DEVELOPMENT REPORT - World Bank Offers Money for Development

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - World Bank Offers Money for Development Ideas
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, October 10, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Development Report.

The World Bank is offering money for new ideas to improve life in developing nations. People could receive as much as two hundred thousand dollars for creative projects to ease the effects of poverty.

 
 
About every eighteen months, the World Bank holds a competition called the Development Marketplace. Finalists chosen in different countries gather in Washington, D.C. The competitors explain their ideas to groups that can provide financial and technical support. The winners chosen in Washington are given start-up money to carry out their plans within one year.

This year, the World Bank says the Development Marketplace has four million dollars to give away to entrepreneurs². They must find new, low-cost ways to bring water, waste control and energy to people who lack these services.

Anyone can compete in the Development Marketplace. Ideas must be designed to improve the lives of the poor. Also, other people must be able to copy the idea in other communities.

The World Bank says the competition looks for ideas that others may dismiss as too unusual or too small to consider seriously. Judges from the World Bank and other organizations choose the winners.

At the last Development Marketplace in two thousand three, researchers from Tanzania won money for training rats to identify tuberculosis³. Another winner was a Vietnamese professor, Tran Triet. He proposed to teach farmers how to harvest grass from a wetland area without harming the environment.

Another winning proposal came from Zimbabwe. It involved the production of chili⁴ peppers in the Zambezi Valley as a way to protect farmers from invasions of their land by elephants.

Proposals must be received by twenty-three hours Universal Time on November thirtieth. The winners will be announced on May ninth, two thousand six.

The World Bank says all proposals must be made through the Development Marketplace Web site. Go to developmentmarketplace, all one word, dot o-r-g for the details. Information is provided in English as well as Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese⁵, Russian and Spanish.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. I'm Steve Ember.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 entrepreneurs   

企业家( entrepreneur的名词复数 )； 主办人

参考例句：

• He is one of the entrepreneurs of the concert. 他是这场音乐会的主办人之一。
• Entrepreneurs are free to develop their businesses. 企业家们可以任意发展自己的企业。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

4 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

5 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。