美国高校招生平权行动被推翻

近日，美国最高法院裁定，哈佛大学和北卡罗来纳大学具在大学招生中考虑种族因素违宪。

🤔️小作业：

A. Colleges will have to start considering race as a factor in their admissions decisions.

B. Universities will have to find new ways to achieve diverse student enrollment without considering race.

C. Colleges will need to lower their admissions standards to admit a more diverse range of students.

D. Universities will have to eliminate their affirmative action programs completely.

2. What was the U.S. Supreme Court's attitude towards affirmative action in college admissions before this recent ruling?

A. It was generally supportive and had upheld race-conscious admissions programs.

B. It was neutral and did not express a clear opinion.

C. It was generally unsupportive and had previously tried to limit affirmative action programs.

D. The article does not provide information on this.

无注释原文：

US Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action in College Admissions

From: VOA

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday decisively struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, ruling that consideration of a student's race to help decide who is admitted to the halls of higher learning was unconstitutional.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court's conservative majority specifically overturned admission plans at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the country's oldest private and public colleges, respectively.

The high court's decision will force colleges and universities across the United States to look for new ways to achieve diverse student enrollment without considering race, such as looking more closely at the economic background of prospective students' families and the nature of the communities where they grew up.

Writing for the court's majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long, universities have "concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual's identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."

Hundreds of schools have for decades utilized affirmative action programs to one degree or another to boost the admissions of racial minorities at places where whites only had dominated. U.S. businesses and government agencies have also utilized affirmative action plans, although Thursday's ruling dealt only with admission to colleges.

In a dissent, one of the court's liberals, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said the decision "rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress." In a separate dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — the court's first Black female justice — called the decision "truly a tragedy for us all."

U.S. President Joe Biden said, "I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision. I believe our colleges are stronger when they are racially diverse."

Much like its decision a year ago overturning the national right to abortion, the court was overturning its previous rulings.

The Supreme Court had twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 20 years, including as recently as 2016.

But former President Donald Trump's appointment of three conservative jurists to the Supreme Court tipped the balance against affirmative action.

The ruling was not unexpected. All six conservative justices expressed concerns about the practice at arguments last October, even though lower courts had upheld the affirmative action programs at both Harvard and UNC, rejecting claims that the schools discriminated against white and Asian-American applicants.

Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 election, called the decision "a great day for America."

In a short address from the White House, President Biden said "We cannot let this decision be the last word," adding that "discrimination still exists in America. We need a higher education system that works for everyone."

Consistent with the ruling moving forward, Biden called on universities to give greater consideration to other aspects of the background of applicants, including the financial wherewithal of the student or their family, where a student grew up and went to high school and the personal experiences of hardship or discrimination, including racial discrimination, that a student may have faced.

Many schools, in the expectation that the court's conservative majority would block the use of affirmative action, say they already are giving greater weight to Biden's suggested considerations in making admission decisions, along with factoring in test scores, high school grade point averages, and application essays.

Other reaction to the court decision also broke down along predictable ideological lines, with Democratic lawmakers denouncing the decision and Republicans applauding it.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "The Supreme Court ruling has put a giant roadblock in our country's march toward racial justice."

He added, "The consequences of this decision will be felt immediately and across the country, as students of color will face an admission cycle next year with fewer opportunities to attend the same colleges and universities as their parents and older siblings. These negative consequences could continue for generations, as the historic harms of exclusion and discrimination in education and society are exacerbated."

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, characterized the ruling as "a long overdue step toward ensuring equal protection under the law. For decades, the court turned a blind eye as higher education prioritized illegal social engineering over merit."

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为VOA官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

US Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action in College Admissions

From: VOA

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday decisively struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, ruling that consideration of a student's race to help decide who is admitted to the halls of higher learning was unconstitutional.

美国最高法院周四（6月29日）以决定性的多数推翻了大学招生采用平权行动的做法，并且裁定考虑学生的种族以帮助决定谁被高等教育机构录取是违宪的做法。

表示“裁定（某法律条文）非法”，英文解释为“to rule that a law is illegal and should not be obeyed”举个🌰：The courts struck down local segregation laws because they violated the federal constitution. 法庭裁决当地的隔离法非法，因为该隔离法违反宪法。

affirmative action /əˌfɜː.mə.tɪv ˈæk.ʃən/ 表示“（政府或机构招聘雇员时优先雇用常受到歧视的女性、黑人或其他群体的成员的）积极补偿行动，平权措施”，英文解释为“If a government or an organization takes affirmative action, it gives preference to women, black people, or other groups that are often treated unfairly, when it is choosing people for a job.”

unconstitutional /ʌnˌkɒn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən.əl/ 表示“违背宪法的；违反宪章的”，英文解释为“not allowed by the constitution (= set of rules for government) of a country or organization”举个🌰：Changing the law in this way would be unconstitutional. 对该法律作此改动是与宪法相抵触的。

📍词源和词根：前缀"un-"表示"不是"，"constitutional"来自拉丁语"constitutio"，意为"决定，规定"。派生词：unconstitutionality，常用短语：be declared unconstitutional 被宣布违宪。

In a 6-3 ruling, the court's conservative majority specifically overturned admission plans at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the country's oldest private and public colleges, respectively.

