Dominican swimmer named U.N. Goodwill Ambassador

     SANTO DOMINGO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has appointed Dominican swimmer Marcos Diaz as Goodwill¹ Ambassador for the Millennium² Development Goals, the UNDP said on Wednesday.

    "We constantly need more hands to help us spread and remember the importance of these goals," said Valeria Julliand, UNDP representative to the Dominican Republic.

    In 2010, Diaz swam on five continents urging countries to do as much as they can in order to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals, which was established in 2000 when world leaders agreed to reduce world poverty in half by 2015, fight hunger, disease, illiteracy³, environment degradation⁴ and women's rights.

    Diaz joins a long list of Goodwill Ambassadors which includes the world's number one woman soccer player Marta Vieira da Silva in addition to soccer players Ronaldo de Lima, Zinedine Zidane, Iker Casillas, Didier Droga, tennis player Maria Sharapova, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, Japanese actress Misako Konno and Norway's Crown Prince Haakon.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

3 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

4 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。