这次选的材料是非常满意的,与考研翻译真题的接近程度非常大。题目来源先不告诉大家,请大家先练习吧。
我后面会公布这个题目的来源和全文译文。
As we
enter the 21st century, the
gap between the worlds's rich and poor is widening, both
within and among countries. 1) The vast majority of the
world's population is receiving an ever-decreasing share of its
collective wealth, while the
share claimed by a few rich nations and individuals is steadily
growing. In 2001
Forbes magazine counted 538 billionaires with a total net worth of
1.7 trillion
dollars, while the
United Nations identified 2.8
billion people surviving on less than
two dollars a day. Overall, the richest 20 percent of the
world's people control 86 percent of global income, while the poorest 20
percent control
barely one percent.
The impacts of this widening rich-poor gap are
varied and worrisome. 2) They include environmental
destruction-richer nations and individuals can afford to
over-consume resources, while
poorer nations and individuals are forced to over-exploit the
environment just to survive. They include migration-people are forced to move
in search of
adequate resources. And they include
conflict-wealthier nations and
individuals fight to
keep what they have, while those
suffering a lack of
resources fight to obtain
them. 3) Because poorer groups typically lack the assets and
technology to conduct
large-scale
conventional war to
obtain their goals, they often
resort to
low-intensity
conflict and
terrorism.
The causes of this global disparity are diverse
and complex, but include
colonial era trading patterns that favor industrialized
nations; the
globalization of economies and economic structures, in
which poor nations struggle
to compete; a growing "digital divide" characterized by lack of
access to
information technology;
inadequate governance and
protection of law; and lack of
access to education,
healthcare, and social safety nets, especially for women and
girls.
4) Individuals and nations need not remain in poverty
indefinitely, however. With an awareness of the interdependence of our modern world
and a concerted political will, it is possible to
reverse this trend that threatens to divide the
world against itself. And reversing this trend would have
powerful and
positiveimpact on our
future.
5)
Bringing the nearly 5
billion people of the less industrialized
world into a sustainable
economy through "pro-poor" policies
would provide a
tremendous boost to the world economy, as well as
to those people. With increased economic opportunities comes
improved
access to nutrition, education, and health care. With
those comes higher income, greater autonomy-especially for
women-and the opportunity to
pursue environmentally sound
technologies and products.