在这项6票对3票的裁决中，在最高法院占多数的保守派大法官特别推翻了哈佛大学和北卡罗来纳大学的录取计划。这两所大学分别是美国历史最悠久的私立和公立大学。

conservative表示“保守的；守旧的”，英文解释为“not usually liking or trusting change, especially sudden change”如：a conservative society/outlook 保守的社会/观念。

Conservative 表示“（英国）保守党的”，英文解释为“belonging to or supporting the British political party that traditionally supports business and opposes high taxes and government involvement in industry”如：the Conservative Party 保守党，Conservative policies 保守党奉行的政策。

表示“（使）翻倒，（使）倾覆；打翻”，英文解释为“if you overturn something, or if it overturns, it turns upside down or falls over on its side”举个🌰：His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal. 他的有罪裁决被上诉法院推翻了。

📺英剧《唐顿庄园》（Downton Abbey）第三季中的台词提到：Even then, would we have enough to overturn the verdict? 即使拿到证词，就真能推翻判决吗？

The high court's decision will force colleges and universities across the United States to look for new ways to achieve diverse student enrollment without considering race, such as looking more closely at the economic background of prospective students' families and the nature of the communities where they grew up.

但最高法院的裁决将迫使美国各地的学院和大学寻找新的方法，在不考虑种族的情况下招收多元化的学生，例如更仔细地关注新生家庭的经济背景以及他们成长的社区的性质。

表示“多种多样的，形形色色的”，英文解释为“including many different types of people or things”举个🌰：New York is a very culturally/ethnically diverse city. 纽约是一个在文化/种族方面具有多样性的城市。

表示“登记，入学，注册，登记（人数）”，英文解释为“the act of officially joining a course, school, etc.; the number of people who do this”

表示“有望的；可能的；预期的；潜在的；即将发生的；行将来临的”，英文解释为“expected to do sth or to become sth；expected to happen soon”如：prospective buyers, employers, parents, etc. 潜在的客户/可能成为雇主的人/即将为人父母者等。

Writing for the court's majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long, universities have "concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual's identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."

首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨（John Roberts）在为法院多数派撰写判决意见时表示，长期以来，大学“错误地得出结论，个人身份的试金石不是克服挑战、技能培养或经验教训，而是他们的肤色。我们的宪法历史容不得这种选择。”

touchstone /ˈtʌtʃ.stəʊn/ 表示“检验标准，试金石”，英文解释为“an established standard or principle by which something is judged”举个🌰：Until relatively recently, the Japanese car industry was the touchstone of international success. 直到近几年，日本的汽车工业一直都是衡量是否在国际上取得成功的业界标杆。

best /best/ 作动词，表示“击败；战胜”，英文解释为“to defeat someone in a fight or competition”举个🌰：He bested his opponent in just two rounds. 仅仅两个回合他就击败了对手。

Hundreds of schools have for decades utilized affirmative action programs to one degree or another to boost the admissions of racial minorities at places where whites only had dominated. U.S. businesses and government agencies have also utilized affirmative action plans, although Thursday's ruling dealt only with admission to colleges.

几十年来，数百所学校在某种程度上利用了平权行动项目，在白人占主导地位的地方提高少数族裔的入学率。美国企业和政府机构也采用了平权行动项目，不过周四的裁决只涉及大学录取问题。

可以作名词也可以作动词，表示“改善；提高；增强；推动”，英文解释为“to improve or increase something”举个🌰：The theatre managed to boost its audiences by cutting ticket prices. 剧院设法通过降低票价来增加观众数量。

📍“佩洛西有病还是先治病吧”文中提到be boosted，get boosted用来指打了加强针（疫苗），也有说booster shot/booster dose.

表示“占支配地位；占主导地位；拥有优势；最明显的”，英文解释为“To dominate a situation means to be the most powerful or important person or thing in it.”举个🌰：The book is expected to dominate the best-seller lists. 这本书预期将居畅销书榜首。

In a dissent, one of the court's liberals, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said the decision "rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress." In a separate dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — the court's first Black female justice — called the decision "truly a tragedy for us all."

