VOA标准英语2009年-Supreme Court Begins New Term Monday

By Jim Malone
Washington
01 October 2009

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court opens its annual term Monday with a new justice and a new slate² of potentially significant cases. 

 
US Supreme Court (file photo)
The Supreme Court traditionally opens its annual term on the first Monday in October and usually renders its final decisions of the term by the following July.

In recent years, the high court has considered an average of about 80 cases each year selected from about 8,000 requests for review.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the newest member of the high court, following her confirmation³ by the Senate in August.  She is the first Hispanic justice on the nine-member court and is the second woman on the current court, joining Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sotomayor recently told the CSPAN public affairs network that President Barack Obama asked her to make two promises shortly after accepting his offer for nomination⁴ to the Supreme Court.

"The first was to remain the person I was and the second was to stay connected to my community," she said.  "And I said to him that those were two easy promises to make because those two things I could not change."

In the months ahead the Supreme Court will have an opportunity to render important judgments⁵ about gun rights, anti-terror laws, freedom of speech and punishment for juvenile⁶ criminals.

One of the most closely watched cases involves the rights of gun owners in the city of Chicago, where the city's ban on hand guns is being challenged by 2nd amendment⁷ advocates.

Last year, the court ruled the U.S. Constitution's 2nd amendment protects the right of an individual citizen to own a handgun in the District of Columbia, a federally governed enclave.  Gun activists⁸ are hoping to use that five to four ruling by the Supreme Court to challenge local and state gun control laws around the country.

The high court has also agreed to hear a case involving part of an anti-terrorism law the government says is a vital part of its effort to fight international terrorism.

The law in question bars material support to groups designated by the U.S. government as terrorist organizations.  But the statute⁹ is being challenged by the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.  Those groups say they are engaged in peaceful activities in the U.S. even though they have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department.

The court is also scheduled to consider whether a law that prohibits pictures of animal cruelty constitutes a violation¹⁰ of free speech under the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In addition, the nine justices will also hear arguments about whether sentencing juveniles¹¹ to life in prison without paroles for crimes other than murder violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment.  

Generally, five of the nine justices make up a conservative majority on the high court, including Chief Justice John Roberts.

Justice Sotomayor is expected to generally side with the liberal minority on court, following in the footsteps of the man she replaced, retired¹² Justice David Souter.

Legal analysts¹³ will be watching to see how much the conservative majority on the court flexes¹⁴ its muscles.  Doug Kendall is with the Constitutional Accountability Center, a liberal group that monitors the court.

"But I do think that this term is going to be an enormous test for Chief Justice Roberts and the conservatives on the court about these dramatic changes in the law that are being urged upon them and how they handle those and what principles guide their opinions, if any," said Kendall.

The high court is expected to rule soon on a case unresolved from last term involving long-standing restrictions¹⁵ on corporations and labor¹⁶ unions contributing to political candidates.

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 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

3 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。

4 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。

5 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

6 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

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 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 flexes   

v.屈曲( flex的第三人称单数 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• MCC RE Flexes Its Powerful Muscle Across the Country. 中冶置业：全国彰显雄厚实力。 来自互联网
• Yeah, well, maybe you need to do a few more butt flexes. 是吗？可能你是需要做更多的臀部运动吧。 来自互联网

15 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。