2007年VOA标准英语-Asian Development Bank Warns That South Asia La

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
05 August 2007

footpath1 as his father Shakeel Khan begs with his other son Saleem, right, outside a shrine2 in Bangalore, India " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070810/1104060.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

One-week-old Dastgeer lies on a footpath as his father Shakeel Khan begs with his other son Saleem, right, outside a shrine in Bangalore, India

South Asia is on a high economic growth path, but the Asian Development Bank warns that the region lags far behind in education and healthcare. A recent ADB report says this could undermine the region's competitiveness. Anjana Pasricha has more from New Delhi.

The Asian Development Bank says education and health care in South Asia are the worst in the world, except for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The bank says high economic growth in recent years in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh has excluded too many people, and has failed to reduce poverty significantly.

A director in ADB's South Asia Department in Manila, Frederick Roche, says the quality of education needs to be improved at all levels, particularly in rural areas.

He says the region is not producing the number of educated people demanded by its growing economies. India, for example has only 12,000 training and vocational institutes, compared to half a million in China.

"The region now stands poised³ to take advantage for tremendous opportunities for growth," said Roche. "But the educational institutions of secondary and tertiary level in India are not able to produce the number of graduates which the market is presently demanding, and there are deficiencies in vocational and skills training throughout the region."

The report also underlines new health challenges faced by the region. It says the incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes⁴ is increasing due to changing lifestyles and urbanization.

Health specialists at the bank say diseases like diabetes are affecting people at a younger age in countries like India than they do in Western countries. They say this could have a serious impact on labor⁵ productivity.

The ADB is calling on governments to devote more resources to both education and healthcare.

Frederick Roche says the region has a "window of opportunity" to make sure its working-age population has the skills required by its growing economies.

"If that working-age population has the appropriate human capital, by that I mean not only skills as a result of education, but also physical health and vitality⁶, [then] you have an opportunity there for an even greater acceleration⁷ of growth," he added.

The ADB's concerns about a lack of education have been echoed by India's thriving private sector⁸. Businessmen here say they are rapidly running out of people with the right skills and training that are needed if their companies are to grow.

1 footpath   

n.小路，人行道

参考例句：

• Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。
• They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。

2 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

3 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

7 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

8 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。