Gay marrige is legal in many European courtries.A．YB．NC．NG

We learn from the passage that ______.

A．same-sex partners are still strongly looked down upon in UK

B．same-sex partners in England and Wales are granted many of the legal rights enjoyed by married couples of different sexes

C．same-sex partners are usually ashamed of their relationship

D．many "gay marriages" have been declared void by British court

Gay Marriage Storms US Political Primetime

In the space of a few months, gay marriage in the United States has been transformed from a margin al issue into one of the hottest topics of the day with crucial legal and political ramifications.

Its importance was underlined Tuesday with President George W. Bush's public endorsement—in an election year—of a proposal to amend the US Constitution in a way that would ban same-sex marriage altogether.

The hugely divisive issue burst to prominence in November, following a landmark ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that preventing same-sex couples from marrying violated the state's constitution.

The decision opened the way for Massachusetts to become the first state in the country to legalise gay marriage and laid down the battle lines between advocates, who argue in terms of equal human rights,

and opponents, who warn that the "sacred" institution of marriage is under threat.

Same-sex unions are under judicial review in Indiana, New Jersey and Arizona, and supporters were given a further boost last year when Canada legalised gay marriage, Causing many American couples to make the trip north of the border.

But at home, opposition is strong and highly organised, with family groups and conservative politicians the most vocal in their condemnation of any form. of recognition being extended to same-sex couples. A New York Times/CBS News poll taken in mid-February showed 61 percent still 'oppose gay marriage.

The social divisions surrounding the issue were brought into sharp relief earlier this month when the mayor of San Francisco decided to challenge California state laws by issuing the country's first-ever marriage licenses to gay couples. Some 3,300 same-sex partners have so far taken advantage of the mayor's largesse, despite moves by conservative opponents to get a court injunction preventing the unions taking place.

For couples like Marcye and Karen Nicholson-McFadden, who have lived together in New Jersey for 14 years and are raising two children, marriage would provide legal rights covering a host of issues from reduced car insurance to hospital visits and inheritance.

"These are rights everybody else takes for granted, and which you become so much more aware of when you have kid," said Marcye. "There is no legal connection between us. Our son understands marriage means commitment, and all this makes him feel insecure."

Michael Dimock of the Pew Research Center, which studies opinions towards public policy issues, says resistance to same-sex marriage tends to be strongest among regular churchgoers and older people.

"And then there are a lot of people who are just resistant to the idea of changing the definition (of marriage), and how society operates," Dimock said. "People express concern about its implications for the legal system, and what it's going to mean for the notion of family."

Thirty-eight US states have laws stipulating that marriage is an institution for heterosexuals only. Under the court decision in Massachusetts, the state must begin issuing marriage licenses on request to same-sex partners beginning May 17. Local legislators have so far failed to agree on proposals to sidestep the court by amending the state constitution.

Gay marriage in the United States has been transformed into one of the hottest topics.

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

e ceremony held in Windsor Guildhall on 21st December 2005. Nothing special about that, you might say, until you discover that Sir Elton's marriage partner is a man.

Fifteen days previously the law in England and Wales had changed to allow civil partnerships to take place between people of the same sex. Fifteen days elapsed between the law coming into force and the first "gay marriages" being performed as the couple has to declare publicly, in writing, their intent to marry, at least, two weeks before the ceremony takes place.

A civil partnership in England and Wales is a legally recognized partnership between two people of the same sex which grants the participants new legal status as far as employment, pensions and inheritances are concerned. The partners in the arrangement become next of kin to each other, as in a heterosexual (异性的) marriage. The new law also alters the civil partners' rights in relation to immigration and nationality. Nevertheless, the partnership is not legally the same as a marriage, according to UK law. This is partly due to the fact that the ceremony itself does net need to be conducted in public and the participants do not need to be present together at the same time to sign the necessary documents. Hence the terms "gay marriage" and "gay wedding" have no legal meaning although some couples choose to use them.

Many European countries have introduced legislation to officially recognize same-sex partnerships. Britain is only the latest in quite a long line of countries to allow "gay weddings". As long ago as 1989, Denmark became the first country to give same-sex partners the same rights as married couples.

Outside Europe "gay marriages" have been allowed across Canada since July 2005, in Argentina since 2003, and in New Zealand since the end of 2004. "Gay marriages" are permitted in some states in the USA, for example, Massachusetts. Vermont was the first to permit them, giving same-sex partners the chance to make civil unions in 2000. In California, however, an attempt to legalize same-sex partnerships was stopped by the State Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Gay marriages" are ______.

