。我认识到没有妈妈的大喜日子不可思议。爸爸已经在三年前过世，不可能牵着我的手到教堂圣坛完婚，
bring这已经让我觉得凄苦。但是一想到妈妈那天也不能在教堂就让我觉得无法忍受。
几天后，我从纽约搬回西雅图，延迟了婚礼。我从操办婚礼转向指导保健。我已经挑选好歌曲，准备作为我们夫妻的首个舞曲，但现在压力那么大，我已经记不起来是哪首了。我的婚礼在母亲患病这个残酷的事实面前就像梦一样消失了。
与此同时，我和两个妹妹原本都生活在三个不同的城市，这时却在医院的等候室里再次相聚了。我的孪生妹妹虽然已怀孕八个月，但还是从芝加哥飞了过来。小妹自父亲去世以来一直照顾着妈妈，这时恐惧占据了她的心，此情此景让她不由得想起父亲临终的日子。咨询医生后，我们得知手术是妈妈唯一的选择。医院一有床位我们就住进去了。
一个沉闷的秋天早晨，大雨无情地倾泻在西雅图市，妈妈被收进瑞典肿瘤研究所。在五个小时的手术过程中，医生把她的胃切掉了三分之二。我在等候室里来回走动，恐惧不安，不知道等待我们的会是什么。
乔治飞过来陪我。他说：“我也不想待在其他地方”。三个夜晚，他睡在医院等候区域潮湿的地板上，裹着破旧床单，头枕脏兮兮的沙发垫。手术一周后，医生向我们告知了预后。“癌细胞没有扩散，”他说。这几个词可是英语中最可爱的词了。乔治紧握着我的手，这时眼泪流下我的面颊。
接下来的几个礼拜令人劳累。妈妈只得重新考虑她的饮食，我得琢磨该准备哪些饭菜。颓废的希腊饭菜被蛋白质替代，少食多餐，这有助于修补她那从胸骨到肚脐下长达六英寸的刀口。蛋白质还增强她的免疫系统，因为接下来她要化疗和放疗。
在此之前，做饭对我来说也就是把头天晚上从花哨饭店里吃剩下打包回来的饭菜在微波炉热一下。但两个月之后，我掌握了水煮荷包蛋，学会烧带骨牛排。此外，照顾母亲也让我认识到她当年照料我们
lf是多么地尽心。我永远也不会忘记，她刚动完手术几个小时后，我到
特护病房去看她。她躺在那里，手臂、鼻孔和嘴巴里插了那么多的塑料导管，她却吃力、沙哑地说道：“莉兹，你一定要吃点东西。”
忘记巴黎。妈妈的彻底康复才是我现在的梦想。
最近，她去做了一次随访CT检查。当她脱下结婚金戒指检查的时候，98磅的柔弱身躯颤抖了。这个检查得做，接下来还有很多次。但医生说，“一切都很好。”不久，妈妈就可以把我领到圣坛举行婚礼。我已经忘记面纱上的刺绣。但在我掀开面纱的时候，我肯定会脉脉地注视着我所最爱的两个人：我的未婚夫和让我懂得人生要义的那个女人——我的母亲。
Text B
Wedded Dis武汉英语翻译
Amy Wathen
In February，I got engaged to a guy who I believe to be the m ost amazing man alive．I feel so lucky，and I am very much in love．I cannot wait to be m arried·
Since I have been engaged，while I have gotten a lot of congratulatory wishes from friends，some older，more cynical people just won’t let m e be. I have heard the following comments, knocking m e from m y I’m-getting -m arried -to -the -love -of -m y –life pedestal: "It will never last," "You won't even m ake it to the altar," "Marriage is so difficult," "It's so hard to m ake it work" and m y favorite,scol
accom panied by an eye roll and a horribly sarcastic tone, "Good luck to you!" I get lectures on the struggles that lie ahead, looks of sym pathy, and speeches on how terrible my life will be in about l0 years when I will apparently hate m y husband. Can't anyone just let m e be happy? Peop le love my fiancé and no one has ever said that I am not ready. So why is this such a mistake? Why do som e adults who have had bad experiences dec ide to kill m y happiness with nasty rem arks instead of just saying congratulations?
Don’t get m e wrong，I have not allowed m y happiness to overpower m y common n. I know all about the struggles of m arriage．I know all about the heartache：that children can strain a m arriage，that m oney issues can blow up，that a couple can lo their connection，that job stress can take a toll and that changing and growing older can aid in the dissolution of what once was real love．I know it’s not always easy or fun，and that it's not perfect forever.
英语求职信范文I saw this firsthand when my parents were divorced last year. I watched their once -perfect union fall apart amid unhappiness, pain, desperation, frustration, sadness and anger. Marriage can be a beautiful journey，but it isn’t for everyone．My mom and dad are much happier apart．I thought I wouldn’t want to be m arried after living through that until I m et the m an of m y dreams and he changed m y mind．
withpleasureMy fiancé has incredible parents. They have been together sinc e they were in high school, m ore than 30 years, and they have five children, crazy work schedules, and the sam e issues as everyone el. But they are an exception becau they are still madly in love. It's a breath of fresh air to be with them. I e in them a love that is different and I think that I have that as well. You never know where life will take you, but I think it is a dangerous assumption that a m arriage can never work out, or that it isn't worth a try. It can last. My future in-laws are proof that a m arriage can withstand the m any potential catastrophes and last a lifetime.
My relationship with my fiancé is not perfect. But it is fantastic．Being with him brings out a better and happier version of me．He makes me laugh harder than anyone el．We have a healthy and wonderful way of communicating．But m ost
importantly，I love him without condition．And he loves m e for who I am without judgment, without complaining about how messy I am or getting annoyed at how crazy and neurotic I can be．We always put each other first and always m ake tim e for each other no m atter how busy our world gets．He is as excited as I am to get married，and together we are confident in our com patibility and our ability to last forever．We have the example of his parents and mine，examples to learn from，what m istakes not to m ake，and how to create a stable foundation that will last beyond the prent tim e．
One day，I may look back with stale，wrinkled eyes and e a silly little girl who didn’t know what she was talking about．One day m y relationship may not be as wonderful as it is now．But I am not going to go into m arriage waiting for everything to fall apart．I’m not planning ahead for m y divorce or im agining m ylf as a walking statistic。When I say “I do，”I am saying I promi to love forever；not “until this isn’t perfect and l want out．”I m ean forever．
When l was younger, I dreamed about getting m arried．I dresd up in m y mom’s wedding dress and veil，put on ridiculous am ounts of poorly-placed pink blush，carried a bouquet of fake flowers from the va on the kitchen table and thought about how wonderful it would be to do that for real．I know now that the dream I had of m arried life was a little too optim istic and hopeful to say the least.
Now I have a gorgeous wedding dress of m y own．I’ll wear it proudly and say“I do!” and dance and eat cake that costs way too m uch m oney．I will enjoy that one am azing day with all of m y being．But I know that day will end, and once it’s over，I have to m ake plans for the future，and my husband and l will have to work hard to reach our m utual goals．And I’ll try with everything I am to prove to everyone that we can m ake it work，to m ake the 6-year-old version of m e proud．
So, for all of you divorced folk out there，or tho of you unhappily m arried, or tho who are just plain cynical, I am sorry that you aren’t crazy in love anymore. I’m sorry if you never found someone who m akes you catch your breath. But for
now, let m e have m y fun，let m e back in the glory of ridiculous，consuming，
