已開發國家的矛盾
On May 5, Delaware quietly made a surprisingly historic decision: the decision to ban child marriage.
5月5日，美國德拉瓦州悄悄做出了一個令人驚訝的歷史性決定：禁止童婚。
historic(adj.)歷史性的ban(v.)禁止=prohibit
Under a new law, the state sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 — making it the first state in America to do so.
根據這項新法，該州將最低結婚年齡定為18歲，使其成為美國第一個禁止童婚的州。
minimum(adj.)最低的(n.)最小值maximum(n.)最大值(adj.)最大的
Despite misconceptions that child marriage has been eliminated in the developed world, it remains a serious problem in many countries.
儘管許多人誤解已開發國家已消滅童婚，但在許多國家，童婚仍是一個嚴重的問題。
despite(prep.)儘管=in spite of~misconception(n.)誤解、錯誤想法=misunderstanding=false impressioneliminate(v.)消除;終結=get rid of~=put an end to~=eradicate
According to Unchained at Last’s Fraidy Reiss, the activist who pushed Delaware’s landmark ruling, around 250,000 children under the age of 18 were married in the United States — eighty-seven percent of these being girls.
「終於掙脫枷鎖組織」創辦人賴斯，是促成德拉瓦州通過這項具有里程碑意義的裁決的倡議人士，她指出，美國約有25萬名18歲以下的兒童結婚，其中百分之八十七是女孩。
landmark(n.)地標;(發展過程中的)里程碑ruling(n.)裁決;判決
Although most US states set the minimum age of marriage at 18, all but two of them allow minors to get married, provided that they meet certain requirements, including pregnancy or parental permission.
雖然美國大多數的州將最低結婚年齡定為18歲，但除了兩個州例外，所有州都允許未成年人結婚，前提是他們符合懷孕或父母許可等條件。
provided that~條件是…;只有在…的前提下=only if~=on the condition that~
Although many recent child marriages involve teenagers aged 16 or 17 years old, children as young as 12 have been married in Alaska, Louisiana, and South Carolina, while 11 other states allowed 13-year-olds to wed.
雖然最近的許多童婚涉及16或17歲的青少年，但在阿拉斯加、路易斯安那和南卡羅來納有年僅12歲的孩子結婚，另外有11個州允許13歲的孩子結婚。
“This is a rural phenomenon and it is a phenomenon of poverty,” said Jeanne Smoot, an attorney with the Tahirih Justice Centre, which helps women and girls fleeing gender-based violence and persecution.
幫助女性逃離性暴力和迫害的塔希莉司法中心的律師思茉特指出：「這是一種農村現象，是一種貧困的現象。」
phenomenon(n.)現象poverty(n.)貧窮gender-based violence 性暴力persecution(n.)迫害
Once married, it is extremely difficult to provide help to child partners to get out of their marriages, as leaving home under the age of 18 would make them a runaway.
一旦結婚，就很難幫助結婚的孩子們脫離他們的婚姻，因為未滿18歲離開家就是逃家。
once(conj.)一旦runaway(n.)離家出走的孩子
For Reiss, legislation is the only way to help these children.
對賴斯而言，立法是幫助這些孩子的唯一途徑。
legislation(n.)法律、立法
“To all of those who I couldn’t help, especially the children…my message to them is: I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, but this will never happen again, at least in this state (Delaware).”
「對於那些我無法幫助的人，尤其是孩子們，我想對他們說：對不起，我無法幫助你，但這種情況永遠不會再發生，至少在這個州（德拉瓦州）。」
at least 至少