2007年VOA标准英语-Eleanor Holmes Norton Carries Passion for Civil

By Rosanne Skirble
Washington
01 August 2007
 

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Eleanor Holmes Norton is a third generation Washingtonian who says she was shaped by her hometown. "My great-grandfather, Richard Holmes, was a run-away slave."

Born in 1937, Norton grew up in a racially segregated² Washington where black and white children did not attend the same schools. She says she was raised by her parents and community to regard people who would segregate¹ as flawed. "We were taught to love all people, but to pity those whose ignorance led them to believe in segregation³." She says what whites didn't understand about what was wrong with segregation is that all people have the obligation to treat one another in the same way, no matter the color of their skin.

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Eleanor Holmes Norton with a congressional delegation at the White House

Norton went on to Antioch College and Yale Law School. As a young lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1960s, Norton argued for equal rights under the United States Constitution. Among her early cases was one that reached the U.S. Supreme⁵ Court. In it she defended a white supremacist group, which had been denied the right to speak at a public gathering⁶. "It came very easily to me that the First Amendment⁷ [to the U.S. Constitution] and the Bill of Rights applied⁸ to everybody."

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Eleanor Holmes Norton has always been a passionate voting rights advocate

Norton made that point by arguing the case and winning. Her work with the ACLU attracted the attention of the mayor of New York, who hired her to chair the city's Commission on Human Rights. 

In 1977 the Carter administration brought Norton back to Washington to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "I was able to have the rare experience of taking what I was marching in the streets for - namely a law to protect people based on race and gender¹⁰ - and literally¹¹ enforce such a law."

When President Carter left office in 1981, Norton became a law professor at Georgetown University,  where she still remains¹² on the faculty¹³. Her switch to politics came in 1990 when she was elected to represent Washington, the District of Columbia, in the United States Congress, a job she had never considered when she was growing up.

She says during her youth Washington had no mayor or city council. "This place was ruled like an actual colony by three commissioners¹⁴ appointed by the president of the United States. It is one of the most shameful¹⁵ chapters in American history."

Washington, D.C., is a federal district. It is not a state and does not have the same constitutional rights of congressional representation that the 50 U.S. states enjoy. In her role as Washington, D.C.'s elected delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, Norton can introduce laws, serve on house committees, even chair one, but - unless the DC Voting Rights bill now under consideration in Congress is approved and enacted¹⁶ - she cannot cast a vote for passage of any law. She has been unwavering in her support for statehood for the District of Columbia and full representation for her 550,000 constituents¹⁷.

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Washington D.C. license plate advocates voting rights for the nation's capital

She's even had the American Revolutionary War slogan "Taxation¹⁹ without Representation" printed on every Washington, DC., license plate. This is Norton's battle cry: "The people that I represent and their ancestors fought in that war, the war that established the republic. They have paid federal income tax ever since we've had that obligation, and we still don't have equal rights with other Americans."

Eleanor Holmes Norton is a woman of many passions. With the Democrats²⁰ holding a majority of seats in Congress since last November's elections, she's assumed the chairmanship of a congressional subcommittee, which, among other things, oversees²¹ the upkeep of federal buildings.

Up for discussion this day is a law that would place photovoltaic panels to generate solar electricity on the roof of the U.S. Department of Energy. "The model will stimulate²² others to do the same thing," she says. After the session, Norton raced to two committee hearings and then drove herself to a community center for an HIV/AIDS conference, where she delivered a speech. She says her job requires that she often shift among local, national and global issues, a task she clearly enjoys. "The fact that you have the great and wonderful opportunity to work on the smallest and the largest [issues] at the same time, is like having your dinner and desert at the same time."

Norton says making laws in a democracy depends a lot on compromise, which means finding common ground with the loyal opposition²³. "Sometimes (it) doesn't move as quickly as we would want, but I tell you, it makes you understand that you are in a great democracy when it doesn't collapse²⁴ every time there is a disagreement."

Eleanor Holmes Norton is in her 9th two-year term as the Congresswoman from Washington, the District of Columbia.

1 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

2 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

3 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 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。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

14 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

16 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

17 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

19 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

20 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》

21 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

22 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

23 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。

24 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。