VOA慢速英语2020 美国大法院在新冠疫情期间迎来巨大变革

The Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, said in 2014 that courts will always be careful when it comes to "the next big thing" in technology. And it took a worldwide pandemic for the U.S. Supreme¹ Court to finally agree to use, of all things, the telephone.

美国首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨在2014年表示，法院在涉及科技的“下一个伟大事物”时将会始终保持谨慎。一场全球范围的大流行最终让美国最高法院同意使用电话。

In May, the court's members will hear arguments over the telephone for the first time. Public television service C-SPAN will broadcast audio of the arguments "live."

今年5月，最高法院成员将首次通过电话听取辩论。公共电视服务C-SPAN将实时直播辩论的音频。

Clare Cushman is director of publications at the Supreme Court Historical Society. She called the decision to use telephones a "giant leap forward" for a place that sticks to tradition. But she noted² that hearing arguments on the phone is somewhat backward given how much of the country and other courts are now using video conferencing.

克莱尔·库什曼是美国最高法院历史学会的出版总监。她称使用电话的决定对这个坚持传统的地方来说是一次“巨大飞跃。”但是她指出，考虑到该国和其它法院现在有多大程度开始采用视频会议，在电话上听取辩论有些落后。

Until 1971, the Supreme Court was still using pneumatic tubes to send documents. They were popular in the late 1800s for shipping³ mail, papers, and other things between offices. The court was still using Linotype machines to print documents in the early 1980s while others printed from desktop⁴ computers.

直到1971年， 最高法院仍在使用气动输送管发送文件。它们在19世纪末期非常流行，被用于在办公室之间传送邮件、文件和其它物品。最高法院在20世纪80年代初仍在使用莱诺整行铸排机打印文件，而其它地方都通过台式计算机打印文件。

Just two years ago, the high court made its documents available on the internet, well after other courts.

最高法院两年前才在互联网上公开了其文件，远远落后于其它法院。

Before the coronavirus crisis⁵, Supreme Court justices were exchanging messages and opinions on paper. Yet most of the nine justices — six of them over the age of 65 — appear to use modern technology in their own lives.

在新冠病毒危机以前，最高法院的法官们以书面形式交流信息和观点。然而9位大法官中的大多数人在生活中似乎使用了现代科技，他们中有6位年龄在65岁以上。

Justice Elena Kagan has said she is on the social media website Twitter. Justice Samuel Alito has described reading legal briefs on an Apple iPad. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wears an electronic sensor⁶ that keeps watch over her health. And Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have young children who might be expected to send text messages to their fathers.

大法官埃琳娜·卡根曾表示她也上社交网站推特。大法官塞缪尔·阿里托曾描述过在iPad上阅读诉讼摘要。大法官索尼亚·索托马约尔戴着电子传感器随时监视她的健康状况。大法官尼尔·戈拉奇和布雷特·卡瓦诺的孩子都还小，他们可能会给他们的父亲发送短信。

This month, 81-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer used the videoconference service Zoom⁷ to talk to students at a New York school. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest member of the court at the age of 87. She reads emails on an iPhone and once told people that she uses another Apple device as a sound machine to help her sleep.

本月，81岁的大法官斯蒂芬·布雷耶使用Zoom视频会议与纽约一所学校的学生们交流。大法官露丝·巴德·金斯堡以87岁高龄成为最高法院最年长的成员。她在iPhone上阅读电子邮件，并曾跟人们说过，她把另一台苹果设备当作播放器来帮助她入睡。

Still, the decision to hear arguments via telephone during six days in May was unimaginable two months ago. The change is an effort to limit large gatherings⁸ of people to slow the spread of the disease COVID-19.

尽管如此，在5月份的6天时间里通过电话听取辩论的决定在两个月前仍然是无法想象的事情。这项变革是为了限制人们的大规模聚集，以减缓新冠肺炎这种疾病的传播。

This year, the cases before the Supreme Court include President Donald Trump's effort to keep his tax and financial records secret. The court also will hear whether Electoral College members must vote for the candidate who won their state in presidential elections.

今年，最高法院审理的案件包括川普对其税收和财务记录的保密措施。最高法院还将审理选举人团是否必须投票给在大选中赢得该州选举的候选人。

The court's willingness to use telephones might last only a short time. But those who want more openness on the court hope it will continue after the pandemic.

最高法院使用电话的意愿可能只会持续很短时间。但是想要最高法院更加开放的人们希望这种情况在大流行后还能继续下去。

Melissa Murray is a law professor at the New York University School of Law. She said live audio gives Americans the ability to observe the third branch of the U.S. government at work. She added, "I don't know why you wouldn't want that."

梅利莎·默里是纽约大学法学院的法学教授。她说，现场音频让美国人能够观察到这个美国政府第三大分支的运转。她还表示：“我不知道你为什么不想要那样。”

Stephen Dillard serves on the Georgia Court of Appeals. He supports openness in the courts. He told The Associated Press, "This is a great first step, and I'm excited about it, but I hope they will go further in years to come and allow live video streaming."

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 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

5 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

6 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

7 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。

8 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。