2006年VOA标准英语-Clinton Aid Program Brings $2.5 Billion in

By Maura Jane Farrelly
New York
31 March 2006

 
Bill Clinton 
  
Former President Bill Clinton says the Global Initiative he launched last year has resulted in aid pledges totaling $2.5 billion  and commitments to programs targeting health and poverty in the developing world.  At a news conference in New York Friday, Mr. Clinton said he is seeking a long-term commitment from the world's wealthy to help solve global challenges.  The former president sees last year's initiative as a great start, and hopes to bring in even more pledges at a new session planned for September.

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Last year's meeting in New York focused on the issues of poverty, democratic governance, religious and ethnic¹ conflict, and human-induced climate change. 

Participants included corporate², religious and political leaders from around the world, among them President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.  Everyone was asked to make a solid commitment of money and resources toward alleviating³ the problems caused by the four highlighted areas. 

So far, nearly 300 commitments, valued at more than $2.5 billion have come out of last year's conference, and former President Clinton says, participants are definitely making good on their promises.

"We asked everybody to make a commitment," he said.  "The size or scale of the commitment, whether it was a million or a thousand [dollars], or just time and experience, was not as important to me as that a commitment was made, and that the project was subject to evaluation⁴.  We would know, is it working or not?  So, if it's not, we can stop and do something else, and if it is working, we can redouble our efforts."

Among the projects to come out of last year's Global Initiative is the expansion of two wellness centers at a border station in Malawi, through the joint⁵ efforts of the World Food Program (WFP) and TNT International, a global transportation company. The centers provide health advice and counseling to truck drivers who travel throughout southeast Africa, an area that has been ravaged⁶ by HIV/AIDS.

This year's Clinton Global Initiative will continue the focus on health, as well as the challenges of poverty, climate change and ethnic and religious conflict.

Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo, whose country is home to six of the projects launched by last year's initiative, says issues of governance will also be discussed.

 
Olusegun Obasanjo
  
"Good governance remains⁷, in some ways, the most critical ingredient for eliminating poverty, instability, violence," said Mr. Obasanjo.  "With good governance, you can be assured of accountability, respect for the rule of law and human rights, transparency, sensitivity to the plight⁸ of the disadvantaged, and the consolidation⁹ of democracy."

Attendees at this year's Global Initiative conference in September are expected to include U.S. First Lady Laura Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, and MicroSoft Founder¹⁰ Bill Gates, whose Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been heavily involved in the fight against Malaria¹¹ and HIV in Africa.  Former President Clinton says he expects the second gathering¹² to be as successful as the first, but that he expects a long-term commitment.

"I want to do this for a decade," said Mr. Clinton.  "If I can stay healthy, and all of you do not get bored, we will do this for 10 years.  And we will keep asking only people who are willing to make commitments.  We will keep working with those people.  We have now a full-time¹³ 'CGI Commitments Team.'  And we're working to try to make sure that all of the projects that are good, and where people have kept their commitments, are properly funded."

The 2006 Clinton Global Initiative will take place in New York this September.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 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。

3 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

4 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

7 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。

8 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

9 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

10 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。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

12 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。

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。