2007年VOA标准英语-Donors Continue to Give to Cambodia, But Corrup

By Rory Byrne
Phnom Penh
20 June 2007

Cambodia's annual donor¹ conference has ended with pledges of almost $700 million in aid, even though donors² expressed frustration³ at continued corruption⁴ and poor governance in the country. Cambodia has enjoyed robust⁵ economic growth in recent years, but international aid still makes up about half its national budget. Rory Byrne reports from Phnom Penh.

Cambodia was given a mixed review by donors at this year's annual gathering⁶ of governments, foreign donors and civic⁷ groups, who met in Phnom Penh to thrash out how much aid the country will receive.

The government was given credit for strengthening financial management and improving the country's education and health care systems.

Buddhist8 monks9 glance at vehicles owned by Cambodian lawmakers near the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, 20 June 2007" src="/upimg/allimg/070629/0837040.jpg" width="210" border="0" />

Cambodian Buddhist monks glance at vehicles owned by Cambodian lawmakers near the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, 20 June 2007

Some human rights groups called on donors to tie aid to progress in combating corruption and ending abuses.

"We would like the donors to link the aid to the improvement of respect of human rights, rule of law, principle of democracy," said Kek Galabru, the president of the Cambodian human rights group Licadho. "You know like, we would like to see the result of the problem of land grabbing. How about the democratic space for Cambodian people - can they demonstrate peacefully? Can they have access to information and have freedom of expression?"

In the end, the aid was given without strings¹⁰ attached, and pledges totaled about $700 million, including a $100 million loan by China. But donors said the government must do more to curb¹¹ corruption, and to strengthen human rights.

At the core of the concern is the government's failure to enact¹² an anti-corruption law that has languished¹³ at the committee stage for years.

Transparency International, which ranks countries by their level of corruption, named Cambodia one of the world's worst - 151 out of 163.

While some progress in drafting the law has been made recently, certain points remain unresolved, including whether government officials must declare their assets, and guarantees that the law will be applied¹⁴ evenly.

Ian Porter, the World Bank's country director for Cambodia, says a strong anti-corruption law is seen as vital before Cambodia begins to pump the oil recently discovered off its southern coast.

"That law remains¹⁵ very important because we continue to think that governance issues are a critical issue that needs to be addressed to ensure that Cambodia continues to have a good record in terms of growth and poverty reduction," he said. "The fight against corruption in Cambodia must remain a very high priority for the government, and in that context, the passage of an anti-corruption law would be very important."

Prime Minister Hun Sen, addressing the conference Tuesday, acknowledged concerns about corruption. He says he is committed to introducing an anti-corruption law, but he gave no indication when the National Assembly would debate the long-awaited bill.

Despite the problems, the country's economy has been booming. Growth has averaged 11.4 percent for the last three years, and the International Monetary¹⁶ Fund predicts a further nine percent increase this year. The increases have come mainly in tourism, construction and garment manufacturing.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• 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。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

9 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

11 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

12 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

13 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

14 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。