美国政治术全记录.docVIP

?美国政治术语全记录 academic freedom：The right of teachers and students to express their ideas in the classroom or in writing, free from political, religious, or institutional restrictions, even if these ideas are unpopular. 　　 　　affirmative action：A term referring to various government policies that aim to increase the proportion of African-Americans, women, and other minorities in jobs and educational institutions historically dominated by white men. The policies usually require employers and institutions to set goals for hiring or admitting minorities. 　　? Affirmative action has been extremely controversial. Supporters maintain that it is the only way to overcome the effects of past discrimination and promote integration. Critics dismiss it as “reverse discrimination,” denying opportunities to qualified whites and men. (See Bakke decision). 　　 　　AFL-CIO：Abbreviation for the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations, two groups that merged in 1955 to become the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. Member unions, including a variety of workers from machinists to musicians, make up over seventy percent of the unionized labor force in the United States. 　　? Though officially nonpartisan, the AFL-CIO has strong traditional ties with the Democratic party. 　　 　　Alaskan pipeline：An oil pipeline that runs eight hundred miles from oil reserves in Prudhoe Bay, on the northern coast of Alaska, to the port of Valdez, on Alaska’s southern coast, from which the oil can be shipped to markets. Also called the Trans-Alaska pipeline. 　　? After oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay in 1968, construction of the pipeline was delayed for several years, as conservationists warned against the effects of the pipeline on the ecosystems through which it would run. 　　? In 1989 an environmental disaster occurred when an oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez, ran aground and leaked millions of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, causing the largest oil spill