GRE阅读考试回忆：第十四次修订法案

 　　新GRE考试阅读部分机经Fourteenth AmendmentThe Fourteenth Amendment¹ to the United States Constitution， ratified² in1868， prohibits state governments from denying citizens the “equalprotection of the laws.” Although precisely³ what the framers of the amendment meant by thisequal protection clause remains⁴ unclear， all interpretersagree that the framers’ immediate⁵ objective was to provide a constitutional warrant for theCivil Rights Act of 1866， which guaranteed the citizenship⁶ of all persons born in the UnitedStates and subject to United States jurisdiction⁷. This declaration， which wasechoed in the text of the Fourteenth Amendment， was designedprimarily to counter the Supreme⁸ Court’s ruling in DredScott v. Sandford that Black people in the United States could be deniedcitizenship. The act was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson， who arguedthat the Thirteenth Amendment， which abolished slavery， did not provideCongress with the authority to extend citizenship and equal protection to thefreed slaves. Although Congress promptly⁹ overrode¹⁰ Johnson’s veto， supportersof the act sought to ensure its constitutional foundations with the passage ofthe Fourteenth Amendment.

　　第一段：14修正案禁止政府否认法律对公民的平等保护“equal protection of the laws”

　　虽然不太明白提案者这么说的具体意义，但所有解释都认同提案者的直接目的是为Civil Right Acts提供支持，这个Act的内容是保证所有出生于美国的并遵从美国法律的公民的市民权citizenship。14修正案重提Act的内容主要是为了反对最高法院Super Court的“黑人应该没有citizenship”这一判决。Act被总统否定了，他认为13修正案中废除了奴隶制，但没有向国会提供将citizenship和equal protection扩展到黑人的权力authority。尽管国会又否决了总统的否定，Act的支持者们仍然去寻找Act的宪法基础constitutional foundations，这样就有了14修正案。

　　The broad language of the amendment strongly suggests that itsframers were proposing to write into the Constitution not a laundry list ofspecific civil rights but a principle of equal citizenship that forbidsorganized society from treating any individual as a member of an inferior class. Yet for thefirst eight decades of the amendment’s existence， the SupremeCourt’s interpretation¹¹ of the amendment betrayed this ideal of equality. In theCivil Rights Cases of 1883， for example， the Court invented the “state action” limitation， whichasserts that “private” decisions by owners of public accommodations and other commercialbusinesses to segregate¹² their facilities are insulated from the reach of theFourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

　　第二段：14修正案所用的broad language强烈地表明了提案者的目的并不是要提出谁的权力应该受保护的名单，而是要在宪法中建立这样一个原则：任何一个个人都不应该被当做低等阶层对待。但是14修正案提出后的80年间，最高法院对它的解释违背了它的这个平等的想法。举例：1883年的Civil Rights Cases中最高法院发明了“state action”这样的一个限制，将public accommodations and other commercial businesses所有者的四人决定孤立于14修正案的法律平等保护之外。

　　After the Second World War， a judicial¹³ climatemore hospitable¹⁴ to equal protection claims culminated¹⁵ in the Supreme Court’s ruling inBrown v. Board of Education that racially segregated¹⁶ schools violated theequal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Twodoctrines embraced by the Supreme Court during this period extended theamendment’s reach. First， the Court required especially strict scrutiny¹⁸ of legislation thatemployed a “suspect classification，” meaning discrimination against a group on grounds that could beconstrued as racial. This doctrine¹⁷ has broadened the application of the FourteenthAmendment to other， nonracial forms of discrimination， for while somejustices have refused to find any legislative¹⁹ classification other than race tobe constitutionally disfavored， most have been receptive to arguments that at least some nonracialdiscriminations， sexual discrimination in particular， are “suspect” and deservethis heightened scrutiny by the courts. Second， the Courtrelaxed the state action limitation on the Fourteenth Amendment， bringingnew forms of private conduct within the amendment’s reach.

 

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

8 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。

9 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

10 overrode   

越控( override的过去式 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要

参考例句：

• The chairman overrode the committee's objections and signed the agreement. 主席不顾委员会的反对，径行签署了协议。
• The Congress overrode the President's objection and passed the law. 国会不顾总统的反对，通过了那项法令。

11 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

12 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

13 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。

14 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

15 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

17 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

18 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

19 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。