VOA标准英语2009年-Sotomayor in 3rd Day of Nomination Hearing

Supreme¹ Court nominee² Judge Sonia Sotomayor is spending a third day answering questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers continued to ask Sotomayor about her past rulings as a federal judge, and statements she has made, as they consider her nomination³ for the nation's highest court.
　
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 15 Jul 2009

For the past two days, Sotomayor has fielded difficult questions posed by members of the committee, focusing on key rulings over the course of her 17 years in federal courts, and the judicial⁴ philosophy she would bring to the nation's highest court.

Democrats⁶ and Republicans on the committee differ on how successful she has been in providing a picture of how she would approach her work if she is confirmed for the court.

Republican John Cornyn led off questioning, returning to an issue Republicans have sought to highlight, her statement repeated in past speeches that "a wise Latina judge with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not, reach a better conclusion" when judging a case.
　
Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. John Cornyn questions Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Capitol Hill in Washington during her confirmation⁷ hearing before the committee, 15 Jul 2009

After being asked if she stood by or would disavow the remark, Sotomayor had this further exchange with Senator Cornyn.

CORNYN: "Do you stand by your words of yesterday when you said it was a failed rhetorical flourish and it fell flat and that they [were] a bad idea?"

SOTOMAYOR: "I stand by the words 'It fell flat.' I understand that some people have understood them in a way that I never intended. And I would hope that, in the context of the speech, that they would be understood."

Wednesday also brought additional questions about a woman's right to choose an abortion⁸, established under the Roe⁹ v. Wade¹⁰ case in 1973 and reaffirmed in later rulings as settled legal precedent¹¹.

Again, in response to Senator Cornyn, Sotomayor said neither President Barack Obama nor anyone else, during her interviews to be nominated to the court, asked her views on abortion rights.

Responding to a key foe¹² of abortion rights, Senator Tom Coburn, Sotomayor declined to be drawn¹³ into more specific answers on the abortion issue, repeating her earlier statement that the core holding of Roe v. Wade was reaffirmed in a 1992 Supreme Court ruling.

Sotomayor was also pressed by Republicans about what they see as "judicial activism" seeking her view of the role judges have in impacting the law.

During a break, Republicans and Democrats came to the microphones to give their assessment¹⁴ of Sotomayor's testimony¹⁵ so far.

Senator Cornyn and the ranking Republican on the committee, Jeff Sessions were not satisfied, with Sessions asserting that her responses lacked clarity.

"Frankly¹⁶ I don't think the nominee's answers are any clearer today than they have been," he said. "Muddled¹⁷ is a word I feel like I have to use on many of the important issues that are important to the American people."

Maryland Democrat⁵ Ben Cardin called Sotomayor's responses consistent and direct and responded to Republican criticisms.

"It is interesting that some of my Republican colleagues are being critical about [Sotomayor's] speeches," he said. "But when you get down to her record, what she has done as a judge, she has consistently said she will judge the cases based upon the facts, and follow legal precedent, and that is what we want to see in a judge."

If confirmed by the Senate committee, and by the full Senate, Sotomayor would become the first Hispanic to sit on the Supreme Court, and only the third woman to serve on the court.

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 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。

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 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。

6 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》

7 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。

8 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。

9 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？

10 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。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

13 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

15 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。

16 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

17 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》