The savage murder of a gay man stuns a state where hate-crime laws do not protect homosexuals

　　"This is not the type of place where this happens," city council president George Carlton told a reporter, after the horror became public in his hometown, Sylacauga, Ala. He echoed what was said in Jasper, Texas, a year ago. Few people then had ever heard of Jasper. A week ago, even fewer could have pointed out Sylacauga on a map. A tiny city of 13,000, halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery, Sylacauga was known for its white marble quarries, textile mills and ice-cream factory. But last week Sylacauga, like Jasper, became a chapter in the recent history of hatred.　　
　　According to police, Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler Jr., 21, plotted for two weeks to murder Billy Jack Gaither, 39. On Feb. 19, they arranged to meet him at a Sylacauga bar and lured him to a secluded area. There they beat him and dumped him into the trunk of his car. They then drove about 15 miles to Peckerwood Creek in Coosa County. There, says Coosa County Sheriff's Deputy Al Bradley, "they took him out of the trunk, took an ax handle and beat him to death." They set two old tires aflame, says Bradley, "then they put the body on the fire." They did it all, the deputy says, because Gaither was gay.　　
　　Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rights organizations' and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexual orientation as well. "It's unfortunate that somebody had to lose his life in order for this legislation to pick up momentum here in the state of Alabama," says state Representative Alvin Holmes, who failed to get the original law amended when it was passed in 1996. Holmes filed for extending the law after Matthew Shepard, a gay student, was beaten and left to die on a fence in Wyoming last October, an incident that sparked national outrage. Even Wyoming failed to pass hate-crime legislation in the wake of the Shepard lynching. Like Shepard, Gaither did not hesitate to admit being gay, though he adhered quietly to Sylacauga's Southern dispositions. And friends dispute Mullins' and Butler's allegations that a sexual proposition incited the murder. Gaither's brother Randy told CNN: "Regardless of his personal life or anything, he doesn't deserve to be killed for this."　　
　　"The message people are getting is that gay people are second-class citizens," says Tracey Conaty, spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
　　Before Gaither's murder, activists were planning a major national pro-gay offensive. From March 21 to March 27, the task force will launch its "Equality Begins at Home" campaign, with 250 grass-roots events in all 50 states aimed at passing anti-gay-bashing legislation. Says Conaty: "These laws reflect the conscience of a community and send an important message." The March events, says Urvashi Vaid, director of the task force's policy institute, will involve straight people concerned about neighbors denied basic human rights. Adds Vaid: "It's more than just a gay thing."　　
　　注(1)：本文选自By Sylvester Monroe Time; 03/15/99, Vol. 153 Issue 10, p47, 2/3p, 3c, 1bw
　　　　
　　1. What is implied in the first two paragraphs?
　　[A] there are many murders in the recent history of hatred
　　[B]the murder also happened in Jasper one year ago
　　[C] it is another case of the gay being tortured to death
　　[D]the city council president comes from Sylacauga
　　
　　2. The author uses the example of Matthew Shepard to show that ________.
　　[A] it is difficult to extend the hate-crime legislation
　　[B]people want to extend the hate-crime law
　　[C]the gays are really in a terrible fix
　　[D] people are indifferent to the gay student
　　
　　3. Alvin Holmes’ attitude toward the gay victims is _________.
　　[A]indifferent
　　[B]sympathetic
　　[C]outrageous
　　[D]considerate
　　
　　4. Similar to Matthew Shepard, Gaither’s death ________.
　　[A]aroused people’s sympathy for the gay
　　[B] sharpened people’s awareness
　　[C]gave legislation some momentum
　　[D]failed to have any change in the legislation
　　
　　5. The text intends to express the idea that __________.
　　[A] people should be concerned about their gay neighbors
　　[B]the gay people shouldn’t be regarded as second-class citizens
　　[C] the legislation for the gay still has a long way to go
　　[D]more pro-gay campaigns should be launched
　　
　　答案：CABDC
　　
　　篇章剖析　　
　　本文采用提出问题——分析问题的模式。第一段和第二段提出问题，详细阐述一起同性恋谋杀案的发生经过。第三段和第四段指出被害人的死造成的影响和反应。第五段指出激进分子的做法及其影响。
　　　　　　
　　题目分析　
　　1.答案为C，属推理判断题。选项A，B，D都属于细节问题，在文中都可找到对应的信息。选项C归纳了前两段的内容。　　
　　2. 案为A，属推理判断题。文中对应信息是“Even Wyoming failed to pass hate-crime legislation in the wake of the Shepard lynching”。　　
　　3. 案为B ，属情感态度题。文中对应信息是“"It's unfortunate that somebody had to lose his life in order for this legislation to pick up momentum here in the state of Alabama”。　　
　　4. 答案为D，属推理判断题。原文对应信息"Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rights organizations' and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexual orientation as well.”Gaither的被害虽然对立法有一定的影响，却还没有一定的改观。　　
　　5.答案为C，属主旨大意题。要综观全文，不要受到一些细节方面的干扰。
　　
　　参考译文　　

