2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Wants Senate Vote on Alito

By Scott Stearns
White House
28 January 2006

 
President Bush and Supreme¹ Court nominee² Samuel A. Alito pose for photographs in front of the Oval Office (file photo)
  
In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Bush urged the Senate to confirm his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sam Alito. Some Senate Democrats³ say they will try to use a procedural move to block the vote and delay his confirmation⁴.

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President Bush says Senators have a constitutional responsibility to hold an up-or-down vote on Alito's nomination⁵ to the nation's highest court.

"Throughout its 216-year history, the Senate has held an up-or-down vote on every Supreme Court nominee with majority Senate support," said President Bush. "Judge Alito has demonstrated that he is eminently⁷ qualified⁸ to serve on our nation's highest court, and America is fortunate to have a man of his integrity and intellect willing to serve."

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed⁹ Alito this past week on a strictly¹⁰ party-line vote with 10 Republicans from the president's party approving the choice and eight opposition¹¹ Democrats voting against.

Republicans have the votes in the Senate to confirm Alito, but Massachusetts Democrats John Kerry and Ted⁶ Kennedy say they are trying to organize a legislative¹² blocking maneuver¹³ that would delay a vote.

Not all Senate Democrats support that confrontation¹⁴. And President Bush used his radio address to single out some of those from the opposition party who support the judge, including Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd.

President Bush says Judge Alito has earned the respect of colleagues and attorneys across the political spectrum¹⁵ throughout his career.

"As Americans saw in his confirmation hearings, Sam Alito is a man of great character and integrity," he said. "He has more prior judicial¹⁶ experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years. He understands that the role of a judge is to strictly interpret the law, not to advance a personal or political agenda."

Democrats opposed to Alito fear he will make the Supreme Court more conservative as he would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is considered a moderate and was often the swing vote on decisions involving abortion¹⁷ rights and other issues.

The Senate's Republican leadership has scheduled a vote on Alito's nomination for Tuesday, which could have the judge confirmed ahead of the president's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill Tuesday evening.

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 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》

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 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 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

7 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

11 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。

12 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

13 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

14 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

15 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

16 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。

17 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。