【美国精神】第39期

Explanation:

  The Supreme¹ Court, which is the most important court in the United States, has changed in many ways since it was first founded (or created) in 1790. When the Supreme Court first began, there were only six justices (or the judges who work on the Supreme Court). This number changed six times, but since 1869 there have always been nine justices. 

  Supreme Court justices are appointed (or given their positions by people who work in politics). First they are nominated², which is when the president selects or picks them and says that this is the person who should get the job. Then they are rejected or accepted by the U.S. Senate³. Justices are not rejected very often. In fact, only 12 nominees⁴ have ever been rejected as Supreme Court justices. All the others have been confirmed (or approved when at least half of the Senate members voted for them). The leader of these nine justices is called the Chief Justice; the other eight are called Associate Justices.

  When justices are confirmed (or approved), then they are appointed for life, meaning that once they become a justice they can never be forced to leave. Also, their salary (or the amount of money they make each year) can never be reduced (or made less). Because of this, the justices never have to worry about losing their jobs or losing money if they vote the wrong way or make a decision the president or other people don’t like. This is a good thing, because it means that they can rule (or make legal decisions) based on their beliefs and not to please the current president.

  Because the justices serve (or work in this public job) for life, the Supreme Court has a very low turnover⁵ rate. The turnover rate is how often old people leave and new people take their place in an organization. Most of the justices serve (or work) for many, many years, often until they die or decide that they want to retire (or stop working to enjoy their old age). Since 1790, there have been only 16 Chief Justices and 97 Associate Justices. On average (or typically), they serve 15 years. Because of this, the Supreme Court has a lot of continuity⁶ (or consistency⁷ over time).

 

问题：

How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

Answer:

Nine (9)

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 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

3 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

6 continuity   

n.连贯性，连续性，持续性

参考例句：

• There is no continuity between the three parts of the book.这本书的三个部分之间没有连贯性。
• Unfortunately,no questions from the audience broke the continuity of his harangue.令人遗憾的是，没有听众提出问题来打断他的高谈阔论。

7 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。