一名同性恋的残忍被害使法律条文里仇视罪不保护同性恋的州政府为之震惊

　　这件惨案在市议长乔治•卡尔顿的家乡阿拉巴马州Sylacauga被公开以后，他是这样告诉记者的：“这种事情不应该发生在这里”。他是在重复一年前在德克萨斯州的Jasper说过的话。几乎没有人听说过Jasper这个地方。一周以前，甚至没有人能在地图上指出Sylacauga的位置。Sylacauga是一座拥有13，000人口的小城，位于伯明翰和蒙哥马利之间，以大理石采石场、纺织厂和冰淇淋厂而知名。同Jasper一样，上周 Sylacauga也被列入了近期所发生的仇恨事件。　　
　　据警察说，25岁的Steven Eric Mullins和21岁的Charles Monroe Butler Jr.预谋了两周来谋杀39岁的Billy Jack Gaither。2月19日那天，他们先安排与他在Sylacauga的一个酒吧见面，再把他引到预定地点。在那他们先是打他，随后把他扔进汽车后备箱，然后开车15英里来到Coosa县的Peckerwood Creek。Coosa县治安官代理Al Bradley说：“他们把他从后备箱里拖出来，拿出斧柄把他击打致死”。随后他们点燃了两个旧轮胎。Bradley说：“然后他们把尸体放到了火堆上”。代理说这两个人之所以这么做的原因就是因为Gaither是同性恋。　　
　　Gaither的死成为了一种推动力，促使那些维护同性恋权利的组织以及州立法委员去推行一项议案，使阿拉巴马已通过三年的仇视罪条文除了涉及有关种族、肤色、宗教信仰、出身之外，也应该包括有关性倾向方面的罪行。州代表Alvin Holmes没能在1996年通过原法律条文时使之得以修正，他是这样说的：“非得用某人的死来使这项法律在阿拉巴马积聚变更的力量真是太可悲了”。去年十月在怀俄明州发生了一件令国人感到愤怒的事情。一名同性恋学生Matthew Shepard遭人击打，死于围墙上。Holmes在这件事件之后曾提议扩展这一法律条文。在Shepard被人私刑处死事件之后，怀俄明州也没能通过仇视罪法律。虽然Gaither默默地保持着Sylacauga南方人的性情，但是他同Shepard一样，毫不隐瞒自己是同性恋这一事实。Mullins 和Butler辩解说是性问题引发了这起谋杀，Gaither的朋友们对此提出质疑。Gaither的兄弟告诉CNN记者：“不管他的个人生活或其它方面怎么样，他不应该就这样被处死。”　　
　　“美国国家男女同志特遣队”这一组织的发言人Tracey Conaty说：“人们获得的启示是同性恋是二等公民。”　　
　　在Gaither被谋杀之前，一些激进分子就在策划发动一个大型的全国范围的支持同性恋的攻势。从3月21日到27日，特遣队发动“平等从家里开始”运动，收集50个州所发生的250件民众事件，目的在于通过反殴打同性恋这一法规。Conaty说：“法律条文反映一个团体的道德准则，并传达重要的信息”。作为特遣队政策研究所的负责人，Urvashi Vaid认为三月份发生的事件会使正直的人们为那些被剥夺了基本人权的邻居而担心。Vaid还说：“这不仅仅是一件同性恋的事情。”