blind date.doc

1. Blind Date

第三届万人相亲大会在上海青浦举行，吸引了近3万人次的单身男女和家长涌入，相亲大会现场可谓人山人海。21岁至25岁的男女青年比例接近三分之一，30岁以下的青年男女占到了64%。

　　我们来看一段相关的英文报道：

Rainfailed to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of singles who attended Shanghai'slargest matchmaking event last weekend，in suburban Qingpu District.

Theevent，now in its third year， attracted about 18，000singles to sign up， and organizers estimated some 12，000 attended this year.

Comparedwith the previous events， the age of participants is younger and there are fewer parents， saidZhou Juemin，director of the Shanghai Matchmaking Association，theindustry body that organized the event.

Zhousaid singles aged between 21 and 30 accounted for 65 percent of those attendingthis year， with one third of all participants aged below 25. The youngestsingletons were 21.

　　雨水可浇不灭上千光棍的相亲热情。上周末，在郊区青浦，举行了上海规模最大的相亲大会。

　　举办相亲大会已经是第三个年头了，今年，活动吸引了约1.8万单身男女报名，组织方估计约有1.2万人次参加了此次活动。

　　主办方市婚介机构管理协会会长周珏珉表示，“相比前几届相亲大会，今年参加的单身男女年纪小了，陪同的家长也少了。”

　　他说，今年21至30岁的光棍占到了全体参加者的65%，约三分之一的单身男女都在25岁以下，最年轻的光棍都才只有21岁。

　　【讲解】

文中的matchmaking event即为“相亲大会”。matchmaking即为“做媒”，它的派生词matchmaker，意思是“红娘”、“媒人”。

此外，文中出现的singleton和single是指“未婚者”，也可以说bachelor。相关词汇还如“夫妻、情侣”couple；“配偶”spouse或partner ；“新娘”bride ；“新郎”groom或bridegroom；“求婚” proposal；“订婚” engagement；“未婚夫” fiance；“未婚妻” fiancee；“嫁妆” dowry；“离婚” divorce；“前妻” ex-wife。

2. 相亲对话

Topic: Work in pairs. A girl student and a boy student act to attend a blind date in a café.

A: Are you Tony?

B: Yes, are you Ann?

A: Yes, it’s me, Nice to meet you. Sit down, please. What do you like to drink?

B: A cup of coffee, please.

A: OK

B: Could you talk about your family?

A: Absolutely, now I live with my parents and my sister. My sister is four years younger than me and she is in senior high school now. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher.

B: You have a very harmonious family, yes?

A: Yes, you are right. How about your family?

B: I live with my parents and my grandma.

A: Are you the only child?

B: Yes. Which school do you study in?

A: I graduated from China University of Mining & Technology. And now I’m an engineer in a mechanical manufacturing company, and you?

B: I graduated from Nanjing University. I’m a teacher in a college.

A: That’s a good job.

B: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: I’d like to listen to music especially light music and classical music. When I have a holiday I usually travel around with friends.

B: Maybe traveling is a good way to relax. I’d like to shopping and see movies in my spare time also I like stay at home read books.

A: If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?

B: Of course not.

A: Love and bread, which is more important for you?

B: In my opinion, both of them are important. But if you insist that I give the exact answer, I think love would be a little more important.

A: Oh, I see. Could you tell me your mobile phone number and QQ number?

B: Em, no problem. My mobile phone number is 158*****073 and my QQ number is 519777***. A: I hope we will be good friends. See you later.

B: See you.