2006年VOA标准英语-US, Ghana Sign $547 Million Aid Pact

By David Gollust
State Department
01 August 2006
 
The United States and Ghana Tuesday signed a $547 million aid accord under the Bush administration's Millennium¹ Challenge program. Ghanaian President John Kufour says it will help vault² his country to middle-income status among developing nations by 2015.

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The grant is by far the biggest to date under the Millennium Challenge program, the signature aid initiative of the Bush administration which ties funding to good governance and anti-corruption commitments by recipient³ states.

The $547 million package is designed to boost agriculture, the backbone⁴ of Ghana's economy, by improving farm productivity and transportation links to speed Ghanaian products to regional and world markets.

It will be focused on the country's northern region and central Afram Basin areas, where poverty among the rural population is as high as 90 percent.

The deal was signed at a State Department ceremony led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who said his government's market-oriented policies have produced a steady climb in economic growth:

Ghanaian President John Kufour   
  
"Marked progress is being made on this trajectory⁵, with the rate of growth moving from 3.7 percent in the year 2001 to 4.2 percent in 2002, 4.8 percent in 2003, 5.2 percent in 2004, 5.8 percent in 2005, and now over six percent [applause]," said Mr. Kufour.

Mr. Kufuor said sustained eight percent annual economic growth for Ghana is a realistic possibility, which would boost the country's current per-capita income of about $600, to $1,000 by 2015, the definition of a middle income developing state.

A former British colony, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain independence. But its political life was marred⁶ in succeeding decades by a series of coups⁷.

Political stability and multi-party politics took hold in the 1990's, and Secretary Rice, in her comments at the ceremony, paid tribute to the international role of President Kufuor, who was elected to office in 2000:
 
 
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures at the start of her meeting with Israeli Defense⁸ Minister Amir Peretz, in Jerusalem, July 30, 2006
  
"I've had the opportunity to work with President Kufuor over the last several years on a host of issues, including issues of regional conflict and development," said Ms. Rice.  "Mr. President, you are one of the best examples of a new Africa in which responsibility counts."

The Millennium Challenge (MCC) program was launched two years ago with the aim of assisting impoverished⁹ nations that commit to democratization, economic freedom and growth.

The program got off to a slow start with members of Congress criticizing its cumbersome¹⁰ grant application process.

But after a personnel shakeup last year, the program administered by a government-organized corporation has gained momentum¹¹, and the corporation has now signed aid agreements totaling more than $2 billion.

Ghana is the ninth recipient of an MCC grant, following Madagascar, Honduras, Cape¹² Verde, Nicaragua, Georgia, Benin, Vanuatu and Armenia.

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

3 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

4 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

5 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

6 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

7 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。