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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
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 | |
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2 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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3 forum | |
n.论坛,讨论会 | |
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4 awareness | |
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智 | |
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5 unstable | |
adj.不稳定的,易变的 | |
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6 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
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7 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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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 | |
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9 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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10 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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11 supervision | |
n.监督,管理 | |
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12 coordinator | |
n.协调人 | |
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13 affluent | |
adj.富裕的,富有的,丰富的,富饶的 | |
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14 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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15 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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