新奇事件簿 全球贫富差距加剧

The combined fortune of 26 of the world's richest people is equal to the total wealth of the 3.8 billion poorest people. This startling disparity in wealth is according to a report from the charity Oxfam. It reported that since the global financial crisis in 2008, the number of billionaires in the world has doubled. They are also getting $2.5 billion richer every day. This is in stark¹ contrast to the world's less fortunate - the poorest half of the planet is seeing its wealth slowly shrink as prices of commodities increase, wages are squeezed and land prices and rents rise. Oxfam's report highlights the growing gap between the world's rich and poor and the ever-widening gap in wealth inequality.

全球最富有26人的财富总和相当于最贫穷38亿人的财富总和，慈善机构牛津饥荒救济委员会（Oxfam）发布了这份关于财富严重不平均的报告。报告称自2008年全球金融危机以来，全球亿万富豪的人数翻倍。并且他们的财富每年增加25亿美元。这与全球最贫困之人形成了鲜明的对比—随着商品价格增长、工资紧缩以及土地和房租价格上涨，世界上最贫穷之人眼看着他们的财富慢慢缩水。Oxfam的报告强调了不断增长的世界贫富差距以及日益扩大的财富分配不均。

The report says that most of the world's mega-wealthy have made their huge fortunes from technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. The world's richest person is Amazon founder² and CEO Jeff Bezos. His amassed³ $100 billion fortune is 100 times greater than the annual health budget of Ethiopia. Oxfam said it was time to try and redress⁴ the imbalance in wealth. It recommended taxing income at fairer levels, increasing tax on personal earnings⁵ and corporate⁶ profits, and eliminating tax avoidance schemes commonly used by companies and the super-rich. It said: "In many countries, a decent education or quality healthcare has become a luxury only the rich can afford."

报告表示世界上大部分超级富裕都是从科技公司，如亚马逊、微软以及脸书中赚得他们巨大的财富。世界首富是亚马逊创始人兼CEO杰夫·贝索斯。他所拥有的1000亿美元财富是埃塞俄比亚年度健康预算的100倍。Oxfam表示是时候尝试纠正财富不平衡了。其建议征税收入水平更加公平化，对个人收入以及公司利润征收更多的税并消除公司和超级富豪常用的避税计划。其表示：“在很多国家，体面的教育或有质量的医疗保健成为了只有富人能供得起的奢侈品。”

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 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。

3 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。