(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The man who started Microsoft, Bill Gates, has predicted that by 2035, there will be almost no poor countries in the world. Today, the World Bank says there are 35 poor countries. Most of the people who live in them are on low or no incomes. Gates said that nearly all these countries will be richer in the next 20 years. He wrote: "Every nation in South America, Asia, and Central America (with the possible exception of Haiti), and most in coastal Africa will have joined the ranks of today's middle-income nations." He added: "When I was born, most countries in the world were poor. In the next two decades desperately poor countrieswill become the exception rather than the rule."
Mr Gates said some countries will still be poor. These include North Korea, Haiti and nations in central Africa. He said the good news was that: "Nearly 90% will have a higher income than India does today." He believes countries will become richer by copying their more successful neighbours. Countries will also benefit from new medicines, better seeds for farmers, and the Internet. Gates said many countries that were very poor just a few decades ago are now doing well. He said China, India, Brazil and Botswana were poor thirty years ago but now have growing economies. He said there was still a lot of work to do and that, "more than one billion people live in extreme poverty, so it's not time to celebrate".
中文翻译
微软创始人比尔·盖茨预计到2035年之前，全球将几乎不再出现贫困国家。如今世界银行称全球有35个贫困国家。他们中的绝大部分人没有工资，或是工资很低。盖茨说在未来的20年中，这些国家几乎都将变得富有。他写道：“在南美、亚洲、中美洲（可能排除海地），以及绝大部分非洲沿岸地区将加入中等收入国家的名单当中。”他还说：“我出生那会，全球绝大部分国家生活窘困。在未来的20年里，极度贫困国家将会成为例外事件，而不是一种常态。
盖茨先生认为如今许多国家仍然非常贫穷。这些国家包括北朝鲜、海地以及非洲中部国家。他认为好消息是：“几乎90%的国家收入都比如今的印度要高。”他相信如果他们能够仿照邻国的成功案例，那么他们也将变得富有。这些国家也能够通过先进的药物、品种优良的种子以及互联网来获益。盖茨说许多十几年前贫困的国家现在发展得非常好。他认为中国、印度、巴西、博茨瓦纳这些30年前贫困的国家如今都是增长中的经济体。他还认为我们还有许多工作要做，如今还有超过10亿人生活在极度贫苦的环境中，所以现在还不是庆祝的时候。
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重点讲解
1.rather than 而不是
例句：You do this work in configuration, rather than in code.
您在配置中完成这些工作，而不是通过编写代码。
2.extreme poverty 极端贫穷
例句：The bad harvests in the last few years reduced the peasants to extreme poverty.
过去几年的庄稼歉收使农民变得极为贫困。
3.World Bank 世界银行
例句：How do I contact the World Bank?
我怎样与世界银行取得联系？
4.Central America 中美洲
例句：We beamed the program to the countries of Central America.
我们向中美洲国家播送节目。
听力题目
1.How many poor countries are there (according to the World Bank)?
a) 25
b) 28
c) 35
d) 38
2.When will most of these poor countries be richer?
a) in the next 20 year
b) by the end of the century
c) in 2050
d) by 2082
3.Which Central American country might not be richer?
a) Haiti
b) Cuba
c) Belize
d) Panama
4.What did Bill Gates say most countries were like when he was born?
a) far away
b) poor
c) exotic
d) unknown
5.What countries will be the exception rather than the rule in 20 years?
a) those in the U.N.
b) Austria and Australia
c) ones that have many resources
d) desperately poor ones、
6.In which part of Africa will countries still be poor?
a) the south
b) central Africa
c) the Indian Ocean countries
d) north of the Sahara
7.How does Mr Gates think countries will become richer?
a) by copying their neighbours
b) with foreign aid
c) by using the Internet
d) they will find gold
8.What will farmers get?
a) more rain
b) money from the World Bank
c) better seeds
d) new tractors
9.How many countries did the article mention that were doing better?
a) 7
b) 6
c) 5
d) 4
10.How many people live in extreme poverty?
a) more than one billion
b) 897,652,002
c) less than 1,000,000,000
d) 500,000,000
听力答案
1.c
2.a
3.a
4.b
5.d
6.b
7.a
8.c
9.d
10.a
