VOA标准英语2008年-Report: Corruption in Poor Countries Threatens

A group monitoring corruption² levels around the world says illegal practices in poor countries are threatening the fight against poverty. In its just released report, Transparency International says foreign aid must be more focused and more carefully monitored to ensure it goes where intended. VOA's Sonja Pace has details from London.

The Berlin-based Transparency International looked at indicators³ in 180 countries to measure perceptions of doing business or delivering aid there.

Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand ranked at the top - as least corrupt¹ and most transparent⁴. Somalia and Iraq were among those at the bottom.

Speaking with VOA from Berlin, Casey Kelso said the continuing conflict and rule by warlords in Somalia undermine any capacity at governance or development. "Everyone that tries to do any work there, any sort of assistance that goes in has to be monitored very carefully because there is a cut for everyone to pocket it instead of it going into the education, the health, the clean water that people need there," he said.

Kelso says Iraq is also widely perceived as still very corrupt and a difficult place to do business, with lingering questions about where the money goes. "Where is the oil going, how many bribes⁵ must be paid, the lack of clarity and transparency in assigning contracts out for establishing [everything] from new schools to pipelines⁶ to electricity generation," he said.

The Transparency International report says while these conditions directly affect businesses and aid organizations, they also have a direct negative effect on the recipient⁷ countries. Corrupt countries are less attractive for foreign investors⁸, which impacts growth and development and often hits the poorest of the poor hardest.

Kelso says foreign assistance should be more carefully targeted. "Foreign assistance that is being poured out from the developed world also needs to be assessed as to how much is actually making it to the poorest of the poor, who's diverting it and whether the elites⁹ in a country are actually stealing a lot of that money and diverting it," he said.

Kelso says donors¹⁰ need to monitor aid money carefully and foreign businesses and investors should not turn a blind eye to corruption by agreeing to pay bribes.

In this year's report the United States ranked among those in 18th place out of 180.

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 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 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

6 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

7 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》