2006年VOA标准英语-World Bank Goes Into Retail Trade

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
05 June 2006
 
watch World Bank Store report

Shopping inside the World Bank store, called Pangea
  
  
The World Bank has taken a new approach to globalization. The organization best known for providing loans and assistance to developing countries has entered the retail¹ business, selling coffee and handmade merchandise to promote socially responsible trade.

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It's not Starbucks, but Pangea Artisan Market and Café hopes to attract similar clientele. In addition to fair-trade coffee, the new store in Washington, D.C. features products hand-made by some of the poorest people in the world.  

Reema Nanavaty
  
  
Reema Nanavaty, economic director at SEWA, the largest labor² union for self-employed women in India said, “We also have soft furnishings like cushion covers, bed spreads, table linens³, and also accessories such as purses, bags, evening bags.”

What sets the retail store apart from similar shops is its management team, the global organization known as the World Bank. Harold Rosen, project director at the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, which will oversee⁴ the new retail operation, said Pangea's goal is to promote socially responsible trade around the world. 

 
Harold Rosen
  
"It is also a very good way for us to make new partnerships⁵ that can help us do the work more efficiently,” Rosen said. “We are very excited about it, and it is a very good way for us to become a more active member of the development community."

The World Bank, which has often been the target of protesters who criticize its free-market policies in developing countries, says Pangea will help dispel⁶ the notion that "everything in globalization is bad for poor people."

Pierre Tami
  
  
Pierre Tami, founder⁷ of Hagar, a Swiss non-profit group that helps drug addicts⁸ and women sold into sexual slavery, said the project gives people who have been discarded by society a chance to earn a dignified⁹ living.

"This enhances really the dignity of these women that are known to be of no value because they are on the streets with prostitution,” Tami said. “They have been sold for a few dollars and actually, they are able today to make these products and earn a livable wage."

The store is named after the giant landmass that scientists theorize existed before the continents split apart.

Pangea requires global suppliers to undergo regular inspections¹⁰ and sign commitments to produce goods made without child labor, unhealthy working conditions or damage to the environment.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 linens   

n.亚麻布( linen的名词复数 )；家庭日用织品

参考例句：

• All linens and towels are provided. 提供全套日用织品和毛巾。 来自辞典例句
• Linen, Table Linens, Chair Covers, Bed and Bath Linens. Linen. 采购产品亚麻布，亚麻布，椅子套子，床和沭浴亚麻布。 来自互联网

4 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

5 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

6 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

9 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

10 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》