2006年VOA标准英语-India Starts Rural Employment Project

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
02 February 2006

India has kicked off an ambitious project aimed at alleviating¹ rural poverty. The country has witnessed high economic growth in recent years, but large parts of the countryside, where a majority of the people live, are still impoverished².

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Manmohan Singh
  

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced his "Employment Guarantee Scheme" Thursday in a poor, drought-prone village in southern Andhra Pradesh state.

Under the project, the government will provide 100 days of work each year to one member of about 60 million poor rural households. The workers will earn $1.5 a day working on projects such as building roads.

In addition to providing families with a steady income, the project also aims to stem the migration³ of rural people into cities in search of work. Prime Minister Singh says the program will focus on what he called "the poorest of the poor."

"It provides a safety net to those who are in need of livelihood⁴ and employment security," he said. "It will come to the help of those who maybe under the pressure to migrate elsewhere, thereby⁵ reducing distress⁶ migration. It will help us get rid of the scourge⁷ of poverty, disease, and indebtedness."

The Congress-led government announced the project shortly after sweeping⁸ to power nearly two years ago on promises of improving conditions for poor people.

India's runaway⁹ economic growth in recent years has created a huge middle class, but the boom is not reflected across the sprawling¹⁰ countryside where millions of farmers grapple with problems such as drought and debt. In Andhra Pradesh state, where the project is being started, scores of farmers have committed suicide in recent years after being driven into debt.

Independent political observer Mahesh Rangarajan says a lack of jobs is one of India's most serious problems. But he questions whether the government will be able to implement¹¹ the project effectively.

"The famine of work is a very serious phenomenon in India…. Yes, it [the project] is the need of the hour," said Rangarajan.  "But it is a very big challenge. Will they be able to do it and do it well? Government in India, particularly rural India, is not very good at getting delivery to the poor."

Skeptics point out that red tape and corruption¹² have riddled¹³ similar projects in the past, preventing benefits from reaching those in need.

1 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

2 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

5 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

6 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

7 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

10 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 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。

13 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》