CNN 2009-05-31

In Pakistan after some fierce fighting for about a month, that raged from street to street literally¹, Pakistani forces say they have reclaimed² several areas of the city of Mingora from the Taliban. Mingora the largest city in Pakistan's Swat Valley, that's a disputed area. According to the UN, more than two million people have fled that area from the violence, many of them hold up in refugee camps. President Obama says that he is certain he made the right choice. Yeah, He's talking about his Supreme³ Court pick in his weekly Internet and radio released this morning, the president called for swift Senate confirmation⁴ for his Supreme Court nominee⁵ Sonia Sotomayor. The president said pointing to Sotomayor's 17 years of experience as a federal judge as one reason he picked her.

She was appointed to the U.S. District Court, serving six years as a trial judge where she presided over hundreds of cases. And most recently, she has spent eleven years on the U.S. Court of Appeals, our nation s second highest court, grappling with some of the most difficult constitutional and legal issues we face as a nation. She has more experience on the federal bench than any incoming Supreme Court Justice in the past 100 years. Quite simply, Judge Sotomayor has a deep familiarity with our judicial⁶ system from almost every angle.
Well, a major decision in California this week to tell you about with the state Supreme Court leaving in place a same-sex marriage ban. But, the debate is not over, right now at least two other states are considering legalizing same-sex marriages. Our Josh Levs has a way that you can keep up with all of these changes.

Well, the events in California certainly are a reminder⁷ of how quickly laws about same sex marriage can change all over the country. And we now have an interactive⁸ way that you can follow those changing laws in literally any state, Let's zoom⁹ in on the board , I want to show you a spread that's been set up here at CNN.com. It's an interactive map and you can click on any state and see what the laws are. This continues to be updated as the laws change. You got over here in the northeast section, you got New York, Maine, you can click on literally any state. Now while we are here, take a look at this, you can see the vast majority of states in the country do not recognize same sex unions. When you also look at this map, it's a reminder of why Iowa is so significant . Over here when Iowa made the decision to start allowing same sex marriage. On this one issue, it kind of punctured¹⁰ this whole section of the United States.

 

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

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 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

9 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

10 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》