VOA慢速英语2016 美国最高法院支持大学平权运动

AS IT IS 2016-06-24 US Supreme¹ Court Upholds College Affirmative Action 美国最高法院支持大学平权运动

The U.S. Supreme Court says the University of Texas can consider race when deciding which students to admit. The case was one of the most closely watched because it deals with the issue of affirmative action.

美国最高法院表示，得克萨斯大学在录取学生时可以考虑种族因素。该案因为涉及平权法案问题，成为了最受关注的案件之一。

Affirmative action is a policy designed to help those who suffer from discrimination, especially regarding employment or education.

平权法案是一项旨在帮助那些遭受歧视者的政策，特别是针对就业和教育方面。

The decision has nationwide implications because other American universities use similar affirmative action policies. However, eight U.S. states do not allow race to be used when considering public college admissions. The states are Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.

这一裁决具有全国性的影响，因为美国其它大学采用相同的平权法案政策。然而，美国有8个州不允许公立大学在招生时将种族作为考虑因素。这些州是亚利桑那州、加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州、密歇根州、内布拉斯加州、新罕布什尔州、俄克拉荷马州和华盛顿州。

By law, the University of Texas guarantees admission to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class. But when considering applications from about 25 percent of students, the University of Texas also considers the student's race, along with other factors.

根据法律规定，得克萨斯大学允诺录取高中成绩在前10%的毕业生。但是在考虑成绩在25%左右的学生的申请时，得克萨斯大学还会考虑该学生的种族以及其它因素。

The 4-3 Supreme Court decision means the university's admissions policy can remain.

最高法院4：3的裁决意味着该大学的招生政策可以继续保持。

Abigail Fisher, a white woman, filed the case against the University of Texas. She said the school denied her admission based on her race.

白人女性阿比盖尔·费舍尔（Abigail Fisher）提起了这起针对得克萨斯大学的诉讼。她说该校根据她的种族拒绝了她。

Fisher's grades were not good enough to get her automatic admission under the top 10 percent rule. She was denied admission to the University of Texas in 2008.

费舍尔的成绩不够好，无法让她根据前10%的规则自动录取。2008年她被得克萨斯大学拒绝录取。

When she found out that minority students with lower grades than hers were accepted, she sued the school for discrimination. The University of Texas said Fisher would not have been admitted with or without race as a factor.

当她发现分数比她更低的少数族裔学生都已被录取时，她以歧视罪名起诉该校。得克萨斯大学表示，不管是否存在种族因素，费舍尔都不会被录取。

The university says its race-based selection policies are necessary to maintain a diverse campus community. Fisher's attorneys argued that the top 10 percent program is enough to make sure that adequate minority students are included in the admissions process.

该大学表示，该校以种族为基础的遴选政策是维持校园社区多样化的必要之举。费舍尔的律师辩称，前10%的录取方案已经足以确保足够的少数族裔学生进入招生过程。

Justice Anthony Kennedy gave the majority opinion for the court. "The university has thus met its burden of showing that the admissions policy it used... was narrowly tailored," he wrote.

大法官安东尼·肯尼迪在法院持多数派意见。他说，“因此，该大学已经履行了职责表明它所采用的招生政策经过了严密设计。”

Kennedy also said that "it remains² an enduring challenge to our nation's education system to reconcile the pursuit of diversity with the constitutional promise of equal treatment and dignity."

肯尼迪还表示，“我国教育体系要兼顾种族多样化的追求以及同平等对待、享有尊严的宪法承诺，而这仍然是一项长久挑战。”

Three other judges - Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas – disagreed.

首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨（John Roberts），大法官塞缪尔·阿利托（Samuel Alito）以及克拉伦斯·托马斯（Clarence Thomas）这三名法官对此不认同。

Alito said he thought the decision was an example of "affirmative action gone berserk." He said he felt the university had relied "on a series of unsupported and noxious³ racial assumptions."

阿利托表示，他认为这一裁决是“平权法案疯了”的一个例子。他说，他认为该大学一直依赖一系列未经证实和有害的种族假设。

In a separate dissent⁴, Thomas expressed his view that the U.S. Constitution makes it illegal to use race as part of the admissions process in higher education.

托马斯在另一份不同的异议中表达了他的观点，他说，美国宪法使得采用种族作为高等教育招生过程的一部分是非法的。

U.S. President Barack Obama praised the Supreme Court's decision for upholding "the basic notion that diversity is an important value in our society, and that this country should provide a high quality education to all our young people, regardless of their background."

美国总统奥巴马称赞最高法院的裁决维护了“多样化是我们社会的重要价值，美国应该不分背景向所有年轻人提供高质量教育这一基本信念”。

Words in This Story

factor – n. something that produces or influences a certain result

automatic – adj. happening by itself with little human involvement

diverse – adj. showing a lot of differences and variety

adequate – adj. acceptable in quality or quantity

tailor – v. adapt for a particular purpose or person

reconcile – v. restore friendly relations

dissent – n. the expression of opinions different from others

berserk – adj. out of control with anger or excitement

noxious – adj. harmful or unpleasant

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 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。

3 noxious   

adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
• Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。

4 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。