2006年VOA标准英语-US Supreme Court Tackles Issue of Race in Schoo

By Jim Malone
Washington
04 December 2006

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court heard oral arguments Monday challenging the right of local school systems in Washington state and Kentucky to carry out voluntary plans that promote racial integration². The high court rulings in these two cases could have a far-reaching impact on school desegregation efforts around the country. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

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Protestors gather in front of Supreme Court, Dec. 4, 2006 as court hears arguments on lawsuits by parents in Louisville and Seattle who are challenging policies that use race to help determine where children go to school

At issue are voluntary desegregation plans in two cities, Seattle, Washington, and Louisville, Kentucky.

School officials in both locations are trying to keep the schools racially balanced. In the case of Louisville, for example, the goal is to have an African-American student enrollment⁴ of between 15 and 50 percent in each school.

But some parents who oppose the voluntary integration efforts have filed suit, charging that the plans amount to reverse discrimination because they prevent some white students from attending certain schools because of the need to achieve racial balance.

The Bush administration supports the parents who are suing the two school districts in question.

Roger Clegg is president of the Center for Equal Opportunity and is among those supporting the legal challenge to the voluntary school desegregation efforts.

"Obviously, there are going to be many instances in which people are told that they cannot attend a particular school because of their skin color," he said. "This is personally unfair. It sets a disturbing legal, political and moral precedent⁵ in favor of allowing government discrimination and creating resentment⁶."

During Monday's oral arguments, some of the justices questioned whether the two school plans in question put too much emphasis on race. Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern that school assignments might be based on skin color alone.

But supporters of the desegregation plans disagree. They argue that the academic and social benefits of racial integration benefit white and black students alike.

Attorney John Payton has had a long involvement in school desegregation efforts.

"I do not think there is any real argument that, when done the right way, that diversity has enormous benefits for the kids in the sense that they come out seeing all of their classmates as their peers, not as other people who do things different from what they do," he said. "It has an enormous benefit for our whole society."

As the oral arguments took place inside the Supreme Court, hundreds of students marched outside and chanted slogans in support of the voluntary integration plans.

The Supreme Court played a crucial role in the struggle for racial integration with its 1954 decision known as Brown v. the Board of Education. That ruling outlawed⁸ the practice of separate but equal school systems for black and whites and ushered⁹ in an era of court-enforced school desegregation efforts around the country.

Those efforts reached a peak in the 1970s, but in recent years, many school systems have been freed from court and government oversight¹⁰ and school desegregation efforts in general have declined.

Ted⁷ Shaw is president of the Legal Defense¹¹ and Educational Fund for the National Association for the Advancement¹² of Colored People.

"The days of mandatory¹³ school desegregation are all but over," he said. "Now even voluntary integration efforts are being called racial discrimination. You figure that out. You think through that. You figure out who stands on the legacy¹⁴ of Brown versus¹⁵ the Board of Education."

But critics of the desegregation efforts question the academic benefits from balancing populations of white and black students.

Terence Pell is president of the Center for Individual Rights. He says local school boards would better serve African-American students by focusing on improving their academic performance rather than plans aimed at racial balance.

"The real problems here are not the individual choices of parents and students [as to which school to attend]," he said. "It is more clearly identified as the systematic¹⁶, pervasive¹⁷ and overwhelming failure of the government to provide a minimally¹⁸ adequate education for its African-American students."

How the Supreme Court rules in these two cases could have a major impact on hundreds of other school systems around the country that take race into account when balancing school populations.

High court rulings on the two cases are expected early next year.

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 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

5 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

6 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

7 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

8 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

9 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

13 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 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。

16 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

17 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

18 minimally   

最低限度地，最低程度地

参考例句：

• Food spoilage problems occur with minimally processed, concentrated frozen citrus products. 食品的变质也发生在轻微加工的、浓缩冷冻的柑橘制品中。
• So, minimally, they are responsible for such actions and omissions. 所以，至少来说，他们要对这样的行为和忽略负责。