VOA标准英语 World Bank to Boost Lending in Response to Economic

（单词翻译）

The major high income and developing countries that set policy for the 185 member-nation World Bank agreed in Washington on Sunday that the bank should boost its lending to help poor countries adversely¹ affected² by the global economic slowdown.
　
From left: Robert Zoellick, Agustin Carstens, Dominique Strauss-Kahn at IMF headquarters in Washington, 26 Apr 2009

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the bank will boost its lending by $100 billion during the next three years, noting that the economic crisis has forced as many as 90,000,000 more people into extreme poverty.

"There is a widespread recognition that the world faces an unprecedented³ economic crisis," said Robert Zoellick. "Poor people will suffer the most. And we must continue to act in real time to prevent a human catastrophe⁴."

The 24 member World Bank steering⁵ committee, called the development committee, was headed by Mexico's Finance Minister, Agustin Carstens.

"The financial crisis is turning into a human and development calamity," said Agustin Carstens. "Many people have already been driven into absolute poverty."

The World Bank is providing Mexico with $200 million in loans to help it deal with the recent swine flu outbreak.

Earlier, the steering committee for the International Monetary⁶ Fund announced that it is implementing⁷ recommendations of the leaders of major advanced and developing economies, the G-20, giving the IMF more resources to help member nations in financial distress⁸.

The World Bank and the IMF are owned by their 185 member nations. The IMF is also being assigned a strengthened role to monitor financial markets - a move intended to forestall⁹ further financial crises. The bank and the fund are speeding up procedures that will give rising developing countries like China and India a greater say in the two Washington-based financial institutions.