英语听力精选进阶版 14036

Economic crisis 'increased corruption²'

Summary

27 October 2010

The global financial crisis led to a rise in corruption in some richer countries, according to Transparency International which monitors corruption across the globe. The Berlin-based organisation³ has just published its annual report.

Reporter:

Marcus George

Report

In the annual report, Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index outlines some progress on fighting corruption around the world but it was uneven⁴.

Take the South Asia region for example; India fell to number 87 as did Pakistan towards the bottom of the list, whilst Sri Lanka rose to 91.

There is however no progress across Africa as a whole with consistently the same level of corruption as last year. Meanwhile, Latin America's profile is helped by Chile and Uruguay near the top.

No change however for what are perceived as the most corrupt¹ countries: Somalia, Burma and Afghanistan. Elsewhere the list yields unsurprising results: Iraq ranks lowest in the Middle East.

And Transparency International concludes that some countries in Europe have become more corrupt in the past year. Russia has fallen eight to number 154, and the report points out that corruption has increased significantly in the UK over the last five years.

As for the least corrupt countries, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore come out on top again.

Launching the report, Transparency International's chairwoman said the vital issue was enforcement, without which all laws around the world are of little value.

Marcus George, BBC News

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

4 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。