VOA慢速英语2020 乐施会表示新冠肺炎危机可能会让5亿人陷入贫困

The economic effects of the coronavirus could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said this week.

乐施会本周表示，新冠病毒产生的经济影响可能会让数十亿人陷入贫困。

The report was released by the Nairobi-based charity ahead of next week's International Monetary¹ Fund (IMF)/World Bank yearly meeting.

该报告是由这家总部位于内罗毕的慈善组织在下个月的国际货币基金组织和世界银行年度会议召开之前发布的。

"The economic crisis...is deeper than the 2008 global financial crisis," the report said.

报告称：“这场经济危机远比2008年全球金融危机更为严重。”

"The estimates show that... global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990," it said, adding that some countries could return to poverty levels last seen thirty years ago.

报告称：“估算数字表明全球贫困状况可能自1990年以来首次上升。”报告还称一些国家可能会重回30年前的贫困水平。

The report examined several possible economic outcomes based on the World Bank's measure of poverty. People under extreme poverty live on $1.90 a day or less. And those at a lesser² poverty level live on less than $5.50 a day.

该报告根据世界银行的贫困标准研究了几种可能的经济后果。贫困人口每天的生活费不超过1.9美元。而那些贫困程度较轻的人口每天生活费不足5.5美元。

The most serious outcome would be a 20 percent decrease in earnings³. It would cause 1.2 billion people to live in extreme poverty worldwide. It would also raise the number of people living in poverty to nearly 4 billion.

最严重的后果将是收入减少20%。它将使全球12亿人口陷入极端贫困。它还将使得贫困人口增加到近40亿。

Women are at more risk than men because they are more likely to work in jobs that have little or no protection.

女性比男性面临更大风险，因为她们更可能从事很少甚至没有保护的工作。

Poor people cannot take time off from work or buy food in large amounts, the report warned. It also said more than 2 billion people did not get earnings while they are sick.

报告警告说，穷人不能停工或是购买大量食物。报告还称，超过20亿人在生病期间没有收入。

To lessen⁴ the effects on poverty, Oxfam suggested a plan that would give money to people and businesses in need. It also called for debt cancellation⁵, more IMF support and increased aid to poor countries.

为了减轻对贫困的影响，乐施会提出了一项计划，把钱捐给有需要的人士和企业。它还呼吁取消债务，增加货币基金组织的支持力度以及增加对贫穷国家的援助。

Oxfam added that additional taxes on wealth, high profits and some financial tools favored by the wealthy would help raise the money needed.

乐施会还说，对财富、高额利润以及富人青睐的一些金融工具征收额外税款将有助于筹集所需资金。

Calls for debt cancellation have increased recently as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected⁶ the economy of developing countries around the world.

由于新冠肺炎大流行影响了世界各地发展中国家的经济，最近取消债务的呼声有所增加。

Wealthier countries around the world would need to give at least $2.5 trillion to help developing nations, the report said, adding that wealthier countries have shown they can raise that amount to help their own economies.

报告称，世界各地较富裕国家将需要至少提供2.5万亿美元来帮助发展中国家，报告还称较富裕国家已经表明，他们可以筹集到这笔钱来帮助本国经济。

The United States, for example, recently released a $2.2 trillion spending plan to rescue the country's economy. China, Japan and some European nations have also passed their own spending measures.

例如美国最近发布了一项2.2万亿美元的支出计划以挽救该国经济。中国、日本和一些欧洲国家也出台了自己的支出措施。

The report said, "Unless developing countries are also able to fight... the crisis will continue and it will inflict⁷ even greater harm on all countries, rich and poor."

报告称：“除非发展中国家也有能力抗击疫情，否则危机将会持续下去，并且它将对无论贫富的所有国家造成更大伤害。”

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

5 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。