外刊出题源|第2期：Gay marriage （同性婚姻）

2016-08-10 Yoyo老师 奇喵校园 

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【文章导读】同性婚姻，顾名思义就是指同性之间的合法婚姻关系。它挣脱了传统观念的束缚，为现代婚姻法赋予了真正意义上的平等。本期文章讲述了同性婚姻在美国阿肯色州和爱达荷州的合法化进程。

Be my rock in Little Rock

The gay-marriage juggernaut rolls on WHAT do Arkansas and Idaho have in common? Both have rural charm—Idaho's license plates even boast of its“Famous Potatoes”. Both vote Republican in presidential elections. And both have just legalized gay marriage. (In both states, the decision was made by ajudge rather than voters, and could be reversed.)（①此处常设细节题，文中细节：“这个决定都是由法官下的，而不是选举人，而且决定可以被撤销”，需要注意选项会偷换“决定者”、“可被撤销”等内容。）

(But it is getting harder to see same-sex nuptials as anodd new custom confined to coastal liberal bastions. If the new rules in Arkansas and Idaho stand, that would make it 19 states plus Washington, DC that now recognize marriage equality. Over 70 lawsuits, in nearly every state that does not yet allow gay marriage, are working their way through the courts, encouraged by a Supreme-Court ruling last year striking down the federal Defence of Marriage Act.)（②此处常设细节题，可设题型如：以下哪一项符合文意？A. 同性婚姻一直只局限于沿海城市；B. 华盛顿已承认同性婚姻；C. “联邦婚姻保护法案”是“同性婚姻法”实施的障碍。需要注意文中细节：A项过于绝对；B项文中有一个if引导的前提；C项是正确的。）

It has all happened faster than campaigners dared to hope. In Arkansas, a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage passed ten years ago with 75% of the vote. Social conservatives were elated, expecting the law to stand indefinitely. But on May 9th Chris Piazza, a circuit judge in Pulaski County, ruled the ban unconstitutional.

Religious conservatives were shocked. Mike Huckabee, an ex-governor of Arkansas, called for Judge Piazza tobe impeached. (Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, said: “The marriage of one man to one woman has been a corner stone of western civilization for thousands of years... once people start redefining marriage, there seems tobe no place to stop.”)（③此处常设推断题，该句可推断出：同性婚姻的实施会动摇西方文明的基石，会带来长久的隐患。需注意一些“无中生有”的选项设置。）

Mr. Piazza's ruling opened the door for all 75 counties in the state to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Most county clerks opted not to, noting that the ruling, confusingly,failed to address another state law that banned issuing such licenses. But some 450 same-sex couples queued up in Pulaski and four other counties to get their precious pieces of paper. (“We were hopeful that the law would be overturned someday,but we were completely stunned...that it came when it did,”) （④此处常设态度题，考查“同性者”在得知“同性婚姻合法”这一消息后的反映，选项可以是：吃惊的；激动的；担忧的；平静的。） says Barbara Hall, who married her long-time partner on May 12th in the court house rotunda. “We already had plans to marry in New York this summer after a ceremony here in Little Rock, never imagining a day when we could marry here.”

【知识点】

1. Be my rock in Little Rock 

小岩城成为我坚固的磐石

Little Rock是阿肯色州的首都。

2.confine to

限于…之内

Confine to a small space, asfor intensive work.
关在一个小的空间里，如为了进行高强度的工作。

3.dare to

敢于

Do you dare to be adreamer?
你敢于成为一个有梦想的人吗？

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