新西兰英语 747 Same-sex marriage

 　　On Wednesday night, Parliament¹ passed the second reading of the same-sex marriage bill. It still has to pass the third reading, which should be some time soon. However, usually the second reading is the most important so probably this bill will be passed. It will change the definition² of marriage. It will mean that marriage is a union of two people regardless of their sex. It will give equality for all people to marry.

　　In 2005, Civil Union became legal for same-sex couples. This is similar to marriage. Last year, 232 same-sex couples joined in a civil union.

　　Same-sex marriage is legal in many European and South American countries. In USA, President Obama gave his support for same-sex marriage. In New Zealand, our human rights law does not allow discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, age, sex or sexual³ orientation⁴. This is one argument for allowing same-sex marriage.

　　Young members of every political party in New Zealand support same-sex marriage. This is another reason MPs have voted in favour of making same-sex marriage legal.

　　Vocabulary

　　?bill – a planned law, before it becomes law

　　?reading of a bill – MPs vote after the bill is read

　　?definition – the meaning

　　?civil – for citizens of a society

　　?union – joining two people

　　?regardless of their sex – in spite⁵ of their sex, it doesn’t matter what sex they are

　　?discrimination – unfair treatment of someone because of their sex, religion etc.

　　?ethnicity e.g. European, Maori, Chinese

　　?sexual orientation – e.g. gay or straight (not gay)

1 Parliament   

n.议会，国会

参考例句：

• She won a seat in Parliament at the election.她在选举中赢得了议会中的席位。
• The drug was banned by an act of parliament.议会的法案明令禁止该药品。

2 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

3 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

4 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

5 spite   

n.（用于短语）虽然，不顾，尽管

参考例句：

• He has modern ideas in spite of his great age.尽管他年事很高，但思想观念却很入时。
• In spite of his anger,his remarks were restrained.他尽管生气，说的话还是有节制的。