最高法院的自由派大法官之一索尼娅·索托马约尔（Sonia Sotomayor）表示反对，称这一决定“使得数十年的先例和重大进展出现倒退”。最高法院第一位黑人女法官凯坦吉·布朗·杰克逊（Ketanji Brown Jackson）另外撰写了异议，她称这一决定“对我们所有人来说都是一场悲剧”。

dissent /dɪˈsent/ 表示“（尤指对正式建议、计划或普遍看法的）不同意，异议”，英文解释为“a strong difference of opinion on a particular subject, especially about an official suggestion or plan or a popular belief”举个🌰：When the time came to approve the proposal, there were one or two voices of dissent. 在通过该项提案的时候，有一两个人表示不同意。

liberal /ˈlɪb.ər.əl/ 作形容词，表示“自由开放的，开放的，开明的”，英文解释为“respecting and allowing many different types of beliefs or behaviour”如：a liberal society/attitude 自由开放的社会/态度。作名词，表示“自由主义者”，英文解释为“someone who respects many different types of beliefs or behaviour”举个🌰：He's a good old-fashioned liberal. 他是个老式的自由主义者。

表示“先例，前例”，英文解释为“an action, situation, or decision that has already happened and can be used as a reason why a similar action or decision should be performed or made”举个🌰：There are several precedents for promoting people who don't have formal qualifications. 提拔没有正式学历的人是有几个先例的。

momentous /məˈmen.təs/ 表示“重大的，重要的”，英文解释为“very important because of effects on future events”举个🌰：Whether or not to move overseas was a momentous decision for the family. 是否移居海外对这个家庭来说是个重要的决定。

U.S. President Joe Biden said, "I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision. I believe our colleges are stronger when they are racially diverse."

美国总统乔·拜登（Joe Biden）说：“我强烈、强烈地不同意最高法院的裁决。我相信，我们的大学具有种族多样化时会更加强大。”

Much like its decision a year ago overturning the national right to abortion, the court was overturning its previous rulings.

就像一年前推翻全国范围堕胎权的决定一样，最高法院推翻了之前的裁决。

表示“（通常指通过手术进行的）堕胎，人工流产”，英文解释为“If a woman has an abortion, she ends her pregnancy deliberately so that the baby is not born alive.”举个🌰：He and his girlfriend had been going out together for a year when she had an abortion. 他的女友流产时，他和她已经交往了一年时间。

The Supreme Court had twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 20 years, including as recently as 2016.

在过去的20年里，美国最高法院曾两次支持考虑到种族的大学招生计划，包括最近在2016年。

But former President Donald Trump's appointment of three conservative jurists to the Supreme Court tipped the balance against affirmative action.

但前总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）任命了三名保守派大法官进入最高法院，使最高法院出现了对平权行动政策不利的倾斜。

tip the balance/scales 表示“打破平衡局面;起决定性作用”，英文解释为“If something tips the balance or tips the scales, it is the thing that causes a particular situation to happen or a particular decision to be made, when other situations or decisions are possible.” 举个🌰：She was a good candidate, but her lack of computer skills tipped the scales against her. 她本来是个不错的候选人，但她缺乏计算机技能，这对她很不利。

tip 作名词表示「小费」大家比较熟悉，也可以表示“（尤指细长物体的）末梢，末端，尖；（尤指细长物体的）顶端附加物”，英文解释为“the usually pointed end of something, especially something that is long and thin”举个🌰：We had asparagus tips for dinner. 我们晚饭吃了芦笋尖。

tip在花滑将禁止17岁以下选手参赛文中出现：Valieva, who had been tipped for a gold medal, finished fourth. 曾被看好获得金牌的瓦里耶娃获得了第四名。这里作动词，也是熟词僻义，表示“称…有可能成功”，英文解释为“to say that someone is likely to be successful or achieve something”举个🌰：He is being tipped as the next prime minister. 据称，他有可能成为下一任首相。

The ruling was not unexpected. All six conservative justices expressed concerns about the practice at arguments last October, even though lower courts had upheld the affirmative action programs at both Harvard and UNC, rejecting claims that the schools discriminated against white and Asian-American applicants.

下级法院支持了哈佛大学和北卡罗来纳大学的平权行动项目，驳回了关于学校歧视白人和亚裔美国申请者的说法。但是美国最高法院却推翻了下级法院的裁决。最高法院的决定并不出乎意料。所有六位保守派大法官在去年10月的辩论中都对招生过程中的平权行动做法表示担忧。

Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 election, called the decision "a great day for America."

特朗普是2024年大选前领先的共和党总统候选人，特朗普称这一决定是“美国伟大的一天”。随后，拜登总统就此案发表了声明。

In a short address from the White House, President Biden said "We cannot let this decision be the last word," adding that "discrimination still exists in America. We need a higher education system that works for everyone."

