《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》62 World Bank

　　Unit 62
World Bank
The World Bank is one of the major channels through which development aid is passed from the Industrial West to the poor and developing nations. In the last decade, important changes have taken place in the size of the Bank's operations and in the emphasis of its lending policies. Few people would deny that the President of the Bank, Mr. Robert McNamara, has played a vital role in bringing about the changes.
What immediately strikes anyone looking at the lending figures over the last ten years is the tremendous expansion of the Bank's loan program. This has increased from $1 billion to nearly $7 billion. The figure includes "hard loans" which are made at current rates of interest, and "soft loans" which are allocated¹ to poor countries at concessionary rates. In deciding the emphasis of its lending policy, the Bank had to take into account the population explosion in poor countries. There is a strong and deeply-rooted tradition among people in these countries to have big families. The large family unit, it is believed, brings greater financial stability.
What the Bank discovered -- this was a revolutionary idea -- was that there was a link between economic and social development, on the one hand, and a reduction in fertility rate, on the other. Thus, by improving basic health services, by introducing better nutrition in a poor country, a lower fertility rate would be achieved. This advance in thinking persuaded the Bank to change its overall lending strategy. Where previously² it had concentrated on the big infrastructure³ project such as dams, roads and bridges, it began to switch to projects which directly improved the basic services of a country. There was a shift from building dams to digging water holes to provide clean water.
A second reason for the change in approach was that the Bank had learned a bitter lesson from projects financed in the 1960s. Many of it capital investments had scarcely touched the lives of the urban and rural poor, nor had they created much employment. Instead, the huge dams, steel mills and so on were left as monuments to themselves.
This redirection of its lending has meant that the Bank has tended to support labor-intensive activities rather than capital-intensive ones. There is a better chance, in the first case, that its funds will benefit the bottom 40% of a country's population. The Bank is also looking at ways of stimulating⁴ the growth of small businesses in many developing countries, since this would create employment opportunities for people with low incomes.
The major thrust of the Bank's effort is directed towards improving conditions in poor countries. The Bank sees it as a moral duty of developed countries to help those living in conditions of absolute poverty. Mr. McNamara has publicly stated that he trusts "Civilized⁵ people will never allow themselves to reach a state where they will watch on their TV sets other less fortunate nations perish."

1 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• 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。

4 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为