Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark [A], [B], [C] or [D]on ANSWER SHEET 1. ( 10 points)

The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices became an important issue recently. The court cannot_____ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law______ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that_____ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito Jr., for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be____ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _____ by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself_______ to the code of conduct that ______to the rest of the federal judiciary.

This and other cases ______the question of whether there is still a _____ between the court and politics.

The framers of the Constitution envisioned law____ having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions ____ they would be free to ____those in power and have no need to_____ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _____.

Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social ______like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _____is inescapably political — which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _____ as unjust.

The justices must _____doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _____to the code of conduct. That would make their rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _____, convincing as law.

1 A emphasize             B maintain                        C modify                       D recognize

2 A when                    B best                              C before                        D unless

3 A rendered               B weakened                      C established                  D eliminated

4 A challenged            B compromised                 C suspected            &nbs