Health-care reform on trial - The Economist
同場加映：BBC Learning English 也有相關的聽力練習
Photo- Courtesy of The Economist
IT WAS 9.30am and the 1)Supreme Court was 2)packed. The day before, the court had heard arguments on a 3)procedural issue—whether the 4)suit challenging Barack Obama’s health-care law should be postponed. But on March 27th the court was to consider the heart of the case. Is the law’s 5) “individual mandate”, a requirement that everyone buy health insurance, constitutional or not? The answer
is crucial to Mr Obama’s fortunes and much more. Uphold t
he requirement, 7)Democrats predict, and American health care will be 6) transformed. 8) Republicans say that forcing people to buy something they may not want is a huge extension of federal power and a 9) savage blow to individual liberty.
Those hoping for a seat to watch the event had 10)queued overnight, even as a cold spell threatened the city’s 11)cherry blossoms. Most spots had long been claimed by bureaucrats and politicians. Reporters sat shoulder-to-shoulder in three tight rows against a wall. At last the nine justices entered. For the next two hours Mr Obama’s law endured its most withering assault yet.
1)Supreme Court n. 最高法院, high court, district court. (上週有上過)
2)pack v. Be packed,塞滿了人。The bus is packed / Packed like sardines
3)procedural adj. 在此只訴訟程序上的
4)suit n. 訴訟案件 = lawsuit/ case/
5) individual mandate n 個人強制性 (都要保險)。同學看不懂的話，可以看這句後面的同位語結構的解釋：a requirement that everyone buy health insurance
6) transform v. 轉型，轉換，在此只整個會被顛覆。
7)Democrat/ 8) Republican n. 民主黨/共和黨，又稱 GOP(Grand Old Party)
兩黨在健保議案上，跟經濟方案很類似，民主黨主張控管(集中分配)，共和黨主張自由貿易(有錢人賺更多)。要注意與政治立場剛好相反。
9) savage n. 在此指 attack brutally and fiercely
意指殘害個人自由，中央權力變大
10)queue v. 排隊，這個字很常見。Apple的相關報導常會出現。
11)cherry blossoms. n. 指華府的櫻花季。這邊意指最高法院這邊的場子比櫻花季那邊熱。櫻花季的部分屬背景知識，同學可以再上網查一下。是日本捐贈的櫻花。跟淡水天元宮的櫻花潮很像。
留言列表
172 (6)