当地时间6月24日,美国最高法院作出裁决,正式推翻「罗诉韦德案」,取消了近50年来宪法规定的堕胎权,将堕胎合法性问题留给各个联邦州自行应对。这意味着美国女性的堕胎权不再受宪法保护,各州可自行决定是否限制堕胎。
早在罗诉韦德案被推翻前,美国有13个州已设立「触发法」(trigger law),即一旦「罗诉韦德案」被推翻,将立即制定法律,取消堕胎权。目前,至少26个州已有或正在推进相关法律,数千万女性可能会失去合法堕胎的权利。
美国总统拜登称这是一个悲剧性的错误(a tragic error)。前总统奥巴马更是一针见血地指出:今天,最高法院不仅推翻了近50年的先例,还将一个人最私人的决定交给了政客和理论家的心血来潮,这侵犯了数百万美国人的基本自由。在当下的美国,堕胎早已不是所谓伦理或宗教问题,而是沦为了政客争夺权力的工具和博弈的筹码,女性基本的权益成为了党派斗争的牺牲品。这周的外刊精读专栏,我选了《经济学人》和《彭博社周刊》里的两则短文,带同学们读一读。文中有不少美国政治相关的词汇,都是考研英语里的高频词,包括主笔的保守派大法官Samuel Alito,都是真题里常客,考研的同学尤其要重点阅读。2.如何表达「堕胎权」、「避孕权」、「同性婚姻权」?3.raise the prospect that... 是什么意思?同学们先独立阅读原文,读不懂的地方不要紧,后面会逐句讲解。
America’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling from 1973 that protected the right to an abortion. At least 25 states are expected to severely restrict or completely ban the practice, including, in some instances, in cases of rape or incest. It is the most consequential ruling by the Court in recent history, affecting tens of millions of women. President Joe Biden called the court’s decision a “tragic error”.A CBS News poll suggested that a majority of
Americans disapprove of the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning the
constitutional right to an abortion, which is inflaming a partisan divide on
display in comments by senior lawmakers.The poll, conducted Friday and Saturday, found
59% disapproved of the ruling, including 67% of women. While 78% of Republicans
were in favor of the decision, 83% of Democrats disapproved. The survey has a
margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Roe v. Wade decision raised the prospect for many Americans that other rights, including the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception, are now at risk.
①America’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling from 1973 that protected the right to an abortion.
美国最高法院推翻“罗诉韦德案”,该案裁决曾于1973年使堕胎在美国合法化,具有里程碑式的意义。
- ✍🏻语篇分析:①句简明扼要地概述事件:美国最高法院推翻“罗诉韦德案,接着作者用一个同位语说明罗诉韦德案的内容和意义。
- overturn 由over-(另一个方向)和turn(转动)构成,overturn(翻转到另一个方向),也就是「打翻」。用在法律领域,overturn 便表示「推翻,撤销」判决(to officially decide that a legal decision etc. is not correct, and to make it no longer valid)。文中overturned Roe v Wade 便指「推翻罗诉韦德案」。
- 除此之外,我们还可以说:
1)strike down 表示「废止,取缔,终结」(If a judge or court strikes down a law or regulation, they say that it is illegal and end it)。2)reverse 由re和verse(=turn)构成,反着转,也可表示「撤销,废除」法律、决定(to change a previous decision, law, etc. to the opposite one)。
- landmark [ˈlændmɑːk] 作名词,本义是「地标」,喻指「里程碑,重大转折」,常用作前置定语,修饰另一个名词:a landmark sth 指「具有里程碑意义的…」。这里the landmark ruling 便表示「具有里程碑意义的裁决」。
- 类似的表达还有hallmark, signature, trademark。我们再展开讲讲:
- hallmark [ˈhɔːl.mɑːk] 为名词,表示「特征,特点」,也常作前置定语,比如:a hallmark moment 标志性的时刻。
- trademark 为可数名词,可指「商标」,也可泛指「标志,特点」。
- make the ruling on sth 即「对...作出判决」。举个例子:The court will make its ruling on the case next week. 法庭下周将对本案件作出裁决。如果想要表示「推翻判决」,短语为overturn the ruling。
- rule 为动词,表示「决定,裁决」(to give an official decision about sth)。比如:The judge ruled against / in favour of the plaintiff. 法官判原告败诉 / 胜诉。
- the right to sth 指「…的权利」。the right to an abortion 即「堕胎权」。
②At least 25 states are expected to severely restrict or completely ban the practice, including, in some instances, in cases of rape or incest.
