The eradication of poverty is a shared responsibility for the international community—indeed，a moral imperative.This task has become no less urgent in the last decade，in spite of rapid economic growth in many parts of the world.While the percentage of the world‘s population living on less than $1 per day has fallen from 28.3%to 24.0¾tween 1987 and 1998，population growth(815 million) has kept the absolute number of poor steady at some 1.2 billion.If we take a higher cutoff point of $2 per day，the poor have increased by 250 million over the same time period，encompassing 2.8 billion people，or almost half of the world’s population.Nor do World Bank projections lend undivided hope for the future.Under the“business as usual”scenario，the number of poor on the $1 per day scale will not change during the projection period up to 2008.However，should policy measures be taken to boost economic growth and make the growth process more inclusive to the poor，the World Bank reckons that 500 million people could be brought out of extreme poverty by 2008.Even under this more optimistic scenario，Latin America and the Caribbean，and especially Sub-Saharan Africa would see little，if any，progress.The same pattern emerges under the higher cutoff point of $2 per day.

In the light of these dire statistics and projections，it is easy to appreciate the growing public concern that not enough is being done to address poverty and poverty-related social illnesses，such as poor work conditions，a lack of respect for human rights，and natural resource degradation.Indeed，such concerns have been vented with increasing frustration，including at the Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Seattle last year，and more recently at the joint spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank.

One problem facing governments in poverty-stricken countries，civil society，and international organizations is that poverty is a multidimensional problem with no simple solution—not least because of its sheer scale.The causes and expressions of poverty are not the same everywhere，although some common terms can often be found，including a lack of access to education，basic health care，and unequal distribution of productive assets(1and，livestock，credits，etc.)。 Moreover，rural communities，which are often the hardest hit by poverty，face their own development problems related to poor infrastructure (roads，electricity，telecommunication，etc.)，which make it more costly to participate in the national and global economy.Another factor that perpetuates poverty is that the poor often lack political leverage to influence the policies and priorities of governments.

1.By saying that the eradication of poverty is a“moral imperative”，the author means____.

[A] it is a moral responsibility to do away with poverty

[B] it is closely related to the formulation of moral standard

[C] raising moral standard is the only solution to poverty

[D] it is morally impossible to find a solution to poverty

2.Between 1987 and 1998，the number of people living on two dollars a day____.

[A] actually increased

[B] fell slightly

[C] was cut down greatly

[D] kept rising steadily

3.What might happen in the year 2008 if proper policies for economic growth were made?

[A] 500 million more people would join the extremely poor.

[B] No drastic change would happen to the life of the poor in the present poor regions.

[C] The number of the poor on the $1 per day scale would be greatly cut.

[D] The number of the poor living on $2 dollars per day would be drastically decreased.

4.Why is it not easy to solve the poverty problem?

[A] Because the international community hasn‘t made enough effort at it.

[B] Because the governments in poor countries do not give enough attention to it.

[C] Because solving the problem is beyond the means of the poor countries.

[D] Because it is a problem that involves multiple factors.

5.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an obstacle to the solution of poverty?

[A] The enormous size of the poor population.

[B] Slower economic development in extremely poor regions.

[C] The government policy in poverty-stricken countries.

[D] The classification of the poor population.

参考答案：

1.[A] 意为：消除贫困是一种道义。imperative这里是一个名词，意为“必须履行的责任”。

2.[A]根据第一段，在世界范围内，每天靠1美元过活的人在1987年～1998年间从28.3%降到24%，但是从人口增长的角度来看(这10年人口增长了8.15亿)，贫困人口的绝对数量还保持在12亿人。另外，如果我们以日平均2美元作为贫困线标准的话，那么，在同一段时间内贫困者的数量就增加了2.5亿人，涉及28亿人，几乎是世界总人口的一半。

3.[C]第一段提到，如果现在的经济形势“保持不变”，到2008年，靠日平均1美元生活的贫困人口的状况不会得到改观。但是，如果制定政策促进经济的发展，使经济的增长更多地涵盖到贫困人口，世界银行预测，到2008年，5亿人口可能脱离贫困。

4.[D] 意为：因为这是一个涉及很多因素的问题。最后一段提到，贫困国家的政府、文明社会(指相对发达的社会)和国际组织面临的一个问题是：贫困是一个多方面的问题，没有简单的解决方案——由于涉及面广更是如此。造成贫困的原因和贫困的形式各地不尽相同，虽然我们可能从中找出一些基本特征，如教育落后、基本医疗条件缺乏、生产资料分配不均等。

[C]意为：贫穷国家无力解决这个问题。

5.[D] 有关[A]参阅第2、3题题解。有关[B]、[C]参阅最后一段。