VOA标准英语 Foreign Donors Pledge $5.2 Billion in Aid for Pakist

International donors¹ meeting in Japan have pledged more than $5 billion to help the Pakistani government shore up its shaky economy and shrink the pool of militant² recruits. President Asif Zardari said the world continues to underestimate the threat posed by militants³ in Pakistan.
　
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari delivers an opening speech at the Pakistan friends Conference in Tokyo while Japanese Prime Minister Taro⁴ Aso (L) looks on, 17 Apr 2009

The one-day Tokyo donors conference was aimed at meeting what Pakistani officials said was a $4 billion shortfall in government spending on programs for poverty alleviation⁵, education and healthcare.

Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi told a private Pakistani news channel that the more than 25 nations at the conference were eager to meet Pakistan's needs.

"There was a unanimous commitment to support Pakistan, there was a very strong expression of solidarity⁶ with Pakistan and a statement of political support for Pakistan," he said.

He said donors pledged more than $5.2 billion - most of it to be spent during the next two years.

Pakistan's government has struggled to fund some spending programs in the last year. With the economy reeling from the global financial crisis and officials struggling to meet debt payments on foreign loans, last November the government accepted a two-year, $7.6 billion loan from the International Monetary⁷ Fund. The conditions of the loan have forced officials to make difficult cuts in some government programs, but initial indicators⁸ show the country's economy has improved in recent months.

Nevertheless, more than one-third of Pakistanis live in poverty - a situation that analysts⁹ say makes for a significant pool of people vulnerable to recruiting by militant organizations.

President Asif Ali Zardari told aid donors at the Tokyo conference that militants threatening both his country and Afghanistan also pose a great danger to the rest of the world.

"There is a want to help Pakistan," said Mr. Zardari. "But I still fear that the understanding of the danger of what Pakistan faces still does not register fully¹⁰ in the minds of the world."

Among the top donors, the United States and Japan pledged $1 billion each, followed by Saudi Arabia with $700 million and the European Union committing $640 million.

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 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

5 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

6 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

7 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。

8 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。