VOA标准英语2009年-US Supreme Court Opens Annual Term

By Jim Malone
Washington
05 October 2009

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court opened its annual term with much of the attention focused on the high court's newest member, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was confirmed by the Senate in August, is the first Hispanic justice on the court and only the third woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

 
The Supreme Court's newest member, Sonia Sotomayor, poses at official photo session just before her investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court in Washington, 08 Sep 2009
Sotomayor's first term on the high court promises to be busy.

The court is scheduled to hear cases involving gun rights, free speech and whether juvenile² offenders³ should be sentenced to life in prison without parole in criminal cases that do not involve murder.

Justice Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama to replace retired⁴ Justice David Souter. Souter often sided with the court's liberal faction⁵, and Sotomayor is expected to largely follow in his footsteps. But the ideological⁶ balance on the court that favors the five-member conservative majority is not expected to change.

Sotomayor talked about what kind of justice she hopes to be at her confirmation⁷ hearings in August.

"In the end I hope it [history] will say that I am a fair judge, that I was a caring person and that I lived my life serving my country," she said.

Sotomayor spent years as a federal judge before her Supreme Court appointment, and legal analysts⁸ expect her to be an active advocate in the court's oral and written debates.

Attorney Carter Phillips has argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court. He spoke⁹ at a legal forum¹⁰ at William and Mary Law School in Virginia.

"She will, I am sure, be a relatively¹¹ active participant in the court and will, almost certainly, express her views fairly forcefully," said Phillips.

The opening day of a Supreme Court term often draws a variety of protesters to the high court steps, and Monday was no different, though perhaps a bit more subdued¹² than usual.

Lois Fischbeck of Maryland came to urge the court to ban capital punishment, even though the justices are not scheduled to take on a particular case this term that would deal with the issue directly.

"Because this is where the law can be changed by one decision of the nine judges and make us in unison¹³ with the majority of countries of the world who have already decided¹⁴ that killing¹⁵ is not right by the government," Fischbeck said.

A few steps away, a woman named Sandy from Oklahoma held aloft a sign protesting abortion¹⁶.

The court is not expected to consider any direct challenge to abortion laws this term, but Sandy wants some of the Supreme Court justices who support abortion rights to retire.

"And then we need to replace them with people who honor the Constitution. All men are created equal and that includes babies," she said.

One of the most closely watched cases this term will be heard early next year when the high court considers a challenge to gun control laws in the city of Chicago.

Last year the court ruled in a five-to-four decision that the 2nd Amendment¹⁷ to the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of individuals to own handguns in the District of Columbia, the nation's capital.

The high court is also expected to rule soon on whether long-standing restrictions¹⁸ on corporations and labor¹⁹ unions contributing to political candidates are constitutional.

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 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。

3 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

4 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。

5 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

6 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

7 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。

8 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。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

13 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

14 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。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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

19 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。