VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - Corruption Digs Deepest in C

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Transparency International is out with its two thousand nine report on corruption² around the world. The nongovernmental organization has released its Corruption Perceptions Index each year since nineteen ninety-eight.

This year the country seen as least corrupt¹ is New Zealand. New Zealand shared first place last year with Denmark and Sweden. This year Denmark is ranked second, and Sweden shares third place with Singapore.

At the bottom of the list, ranked last for the third year, is Somalia.
　
An Afghan police officer searches voters during August's disputed presidential election. Afghanistan is seen as the second most corrupt country.

The order of the list is based on how corrupt a country's government is considered by a number of international organizations. These include the World Bank, the World Economic Forum³ and the Asian and African development banks.

Transparency International, based in Berlin, works to fight corruption and increase public awareness⁴. Its yearly report has grown to a list of one hundred eighty countries.

The group says unstable⁵ countries damaged by war and ongoing⁶ conflict continue to be those most affected⁷ by corruption. Those countries include Afghanistan and Iraq, two nations that receive billions of dollars in international aid.

Iraq moved up two places this year and is now ranked fourth from the bottom, along with Sudan. But Afghanistan fell three places to just above Somalia, meaning Afghanistan is seen as the second most corrupt country.

Transparency International says people have to pay bribes⁸ to receive basic services. A lack of government enforcement against corruption is blamed for helping⁹ the Taliban gain supporters.

The United States has approved close to forty billion dollars in aid for Afghanistan over the past eight years of war. President Obama is preparing to announce his new war plan on Tuesday. The plan is expected to include thousands of additional American troops.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai began a second term last week after an election in which widespread cheating was found. He is under increased international pressure to fight corruption.

Last week his government announced new efforts to investigate top officials. A group of current and former cabinet ministers are reportedly under investigation¹⁰.

In this year's corruption report, the United States dropped one place, to nineteenth from eighteenth last year. Yet the score actually improved by two-tenths of a point. Transparency International says there are many concerns about supervision¹¹ of the American financial industry.

Many of the countries at the bottom of the list are in sub-Saharan Africa. Patrick Berg is a program coordinator¹² for Transparency International.

PATRICK BERG : "Where you find poverty, corruption usually hits people the hardest. In some of the more affluent¹³ countries, corruption may be a major problem. But it does not keep people from getting health care or clean water to their houses."

But he says some countries -- including Botswana, Mauritius and Cape¹⁴ Verde -- have worked hard to improve their governance. As a result, they have improved their standing¹⁵ on the list.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

12 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

13 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

14 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。