VOA慢速英语2013 国际透明组织称非洲反腐败斗争进展迅速

 

AS IT IS 2013-12-13 Transparency International: Africa Shows Strong Progress in Fight Against Corruption¹ 国际透明组织称非洲反腐败斗争进展迅速

From VOA Learning English this is As It Is.

Welcome back. I’m Caty Weaver².  And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Every year the non-profit organization Transparency International reports on corruption around the world. This year’s report shows strong progress in some African  countries. But there are worrying findings as well, especially in countries where there is civil conflict.

“You find a closing down of the transparency in government and in particular you find a complete lack of accountability.”

Transparency International’s look at corruption around the world: that is our subject today on As It Is.

The Berlin, Germany based non-profit Transparency International releases its Corruption Perception Index each year. A score of 100 is linked to a complete lack of  corruption. So the higher a country scores, the better. For 2013, the group questioned thousands of people in 177 nations. It asked for their opinions about the level of corruption in their countries. The results show  strong progress in some African states. But it also shows high levels of abuse of power in Syria, Afghanistan and other countries where there is conflict. Somalia,  Afghanistan and North Korea each scored just eight points out of 100.

Transparency International released the report December 3. The next day, Somali lawmakers in Mogadishu voted to oust³ the government. The government had been involved  in a power struggle involving accusations⁴ of favoritism and tribal⁵ politics. The Somali government is also fighting the Islamist militant⁶ group al-Shabab.

Robert Barrington is the Executive Director of Transparency International – United Kingdom. He says the worst performers in the index are usually countries where  there is conflict.

“You find a closing down of the transparency in government and, in particular, you find a complete lack of accountability. The institutions of the state start to  dissolve. And it’s the citizens that suffer.”

Almost three years of civil war in Syria have caused it to fall further in the corruption index. It is 10th from the bottom of the list. Iraq is also in the bottom 10,  as is Afghanistan.

Ukraine is rated 144th on the index. It is one of the worst in its geographical⁷ area, which includes Europe, Russia and most former Soviet⁸ Union states.

Recently protesters in Ukraine have again demonstrated in the streets to try to force the government to hold new elections.

Robert Barrington says sometimes police forces cannot be trusted.

“In some countries, in most countries, you would hope that when you go to the police, they are your allies in the fight against crime. But in many countries, you  actually find they are your enemies in the fight against crime. They are themselves the criminals.”

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

Mr. Barrington notes some hopeful news in the report. For example, he says Rwanda performed poorly on the corruption index for several years. Now, he says the country  is rising, thanks to an intensive government effort to fight corruption.

And just ten years ago Liberia was struggling with a bloody⁹ civil war. Now, the economy is healthy, with more than 10 percent growth in the amount of goods and  services last year.  And Liberia came in 83 out of 177 countries in Transparency International’s index. That is a good place compared to much of the rest of Africa.  However, some experts say corruption is still holding back Liberia’s success.

That is Liberian author Robtel Pailey reading from a children’s book she wrote about corruption. The title means trickery.

Ms. Pailey is also a PhD researcher at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She says corruption in Liberia has deep roots.

“In the private sector¹⁰, it happens in the markets. It happens in the schools. It happens in the government. So I would certainly argue that it is entrenched¹¹, and I  think it is a common phenomenon, that people have accepted it as entrenched.”

Ms. Pailey says ending corruption in Liberia would require a new way of thinking in the country.

“I think in many ways Liberians think of corruption as about a way to get ahead of the system, a way to bypass the system.”

The best performers in Transparency International’s 2013 index were New Zealand and Denmark. The United States was 19th on the list.

Finally, Romania scored 43 on the Corruption Perceptions Index this year. That is a fall of one point over its 2012 score. The country placed 69 out of the 177  countries.

But, on Tuesday, the Romanian lawmakers voted to protect themselves from legal action in corruption cases. The constitutional amendments¹² would block investigation¹³ of  parliament members and other top politicians and lawyers.

Transparency International Romania has publicly protested the parliamentary action and demanded that the laws be examined by a court.

Romaninan President Traian Basescu has said he would not sign the law although he would be included in the legal protection it offers. He told reporters that the move  was a step backwards¹⁴ for Romania.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

 And I’m Caty Weaver. Thanks for joining us today on As It Is.

1 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。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

12 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。