环球英语 — 136：A Bank for the Poor

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Gulbadan Nesa lives in a poor area in Bangladesh. For many years Gulbadan struggled to survive. She had no money. There were days when Gulbadan could not even feed her children. And she had no way to send them to school. For many years, Gulbadan had no hope. But today, Gulbadan’s life has changed.
Voice 3
“Not long ago I was almost begging for money from other people to help me feed my family. Today, I have my own house. I have enough money to feed my children and send them to school. I cannot express in words how happy I am.”
Voice 2
Five [5] years ago Gulbadan borrowed a small amount of money from the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. With that money she bought a few chickens. She sold the chickens’ eggs. And she began to earn money. Gulbadan was able to repay³ the bank. And she improved her life. She was even able to start a second business. She now sells eggs and building materials. Gulbandan is just one of millions of poor women to receive a loan⁴ from the Grameen Bank.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on the Grameen Bank and its creator⁵, Muhammad Yunus. Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. For many years, Yunus has been helping⁶ poor women, like Gulbadan, start their own businesses.
Voice 2
Muhammad Yunus started the Grameen Bank in 1974. And he started it with just twenty-seven [27] dollars. In 1974 Yunus met a woman named Sufia. She was a twenty-one [21] year old mother of three [3] children. She made seats from bamboo wood to make money. Yunus could tell Sufia worked very hard with her hands. They had many marks on them. But, Sufia was poor, even though she worked hard. One day, Yunus asked Sufia how much money she made from each seat.
Voice 1
Sufia told Yunus that she borrowed nine [9] cents to buy the bamboo to make each seat. After she sold a bamboo seat, she had to pay back the money she borrowed, with a very high interest. In the end, Sufia only made two [2] cents for each seat she sold. She worked very hard for very little money. Yunus could not believe it. He said
Voice 4
“My goodness⁷, for nine cents she has become a slave⁸!”
Voice 2
The next day Yunus went into Sufia’s village. He asked the village women how much money they had. Yunus discovered that together, forty-three [43] of the village women had no money. In fact, together they owed² a total of twenty-seven [27] dollars. Yunus said
Voice 4
“I could not take it anymore. I put the twenty-seven [27] dollars out there and told them they could [free] themselves.”
Voice 1
Yunus paid the women’s debt⁹ of twenty-seven [27] dollars. He told them they could repay him whenever they could. Yunus wanted the women to be in control of their own money. Yunus hoped they would use the money to buy materials to make goods to sell. When they had enough money the women could pay Yunus back. And Yunus hoped that they would be able to continue selling their goods without having to borrow more money.
Voice 2
Over the next year, all of the women paid Yunus back. And that was the start of the Grameen Bank. Today, the Grameen Bank loans¹⁰ money to over six million [6,000,000] people. Ninety-seven [97%] percent of them are women.
Voice 1
Grameen means¹¹ “village” in the Bengali language. Many people in Bangladesh live in rural¹² villages outside of cities. These people are some of the poorest of the poor. Many of them work hard every day just to survive. They have no extra money. And because rural Bangladeshis have no money, many banks will not give them loans.
Voice 2
Except for Grameen Bank. Grameen loves to give loans to poor Bangladeshis. The people at Grameen believe that giving loans to poor people is a great idea. So, not only does Grameen offer loans to the poor, but they most often give loans to poor women. Women can use the loans to help their families. Grameen Bank believes that loans can help women and their families get out of poverty¹³.
Voice 1
Grameen Bank is a microfinance bank. Microfinancing works¹⁴ like this. A person can go to the bank with a business idea. She can ask the bank for a small loan, usually under one hundred [100] dollars. She can use that money to start her small business. She buys all the materials that she needs. When she sells her goods, she can keep all of the money. When she has made enough money, she can repay the bank and still have money left. With this money she can continue the business on her own.
Voice 2
People who use the loans must pay a little interest. Having to pay interest helps people make wise money decisions. It makes them work hard to repay the bank. And, the interest helps the bank give more and more people loans.
Voice 1
Yunus’ idea has spread around the world. Now, many banks are trying microfinancing. In fact, economists¹⁵ believe that microfinancing is one of the best ways to develop a poor nation. When people do not live in poverty, there is a greater chance for national peace.
Voice 2
That is why Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Officials of the Nobel Prize believe the work of Mr. Yunus can create lasting¹⁶ peace. One official said,
Voice 5
“The bank’s work creates chances for many people to get out of poverty. This creates the conditions for lasting peace. Development such as this is useful in human rights and democracy¹⁷. Today there are few things peace researchers and other scholars¹⁸ readily¹⁹ agree on. But they do agree that democracy and human rights create peace and move it forward.”
Voice 1
Yunus was very happy to accept the Nobel Prize. He received an award as well as money. Yunus wants to use the money to find new ways to help poor people. Yunus will continue to create peace by helping the poor.
Voice 2
Helping poor people can create peace? This is a very interesting link. Imagine if we all could help the poor people in our own communities. In this way, we would all be working towards peace. Maybe one day the whole world could win a peace prize.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 owed   

v.感激( owe的过去式和过去分词 )；应把…归功于；欠…债；（对位高权重者）忠诚

参考例句：

• I'd completely forgotten about the money he owed me. 我完全记不得他欠我的钱了。
• He gave me a lot of help.I owed much to him. 他给我许多帮助，我非常感激他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 repay   

v.偿还，报答，还钱给

参考例句：

• I feel honor bound to repay the money I borrowed.我觉得有责任归还我借的钱。
• I must repay her for her kindness.我必须报答她的恩惠。

4 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？

5 creator   

n.创造者，创作者，缔造者；造物主，神

参考例句：

• He was without doubt the creator of the Roman Empire.毫无疑问,他是罗马帝国的创始人。
• One creator cannot have two procedures with the same name.一个创建者不能有两个同名过程。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 goodness   

n.善良，善行，美德

参考例句：

• Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
• Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！

8 slave   

n.奴隶，附件，卑鄙的人；vi.拼命工作

参考例句：

• Don't be a slave to custom.不要做风俗习惯的奴隶。
• Why should I slave away all my life!我为什么要辛辛苦苦地干一辈子呀！

9 debt   

n.债务，义务，负债状态，罪，过失

参考例句：

• The man was pressed to pay off his debt.那人被逼还债。
• The firm had to charge off the debt as hopeless.公司只得把那笔没希望要回的债务注销。

10 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

12 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

13 poverty   

n.贫穷， 贫困， 贫乏， 缺少

参考例句：

• We must continue to war against poverty and disease.我们一定要继续同贫穷和疾病作斗争。
• He showed his poverty in his knowledge of agriculture.他表现出缺乏对农业知识的了解。

14 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

17 democracy   

n.民主政治，民主制度；民主精神，民主作风

参考例句：

• Democracy is based on good will and mutual understanding.民主建立在善意和相互理解的基础上。
• Did democracy have its beginnings in Athens? 民主制度是创始于雅典吗？

18 scholars   

n.奖学金获得者( scholar的名词复数 )；学者；聪颖勤奋的学生；文人学士

参考例句：

• Many scholars have argued thus. 许多学者都这样论证过。
• This university has turned out some first-rate scholars. 这所大学培养了一些第一流的学者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 readily   

adv.欣然地，容易地，很快地，立即

参考例句：

• I promise all costs will be readily returned.我保证所有的费用会迅速偿还。
• Most plastics do not readily conduct heat or electricity.大多数塑料不易传热或导电。