Special English 又叫“慢速英语”，是VOA 专为全世界非英语国家初学英语的听众安排的一种简易、规范的英语广播节目。该节目创始于50年代末期，是VOA 的专家们研究如何与世界各地的英语学习者进行交际的产物。它正式开播于1959年10月。当时只面向欧洲和中东，但由于这个节目适合许多国家英语学习者的需要，所以它的广播对象不久就扩大到世界其他地区，并很快在全世界范围内产生了广泛的影响。现在这个节目对欧洲、非洲和拉丁美洲每晚广播一次，对加勒比地区每晚广播一次（星期天除外），对东南亚广播次数最多，每天上午两次，晚上三次。
30多年来，VOA 为了办好Special English节目，进行了大量的调查研究工作，对播音速度、内容及用词范围都作了具体规定，基本上达到了既能为英语学习者提供信息，又不损害英语本身风格的目的，使之成为VOA 独具特色，拥有最大量听众的节目。
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2009.05.30
Woman in the News: Judge Sonia Sotomayor
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
This week, President Obama announced his choice for an opening on the Supreme Court.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor at the
White House after President
Obama announced her as his
nominee for the Supreme Court BARACK OBAMA: "I have decided to nominate an inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the great state of New York."
SONIA SOTOMAYOR: "I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights. I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government."
Sonia Sotomayor is a federal appeals judge. If confirmed, she would be the first Hispanic on the nation's highest court. She would be the second woman among the nine justices, joining Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And she would be only the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Justices have lifetime appointments.
The next step is to prepare for Senate confirmation hearings. Senators are expected to question her about a comment she made at a law school in two thousand five.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR: "The court of appeals is where policy is made, and I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law. I know, I know. I'm not promoting it and I'm not advocating it. I'm, you know …… "
Conservative critics say legislators and other elected leaders are the only ones who should make policy. Another comment, involving ethnicity, has also angered conservatives. Some Republicans have argued that Sonia Sotomayor is too liberal for the Supreme Court. They say she could be an "activist judge" who will let personal feelings and political beliefs influence her rulings.
Democrats say her record shows that she is a moderate. In any case, Democrats hold a strong majority in the Senate. So, barring any unexpected problems, her chances for confirmation seem strong.
Republicans say they will demand a serious look at her many legal decisions. But political observers point out that Republicans may worry about offending Hispanics if they try to block her nomination. Hispanics are now the nation's largest ethnic minority, and a fast growing group of voters.
President Obama is urging the Senate to confirm Judge Sotomayor by August. The new court term begins in October. She would replace Justice David Souter who plans to retire in June.
Sonia Sotomayor will be fifty-five in June. She was born in New York City to parents from the American commonwealth of Puerto Rico. She grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx, one of the poorest areas of the city.
She earned highest honors in history from Princeton University. Then she attended law school at Yale University. She became a federal judge in New York in nineteen ninety-two. The Senate approved her nomination by a Republican president, the first George Bush. Then, six years later, the Senate confirmed her appointment to the appeals court by a Democrat, President Bill Clinton.
Her newest appointment is not expected to change the political balance of the Supreme Court. Five of the nine current justices —— a majority —— are more conservative than liberal. Judge Sotomayor would replace a justice who has generally voted with the liberal minority.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.
