2. Americans Wait to See Next Face of the Supreme Court

1. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations:

fill – заполнять: We would prefer to fill the post with a recent graduate.

campaign – проводить кампанию: They’ve been campaigning for years to get him out of prison.

nominee – номинант, претендент: The nominee of the company is very young.

belief – вера: All non-violent religious and political beliefs should be respected equally.

direction – указание: The judge direction was to remain silent.

serve – служить, работать: He served in the army for twenty years.

leave – оставлять: I left the decision up to her.

2. Listen and choose the sentences corresponding to the text:

1. President Bush already has one opening to fill on the nine-member court. 2. Currently the oldest member of the court is Stephen Breyer. 3. Mister Rehnquist is among the more liberal members of the court. 4. Presidents usually try to name justices who don’t share their political beliefs. 5. The Supreme Court represents one of the three branches of the federal government.

3. Listen again and answer the following questions:

1. What are Americans waiting to see? 2. What have Republicans and opposition Democrats prepared for? 3. Who is the youngest justice of the nine members? 4. When was the Supreme Court organized? 5. What are the duties of the Supreme Court? 6. Who controls all the three branches of the federal government?  

3. Nomination of Chief Justice Heads to Committee Vote

1. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations:

question – спрашивать, опрашивать: Several men were questioned by police yesterday about the burglary.

delay – откладывать: He wants to delay the meeting a few days.

cancel – аннулировать, отменять: They’ve had to cancel tomorrow’s meeting because of the bad weather.

affect – влиять: The team’s performance was affected by the rain.

tension – напряжение: You could feel the tension in the room as we waited for the court decision.

resignation – отставка: With the news of the scandal came the call for his resignation.

reject – отменять, отклонять: The appeal was rejected by the High Court.

2. Listen and choose the sentences corresponding to the text:

1. Federal judges do not serve for life. 2. Judge Roberts must have the votes of at least sixty-one senators to be confirmed. 3. Judge Roberts is widely recognized as a legal expert. 4. As a lawyer, John Roberts argued thirty-nine cases before the court. 5. The Judiciary Committee advises the Senate to confirm or reject nominations.

3. Listen again and answer the following questions:

1. When is the committee expected to vote? 2. Who tried to get Judge Roberts to fully detail his positions on several major issues? 3. Judge Roberts says that he believes the Constitution supports a right to privacy, doesn’t he? 4. When did President Bush nominate Judge Roberts to become an associate justice after Sandra Day O’Connor announced her resignation? 5. What does the Judiciary Committee advise the Senate? 6. The tradition for many years has been to let all senators vote on nominees, hasn’t it?