VOA常速英语2007-Technology Summit in Rwanda Aims to Spur African

By Noel King
Kigali
28 October 2007

Heads of state and representatives from some of the world's leading information technology companies have descended¹ on the Rwandan capital, Kigali, for the Connect Africa Leaders' summit set to begin Monday. Noel King has this report from Kigali.

African development hinges upon investment and aggressive policies to develop communications technologies rather than dependence² on foreign aid, said Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general the U.N. International Telecommunication³ Union.

 

Toure spoke⁴ to journalists in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

 

"For the past 50 years of African independence we have been talking about help, assistance, and we did not go anywhere with that," he said. "We are well aware of one thing. No one will take off, will get rich from handouts⁵ and charity. That is why we are here: we are saying we mean business. Africa is open for business and we are looking for partnerships⁶."

 

Toure vowed⁷ that the ITU and partner organizations will help African nations reach U.N. Millennium⁸ Development Goals in information technology and communications three years before the 2015 deadline expires.

 

The Millennium Development Goals aim to reduce poverty, disease and illiteracy⁹ in developing nations.

 

The secretary-general said he estimates IT companies will invest $300 billion in Africa's burgeoning¹⁰ telecommunications industry over the next five years.

 

Organizers say Rwanda's stable political climate has allowed the developing nation to make great strides in the field of communications.

 

Rwanda is to ink memorandums of understanding with industry leaders, Microsoft and Cisco, as well as with the Indian government.

 

Ministers of technology from India and China were to attend the summit, which attracted 1,000 participants, more than double the number expected, organizers said.

 

The two-day summit was organized by a number of stakeholders, including the U.N. International Telecommunication Union, the African Union and the World Bank.

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 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。

9 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

10 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句