IN THE NEWS - Senate Preparing to Question Latest Supreme Co

IN THE NEWS - Senate Preparing to Question Latest Supreme¹ Court Nomination²
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, November 05, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Democrats³ and Republicans in the United States Senate are preparing to question President Bush's latest nominee⁴ for the Supreme Court.

On Monday, Mister Bush named Samuel Alito to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The president did so after his earlier nominee, Harriet Miers, withdrew from consideration because of opposition⁵ by conservatives.

 
Samuel Alito
The nomination of Mister Alito requires confirmation⁶ by the Senate. Democrats and Republicans agree that Judge Alito is highly qualified⁷ to serve on the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale University Law School. And he has fifteen years of experience as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

However, many people express concern about the future balance of the nine-member Supreme Court. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often took moderate positions that made the difference in cases decided⁸ by votes of five-to-four. Some critics say Mister Alito would change the direction of the Supreme Court and make it more conservative.

The Senate will consider how a Supreme Court nominee might affect the Court's decisions. Senators will study rulings and opinions written by the nominee. They want to find out what he thinks about issues that could come before the Court in the future. One of the most divisive of these issues is a woman's right to have an operation to end her pregnancy⁹.

In nineteen seventy-three, the Supreme Court declared such abortions¹¹ legal in a case known as Roe¹² versus¹³ Wade¹⁴. Many experts say that Judge Alito's earlier court rulings lead them to believe that he would vote to change that decision. They note a decision he made in nineteen ninety-one.

Judge Alito was the only one of a three-judge group to support a Pennsylvania law that required women to tell their husbands before having an abortion¹⁰. The Supreme Court rejected Judge Alito's opinion one year later. It found the Pennsylvania law to be unconstitutional. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took the lead in that case and helped develop the ruling that confirmed the Roe versus Wade decision.

Senators may also question Judge Alito about several other past decisions. These include racial preference in jobs and education, civil rights and the separation of church and government.

Since seventeen eighty-nine, the Senate has considered more than one hundred fifty Supreme Court nominees¹⁵. The Senate Historical Office says it has rejected only twelve. Some experts say that interest groups are already trying to influence senators to vote for or against Judge Alito. They expect a huge dispute between conservatives and liberal senators when the hearings begin.

President Bush said he wants a vote on the Alito nomination by the end of the year. However, on Thursday, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said the hearings will not begin until January. IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

12 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

14 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

15 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网