拜登总统在白宫发表的简短讲话中说：“我们不能让这一决定成为最终的断言”，他还补充说：“歧视在美国仍然存在。我们需要一个适合所有人的高等教育体系。”

Consistent with the ruling moving forward, Biden called on universities to give greater consideration to other aspects of the background of applicants, including the financial wherewithal of the student or their family, where a student grew up and went to high school and the personal experiences of hardship or discrimination, including racial discrimination, that a student may have faced.

在遵守这项裁决的情况下，拜登呼吁今后大学更多地考虑申请人背景的其他方面，包括学生或其家庭的经济状况、学生成长和上高中的地方，以及学生可能面临的困难或歧视——包括种族歧视——的个人经历。

the wherewithal /ˈweə.wɪ.ðɔːl/ 表示“必要的资金”，英文解释为“the money necessary for a particular purpose”举个🌰：I'd like to buy a bigger house, but I don't have the wherewithal. 我想买一所大一点的房子，可是没那么多钱。

Many schools, in the expectation that the court's conservative majority would block the use of affirmative action, say they already are giving greater weight to Biden's suggested considerations in making admission decisions, along with factoring in test scores, high school grade point averages, and application essays.

许多学校已经预计最高法院的保守派多数会阻止使用平权行动，他们表示，他们已经在做出录取决定时，除了考虑考试成绩、高中平均分数和申请文章之外，还会更加重视拜登建议的考虑因素。

Other reaction to the court decision also broke down along predictable ideological lines, with Democratic lawmakers denouncing the decision and Republicans applauding it.

其他人对最高法院裁决的反应沿着可预见的意识形态路线而泾渭分明，民主党议员们谴责这一决定，而共和党人则表示赞赏。

ideological /ˌaɪ.di.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“思想体系上的，意识形态上的”，英文解释为“based on or relating to a particular set of ideas or beliefs”如：ideological differences 意识形态上的差异。

表示“谴责；指责；斥责”，英文解释为“to strongly criticize sb/sth that you think is wrong, illegal, etc.”举个🌰：The project was denounced as a scandalous waste of public money. 这项工程被斥责为挥霍公款，令人愤慨。

📍名词：denouncement /di'naunsmənt/，表示“谴责；指责；告发；痛骂；公开抨击”，英文解释为“a public act of denouncing；A charging of someone with a misdeed”；

⚠️区分：denouement /deɪˈnuːmɒn/ 表示“（戏剧、小说等的）结局，收场；（事情的）结果”（the end of a play, book, etc., in which everything is explained or settled; the end result of a situation）

📺英剧《唐顿庄园》（Downton Abbey）中的台词提到：But if you tell Granny I said so, I'll denounce you as a liar. 但你要是敢把我的话告诉奶奶 我就说你撒谎。

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "The Supreme Court ruling has put a giant roadblock in our country's march toward racial justice."

参议院多数党领袖、民主党人查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）说：“最高法院的裁决为我们国家向种族正义迈进设置了一个巨大障碍。”

He added, "The consequences of this decision will be felt immediately and across the country, as students of color will face an admission cycle next year with fewer opportunities to attend the same colleges and universities as their parents and older siblings. These negative consequences could continue for generations, as the historic harms of exclusion and discrimination in education and society are exacerbated."

他补充说：“这项决定的后果将立即在全国范围内感受到，因为少数族裔学生明年面临的录取周期，与其父母和哥哥姐姐相比，进入同一所学院和大学的机会变得更少了。这些负面影响可能会持续几代人，因为排斥和歧视在教育和社会中的历史危害已经加剧了。”

表示“排斥；排除在外”，英文解释为“the act of not allowing someone or something to take part in an activity or to enter a place”如：her exclusion from the list of Oscar nominees 她被排除在奥斯卡奖提名名单之外。

exacerbate /ɪɡˈzæsəˌbeɪt/ 表示“使恶化；使加重”，英文解释为“to make a bad situation worse”举个🌰：She didn't want to exacerbate the situation. 她不想使情况变得更糟。

🎬电影《僵尸肖恩》（Shaun of the Dead）中的台词提到：And that will exacerbate things for all of us. 那会使我们事情恶化的。

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, characterized the ruling as "a long overdue step toward ensuring equal protection under the law. For decades, the court turned a blind eye as higher education prioritized illegal social engineering over merit."

参议院少数党领袖、共和党人米奇·麦康奈尔（Mitch McConnell）将这一裁决描述为“朝着确保法律平等保护迈出的姗姗来迟的一步。几十年来，高等教育优先考虑的是非法社会工程，而不是择优录取，而法院对此视而不见。”

overdue /ˌəʊ.vəˈdʒuː/ 表示“过期的；延误的；迟的”，英文解释为“not done or happening when expected or when needed; late”举个🌰：My library books are a week overdue. 我借图书馆的书过期一个星期了。

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