A．marriages between people of the opposite sex

B．marriages of the elderly people

C．marriages between people of the same sex

D．marriages across the borders

Same-sex couples Paul Katami (L), Jeff Zarillo (2nd L), and Kris Perry (2nd R) and Sandy Stier pose for photographs before the start of their trial in San Francisco, California January 11, 2010. California's ban on gay marriage goes to trial on Monday in a federal case that plaintiffs hope to take all the way to the US Supreme Court and overturn bans throughout the nation.

Two Californian men challenging a ban on same-sex marriage on Monday said they had been a couple for nine years and felt like third-class citizens, leading them to launch the federal case which could set a national precedent. The men and a lesbian couple unable to marry in California hope to take their case against the state' s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage all the way to the US Supreme Court and to overturn bans throughout the nation. A loss in the top court, two ranks above the action in the case which began on Monday, would seriously undermine efforts to win gay marriage rights in state courts.

The United States is divided on same-sex marriage. It is legal in only five states, though most of those, and the District of Columbia, approved it last year. Approval of Prop 8 in November 2008 was a sweet victory for social conservatives in a state with a liberal, trend-setting reputation, and maintained the steady success they have scored on the issue at the ballot box. Where it is legal, gay marriage has been championed by courts and legislatures, not voters.

"I don't think of myself as a bad person," said Paul Katami, describing the persecution he felt from a media campaign warning California parents to "protect" their children by voting against same-sex unions in the 2008 poll. He and his would-be husband, Jeffrey Zarrillo, described slights in gay life that ranged from being pelted with rocks and eggs in college to the awkwardness of checking into a hotel and not being able to clarify the relationship. "Being able to call him my husband is so definitive," Katami said. "There is no subtlety to it. It is absolute. " Gays and lesbians have nearly equal rights under domestic partnership laws, but the two men said that left them feeling second-or third-class citizens and they wanted to be married to have kids. "We hear a lot of 'What's the big deal？' The big deal is creating a separate category for us," Katami said.

Gay rights lawyers in the case describe their battle as a continuation of the fight against racist laws stopping whites and blacks from marrying. Marriage is a fundamental constitutional right, and in addition gays and lesbians deserve special protection from discrimination, they say.

What is current situation of the nation on same-sex union？

ly.

t she could not do both. Last week the British Columbian woman, totally disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (肌萎缩性侧索硬化), challenged Canada's law against doctor - assisted suicides and took her life, presumably with the help of drugs administered by a still unidentified physician. The case caused a political and legal furor across Canada not only because the law was challenged, but also because a Member of Parliament was at Rodriguez's side when she died.

Svend Robinson, an enthusiastic right-to-die supporter and Canada's only openly gay federal legislator, retained a criminal lawyer to defend him against possible charges that he encouraged the commission of a crime. The M.P. said he was present during the suicide at Rodriguez' s invitation: "I considered it a privilege and an honor that she trusted me." Rodriguez,43, spent two years challenging the 1892 law that makes doctor-assisted suicide illegal, taking her case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5 to 4 last September that the law was valid and said its repeal was up to the House of Commons.

The momentum for such a move is strong. Legislators still recall dramatic videotaped testimony offered by Rodriguez before a parliamentary committee in 1992. "I want to ask you, gentlemen," she said in a quavering voice, "If I cannot give consent to my own death, then whose body is this？ Who owns my life.'？" Robinson is expected to lead the charge for repeal.

What remains unclear is whether his presence during Rodriguez's suicide makes him vulnerable to legal action; experts say it is not against the law to be present at an assisted suicide. Robinson says he will respect Rodriguez' s wish to keep confidential the identity of the doctor involved, even if an official inquiry insists that he reveal it.

According to the passage, Svend Robinson' s presence during Sue Rodriguez' s suicide ______.

A．resulted in the immediate abolition of the 1892 law

B．created an uproar in Canada

C．made him invulnerable to legal action

D．attracted little attention in Canada

Why couldnt the gay marriage bill be passed in Spain？

A．The majority was not favor of gay marriages.

B．Two parities joined to oppose it.

C．Conservative group demonstrated in Madrid.

D．Bishops didn"t allow the Senate to pass it.

Why couldnt me gay marriage bill be passed in Spain？

A．The majority was not favor of gay marriages.

B．Two parities joined to oppose it.

C．Conservative group demonstrated in Madrid.

D．Bishops didn"t allow the Senate to pass it.

What is the purpose of the gay colors of a male butterfly？

A．To frighten birds away.

B．To bring females to it.

C．To make it more difficult to see.

D．To protect the female.