6. The Homosexual Family
Although many people do not think of homosexual relationships as resulting in a family,it has been estimated that about one of five gays and one of three lesbians enter a homosexualmarriage. The marriage may or may not be established by a formal ceremony.One male couple , for example , after four months of cohabitation3, went to Mass4 and letthe service be their private ceremony of commitment. They used the term marriage to describetheir relationship. They bought matching rings and verbally agreed to be sexuallyfaithful, to emotionally support each other, and to have equal say in such matters as finances. Moreover, millions of gays and lesbians have had children. In many cases, the childrenwere born when the individual was part of a heterosexual marriage . Subsequently,the individual openly acknowledged his or her homosexual preference. Some of these childrenare being raised in a homosexual family — two men, two women, or some other arrangement.For example, Nancy is a lesbian who is raising a daughter with two gaymales, one of whom is the child’s father. Homosexual couples have to work through the same problems as heterosexual couples.They face issues of household division of labor, power, sexual relationships, andmoney. In addition, like the interracial couple , they face problems arising from being in asocially stigmatized relationship. Gallup polls5 that asked the American public whether homosexualrelations between consenting adults should be legal have found an increasingproportion from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s who said that they should not be legal.Homosexual families, then, must not only deal with the same issues as other families butalso with a hostile environment and with some problems that are unique to6 the homosexualrelationship .阅读导释
1. homosexual adj. 同性恋的。与之相对的是heterosexual ( 异性恋的) 。homosexual 可分为lesbian ( 女同性恋者) 和gay ( 男同性恋者) 。前缀homo- 意为“ 相同的”, 而hetero- 则意为“ 不同的”。
2. think of . .. as . . . 意为“ 把⋯⋯看作”, 意同regard . .. as . . . , as 后要跟名词或动名词, 如:018 I think of your action as a crime. ( 我认为你的行为就是犯罪。)
3. cohabitation n. 同居。cohabit 是其动词形式, co- 是前缀, 意为“ 共同, 相互”, 如: co-star( 联合主演) ; co-worker ( 同事, 帮手) 。habitation 则意为“居住, 住所”, 如: a place fit forhabitation ( 适于居住的地方) 。
4. 望弥撒。弥撒又称圣餐( Eucharist) , 拉丁语missa 的音译, 是纪念耶稣基督牺牲的宗教仪式。其形式虽从简朴到精致繁复不尽相同, 但核心内容却都是领受面饼和葡萄酒, 用面饼和葡萄酒表示耶稣的身体和血来祭祀他。
5. 盖洛普民意测验。盖洛普( 1901—1984 ) , 美国统计学家, 民意抽样调查( 即盖洛普民意测验) 创始人, 曾创建美国民意学会( 1935) 和不列颠民意学会( 1936) 。在1936 年美国总统大选时, 他成功地预言了罗斯福的当选, 从此名声大振, 他的调查所由此成为世界上著名的民意调查机构。
6. be unique to 只有⋯⋯才有的, 如: special difficulties unique to blind people ( 只有盲人才会遇到的特殊困难) 。本文指只有同性恋才会面对的问题。