美国国家公共电台 NPR--Florida's Republican-dominated legislature kicks off its 2023 session

Florida's Republican-dominated legislature kicks off its 2023 session

Transcript¹

With the Republicans in total control, and Gov. Ron DeSantis empowered after his landslide² victory in November, the legislative³ session in Florida is gearing up to pass a lot of conservative laws.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, Florida's Legislature begins a new session, and people are watching, in part because of whose agenda they are following.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Governor Ron DeSantis has a Republican supermajority. Its members have largely followed his priorities in the past, and they plan to do it again. So how could they influence Florida and the country?

INSKEEP: WFSU's Lynn Hatter is covering this story from Tallahassee, the state capital. Hey there, Lynn.

LYNN HATTER, BYLINE⁴: Hey. Thanks for having me.

INSKEEP: What makes this session all about DeSantis?

HATTER: Well, he is a rumored⁵ presidential contender. And he's consolidated⁶ power here to the degree that even if some Republicans may disagree with him privately⁷, they're not going to say that publicly. And we're seeing a lot of bills that align⁸ with what the governor has said is his priority, which is combating what he sees as a, quote, "woke ideology⁹" in public education and in government.

INSKEEP: How do lawmakers plan to do that?

HATTER: Well, they have a bill that would further limit what teachers can say in schools. It would expand the state's prohibition¹⁰ on discussing gender¹¹ and teaching sexual identity from the third grade to the eighth grade. But it also forbids schools from using names and pronouns other than the ones assigned to a child at birth. We're also watching a bill related to public colleges and universities that would ban any major or minor¹² in gender studies, intersectionality and critical race theory. The bill also bans DEI programs, except those that may be required by the federal government or ones that are meant for specific groups like military vets¹³. Intersectionality is the idea that some people face discrimination in different ways, like Black women. And diversity, equity¹⁴ and inclusion - that's the name a lot of companies give to their efforts to include different kinds of people. So this bill would basically block all of that.

INSKEEP: And, of course, strike out at a lot of buzzwords that conservatives will use and criticize. Isn't the Legislature also promoting private schools?

HATTER: Yes. Now, Florida already lets some people use public money to pay for private school, and now the state is about to remove the income caps from those programs. And this would let every child in the state qualify for a private school scholarship or an education savings¹⁵ account that the family can use on related expenses.

INSKEEP: What else does the governor want from the Legislature?

HATTER: Well, Governor DeSantis says he's OK with open carry, which would allow people to openly walk around with firearms. We're also watching a lot of bills that deal with journalism¹⁶, the media and free speech. One of those would presume that anything attributed to an anonymous¹⁷ source is false. And it lowers the threshold for who is considered a public figure. It would also make it easy for traditional public figures like politicians to sue journalists for defamation¹⁸. The other bill would require anyone who writes about a state official and gets paid to do so to have to file with the state.

INSKEEP: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You'd have to register with the government before you could exercise your First Amendment¹⁹ right?

HATTER: Yes. Now, that bill exempts²⁰ journalists and traditional media outlets²¹. And it's basically meant for certain types of bloggers. As for whether it could pass, the sponsor is very insistent²², but this one appears to have a lot less support than that first bill that targets traditional media.

INSKEEP: Lynn Hatter of WFSU in Tallahassee. Thanks for the update.

HATTER: Thank you.

INSKEEP: And as the legislative session begins today, Governor DeSantis is delivering his State of the State address.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

6 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

7 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

8 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

9 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

10 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

11 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。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

14 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

15 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

16 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

17 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

18 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

19 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。

20 exempts   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This privilege, however, exempts only predecisional documents. 然而，此特权只免除那些文件在作出决定之前的披露责任。
• Function effectiveness: After then special-purpose, exempts the flushing formula. 功能效用：便后专用，免冲洗配方。

21 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。