2006年VOA标准英语-Nobel Laureate Yunus Helps Neediest in Banglade

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
13 October 2006

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winners, Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, have lifted millions of people out of poverty in Bangladesh. Yunus pioneered the concept of microfinance, giving small loans to very poor people for income-generating projects.

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Chairman of Norwegian Nobel Committee, Ole Danbolt Mjoes, holds up photograph  showing Muhammad Yunus who shares Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 with Grameen Bank  
  
It was the havoc¹ wrought² by a devastating³ famine in Bangladesh in 1974 that changed the thinking of a Bangladeshi economics professor named Muhammad Yunus.

When Yunus saw the disaster's crippling effect during a university field trip, he felt that classroom economic theories were simply not doing enough to address the needs of those living in desperate poverty.

Soon after, Yunus handed out loans as small as $27 to a group of women in a village near the southern port city of Chittagong. His plan was simple: give the poorest of the poor money to begin income-generating projects that will help them support themselves. Yunus said he was convinced that people could take care of themselves, if they had just a little help.

The sweeping⁴ success of his experiment led him to start the Grameen Bank, or the Bank of Villages, in 1976. It lends small sums of money to the poor, without collateral⁵, and most of the loans go to women.

The women use the money for simple projects, such as starting a tiny roadside stall, raising poultry⁶, cropping a small piece of land, or running phone booths in villages. Such businesses are far too small for most banks to bother with, so although the women needed only a tiny amount of money, they were not eligible⁷ for loans - until Muhammad Yunus came along.

Earlier this year, Yunus explained to students at Tufts University, in the American city of Boston, why he aims his loans at women.

"We focused on women as a kind of reaction... The conventional banking⁸ is unjust. How can a financial system reject two-thirds of the world population?," he asked. "Something is wrong… We have to design a financial system that is inclusive, where nobody is rejected. Credit should be accepted as a human right."
 
 
Muhammad Yunus waves to well-wishers at his home in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct.13, 2006
  
Yunus and his bank soon became a household word in Bangladesh, helping⁹ to transform the lives of millions of families in one of the world's poorest nations. His ideas spread beyond his own country, prompting institutions like the Asian Development Bank to adopt the model in many poor countries.

Ashok Sharma, South Asia head of microfinance at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, explains that Yunus and his bank threw out all the conventional rules of banking, and succeeded in making people view poverty from a different perspective.

"It was a great inspiration, because Dr. Yunus enabled everybody to see banking from a different light… Before he pioneered microfinance, the general perception was that poor can only be helped by doles¹⁰, grants, etc," he said. "He also had to get over the long-standing prejudice that poor are not bankable. He had to really prove something wrong, and then prove that not only what he is saying is right, but that it is easily applicable."

The Grameen Bank now disburses¹¹ tens of millions of dollars a month to more than six million borrowers, and has branches across much of Bangladesh.

1 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

2 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

6 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 doles   

救济物( dole的名词复数 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• They have accepted doles. 他们已经接受了救济物品。
• Some people able and willing to work were forced to accept doles. 一些有能力也愿意工作的人被迫接受赈济品。

11 disburses   

v.支出，付出( disburse的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Upon SBA approval, the lending institution closes the loan and disburses the funds. 收到SBA的认可之后，放贷机构就会关闭此放贷申请并支付贷款。 来自互联网