“我愿意。”这句话对美国人来说包含深远的意义。发出结婚誓言就如同签订契约一般。虽然今天美国人并不真正认为婚姻是一宗商业交易,但婚姻确实是件严肃的事。一切从订婚开始。在传统上,年轻男子先要请求女朋友的父亲允许自己娶她。如果女方的父亲答应,然后男方才能向女方求婚。男方时常尝试以罗曼蒂克的方式“蹦出这个问题”,想给女方一个惊喜。有时双方只是一起决定,该是结婚的时候了。 “I do.” This sentence has far-reaching significance for Americans. Issuing a wedding vow is like signing a contract. Although Americans today do not really think that marriage is a commercial transaction, marriage is indeed a serious matter. Everything starts with the engagement. Traditionally, young men first asked the girlfriend’s father to allow her to marry her. If the woman’s father promises, then the man can propose to the woman. The man often tries to “pull this problem out” in a romantic way and wants to surprise the woman. Sometimes the two parties just decided together that it was time to get married.