VOA标准英语2008年-UN Report Finds Corruption Hits Poor Hardest
时间：2019-02-04 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2008年（六月）
By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
12 June 2008
U.N. officials say small-scale corruption 2 hits poor people hardest and strangles economic growth across Asia. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.
Poor people in countries around the Asia-Pacific region are bombarded with illegal charges and bribes 3 in their daily lives.
A new report released by the U.N. Development Program indicates that petty corruption perpetuates 4 poverty and increases child mortality rates.
UNDP Assistant Secretary-General Olav Kjorven says high-profile cases of corruption at the top levels of government should not take attention away from small-scale graft 5.
"Poor people are the ones who can least afford to pay bribes, but they find themselves that they have no other choice in order to protect what little they have or to get access to at least some minimum social service, whether it's education or health," he said. "And so in addition to the resource transfer away from productive services for the public good at the macro-level, at the micro-level, it hurts individuals and families directly."
Kj?rven says at police check points, government offices, and even schools and hospitals the poverty stricken pay extra for the services they need to sustain everyday life.
"Those are the areas where regular people need the government the most in their day-to-day lives," he said. "If the majority of the people see the government as just one big corrupt 1 beast that is just there as a problem not as a catalyst 6 or a facilitator for development, for progress, then the sustainability of the state itself becomes questionable 7."
The report recommends rooting out corruption in the justice system as a top priority, and supports public access to financial information to keep governments honest.
As much as 40 percent of the funds for infrastructure 8 projects across the region are lost due to bid rigging and other corruption, the UNDP said.
The report was released in Indonesia, where the country's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says his country could be destroyed if corruption continues to grow. He has called for "shock therapy" to help root it out.
- 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。
- 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。
- 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
- Giving these events a lot of media coverage merely perpetuates the problem. 媒体大量地报道这些事件只会使问题持续下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Lack of water perpetuates poverty, increases the risk of political instability, and affects global prosperity. 水资源短缺导致贫穷，使政局不稳，且影响全球的繁荣。 来自互联网
- I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
- The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。
- A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
- The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。
- There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
- Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。
- We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
- We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。