智慧人生篇章 第12期:同性恋婚姻之争(2)

 　　And of course that's just where the problems lie. Though people on both sides appeal to what is natural, nature unhelpfully supports both sides liking¹ both consistency² and variety in gender³ and sexuality. So most people are male or female, but there are some who are born with unfixed gender. Most people are heterosexual but some are not. Most parents have children but some do not. And then there are people who marry knowing they can't have children, and children conceived with donated sperm⁴ or eggs, or born through surrogates. Our society believes passionately⁵ in equality and wants everyone to have the chance of a decent and fulfilled private life. I have no problem with any of that. And yet.I don't want to lose the traditional view that marriage reflects a particular pattern in which a man and a woman unite across their obvious differences. Civil partnerships⁶ have a different pattern, and I think this could be sacramental too. I know partners who have created liturgies⁷ which celebrate their love, loyalty⁸ and commitment in the friendship of God. I'm not allowed to bless such relationships, but I think I am allowed to hope the day will come. What I don't want to happen is that the demand for equality reduces gay and straight relationships to sameness. Civil partnerships offer something new and creative to thank God for, but there is no reason why we should lose the blessing⁹ of what remains¹⁰ both ancient and instinctive¹¹.

　　但这也正是问题所在。虽然双方都为本质所吸引，双方却无法不去喜欢各自的性别上的差异。所以大部分人都是男和女。但是有些人的性征不明确。大部分都是异性恋，但有些人不是。大部分父母都生孩子，但有些不生。有些人明知无法有孩子还是结婚了，他们通过捐献的精子、卵子甚至代孕得到孩子。我们的社会坚信平等，希望每个人都能有体面充实的私生活。我对此毫无异议，至少目前没有。我想一直抱持传统婚姻中一男一女跨越差异而结合的观点。现在伙伴关系有了不同版本，我想这也可以成为一种圣礼。以上帝为友，他们创造了展示他们爱情、忠诚和承诺的圣礼。我没有福佑这种关系的资格，但是我可以期待这一天的到来。我不想看到因为要求平等而使同性和异性婚姻千篇一律。现在有了新的有创造性的伙伴关系向上帝致敬。但我们也没有理由不祝福自然天性。

1 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

2 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

5 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 liturgies   

n.礼拜仪式( liturgy的名词复数 )；（英国国教的）祈祷书

参考例句：

• Politicians recite their liturgies in TV studios. 政客们在电视演播室里朗诵祷文。 来自互联网
• The Martyrium was a five nave basilica terminatedapse and a and festive liturgies were celebrated. 殉道者大殿是全部五大殿之一，一直通到另一个圆秃型的神殿人员公署。 来自互联网

8 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。