世界贫困消除日：贫困人口在减少
1992年12月，联合国决定将此后每年的10月17日设为国际消除贫困日（International Day for the Eradication of Poverty），希望以此唤醒世界各国对全球贫富悬殊的认知，引起各个国家与社会各个阶层对贫困人口的注意和援助。
贫困是“无声的危机”，其不仅严重阻碍了贫穷国家的社会经济发展，也是当前地区冲突、恐怖主义蔓延和环境恶化等问题的重要根源之一。多年来，国际社会一直在为消除贫困作出积极的努力。
中国也面临着严峻的贫困问题。但改革开放以来，中国在致力于经济和社会全面发展的进程中，实施了以解决农村贫困人口温饱问题为主要目标的有计划、有组织的大规模扶贫开发，如今贫困人口已从当初的57%下降至不到1%，创造了国际扶贫的奇迹，是致力于解决贫困问题的各国、各地区当之无愧的榜样。
本篇课程首发于2018年10月24日，选自 The Economist Espresso APP
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A poor result: poverty
① In 1992 the United Nations designated October 17th the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
② As a day, this lacks the obvious appeal of International Jazz Day (April 30th), World Television Day (November 21st) or International Mountain Day (December 11th).
③ And you will probably be able to walk down the street today without tripping over somebody hunched over the latest World Bank poverty numbers.
④ But that is a pity, because the numbers are worth celebrating.
⑤ In 1993 just over a third of people worldwide were extremely poor.
⑥ At the last count, in 2015, one in ten were.
⑦ There are various reasons for the drop, including better agricultural technology and less awful government in Africa.
⑧ But the big reason is China.
⑨ Since the first international poverty day, the proportion of people in the world's largest country who are afflicted by extreme want has fallen from 57% to below 1%.
⑩ Three cheers for that.
▍生词好句
poverty /ˈpɒvəti, ˈpɑːvərti/: n. 贫穷
designate /ˈdezɪɡneɪt/: vt. 命名；指派；指定
· He was designated as prime minister.
他被任命为首相。
· This area is specially designated for children.
这个区域被划定为儿童活动区。
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: 国际消除贫困日
eradication /ɪˌrædɪˈkeɪʃən/: n. 消除
· eradicate /ɪˈrædɪkeɪt/: vt. 根除；清除
eradicate diseases/corruption: 清除疾病/根除腐败
appeal /əˈpiːl/: n. 呼吁；吸引力 v. 呼吁；吸引；上诉
· appeal to sb. for sth. / to do sth.: 呼吁某人做某事
· They're launching an appeal to raise money for poor people.
他们正在呼吁为贫困人口捐款。
· appeal to sb.: 吸引某人
This book will appeal to young people.
这本书会吸引年轻人。
· This movie has a wide appeal.
这部电影广受欢迎。
International Jazz Day: 国际爵士乐日
World Television Day: 世界电视日
International Mountain Day: 国际山岳日
(sb.) trip over (sth.): 被……绊倒
· Be careful, you might trip over this cable.
小心，你可能会被这根电缆绊倒。
hunch /hʌntʃ/: v. 弯腰弓背
· sb. be hunched over sth.: 某人弯腰弓背、全神贯注于某事
This student is hunched over the computer.
这个学生正弯腰弓背、全神贯注的盯着他的电脑。
extremely /ɪkˈstriːmli/: adv. 非常；极其
count /kaʊnt/: n. 计算；计数 v. 计算；指望
· count on sb./sth.: 指望某人/某事
You should not always count on your parents for advice.
你不能总是指望你的父母给你提出一些建议。
You should not count on the train being late.
你不能指望着火车晚点。
drop /drɒp/: n.（快速/急剧的）下降
· slump /slʌmp/: n. 暴跌
· fall /fɔːl/: n. 下降
· decline /dɪˈklaɪn/: n. 下降；衰退
· decrease /dɪˈkriːs/: n. 减少；下降
agricultural /ˌæɡrɪˈkʌltʃərəl/: adj. 农业的
afflict /əˈflɪkt/: vt. 使痛苦；折磨
· be afflicted with sth.: 为某事感到痛苦、煎熬
· be plagued with: 因……遭受痛苦
want /wɒːnt, wɑːnt/: n. 缺乏；需求（文中指“贫困”）
· for want of sth.: 因为缺乏……
For want of anything better, we decided to watch TV.
因为缺乏更好的选择，我们决定看电视。
· in want of sth.: 需要……
These houses are in want of repair.
这些房子是需要修理的。
▍责任编辑
李秋健、杨晶妍、陈鑫悦、章晓丹
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