VOA标准英语2009-US Senators Debate Supreme Court Nominee's C

A high-ranking Republican senator says President Barack Obama's nominee¹ for a seat on the Supreme² Court should apologize for a comment made years ago about the roles of race and gender³ in judicial⁴ opinions. Meanwhile, Democratic senators are downplaying the remark, and expressing confidence that Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
　
Supreme Court nominee and federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor, 26 May 2009

Since her nomination⁵ last week, Sonia Sotomayor has been heavily scrutinized⁶, but not on her possible views concerning abortion⁷, gun control, or any other issue that often divides Americans on political or moral grounds. Rather, the focus has been on a 2001 speech in which Sotomayor said she would hope that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who has not lived that life."

Many Senate Republicans say they are troubled by the remark, as it suggests the federal appeals court judge is inclined to consider race and gender in judicial decisions rather than adhering to an impartial⁸ application of the law.

Republican Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will vote on Sotomayor's nomination, spoke⁹ on Fox News Sunday.

"She thought a Latina woman, someone with her background, would be a better judge than a guy like me, a white guy from South Carolina," said Lindsey Graham. "And it is troubling, and it is inappropriate. I hope she will apologize."

Democrats¹⁰ say Sotomayor's comment was taken out of context and has been overblown. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont appeared on NBC's Meet the Press program.

"It would be absolutely wrong to assume that people's individual experience does not influence their thinking," said Patrick Leahy. "That does not mean they cannot follow the law."

In announcing her nomination, President Obama highlighted Sotomayor's life story as a child of Puerto Rican parents whose childhood years were spent in public housing in New York. He also stressed the need for judges who can empathize with the concerns and struggles of everyday people.

Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions:

"Everybody should have empathy," said Jeff Sessions. "Everybody should have feelings and sensitivity to other human beings and show that in their life. But a judge is required, I think, to be neutral. To rule on the law and the facts."

Sessions added, however, that Sotomayor has impeccable academic and judicial credentials¹¹. That point was also made by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein on CBS's Face the Nation program.

"This is, in fact, an amazing woman," said Dianne Feinstein. "She is, in fact, the American dream. Out of a housing project in the Bronx [New York City] comes this women who ends up at the top of her class at Princeton [University]. Editor of the Yale Law Review [journal], a distinguished¹² assistant district attorney. She was a corporate¹³ attorney, she was a district court judge, and she was an appellate court judge."

If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor would replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who was nominated by President George H. W. Bush in 1990.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Senate, but do not possess a majority large enough to block Republicans from using a procedural motion known as a filibuster¹⁴ to prevent a vote from going forward.

In 2005, then-minority Senate Democrats mounted an unsuccessful effort to filibuster the confirmation¹⁵ of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who was nominated by former-President George W. Bush. Joining the filibuster at the time was then-Senator Barack Obama.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

7 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。

8 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。

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 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》

11 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

12 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

13 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

14 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

15 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。