World Reaction to Obama Statement Mixed

 　　U.S. President Barack Obama's expression of support for same-sex marriage is generating both praise and criticism here in the United States. People around the world are also taking time to reflect on his historic announcement.

　　An Egyptian florist¹ in Cairo, Said Mohamed Hemeida, says he does not approve of men marrying men or women marrying women.

　　He says it is bad and wrong for a president of a republic to think like that. He says he doesn't think it is in America's interest.

　　Mr. Obama said Wednesday in a televised U.S. interview that he supports same-sex marriage. It was a significant shift of position from his earlier statements on the subject, when he said his view on the matter was "evolving."

　　In South Africa, same-sex marriage is already legal, although political analyst² Eusebius McKaiser, of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, says the majority of South Africans are opposed to it. He blames the dichotomy on South Africa's conversion³ from white minority rule to black majority rule in 1994.

　　"In America by contrast, civil rights have always been won in an evolutionary⁴ way," said  McKaiser. "In South Africa, we had a revolutionary break with the past, which is why our legislation in favor of gay rights is so much more progressive, even though it is ahead of social attitudes."

　　In conservative South Korea, Lee Jong-geol, general director of a gay men's rights group, Chingusai, says he expects his countrymen to be slow to adapt to the idea of same-sex marriage.

　　He says he doesn't think gay marriage will happen in South Korea in the near term, even if it is legally accepted by American society.

　　In Argentina - the first Latin American nation to legalize same-sex marriage - gay activist⁵ Jose Maria Di Bello praised Mr. Obama's statements to a crowd gathered outside the Buenos Aires building hosting the Argentine National Congress. They were celebrating passage of further gender-rights legislation.

　　He says he welcomes President Obama's comments. He says gay marriage is a matter of respecting the concept and the principle of equality.

　　Elsewhere Germany's openly gay foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, has praised the Obama statement, calling it a courageous⁶ step. But Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed⁷ to vote against legalization of same-sex marriage when bill comes before the Australian parliament later this year.  Their comments reflect the mixed reception Mr. Obama's historic announcement has generated both at home and abroad.

1 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

4 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。