2006年VOA标准英语-Worldwide Corruption Continues to Block Develop

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
24 July 2006
 
watch Corruption² report

Bribery⁴, nepotism⁵, and other forms of corruption exist to a greater or lesser⁶ extent in all countries, but its corrosive⁷ effects hurt poor nations the most. The World Bank considers corruption one of the greatest obstacles to economic and social development because it undermines the rule of law and weakens the institutional foundations upon which economic growth depends.

In this first of a series on worldwide corruption, VOA's Bill Rodgers reports on what corruption is, where it is more pervasive⁸, and how it can be stopped.

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Vladimiro Montesinos (2001 file photo)  
  
It was a secret video of Peru's one-time intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, paying a bribe³ to a congressman⁹ that led to the downfall of President Alberto Fujimori's government. When the video, taped by Montesinos himself, was leaked to the media in September 2000 it unleashed¹⁰ such a scandal that the Fujimori government fell less than three months later, ending 10 years of autocratic rule.

The Montesinos bribery scandal is a textbook example of the corrosive effects of corruption on a country's political life, its institutions, and economy. Yet Peru is not the only country plagued by corruption.

Nancy Boswell, Transparency International  
  
"Corruption is something that afflicts¹¹ all of us. There is no country that does not have a challenge in terms of controlling corruption," says Nancy Boswell, who heads the U.S. chapter of Transparency International - a group which monitors global corruption.

"There are always going to be people who are corrupt¹," she adds. " I don't think at the end of the day that any one of us believes that one country has more of that culture or less of that culture. It really is a question of have they been able to develop the institutional mechanisms¹² to control it."

Corruption takes many forms - from bribery of police or government officials, insider trading in stock markets, nepotism in hiring for jobs. Groups like Transparency say it is extremely difficult to quantify the amount of corruption that takes place each year because of its secretive nature. However, some estimates put the global figure for bribery alone at more than one-trillion dollars annually¹³. In just the construction industry, Transparency estimates, ten percent of the four trillion dollar industry disappears because of corruption. 

Louise Shelley, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center  
  
Corruption expert Louise Shelley says the effect of graft¹⁴ is especially damaging for poor countries.

"If you have five percent of an economy being paid in bribes¹⁵ or seven percent, a strong economy like an Italy can tolerate that. A weaker economy that loses a similar percentage of its assets will be much worse off," she says.

A country plagued by corruption also will have difficulty in attracting foreign investment - one of the keys in generating economic development.

"Companies, if they can help it, will not go to countries where corruption is rampant," says Boswell. "Survey after survey demonstrates that companies go where there is a hospitable¹⁶ environment and part of that is less corruption. So that is an important factor as well. For countries that want to attract investment and trade, focusing on fighting corruption is an absolutely vital element for that equation."

With some exceptions, it is the countries that rely on a single natural resource for most of their income that are most susceptible¹⁷ to corruption. Oil rich countries - like Venezuela and Nigeria - are examples of this. In its annual corruption index, Transparency International ranks these two nations as among the worst for corruption. Louise Shelley, who heads the Washington-based Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, explains why oil-rich countries are so susceptible.

"Because you have one natural resource that generates huge amounts of money and that natural resource is concentrated in the hands of a central elite¹⁸ or ruling figure and therefore it becomes a very close held group that controls this natural resource," she says. "And because there is such an international market for it, there's just enormous corruption that accompanies it."

The United States is not immune from corruption. Recently, there have been several scandals involving misdeeds by U.S. lawmakers. 

Former Congressman Duke Cunningham  
  
Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, for example, was forced to resign his office last year and was sentenced to jail for taking more than two million dollars in bribes.

But it is in dictatorships like those in Burma or Belarus where corruption flourishes because there is no transparency, no free press, and citizens have almost no rights. Louise Shelley points to the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia as an example where citizens mobilized to depose¹⁹ a corrupt, authoritarian²⁰ government.

"You need citizens that are so fed up with the corruption that is in existence that they demand change," she says. "And that they are ready to change their ways and their behavior so they are not complicit in this corruption. There needs to be a social contract where the society decides it is going to do something about it. We've seen it in Italy, we've seen it in Georgia, where there are major efforts made with the society and the government in tandem²¹ to do something about a serious problem."

Anti-corruption marches have been staged in Peru and other nations where citizens are demanding change.

But ending corruption requires more than just demonstrations²². Anti-corruption laws have to be passed and the judiciary must be empowered to enforce them. To this end, a United Nations Convention signed by more than 130 countries went into effect in December, outlining a list of recommendations for how government, the private sector²³ and citizens can help stop corruption.

Much of the focus is on business. Since 1977, the United States has had a law on the books, called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids U.S. businesses from paying bribes when operating abroad. The OECD - which groups together 30 industrialized countries - has a convention that makes it illegal for the companies of member nations to engage in bribery.

Prior to the 1999 OECD convention, some industrialized countries permitted their companies to engage in bribery abroad and even allowed those expenses to be tax deductible.

Transparency International's Nancy Boswell says she is hopeful measures such as the OECD treaty will help curb²⁴ corruption, but she adds a change of attitude is also required.

"Every time we see the damage, particularly in the poorest areas of the world, and we understand the disproportionate impact of corruption on the poor, then I think we remember it is really important for all of us to play a role," she says. "Business, for example, thinks about 'Am a going to get the deal?' and they think about competition. It is important that they also understand there's an impact to their actions that flows down the chain to the very poorest."

The stakes are highest for developing countries. Boswell and others agree that these nations must stamp out corruption if they hope to someday emerge from the mire²⁵ of underdevelopment and poverty.

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 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

4 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

5 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。

6 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。

7 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

8 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 afflicts   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Level 3-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 三级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。
• Level 1-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 一级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

14 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

15 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

16 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

17 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

18 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

19 depose   

vt.免职；宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The witness is going to depose.证人即将宣誓做证。
• The emperor attempted to depose the Pope.皇帝企图废黜教皇。

20 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

21 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

22 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

23 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。

24 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

25 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。