VOA常速英语:Gay Marriage Fight Sparks US Debate Over Meaning of Marriage

短语讲解：

1. Twenty-nine states have passed constitutional amendments banning homosexuals from marrying.

ban from禁止
例句：Bicycles are banned from the new superhighway.
禁止在高速公路骑自行车。

2. Four-year-old Ian was adopted at birth by Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer, homosexuals who have lived together in what they describe as a loving relationship for 14 years.

describe as描述为, 说成是
例句：They described me to be a mysterious person.
他们把我描绘成一个神秘的人。

3. "I am going to enjoy my civil liberty as a woman to get married to a woman because I can and because I am in love and I should be able to do that," she said.

get married 结婚
例句：They will get married next June.
他们会在明年六月结婚。

4. The concern of the state should be procreation, the bringing in of children into the world and to ensure that those children are raised in stable families.

bring in把…拿进来, 带进来,引进
例句：The policeman brought in two boys whom he had caught stealing.
警察把两个当场抓获的小偷带到警察局。

5. Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer say they try to provide Ian with a loving and stable home.

provide with给…提供;以…装备
例句：Somehow she managed to provide her children with food and clothing.
她总算设法使她的孩子有饭吃,有衣穿。

6. Both say homosexual couples deserve such rights as health benefits, visitation and inheritance rights. 

such as像, 例如
例句：We dislike people such as him.
我们不喜欢像他这号人。

7. I think it can actually lead to greater tolerance, so it actually even promotes a more civil society

lead to导致, 引起
例句：In given conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results.
在一定条件下, 一件坏事可以导致好的结果。

8. New York’s Catholic bishops said in their statement that the church will always treat its homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love.

treat with对待
例句：This was the first time I had been treated with such respect.
我是第一次受到这样的礼遇。

9. But Monsignor Harrington says gay marriage represents a further erosion of the institution of marriage that is already troubled by widespread divorce, cohabitation, children born out of wedlock and, indeed, sexual scandals within the church itself.

born out of wedlock非婚生
例句：They laughed at her because she was born out of wedlock.
他们嘲笑她，因为她是私生子。

10. "I think we can hold the ideal as, ‘this is what we should be holding up as the ideal, this is what the state should be supporting, and then there can be other circumstances that can be less than ideal, and the state can sometimes recognize that there are less than ideal states [circumstances]," he said.

hold up 拦住, 使停顿, 耽搁
例句：Two policemen held up a truck so as to inspect the driver's license.
两个警察让一辆卡车停住以便检查司机的驾驶证。

11. "You're fighting for the idea that everyone ought to be treated equally and everybody deserves to be able to live and love as they see fit," he said.

fight for 为…而战斗〔竞争〕
例句：They fought for their country.
他们为祖国而战斗。
ought to 应当,应该
例句：I feel that we ought to accept his proposal.
我觉得我们应该接受他的建议。

12. The religious view of many is that marriage has throughout history been a place where the miracle of life takes place.

take place发生; 举行
例句：The threatening strike did not take place after all.
可能来临的罢工终究没有发生。