§Week3 美同性婚姻合法

Opinion: Why I support gay marriage in Washington

Editor’s Note: Rev. Mike Denton is a conference minister of the United Church of Christ working with congregations in Washington, Northern Idaho and Alaska. He supports gay marriage.

On Wednesday afternoon, Washington's House passed a same-sex marriage bill, 53-43. The state Senate has already passed it, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has promised to sign it. Opponents of  the bill are promising to put the issue on the ballot this November.

By. Rev. Mike Denton, Special to CNN

(CNN) - It was a little more than 15 years ago when two friends of mine - I’ll call them Amy and Christine - asked me to officiate at their wedding. Actually, at the time, I’m not sure we called it a “wedding.” Fifteen years ago, gay and lesbian folks were still stepping gingerly around the words “wedding” or “marriage.” It didn’t feel safe and just didn’t seem to be worth the fight so words like “union service” or “commitment service” were used instead.

I grew up in church but I don’t remember homosexuality being talked about all that much. I thought it was wrong because that’s just what I heard the most from those Christian voices that were best able to garner media attention. The same six biblical verses referred to seemed, at the time, pretty clear. The Sodom and Gomorrah story was one that came up a lot. Quotes from chapters 18 and 20 of Leviticus, as well as the first chapter of Romans, too.

In the years that followed, this clarity only increased. I met more and more and more gay individuals and couples. I heard their stories of self-realization; falling in love; and their struggle for self, family and societal acceptance and realized how far they were from the deviant parodies I’d been exposed to while growing up. The identity labels began to fall out of the way as friendships began.

The Washington state legislature just gave gay and lesbian couples access to the same rights that straight couples have under state law. This law also gives the state the ability to provide the same supports, as well as require the same responsibilities, of gay and lesbian couples as any other couple. As someone who, in a pastoral role, sees the stress and strain this legal ambivalence puts on gay families and the communities they are part of, I know how important this law is.  Also, regardless of what some may suggest, this law will not force pastors who oppose gay rights to officiate at the marriages of same-sex couples or sign a wedding license for them. However, it will allow me to treat gay or straight couples equally by being able to sign a wedding license for both.

The opinions expressed are solely those of  Rev. Mike Denton.

Structure of the lead

Who: Mike Denton

When:2015/6/26

Where: America 

What: Mike Denton talked his opinions about same-sex wedding.

Why: He has seen many comrades who want to get marriage with their lover, but they mustn’t do that.

How: Don’t given

Key words:

Conference minister 會議部

Congregations畢業典禮

Officiate主持

Lesbian女同性戀

Gingerly戰戰兢兢

homosexuality同性戀

biblical verses聖經經文

deviant parodies離經叛道的蠢事

 labels標籤

 pastoral  牧歌

§Week2:尼泊爾大地震

 

Dozens dead after another major earthquake centered in Nepal.

Latest developments

• At least 65 people have died in Nepal from Tuesday's magnitude(大小)-7.3 earthquake there, the Nepali government said Wednesday. The number of people injured now stands at 1,926, said Nepali Home Ministry spokesman(發言人) Laxmi Prasad Dhakal.

• At least 17 people in India have also died as a result of the tremor(震；震動), Indian Home Ministry spokesman Kuldeep Dhatwalia told CNN. A woman in Tibet, a region of China, was killed by falling rocks, the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

• A U.S. military helicopter was declared missing Tuesday while in Nepal to support earthquake relief efforts there, officials said. The UH-1 Huey helicopter had six U.S. Marines and two Nepalis aboard at the time, the Pentagon said.

• Aftershocks(餘震) continued predawn(黎明前) Wednesday in Nepal. A CNN team there felt one such big one at 2 a.m. local time that shook buildings and terrified survivors, many of whom were sleeping outside or ran from their homes.

Full story

Just over two weeks after thousands died in a mammoth earthquake, Nepal got hit hard again Tuesday by another powerful tremor that has left dozens more dead, more than 1,000 injured and questions about what's next for the already traumatized Asian nation.

Tuesday's disaster piled(堆積) fresh horror on Nepalis still picking up the pieces from last month's quake and its legion of aftershocks. More buildings collapsed, more landslides rumbled(轟隆隆) and people once again scrambled for their lives.

3 house collasped near newbuspark. Army and police in rescue. 2 vehicles damaged. 

"For the first seconds, it was complete silence. By the fifth second, everybody started to scream," said Marc Sarrado, a 41-year-old documentarian(紀錄片) from Spain who was in Nepal's Nuwakot Valley, about two hours northwest of Kathmandu, when the quake hit.

"It was really, really intense(激烈). Even when the shaking stopped, people were still screaming. They were completely panicked, because they knew exactly what it was."

Was impressive to hear the screaming of all the people in Chauti valey Nuwakot. The Earth has been shaking again in Nepal. 