预计至少有25个州将严格限制或禁止堕胎,包括强奸或乱伦的情况。
- be expected to do sth 表示「预计会…」,表示对客观上会发生什么事的预计、预料,可以用于替换will。
- severely restrict sth 指「严格限制某物」。
- severely 不仅可指「严重地」,还可表示「严格地,严厉地」,相当于strictly。比如:Parents don’t punish their children so severely these days.如今父母不再那么严厉地惩罚孩子了。
- completely ban sth 指「完全禁止某物」。
- practice [ˈpræktɪs] 为可数名词,指医生、律师的「工作,业务」,也可指他们的「工作地点」。[熟词僻义]我们平时说的「行医」,就叫作:the practice of medicine 文中the practice 指的便是abortion。
- 我在一部讲述罗诉韦德案之前的美国的纪录片《她名叫简》里,也遇见过这个词用法:
- practice 还可指「诊所」、「律师事务所」,我在电视剧里经常遇见这个词,再举两个例子:
- incest [ˈɪnsest] 为不可数名词,指「乱伦」。
③It is the most consequential ruling by the Court in recent history, affecting tens of millions of women. ④President Joe Biden called the court’s decision a “tragic error”.
这是最高法院近年来最为重大的裁决,波及数千万美国妇女。美国总统拜登称这是“悲剧性错误”。
America’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling from 1973 that protected the right to an abortion. At least 25 states are expected to severely restrict or completely ban the practice, including, in some instances, in cases of rape or incest. It is the most consequential ruling by the Court in recent history, affecting tens of millions of women. President Joe Biden called the court’s decision a “tragic error”.美国最高法院推翻“罗诉韦德案”,该案裁决曾于1973年使堕胎在美国合法化,具有里程碑式的意义。预计至少有25个州将严格限制或禁止堕胎,包括强奸或乱伦的情况。这是最高法院近年来最为重大的裁决,波及数千万美国妇女。美国总统拜登称这是“悲剧性错误”。#Bloomberg
在美国最高法院宣布裁决后,美国哥伦比亚广播公司对1600名美国人就此裁决展开了民意调查,其结果显示:
不赞成该裁决与赞成该裁决的比例为59:41,在女性群体中这一比例为67:33。
认为此案使美国倒退(a step backward for America)与进步(a step forward for America)的占比分别为52%和31%。
就此裁决对女性的影响,56%的人认为更糟糕,16%的人认为更美好,28%的人认为并无不同。
我们来看Bloomberg如何表述这组数据:
A CBS News poll suggested that a majority of Americans disapprove of the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion, which is inflaming a partisan divide on display in comments by senior lawmakers.哥伦比亚广播公司的一项民意调查显示,大多数美国人不赞成美国最高法院推翻宪法规定的堕胎权,而这正在资深国会议员的评论中激起党派分歧。
- ✍🏻语篇分析:首段指出一项民意调查显示,大多数美国人不赞成这项美国最高法院的决议(decision)。什么决议呢?作者用一个现在分词短语作后置定语修饰decision,说明它的内容:overturning the constitutional right to an abortion,推翻宪法规定的堕胎权。
- 接着用一个which引导的非限制性定语从句,说明该决议对美国社会的影响:
- which is inflaming a partisan divide on display in comments by senior lawmakers. 正在资深国会议员的评论中激起党派分歧。
poll [pəʊl] 作可数名词,指「民意调查」。poll 后面可以跟动词show, suggest, find, indicate等动词,引出民意调查的结果。这里作者就用的suggest。
a majority of sb / sth 指「大多数的…」。
majority 前还可搭配形容词,短语 the great / vast / overwhelming majority of sth 指「绝大多数的」。
《经济学人》一篇关于香港疫情的文章就用到了这个词:The vast majority of the dead have been unvaccinated old folk. 绝大多数死亡病例是没有打疫苗的老人。[写作推荐]
dispprove of sth 指「不赞同某事,反对某事」(to think that someone or their behaviour, ideas etc are bad or wrong),与approve of sth相反。
比如:Her parents disapprove of her going to dances alone. 她父母不赞成她单独去跳舞。
constitution 为可数名词,指「宪法」。constitutional [ˌkɒnstəˈtjuːʃənəl] 是其形容词形式,指「宪法规定的,合乎宪法的」。
