《参考消息》2007年3月28日第14版：韩国人结婚重财务
　　
【《国际先驱论坛报》2007年3月21日文章】题：在韩国，结婚有附加条件

In South Korea, tying the knot has plenty of strings attached
By Norimitsu Onishi Published: March 21, 2007
SEOUL:（1）When two young television stars called it quits only 12 days after their recent wedding, their very public and acrimonious[1] divorce shone a rare spotlight on the underside of marriage in South Korea.

Lying in a hospital bed with a broken nose, Lee Min Young accused her husband, Lee Chan, ofd_______①violence. But as accusations and counteraccusations flew, an equally heated debate arose over another reason cited for the breakup: wedding gifts.

According to accounts in the South Korean media, the bridegroom's father said he received a gold-plated spoon among the gifts from the bride's family, but said he merited at least a silver spoon. The bride's mother, in turn, complained bitterly that her daughter deserved to live in a more spacious apartment than the one chosen by the bridegroom.

（2）The divorce showed how choosing the right wedding gifts for the new in-laws is fraught with pitfalls[2] in South Korea.Shop for a plasma television set that is too small, and the bride's family risks offending the bridegroom's family. Other misjudgments can lead to strained relations between the two families or, at itse_______②,a premature divorce.

Traditionally, the bridegroom or his family was expected to provide the newlyweds with a home that the bride and her family were expected to furnish. A bride's dowry[3] was compensation for being taken care of for the rest of her life.______________________________________.（如今，妇女地位不断提高，房地产价格飞涨，种种变化使得婚事趋于复杂化。）

"In the past, simple and useful gifts were given," said Han Gyoung Hae, a professor of family studies at Seoul National University. "But now the price of the gifts has become more and more important, especially among the country's new rich.

"If, traditionally, the gifts were meant to tie families together, now they are meant to show off how rich you are."

（3）What underlies the gift exchanges is that, despite South Korea's high-tech exterior, marriages are still unions between families, and parents remain deeply involved in the final selection of their children's spouses.

"Marriage is a whole family thing," said Lee Hyo Yon, 28, an official at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency who married recently. "And gifts are such an important part of it that some couples even break up before they ever get married. The family of one friend of mine gave $30,000 to the bridegroom's family, but they said that wasn't enough."

Experts say that the rising status and income of professional women, like Lee, has also led to the recalibration of gift-giving. For instance, in the case of the television stars, the actress was doing better than her husband. That gives her side of the family a biggerv_______③in the marriage, and it complicates gift-giving.

The current real estate boom in Seoul, as well as South Korea's particular rental system (（4）In South Korea, instead of monthly rents, landlords usually demand a lump sum of money, which they typically invest, returning it at the end of a two-year lease.), has also increased the burden on today's bridegroom..

NOTES:
[1]acrimonious adj(esp of quarrels) bitter （尤指争吵）尖酸刻薄的: an acrimonious meeting, discussion, atmosphere 争吵激烈的会议, 讨论, 气氛.
[2]pitfall nunsuspected danger or difficulty 意想不到的危险或困难: This text presents many pitfalls for the translator. 这篇文字有很多潜在的难点, 译者稍一不慎就要出错.
[3]dowry n [C, U] property or money brought by a bride to her husband 嫁妆; 嫁奁; 妆奁.

试一试：
1．根据首字母提示和译文，填入适当单词：
①accused her husband, Lee Chan, ofd_______violence（指控丈夫李灿滥施家庭暴力）（形容词）
②at itse_______,a premature divorce（最糟糕的情况是导致仓促离婚）（名词）
③That gives her side of the family a biggerv_______in the marriage（这就使得女方家在这场婚姻中的发言权更大一些）（名词）

参考答案：

①domestic ②extreme ③voice
2．翻译划线部分英文：

参考答案：
（1）当两位年轻的电视明星举行婚礼仅12天之后就一拍两散时，他们之间沸沸扬扬、出言相讥的离婚大战罕见地反映了韩国的婚姻问题。
（2）这起离婚事件表明：在韩国，为新人挑选合适的结婚礼物是一件很容易犯错误的事情。
（3）结婚礼物的变化表明，虽然韩国表面上科技发达，但是婚姻仍然是家庭之间的联合，父母仍然亲自为子女选择配偶。
（4）在韩国不是按月支付房租，房主通常要求房客支付一大笔钱，他们用这笔钱进行投资，然后在两年租期到期时予以返还。
（全部译文请参阅当日《参考消息》报）

3．根据中文译文，完成英文句子：

参考译文： Nowadays, changes like the rising status of women and skyrocketing real estate prices have complicated matters. 如今，妇女地位不断提高，房地产价格飞涨，种种变化使得婚事趋于复杂化。（是不是您的翻译与原文相去甚远？这不奇怪，同一意思表达方式成千上万，只要您愿意尝试学习作者的用法，您就达到学习的目的了。）

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