The Best English Reading Paragraphs. Part - 19 - A-Z English Learning Website

Engaging in English reading paragraphs is essential for language development and comprehension skills.
Improving English comprehension paragraphs helps individuals grasp complex ideas and enhances their overall understanding of the language.
Diverse reading comprehension passages offer varied content, enabling readers to explore different topics and expand their knowledge.
Practice with a specific paragraph for reading practice contributes to honing one’s ability to extract information efficiently.
Regular exposure to reading comprehension paragraphs is vital for academic and professional success, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills.
The importance of reading paragraph lies in its role as a fundamental building block for effective communication and information processing.
Consistent reading paragraph practice is recommended for those aiming to enhance their reading speed and comprehension accuracy.
For individuals preparing for language proficiency exams like IELTS, mastering IELTS reading paragraphs is crucial for success.
Reading a paragraph in English daily is a simple yet effective habit to develop and maintain language proficiency.
Emphasizing the importance of reading paragraph in educational settings contributes to a well-rounded academic experience.
The cumulative effect of dedicated practice with english reading paragraphs results in improved language skills and a broader intellectual horizon.

Foreign aid is an important part of international efforts to reduce poverty. The United States Agency for International Development has an estimate of the amount given since the early nineteen fifties. It says seventy countries have received more than one million million dollars in payments and loans from Western nations.

But does foreign aid work? Reporter Aida Akl recently discussed the issue with several experts for VOA’s Focus program.

Michael Radew is a researcher at the World Policy Institute in New York. He says foreign aid can lead to, in his words, “all the wrong economic policies that made those countries poor in the first place.” Mr. Radew argues that it does not help the majority of poor people in a country. Instead, he says, it strengthens the officials in power who are generally unelected.

Other experts say foreign aid has produced mixed results, depending on where and how the money is spent. They note successful examples like Taiwan and South Korea. The two have since become wealthy enough to give foreign aid themselves.

Steve Radelet is a researcher at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. He says foreign aid is least effective in countries like Somalia and Haiti where governments are especially weak. And he says it is “highly risky” also in politically insecure countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. But Mr. Radelet says the world must continue to give money, even though some of it will disappear or be stolen.

United Nations experts agree that foreign aid faces difficulties in parts of the world without much democracy. In southern Africa, poverty rates increased from forty-one percent in nineteen eighty-one to forty-six percent in two thousand one.

The director of the Poverty Reduction Program at the World Bank notes the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. But Luca Barbone says foreign aid has done a lot to reduce poverty worldwide.

Yet because it is often stolen or misused, there are calls for new methods of giving. George Ayitey is a Ghanaian-born economics professor at American University in Washington. He says Western countries should give less aid, but remove trade barriers so they import more goods from developing nations. Professor Ayitey also suggests that donor nations direct how they want their money spent.

VOCABULARY

Word	Synonyms	Antonyms	Meaning	Example
Foreign aid	International assistance, External help	Self-sufficiency, Independence	Assistance provided by one country to another in terms of money, resources, or support	The United States Agency for International Development is actively involved in providing foreign aid to various countries.
Reporter	Journalist, Correspondent	Bystander, Spectator	A person who investigates and reports news or conducts interviews	Reporter Aida Akl discussed the effectiveness of foreign aid with several experts for VOA’s Focus program.
Researcher	Analyst, Investigator	Ignoramus, Novice	A person who conducts research, often to gain knowledge or discover new information	Michael Radew, a researcher at the World Policy Institute, expressed concerns about the impact of foreign aid.
Economic policies	Fiscal measures, Financial strategies	Economic mismanagement	Actions and decisions that influence a country’s economy	Michael Radew argues that foreign aid can lead to economic policies that may not benefit the majority of poor people.
Unelected	Not chosen, Not elected	Elected, Chosen	Not selected through a voting process	Michael Radew suggests that foreign aid often strengthens unelected officials in power.
Mixed results	Varied outcomes, Diverse consequences	Consistent outcomes	Outcomes that are both positive and negative	Experts note that foreign aid has produced mixed results, with successful examples in some countries.
Wealthy	Affluent, Prosperous	Impoverished, Needy	Having a great deal of money, resources, or assets	Taiwan and South Korea have become wealthy enough to provide foreign aid to other nations.
Effective	Successful, Productive	Ineffective, Inefficient	Producing the desired or intended result	Steve Radelet suggests that foreign aid is least effective in countries with weak governments.
Politically insecure	Unstable politically, Unsettled	Politically stable, Secure	Lacking stability or security in political matters	Steve Radelet highlights that foreign aid is highly risky in politically insecure countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Risky	Hazardous, Perilous	Safe, Secure	Involving the possibility of harm or danger	Steve Radelet states that foreign aid is highly risky in politically insecure countries.
Stolen	Pilfered, Embezzled	Returned, Restored	Taken unlawfully or without permission	Luca Barbone acknowledges that foreign aid is often stolen or misused in some parts of the world.
Misused	Abused, Exploited	Used properly, Utilized	Used inappropriately or for the wrong purpose	Despite its positive impact, foreign aid is often misused or misappropriated, leading to calls for new methods of giving.
Democracy	Democratic government, Self-rule	Autocracy, Authoritarianism	A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state	United Nations experts agree that foreign aid faces difficulties in parts of the world without much democracy.
Poverty rates	Incidence of poverty, Poverty levels	Prosperity rates	The percentage of people living in poverty in a given population or region	In southern Africa, poverty rates increased from forty-one percent in nineteen eighty-one to forty-six percent in two thousand one.
Global Development	Worldwide improvement, Global progress	Global deterioration	Efforts aimed at improving conditions on a global scale	Steve Radelet is a researcher at the Center for Global Development, focused on global development issues.
Trade barriers	Commercial restrictions, Import controls	Free trade, Open markets	Government-imposed restrictions that limit international trade	George Ayitey suggests that Western countries should remove trade barriers to allow more goods from developing nations.
Donor nations	Contributing countries, Aid providers	Recipient nations	Countries or organizations that provide financial or other types of assistance to another country or cause	Donor nations should consider directing how they want their aid money spent to ensure its effectiveness.

The Best English Reading Paragraphs. Part – 19

VOCABULARY

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