VOA慢速英语:世界银行行长寻求发展银行盟友

Slowing economic growth around the world is endangering the World Bank's goal of ending extreme poverty by the year 2030. That is what World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said recently. Mr. Kim said the goal remains within reach. But he thinks extreme poverty will disappear only if world leaders and financial and development agencies do their part.

世界经济增长放缓局势正影响着世界银行计划在2030年解决极端贫困问题的目标。世界银行行长Jim Yong Kim今日发表这一讲话。Kim说这一目标依然触手可及。但是他认为只有世界领导人和金融和发展机构能够履行各自相应职务，极端贫困问题才能消失。

What exactly is extreme poverty? The United Nations says extreme poverty is a condition in which basic human needs are not being satisfied or met. These needs include having clean drinking water, food and an education.

什么是极端贫困?联合国表示，极端贫困是人类基本的物质需求不能够得到满足。这些需求包括清洁用水，食物和教育。

Jim Yong Kim says there is good news. He says the world has made some progress toward reaching the goal.

Jim Yong Kim说现在有个好消息，就是世界现在就解决极端贫困问题已经取得了一些进展。

"Over 25 years, we've gone from nearly two billion people living in extreme poverty to fewer than one billion."

在过去25年里，我们将近20亿极端贫困人口数量降低到了不到十亿。

Even with this progress, nearly one billion people continue to live on less than about $1.25 a day. Slowing economic growth in industrial and developing economies is affecting the fight against extreme poverty.

尽管工作取得一些成效，但是还是有近十亿人口依然生活在每天不足1.25美元的条件下。工业和发展经济的放缓正影响着极端贫困问题的解决。

Mr. Kim suggests that one solution is to partner with new financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank.

Kim提议一个解决方案就是与新兴的金融机构合作，例如亚洲基础设施投资银行和新兴发展银行。

"We at the World Bank Group see these development banks as potentially very strong allies in tackling the enormous challenge of bringing much needed infrastructure to the developing world."

我们在世界银行集团看到这些发展银行可以成为强大的盟友，来应对巨大的挑战，向发展中国家提供必要的基础设施建设。

Banking coalitions could help identify financing for transportation and other infrastructure needs that the World Bank alone cannot provide. Amy Studdart is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

银行联盟可以帮助确定金融运输系统，帮助世界银行提供基础设施资金需求，而世界银行独自无法解决这些问题。Amy Studdart从华盛顿特区战略和国际研究中心发回报道。

"There's a huge infrastructure gap in Asia. The World Bank itself estimates that it was $2.5 trillion worth of investment that needs to happen in South Asia and South East Asia along."

亚洲存在非常巨大的基础设施差距。世界银行估计南亚地区和东南亚一带需要2.5万亿美元的投资。

Many people are concerned that new lending agencies will reduce the influence of existing ones like the World Bank. But Mr. Kim says the issue is not influence.

许多人担心新贷款机构可能会减少现存银行的影响力，比如世界银行。但是Kim说这种问题不存在。

"The fundamental issue for us is, your enemy cannot be other institutions. Your enemy has to be poverty."

对于我们来讲根本问题是，你面临的问题不是其他金融机构，你面临的真正问题是贫困。

The World Bank is expected to consider those issues when world leaders meet at the United Nations later this year.

世界银行希望今年晚些时候各国领导人在联合国开会的时候能够考虑这些问题。

I'm Mario Ritter.

Reporter Mil Arcega prepared this story for VOA. Mario Ritter wrote it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

potentially – adv. capable of becoming real, a possibility

tackle – v. to deal with a difficult problem; in sports, to bring someone down to the ground

gap – n., the space between two people or things; a space from which something is missing