美国加州夫妇成世界最高夫妻

Their height made Wayne and Laurie Hallquist seem like an ideal match when they met seven years ago, and on Thursday they were matched with something else -- the title of world's tallest living married couple.

Guinness World Records bestowed that towering distinction to the Hallquists in a ceremony under the marquee at its Hollywood museum. The couple arrived in a white limousine, with Wayne sporting a tuxedo and Laurie in a white wedding dress.

The Hallquists, who live in Stockton, California, measure a combined 13 feet, 4 inches, or 407.4 centimeters, to be exact. He stands 6 feet 10.4 inches, she 6 feet 5.95 inches, the Guinness organization said.

"It's a whole different perspective up here, and we can find each other quite easily in a crowd," Laurie told Reuters.

"We can see several people going bald that might not know it at the moment," joked Wayne, 57, who works as a telephone company wire splicer.

The Hallquists said that when they met at a church singles club in 2003, they could tell that others around them were sizing up a possible love affair because of their height.

"She walked in, everyone looked at her, then they looked at me," Wayne said.

But while Wayne said it was love at first sight for him, Laurie their first meeting came up short.

"He talked about the size of my hands and feet, which is kind of a no-no," said Laurie, 46. "And then the second time we had a chance to talk, I figured out he was a really good guy."

They have been married for seven years, but it took the Hallquists until this year to contact Guinness World Records.

The couple said they were discouraged at first from making a play for world's tallest couple, because they read online that a man and a woman each standing over 7 feet had married in the 19th century.

Only this year did they realize they could compete in another category: world's tallest living married couple.

Guinness previously listed a couple in England -- Wilco and Keisha van Kleef-Bolton -- as the world's tallest couple at a combined height of 13 feet, 3 inches.

当韦恩和劳瑞．霍尔奎斯特在七年前相遇时，他们的身高让他们看起来简直是绝配。本周四，这二人又配上了另一样东西——世界最高在世夫妻的称号。

在位于好莱坞的吉尼斯世界纪录博物馆遮檐下举行的仪式上，霍尔奎斯特夫妇获封了这一最“高”殊荣。这对夫妻乘坐一辆白色的豪华轿车到达颁奖礼现场，韦恩是一身燕尾服装扮，而劳瑞则身着白色婚纱。

吉尼斯机构称，住在加州斯托克顿市的霍尔奎斯特夫妇身高加起来达到13英尺4英寸，也就是407.4厘米（精确数值）。霍尔奎斯特先生身高为6英尺10.4英寸，而太太的身高为6英尺5.95英寸。

劳瑞告诉路透社说：“站在这个高度可以拥有一个完全不同的视角，我们可以很容易在人群中找到彼此。”

现年57岁的韦恩开玩笑说：“我们可以看到某些人已经开始秃顶，而那时他们自己可能并不知道。”韦恩是一家电话公司的电缆接线工。

霍尔奎斯特夫妇说，2003年当他们在一个教堂的单身俱乐部相遇时，他们可以察觉到，因为他们的高度，周围的其他人都在估摸着两人也许会擦出火花。

韦恩说：“她走了进来，所有人都把目光投向她，然后又把目光投向我。”

不过，尽管韦恩说他当时是一见钟情，劳瑞却说他们第一次见面并不太愉快。

现年46岁的劳瑞说：“他谈论我的手脚大小，这几乎是不可接受的。不过当我们再次有机会聊天时，我发现他真的是个很不错的人。”

霍尔奎斯特夫妇已经结婚七年，但是直到今年他们才联系了吉尼斯世界纪录。

这对夫妇说，他们一开始想申请世界最高夫妻称号，但这一想法遭到了打击，因为他们在网上查到19世纪有一对夫妻两人的身高都超过了7英尺。

到了今年他们才意识到他们可以竞争另一个类别：世界最高在世夫妻。

此前的吉尼斯世界最高夫妻纪录保持者是英国的一对夫妇——威尔科和凯莎．凡．克利夫-波尔顿，两人的身高总和为13英尺3英寸。

Vocabulary:

marquee: a covered entrance to a theatre, hotel, etc. often with a sign on or above it （戏院、酒店等入口处，通常带有标记的）遮檐

limousine: a large expensive comfortable car（大型高级轿车；豪华轿车）

sport: to have or wear something in a proud way so that everyone can see（惹人注目地穿戴）

size up: 估量；判断

no-no: a thing or a way of behaving that is not acceptable in a particular situation（不可干的事；不可接受的行为）

make a play for: 企图得到