Tuesday's magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck about 9.3 miles (15 kilometers) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said. In comparison, the magnitude-7.8 quake on April 25 -- which killed more than 8,000 people -- was centered to the northwest, rather than to the east, of Kathmandu and a little farther away (48 miles rather than 47 miles). Although at a similar depth, that earlier tremor was more than three times bigger and 5.6 times stronger, in terms of energy released, according to the USGS.

Tuesday's quake was weaker but still deadly.

Nepali Home Ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said Wednesday morning that at least 65 people in his country had been killed. The number of injured stood at 1,926, he said. Dozens of people were rescued alive from rubble, according to officials.

The carnage(大屠殺) wasn't confined(受限) to Nepal. China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported that a woman in Tibet died Tuesday afternoon after falling rocks hit the car she was in. At least 17 people were killed in northeastern India, according to Indian Home Ministry spokesman Kuldeep Dhatwalia.India's military was also involved inside Nepal, caring for casualties(傷亡) and flying them by helicopter from the village of Mrigu to Kathmandu.

This latest quake only adds to the stress for residents of a region who had been trying to return to normalcy(常態), until Mother Nature reasserted(重申) her destructive(破壞的) power.

It was "like the whole Earth was alive," said Asim Rai, after huddling(壅擠) with his family in Kathmandu.

Structure of the Lead

Who: Nepal People

When:2015/4/25 11:56

What: A horrible earthquake hit Nepal and there were a lot of people died.

Why: The Magnitude-7.3 Earthquake

Where: Nepal

How: not given

 Key Words:

magnitude(大小)

tremor(震；震動)

aftershocks(餘震)

predawn (黎明前)

documentarian(紀錄片)

carnage(大屠殺)

confined(受限)

casualties(傷亡)

huddling(壅擠)

normalcy(常態)

 

§Week1:地中海船難

Number of Syrian refugees rises above 2 million, U.N. agency says

Every 15 seconds, a Syrian becomes a refugee, and those witnessing the violence unfolding(發展) on the ground don't believe military action against the regime(政權) would bring relief(解脫).

While a doctor who treats refugees says the regime has a history of becoming more vicious(惡毒) when backed into a corner, one Syrian says he doesn't believe strikes(罷工) against Bashar al-Assad's(巴沙爾·阿薩德，現任敘利亞總統兼武裝部隊總司令)forces would be effective because the regime would protect its own people and leave the rest to die so it could blame(責備) the massacre(大屠殺) on the United States.

"We are stuck in the middle, between the Russians and the Americans, the Iranians and the Saudis, and we are the victims," the man said.

The United Nations' refugee agency said Tuesday that the number of Syrians who have fled(逃離) their war-ravaged(飽受戰爭蹂躪) country has now risen to more than 2 million.

A year ago, that number was 230,671.

Are chemical weapons a 'red line'? Tell us what you think.

"Syria is haemorrhaging(出血) women, children and men who cross borders(邊界) often with little more than the clothes on their backs," the UNHCR said.

The increase of nearly 1.8 million people over the past 12 months is an "alarming" trend, the agency said, warning that there is "no sign of this tragic outflow ending."

Also disturbing is that many of the refugees are escaping only to find themselves in a different sort of danger.

Hayam, a 25-year-old mother of three in neighboring Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, said she and a friend visited a local organization that was distributing food and were told they needed to drive to a nearby warehouse(倉庫). There, they encountered a group of men.

"They attacked us. We started to scream and cry," the woman said, explaining the men attempted to rape them and asked, "Why are you scared? Nothing happened. You are married. Why are you afraid of this? It's not your first time."

Hayam said she couldn't report the men.

"They will kill me, or they will send me to my parents, and they will kill me. We are a tribal society," she said.

Another refugee, 14-year-old Rahaf in Beirut, said she was cornered by teenagers while on her way to clean houses, which she's been doing for extra money.

"They scared me. They made me hate life," the girl said.

Her mother said her daughter told her, "Mama, I would rather die in our country than have these problems."

The United Nations has said that more than 100,000 people -- including many civilians -- have been killed in Syria since a popular uprising spiraled(狂飆) into a civil war in 2011.

"Syria has become the great tragedy of this century -- a disgraceful (可恥)humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history," said Antonio Guterres, the United Nations' high commissioner for refugees.

Structure of the Lead：

Who: numbers of syrian refugees

When: 2011/3

What: Syrian refugees escape to Europe. Some women and girls are forced to do which they don’t like.

Why: There is a long-time civil war in Syria and many refugee have been faced many problems since they escape from their countries.

Where: Syrian and surrounding countries

How: not given

Keywords:

regime(政權)

massacre(大屠殺)

war-ravaged(飽受戰爭蹂躪)

haemorrhaging(出血)

spiraled(狂飆)

disgraceful (可恥)

borders(邊界)

fled(逃離)

unfolding(發展)

relief(解脫)