VOA慢速英语20061202a

IN THE NEWS - US States Fight Back to Protect Rights of Property OwnersBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, December 02, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Local governments in the United States have always had a constitutional right to seize private property, with fair payment. This right is called eminent¹ domain². Eminent domain has traditionally been limited to the taking of land for public uses like roads, schools or bridges.


The home of Susette Kelo in New London, Connecticut, was one of the properties involved in the Supreme³ Court case.

But on June twenty-third of two thousand five, the Supreme Court decided⁴ the case of Kelo versus⁵ the City of New London, Connecticut. The decision gave local governments the right to take private property for the purpose of economic development.

That means a homeowner or business owner could be forced to move not only for reasons of public use, but also for private use. Owners could have their property condemned⁷ if officials decide that another owner could make more money on that property.

Five of the nine justices on the Supreme Court supported the decision. Four opposed it.

Supporters say eminent domain is needed to improve economically depressed⁸ areas and create growth and new jobs.

But all across the country, opinion studies showed that most people did not feel the decision was fair.

The Castle Coalition⁹ is a nonprofit group that is part of the Institute for Justice, which fought the Kelo case before the Supreme Court. The coalition says the threatened use of eminent domain for private development has greatly increased over the past year. The group published a report in June, the anniversary of the Kelo decision.

It said that in one year, local governments had threatened or condemned nearly six thousand properties for private development. That, it said, was equal to more than half the number for the five-year period between nineteen ninety-eight and two thousand two.

But, while the number of threats increased sharply, officials rarely had to act on their threats. The report said local officials took steps to condemn⁶ three hundred fifty-four properties for private use in the year following the Kelo decision. The coalition says owners largely choose not to fight what they believe will be a hopeless battle.

Under the ruling, no one's property is safe unless individual states pass their own laws to restrict eminent domain. And that is just what they have done.

The Castle Coalition reported last month that thirty-four of the fifty states have passed laws that aim to restrict eminent domain. That includes nine states where voters passed ballot¹⁰ measures in the November seventh elections.

Some state laws do more to protect the rights of property owners than others. Lisa Knepper of the Institute for Justice says it is still too soon to tell the effects of these new laws. But efforts are also being made to pass federal legislation to protect all property owners from eminent domain for private development.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Brianna Blake. To learn more about subjects in the news, and to download MP3 files and transcripts¹¹ of our programs, go to www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

2 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

11 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句