2006年VOA标准英语-US Supreme Court Nominee Pledges to Be Fai

By Deborah Tate
Washington
09 January 2006

 
Supreme¹ Court nominee² Samuel Alito, second from right, prepares to testify on Capitol Hill
  
President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Samuel Alito, says he would be an impartial³ justice if confirmed to the high court.  Democrats⁵ are vowing⁶ tough questioning of Judge Alito when testimony⁷ begins in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Tuesday. 

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In a brief opening statement to the Judiciary Committee Monday, Judge Alito said he would be a fair justice if the Senate confirms him to the Supreme Court.  He said he made a similar pledge when he became an appeals court judge 15 years ago.

"I swore that I would administer justice without respect to persons, that I would do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I would carry out my duties under the Constitution and the laws of the United States," said Mr. Alito.  "That is what I have tried to do to the very best of my ability for the past 15 years.  If I am confirmed, I pledge to you that that is what I will do on the Supreme Court."

If confirmed, Judge Alito would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a centrist, who often cast the deciding vote in five-to-four rulings in controversial cases on the deeply divided court.  Sometimes she sided with the more conservative justices, while other times she voted with the more liberal members of the bench.

Senate Democrats fear the conservative Judge Alito could tilt⁸ the ideological⁹ balance of the court to the right.

They are particularly concerned by the nominee's record on the limits of presidential power and on abortion¹⁰ rights.

They cite his writings and rulings as a judge and when he worked as a lawyer in the Reagan administration in support of expanded powers of the executive.  In the wake of revelations that President Bush ordered without warrants eavesdropping¹¹ on Americans suspected of terrorist ties, critics find Judge Alito's arguments troubling.

The issue is expected to dominate the hearings.   Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat⁴, offered a preview of the line of questioning he will pursue.

"We need to know, when a president goes too far, will you be a check on his power, or will you issue him a blank check to exercise whatever power alone he thinks appropriate?" he asked.

Another key issue at the hearings is expected to be abortion. 

Critics are concerned Judge Alito may try to undermine or overturn the 1973 Supreme Court decision known as Roe¹² versus¹³ Wade¹⁴, which legalized abortion.   They cite a 1985 memo¹⁵ Judge Alito wrote as part of a job application with the Reagan administration in which he argued there was no constitutional right to abortion.

"I am also concerned with the impact you could have on women's rights, specifically, a woman's right to choose," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat..

Judge Alito's Republican supporters argue he is a fair-minded, mainstream¹⁶ conservative, who will put aside his personal views in deciding cases.

Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, says Judge Alito is well qualified¹⁷ to serve on the high court. "You have more judicial¹⁸ experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years," said Mr. Kyl.

Senators are expected to question Judge Alito Tuesday and Wednesday.  Some 30 witnesses are to testify in support of or against the nomination¹⁹ Thursday.

Despite likely opposition²⁰ from Democrats, Judge Alito is expected to be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate later this month.

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 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

9 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。

10 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。

11 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

12 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

13 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。

14 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

15 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

16 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

17 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

18 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

19 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。

20 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。