VOA标准英语 Bangladesh Wants to Boot Beggars off the Streets

The South Asian nation of Bangladesh wants to do something about the increasing number of beggars migrating into its cities from the countryside. Legislation has been approved that could send many of the country's most destitute¹ to jail for openly asking for charity. Some aid agencies are skeptical² this approach will solve the problem.
　
Bangladeshi beggars are seen on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, 02 April 2009

Ragged³ beggars are a common sight on the streets of Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh. The government wants to make their presence a rarity, if not eliminate it totally.

To that end, government officials say a new law curtailing⁴ begging in the open and on crowded streets will be strictly⁵ enforced. Violators will face up to three months in jail.

Officials say parliament on Tuesday approved a bill cracking down on beggars and it will take about a month to draft guidelines on how authorities will enforce the new law. They note that some beggars seek pity by pretending to be ill or displaying a disability. Sympathizers say most of those in such a condition on the streets really have no alternative.

The Bangladesh Finance Ministry⁶ says it wants to emulate⁷ some neighboring countries that have implemented⁸ plans to rehabilitate⁹ urban beggars by providing them with employment training programs.

The country director of the British charity Oxfam, M.B. Akther, says imprisonment¹⁰ and brief training schemes will not solve the problem.

"Every day thousands of beggars are coming to Dhaka city and other cities," Akther said. "So it is not the solution by putting them in jail for three months or a rehabilitation¹¹ center for one month, two months. It is not the solution."

Akther and other aid agency officials say the government should focus on creating jobs in rural areas to stem the internal migration¹² by the poor into the cities.

It is believed that several hundred thousand Bangladeshis live off begging. A survey several years ago in relatively¹³ prosperous Dhaka found that the average beggar there managed to collect about $1.5 a day. Approximately 40 percent of Bangladeshis get by on less than $1 per day.

1 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

4 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

10 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

11 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

12 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。