Now it's not that the proper proposal will guarantee a successful marriage: I know too many men who had great proposals and rotten marriages. There are, however, certain elements in a proposal that are important and whose significance is not lost on today's women.
当然，这并不是说正确的求婚方式是成功婚姻的保证，我认识有许多男人的求婚方式都很棒，但婚姻却很糟。然而，在求婚方式中包含的一些元素很重要，这些元素的意义在现代女性眼中也是很有分量的。
I have not met a woman yet who did not dream of a man on bended knee placing a band of gold on her finger. I have also never heard tell of a woman who didn't feel just a bit cheated when her 7)intended neglected to offer his knee and this 8)token. And my wife is no exception. As we 9)reminisced, she made sure to let me know that any other woman would have rejected my weak proposal based purely on “GP”—that's “general principle”—and I count myself lucky.
我还不曾认识一位女性不幻想一个男人在她面前单膝跪下，把一杖戒指套在她的手指上；我也从来没听说过有哪一位女性如果自己的未婚夫忽视了下跪并呈上求婚的象征这一环节而不感到上当的。我妻子也不例外。我们在回忆往事的时候，她总会让我记住，换成另外任何一位女性，她都会仅以“常规”为由拒绝我那个没有诚意的求婚——我应该明白我是很幸运的。
I am serious when I say that this failure on my part, more than any other moment, is my greatest regret. As Cher would sing, “If I could turn back time…,” I would give the moment the respect it deserves and give my wife a proposal to remember. Maybe I would take her to the top of a mountain and let my proclamation of love echo across the valleys below. Or, one night, when we strolling down a quiet street, I would take her hand, get down on my knee, tell her how deeply I love her, what a terrific mother she would be, and ask her if she would please allow me the honor of spending the rest of my life with her.
我说我的这个过失是我一生中最大的遗憾，我是很认真的。就像雪儿在歌中唱道：“如果我能让时光倒流……”，那我会珍惜这个本该被珍惜的时刻，留给妻子一个能让她铭记的求婚方式。也许我会把她带到山顶，让我爱的宣言在脚下的山谷里回响；也许我会在某一个晚上，我们在静静的街上漫步的时候，牵过她的手，单膝跪下，对她说我是多么地爱她，她一定会是一位好母亲，然后求她让我有幸与她共度余生。
