VOA标准英语2008年-Donor Countries Pledge $1.9 Billion in Kosovo A

A donors¹' meeting in Brussels Friday has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Kosovo, to help it get on its feet. Lisa Bryant has more for VOA from Paris.
　
EU Enlargement Commissioner² Olli Rehn (L) and Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci at press conference in Brussels, 11 Jul 2008

Kosovo's government hoped international donors would pledge about $2.36 billion at the Brussels donors' meeting. By early Friday, it had already received promises for about half of that sum. The European Union promised $785 million, while the United States announced a pledge of $400 million.

The money will help shore up the economy and institutions of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February. But it is only a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed for Kosovo's long-term development. Still, Kosovo's Prime Minister Hasim Thaci painted a bright future for his country at a press conference.

"Kosovo is a new state in Europe," he said. "It is a success story for us and the international community and we will make it an economic success story now."

Mr. Thaci also said Kosovo had applied³ for membership to the International Monetary⁴ Fund and to the World Bank and hoped some day join the 27-member EU. But Kosovo has a long way to go. Roughly 45 percent of its citizens live in poverty, according to the EU, and four in 10 of its working age citizens are unemployed⁵.

Donors are demanding accountability for their funds - and for the money to be used to help both Kosovo's majority Albanian and minority Serbian communities - a point underscored by European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

"I am sure the Kosovo authorities know that they have to make the promises materialize for all people in Kosovo by ensuring that every single euro will be accounted for and put to good use," he said.

Over 40 countries, including the United States, recognize Kosovo's independence - but not Russia, Serbia and several EU members. Belgrade and Moscow have threatened to block Kosovo's entry into international institutions, including the United Nations.

 

1 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 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。

5 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。