上周六，即2018年11月24日，台湾对同性婚姻进行了公投，引起了海内外的关注，今天小编选择了BBC，纽约时报，卫报等外刊带大家了解一下这件事的来龙去脉，顺便学点新知识：
背景导入：
Taiwan has been voting in a referendum on whether to become the first place in Asia to legalise gay marriage.
台湾正在在投票决定其是否会成为亚洲首个同性婚姻合法化的地方。
The top court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage, giving parliament two years to amend laws or pass new ones.
最高法院裁定支持同性婚姻，给议会两年修改法律或通过新法律。
Taiwan looked set to become the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex union.
语言点：look set to，即将要，有望，举个例子：
1.After more than a year of sullen stalemate, indirect talks between the two sides look set to resume.
在持续一年的僵局后，双方非直接谈话似乎重新启动。
2. Higher food and fuel prices are being driven by big changes in the global economy that look set to continue.
全球经济巨变所驱动的食品和燃油价格高涨似乎还会持续。
支持，赞同怎么说？
Tasi once spoke in favor of marriage equality, but she has taken a neutral stance ahead of the vote, apparently hoping to appease both the young voters who largely support gay marriage and the older voters who largely oppose it.
蔡英文曾表示支持婚姻平等，但她在投票前采取了中立立场，显然希望同时安抚那些主要支持同性婚姻的年轻选民以及主要反对这种同性婚姻的年长选民。
语言点：in favor of表示支持；赞同，举个例子：
Today's election will skew the results in favor of the northern end of the county.
今天的选举将使结果有利于这个郡的北部地区。
The political argument in favour of reform is strong.
支持政治改革的理由是不容小觑的。
那上周六的公投结果如何呢？
Taiwan voters reject same-sex marriage in referendums
台湾选民在全民公决中反对同性婚姻
热词：same-sex marriage 同性婚姻
Results showed voters backed the conservative"pro-family" groups.
back这里表示帮助；支持togive help or support to sb / sth，举个例子:
Her parents backed her in her choice of career.她父母支持她的职业选择。
Doctors have backed plans to raise the tax on cigarettes.
医生们对提高烟草税计划给予了支持
以下是the Guardian卫报的报道:
a blow to表示打击，造成重创，比如说：
if these enterprises failed， it would deliver a massive blow to the economy.
如果这些企业倒闭，就会给经济造成巨大的打击
路透社的相关报道也用到了这个表达：TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan voters were set to back a referendum that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, dealing a blow to the self-ruled island’s reputation for liberalism in Asia amid a heated debate over marriage equality.
Trailblazer表示先驱者，开路人，比如说：a trailblazer in the field of medical research医学研究领域的先驱
以下是纽约时报的报道：
One of the biggest issues in the election campaign — and the subject of half the referendum questions — was gay rights. Voters expressed overwhelming opposition to same-sex marriage, despite a court ruling last year that limiting marriage to heterosexual couples was unconstitutional. Voters also supported the removal of content about homosexuality from primary school textbooks.
这次选举活动的最大议题之一——也是一半公投问题的主题——是同性恋权利。选民对同性婚姻表达了压倒性的反对意见，尽管去年一项法院裁定指出，将婚姻限制在异性恋伴侣中是违宪的。选民还支持从小学的校教科书中删除有关同性恋的内容。
Many in Taiwan, especially young voters, were stunned by the referendum results, including MikeZhang, a 25-year-old project manager in Taipei.
台湾的许多人，尤其是年轻的选民，对这次的公投结果感到震惊，包括在台北的25岁项目经理人麦克张。
BBC继续提到，其实无论公投结果如何，去年的裁决都不会受到影响：
The government had earlier said that Saturday's referendums would not affect it bringing in the changes required by the court ruling. The authorities are now expected to pass a special law, without amending the Civil Code.
政府早些时候曾表示，周六的全民公决不会影响它此前法院裁决所要求的变更。现在，政府将会通过一项专法，而不修改民法。
那到底公投结果怎样有何影响呢？BBC在1年前的文章里，就提出过，人们担心事情发展不会那么顺利，1年后，事实证明的确如此：
有网友表示，恋爱就恋爱，为什么搞得沸沸扬扬的非要让同性婚姻合法化呢？下面这段话给出了一些例子，如果没有合法化，两人在法律层面上就几乎没有任何关系，如果出现什么意外做手术需要亲人签名时，就会面临困境：
The LGBT community hopes legislators will simply amend the existing marriage laws to include same-sex couples, which would grant them the same rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples, including in cases of adoption, parenting and inheritance - and making decisions for each other in medical emergencies.
LGBT社群体希望立法者能够直接修改现有婚姻法，让它包括同性伴侣，这将赋予他们和异性恋性伴侣相同的权利，包括收养，抚养和继承 - 以及在紧急医疗事件中相互为对方作决定。
However, they fear parliament won't do that and will instead pass a new law that recognises same-sex marriages but gives them only some rights, not equal treatment in all matters.
然而，他们担心议会不会这样做，而是会通过一项承认同性婚姻的新法律，但只给予他们一些权利，而不是在所有事项上给予平等待遇。
事件小结：如无意外，台湾仍然将会是亚洲首个允许同性婚姻的地方，只不过不是修改民法，而是另设专法。
对于婚姻平权问题，台湾选民分为了几派，有人力挺，有人无所谓，有人极力反对，对于这种意见不一的情况，我们可以用到之前在广深港高铁开通 | 地道表达中，讲解过的一个写作句型，这里带大家运用到这个话题上复习一下：
But Hong Kongers are deeply divided. Some believe it will help the territory’s economy by bringing in more visitors. Others charge that the rail link…
[写作推荐]从第一句，我们可以提炼出一个表达人们意见不一的写作表达：people are deeply divided on/over...
我们都知道divide作为动词时表示分开，分裂，而divided则有分裂的，有分歧的意思，比如说
The government is divided on this issue.
政府在这个问题上意见不统一。
比如放到这次婚姻平劝问题上，我们就可以用到这个句型：
People in Taiwan are deeply divided over same-sex marriage.
再比如这几天，世界首例基因编辑婴儿诞生事件引起国内外极大轰动。研究者贺建奎说，在将胚胎植入母体子宫之前，他已经改变了其中的一个基因，使得这对婴儿能抵抗艾滋病病毒的感染。
有人认为这是好事情，让无辜孩子可以过上正常的生活，也有人担心这将这个先例会在未来带动更多形式的基因编辑，我们就可以说：
People are deeply divided over the news of genetically edited babies.
[写作推荐] 通过后两句，我们可以综合提炼出一个引出人们观点写作表达：Some believe that.... while others charge that...
(通过while连接两句，更紧凑，另外注意charge接反对意见)
综合这一段，一个非常万能的写作句型就诞生了：people are deeply divided over/on.... Some believe that...while others hold/charge that....
(注： charge表示指责，接反对意见，而believe和hold则接正反意见均可)
比如回到这个文章的主题，我们就可以说：People in Taiwan are deeply divided over the legalization of same-sex marriage. Some believe that….while others hold that…
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