The Human① Development② Report

　　In the year 2000, 147 world leaders agreed to③ work together to reduce poverty④ by 2015 or earlier. From this agreement came the Human Development Report⑤.

　　One of the most important sections of this report is the Human Development Index⑥. This examines the achievements of 175 countries. The Index measures⑦ a country's achievements in three ways: life expectancy⑧ (how long people usually live), education⑨ and income⑩. The index has some surprises⑪. Norway is at the top of⑫ the list, while the US is at number 7. The other top five countries are: Iceland⑬ (2), Sweden(3), Australia(4), the Netherlands⑭ (5). The UK is in the thirteenth position⑮， while China is in the middle of the list. The bottom ten countries are all African countries, with Sierra Leone⑯ (in West Africa) at the bottom of⑰ the list⑱.

　　The report describes eight Development Goals⑲. The most important goals are to⑳：

　　·reduce poverty and hunger；

　　·make sure\s\up1(21(21) that all children have education up to\s\up1(22(22) the age of 11；

　　·fight AIDS and other diseases；

　　·improve the environment of poor people, e．g. make sure they have safe drinking water；

　　·encourage developed\s\up1(23(23) countries to give\s\up1(24(24) more help to other countries.

　　[读文清障]

　　①human/'hjuːmən/n.(与动物等对比的)人

　　②development/dI'veləpmənt/n.发展

　　develop v．发展；开发；变化；成长；冲洗

　　③agree to do sth.同意做某事　④poverty/'pɒvəti/n.贫穷

　　⑤本句为完全倒装句式。 ⑥index/'Indeks/n.指数

　　⑦measure/'meʒə/vt.测定；测量；评估

　　⑧expectancy/Ik'spektənsi/n.(根据概率得出的)预期数额

　　⑨education n．教育　⑩income/'Inkʌm/n.收入

　　⑪surprise n．意外，惊奇。此处属于抽象名词具体化用法。

　　⑫at the top of在......顶端 ⑬Iceland/'aIslənd/冰岛

　　⑭Netherlands/'neðələndz/荷兰 　⑮position/pə'zIʃn/n.位置

⑯Sierra Leone/siˌeərə li'əʊn/塞拉利昂