toeic,多益| 哈佛英文 (您英文進修的第一品牌)

TOEIC,多益|Same-sex Marriages

你聽說了嗎？美國最高法院判決美國同性伴侶結婚的權利受到美國憲法的保障且州政府不可只讓異性戀者獨享結婚權。那麼台灣呢？

Have you heard? The supreme court of the US ruled 5-4 that the constitution gives same-sex couples the right to marry and that states may not reserve the right to only heterosexual couples. What will Taiwan do?

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錄音檔: https://soundcloud.com/eric-yang-51/tw-same-sex/

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時事詞彙:
supreme court 最高法院
rule in favor 判定有利於
reserve the right 保留權利
the right to marry 合法結婚權
heterosexual couples 異性戀伴侶
homosexual couples 同性戀伴侶
advocate (v.) 提倡
recognition of marriages between same-sex couples 同性婚姻的認可
gay community 同志團體
one step away from…差一步就要…；即將要…
same-sex unions 同性結合
support marriage equality 支持婚姻平等
mothballed a same-sex marriage bill 無限期延後同性婚姻法案
remains extremely controversial 仍極具爭議性
take into consideration 考慮進去
an issue of human rights 人權議題
full support from the public 社會大眾完全的支持
the US ruling 美國的判決
a significant move on equality and human rights 邁向平等和人權的指標性的一步
come a long way 有大幅的進步
engage in a prolonged dialogue 進行長期的對話
face a similar issue 面對類似議題
bridge the social gap 缩小; 彌平社會階級差距
a shared way of thinking 共同的思考模式
rational dialogue 合理的對話
recognized by… 被…承認
optimistic and open 樂觀和開放
protected by law, regardless of gender 被法律保護，無論性別
homosexual unions 同性戀婚姻

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The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, which advocates the recognition of marriages between same-sex couples, said the US Supreme Court’s decision to rule in favor of the gay community is a significant indicator, adding that Taiwan is one step away from making a similar step after more than 30 years of campaigning.

The alliance’s secretary-general Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔) said the US is a crucial indicator for the nation, as Taiwanese politicians look to Washington, even though same-sex unions have already been legalized in many European countries.
Homosexual rights advocates first called for recognition of same-sex marriage in Taiwan 30 years ago, Chien said, adding that it is “abominable” that the ruling and opposition parties mothballed a same-sex marriage bill in the legislature. In Taiwan, the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage has remained extremely controversial even to this day.

“Equal right to marriage is not about public opinion, but an issue of human rights,” Chien said, adding that no country that has made the change has had full support from the public. “It is not an issue that should be hindered because it is controversial,” she said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that the US ruling is the result of a prolonged movement and expressed her expectation that Taiwan would eventually follow a similar path. “The ruling is a significant move on equality and human rights, but the US has come a long way, with society engaged in prolonged dialogue before reaching this stage,” Tsai said. She added that “Taiwan is facing a similar issue and we need to bridge the social gap through rational dialogue, so that society can come to a shared way of thinking.”

Additionally, The spokesperson for Chinese National Party (KMT) presidential hopeful, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), has expressed similar sentiments, stating that Hung has always been “optimistic and open” about same-sex marriage and believed that “people, as long as they have love for each other, should be protected by law, regardless of gender.”

Sources:
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/focus/breakingnews/1361558
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/…/4…/Presidential-candidates.htm