II. Reading activities.

1. Read the text & try to guess its main idea. Elton is model for a pink-grey marriage.

When Sir Elton John tied the pink knot he set the tone for the new era of same-sex unions.

Figures gathered from register offices around the country suggest that most of the couples taking advantage of the civil partnership law are male with at least one of the pair being over 50.

They want to ensure that their long-term partners benefit from the new law, which gives them pension and inheritance rights equal to those of married couples.

Elton John, 58, says such rights are one of the main reasons he and David Furnish, 43, are undergoing the ceremony. "We've been together for 12 years and we're able to do it, so why not," he said. "It gives us protection. If one of us dies, it protects the other person."

Under the new law, a partner can inherit all their property tax-free. They also keep the same proportion of the other's pension income as if they had been widowed.

Figures from Brighton and Hove, Westminster, Islington, and Kensington and Chelsea, the councils conducting the largest number of civil partnership ceremonies, show that more than 54% of all the 381 planned unions involve men over 50.

The rest are largely between younger men: 52 couples are female.

A broader study of 12 London boroughs, towns and cities found that 32% of people planning civil partnerships were women.

Ben Summershill, chief executive of Stonewall, the homosexual rights group, said: "There is a backlog of people who have been in long-term stable relationships who want to benefit from a civil partnership.

"When you have been together 30, 40 or even 50 years you are reasonably certain about tying the knot, unlike people like Britney Spears who got married then had the marriage annulled just days later."

Among those taking part in the ceremonies was Angela Mason, director of the government's women and equality unit, who had registered with Elizabeth Wilson, her girlfriend of 30 years.

Mason, 61, believes years of discrimination against lesbians still deter large numbers from making their relationships public. She said: "Lesbians have traditionally been doubly oppressed, first as women and secondly for their sexuality.

Things are improving today but there is still a hangover from the earlier period of sexual oppression and I think many simply haven't come out. Perhaps it will change in years to come."

Most attention was focused on Elton John's nuptials. The registration ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were married in April, was the event for family only.

The £ l mln. reception in a marquee at John's nearby mansion, by contrast, was a flamboyant affair. Caseloads of vintage pink champagne had been ordered, while the 700 guests included celebrities such as Elizabeth Hurley, Victoria Beckham, Lulu, Sharon Osbourne and Donatella Versace.

John did not expect any gifts, but he had asked for donations to the Elton John Aids Foundation.

The honeymoon remained a closely guarded secret, with Furnish reportedly determined to keep the new year trip as a surprise for his partner.

The couple was not first to tie the knot. That distinction went to civil partners in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.

A total of 687 couples were scheduled to enter into civil partnerships that day.

Digest, 2006, № 12.