inflame [ɪnˈfleɪm] 为动词,指「激起」情感,「加剧」紧张的局势和愤怒等(to make someone’s feelings of anger, excitement etc much stronger)。
flame [fleɪm] 作名词指「火焰,火舌」,所以inflame颇有一种「火越烧越旺,形势愈演愈烈」的意味。
on display 原本指「展出,陈列」,也可泛指「表现出来」。
文中a partisan divide on display in comments by senior lawmakers 便指「资深国会议员的评论里表现出来的党派分歧」。
再举个例子:The musical talent on display is extremely impressive. 表现出来的音乐天赋让人印象极为深刻。
comment [ˈkɒmɛnt] 作可数名词,指「评论」。comments by sb 即「某人发出的评论」。而comments on sth 表示「关于...的评论」。
第二段展开说明了民意调查的结果。
The poll, conducted Friday and Saturday, found 59% disapproved of the ruling, including 67% of women.②While 78% of Republicans were in favor of the decision, 83% of Democrats disapproved.③The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.该民意调查于周五和周六进行。结果显示,59%的美国人反对该项裁决,其中女性占67%。共和党中支持人数占78%,民主党中反对人数占83%。此次调查的误差为3个百分点左右。
conduct 作动词,指「实施,执行」(to organize and/or do a particular activity)。conduct a poll 即「做民意调查」。
文中conducted Friday and Saturday 是一个过去分词短语,作the poll 的后置定语,补充说明民意调查进行的时间。
while 作连词,可用于表示对比,译作「指「…而,…然而」。这里作者就用了while对比了共和党和民主党的不同态度。
以后大家在描述数据时,也可以用while来引出对比。
我们再看看电影《恋恋笔记本》里的一个例子:
It was an improbable romance. He was a country boy. She was from the city. She had the world at her feet, while he didn't have two dimes to rub together.
这里的while同样是用于对比,对比男女主的条件。
in favor of sth 指「支持某事物」(support, approval, or agreement for something such as a plan, idea, or system)。反义词为be against sth。
- survey [ˈsɜːveɪ] 作名词,指「调查」,与上文的poll互为同义替换。短语 carry out / conduct a survey 指「进行调查」。
- margin of error 是个固定表达,指「误差值,误差幅度」。
- plus or minus 也是一个固定搭配,plus 指「加」,minus 指「减」,连起来 plus or minus 指「左右,大约」。这里a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points即「3个百分点左右的误差值」。
- margin [ˈmɑːdʒɪn] 为名词,原本指「页边的空白」(the empty space at the side of a page)。在描述竞选的票差和比赛的分差时,margin可以指得票或得分的「差数」。比如:win by a wide / significant margin 以极大分差获胜
- 利润是什么?利润就是营收和成本的差额,因此margin 还可表示「利润」,也可写作profit margin。
A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Roe v. Wade decision raised the prospect for many Americans that other rights, including the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception, are now at risk.大法官克拉伦斯·托马斯在罗诉韦德案中的协同意见书让许多美国人意识到,同性婚姻和避孕等其他相关权利目前正面临风险。
- concurring opinion 是一个法律术语,译作「协同意见书」。在英美法系中,当法官同意主要意见书的决定,但其同意的理由与其他法官不同,或认为需要表达自己补充意见时,会起草所谓《协同意见书》。这种意见书有的被公开,有的则为了不为法院的判决产生噪音而不公开,其法律效力并不高。
- 在推翻罗诉韦德案的判决中,即便在多数派的七位大法官之间,也有意见分歧之处,其中有三位大法官都撰写了各自的《协同意见书》。
- raise 作动词,指「引起,导致,使...出现」(to cause to exist)。[熟词僻义]
- prospect 作单数名词,可表示「前景,很可能发生的事」,其后常用介词短语of sth 或者that引导的同位语从句,说明什么事。
- raise the prospect of sth / that... 即「导致可能出现...事,导致可能面临...前景」。文中作者便是用that引出prospect的内容:other rights, including the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception, are now at risk.
