填空题
The World Bank is one of the largest suppliers of development assistance. Its main goal is to improve living conditions for poor people throughout the world. Last year, it provided more than seventeen-thousand-million dollars in loans to developing countries to help end poverty. The money went to efforts like debt reduction for some of the poorest countries in the world. That program was designed to increase debt assistance and provide it faster than in the past. As a result, twenty-three countries received debt assistance last year as compared to seven countries the year before.
The World Bank does more than just (1) loans, however. It believes that continued poverty reduction comes (2) investing in the people of a country—especially through education and health (3) . World Bank President James Wolfensohn announced one such program (4) this year at the organization's yearly spring (5) in Washington. The "Education for All" plan is aimed at getting all children (6) the ages of five and eleven into early education. The World Bank plans to (7) the program soon in ten countries. Bank leaders will choose (8) that have strong education reform plans but no money to establish them.
The World Bank uses engineers, economists, public policy (9) and social scientists to create these kinds of programs. These (10) also provide developing countries with the necessary (11) help to carry out the programs. Ten thousand people work for the (12) Bank. Eight thousand are based in Washington. The rest are spread (13) the world. The World Bank is owned by more than one-hundred-eighty (14) countries. Every country holds different shares which represent the positions and (15) of the members.
The World Bank began as a much smaller group. It was established at an international conference in the United States in 1944. It has helped to make great progress in developing nations especially in the past twenty or so years. Bank officials say life expectancy in developing nations has increased and baby and child deaths have decreased. They also say more adults now can read than in the past.