- 再举个例子,《华尔街日报》一篇关于上海疫情的文章开头这样写道:More than half of Shanghai’s 25 million residents will undergo Covid-19 testing this weekend, raising the prospect of extended periods of home confinement for any who test positive.上海2,500万居民中超过一半将在本周末接受新冠核酸检测,检测呈阳性的人可能经历长时间隔离。
- 《金融时报》一篇关于芯片的文章有这样一句话:Mr Trump’s latest sanctions would stop Huawei using US-made chips in its equipment, raising the prospect that the company would have to rely on China-made alternatives. 特朗普的最新制裁将阻止华为在其设备中使用美国制造的芯片,这导致该公司将不得不依靠中国制造的替代品。
- prospects 作复数名词时,指「前景,前途」(the chances of being successful)。原文是这样写的:When job prospects turn precarious, job aspirations turn conservative. 当就业前景不再明朗,人们的求职意向也开始趋于保守。
- contraception 这个词由contra-和conception构成。contra-指「反,防止」。conception为名词,可以指「受孕,怀孕」。连起来contraception 指「避孕」。更简单的说法是birth control。
- 顺便补充一下:
conceive 为conception的动词形式,可指「怀孕,怀胎」。比如:About one in six couples has difficulty conceiving.大约1/6的夫妻有受孕困难。[熟词僻义]
- be at risk 指「有危险,岌岌可危」,相当于in danger。[写作推荐]
A CBS News poll suggested that a majority of Americans disapprove of the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion, which is inflaming a partisan divide on display in comments by senior lawmakers.哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网的一项民意调查显示,大多数美国人不赞成美国最高法院推翻宪法规定的堕胎权,而这正在资深国会议员的评论中激起党派分歧。The poll, conducted Friday and Saturday, found 59% disapproved of the ruling, including 67% of women. While 78% of Republicans were in favor of the decision, 83% of Democrats disapproved. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
该民意调查于周五和周六进行。结果显示,59%的美国人反对该项裁决,其中女性占67%。共和党中支持人数占78%,民主党中反对人数占83%。此次调查的误差为正负3个百分点。
A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Roe v. Wade decision raised the prospect for many Americans that other rights, including the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception, are now at risk.大法官克拉伦斯·托马斯在罗诉韦德案中的协同意见书让许多美国人意识到,同性婚姻和避孕等其他相关权利目前正面临风险。
最后,我们来总结一下从这篇文章学到的语言点。
🔖 话题词汇
推翻罗诉韦德案:overturn / reverse / strike down Roe v Wade
具有里程碑意义的裁决:a landmark ruling
最重大的裁决:the most consequential ruling
法官的裁决:ruling, decision
做出裁决:rule, make the ruling on sth
...权:the right to sth
宪法规定的...权:a constitutional right to sth
堕胎权:the right to an abortion
宪法:constitution
民意调查:a poll
党派分歧:a partisan divide / split
立法者:lawmaker
- 避孕:contraception, birth control
- 标志性的:a landmark / hallmark / trademark / signature n.
- 预计会:be expected to do sth
- 严格限制某物:severely restrict sth
- 完全禁止某物:completely ban sth
- 大多数的:a majority of sb / sth
- 反对某事:disapprove of sth, be hostile to sth
- 误差为...个百分点左右:to have a margin of error of plus or minus ... percentage points
- 导致可能出现...事:raise the prospect of sth / that...
这周的外刊精读专栏就到这里!同学们记得点击在看👀,点赞👍,星标🌟,不错过下一次更新overturn [ˌəʊvəˈtɜːn] 为动词,指「推翻,撤销」判决(to officially decide that a legal decision etc. is not correct, and to make it no longer valid)。