It's like being forced to move from one shabby ① apartment to another because you can't pay the rent. It's like trying to hide from your rich friends so they won't see how poor you are. Poverty may mean having no home, sleeping in the streets, getting wet when it rains, going for days with no food, or perhaps dying of sickness and hunger.

难点提示
①破旧不堪的

（）参考译文
什么是贫穷?贫穷就是不能拥有大多数人拥有的东西。贫穷就是不能像大多数人那样生活。贫穷就像听到你母亲在卧室里哭泣，因为她没钱给你吃午饭。贫穷就像总是乞求人们不要切断电源或者电话。

贫穷就像被迫从一个破旧不堪的公寓搬到另一个破旧不堪的公寓，因为你付不起房租。贫穷就像尽量躲开你有钱的朋友，为了不让他们看到你有多穷。贫穷可以指无家可归、露宿街头、被雨淋湿、终日挨饿，或者可能病死饿死。

Optimists ③ argue, on the contrary, that mankind has developed in all directions. Mankind has become better-cultured and more civilized than before. The benefits brought about by science and technology far outweigh their demerits, and more and more of the benefits have been applied to the welfare of mankind.

难点提示：
①悲观论者
②理智
③乐观主义者

()参考译文：
我们生活的这个世界是在进步还是在退步?对这个问题有两种截然不同的回答。悲观论者认为，虽然知识的发展有了长足的进步，但是人类在理智和道德上并没有提高。

相反，乐观主义者则认为，人类在任何方面都取得了进展。人类比以前变得更有教养、更讲文明。科技带来的好处远远多于坏处，越来越多的好处被运用到人类的福利上来。

去年，俄罗斯外贸银行行长和首席执政官与中国工商银行行长曾就两行之间的综合合作事宜签定了一项协议。汇丰银行④将其中国总部从香港搬到了上海。日本的一些主要银行在上海均有不错的业绩，表明上海有着金融投资的良好环境。

难点提示
① powerhouse
② contractual investment
③ fold
④ Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp.

（）参考译文
More and more foreign firms are establishing their offices in Shanghai, the powerhouse of China's economy. Last year, 1,360 enterprises established offices in Shanghai, with a contractual investment of USS 2.72 billion. In the first eight months of this year, Japan, the United States and other developed countries increased their investment in Shanghai. Japan registered the greatest increase with a contractual investment of USS 1.23 billion, a 1.88-fold increase.

Last year, President and CEO of the Bank for Foreign Trade of Russia and President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China signed an agreement on comprehensive cooperation between the two banks. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. moved its China headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Major Japanese banks have all enjoyed sound performances in Shanghai, indicating that the city has a fine environment for financial investment

纵观历史，中国曾经对人类的发展做出了杰出的贡献。如今，中国又代表了今天世界的活力。从1989年到1999年，中国的平均国内生产总值每年上升9．7％，成千上万的外国企业进入了中国。精通汉语已经成为那些想在大陆或者香港外国企业中工作的人的必备条件③。

难点提示
① working language
② craze
③ necessary qualification

（）参考译文
Chinese is a language used by people of all ethnic groups in China and is an official and working language within the United Nations. It is the most used language in the world, and its history dates back at least 6,000 years. The current Chinese learning craze is attributable to the long history and splendid achievements of the Chinese civilization, as well as to China's rapid economic growth over the past two decades.

Historically, China has made significant contributions to the development of the humankind. And today, China is representative of today's world dynamism. From 1980 to 1999, China's average GDP increased 9.7 percent annually, and hundreds of thousands of foreign businesses entered China. Proficiency in Chinese has become a necessary qualification for those who want to work in foreign enterprises, either in the mainland or in Hong Kong.

However, researchers have found no solid evidence to show that people older than the age limit perform any worse than younger people. People aged 40 to 50 or even older are still in the prime of their life③. With rich working experiences and a mature network of social relations, they may have some edge over young people. This recruitment policy in reality could raise the social cost of employment and lead to a waste of labour resources, and it is likely to encourage some firms to use age or other reasons to deprive candidates of④ their right to work.

难点提示：
①招聘广告
②有点……味道
③年富力强
④剥夺
()参考译文：
浏览一下报纸上的就业栏，你就会经常发现雇主们对申请人规定了年龄限制。“申请人应该在40岁以下”是招聘广告中一个普遍的条件。这样的条件似乎合情合理，因为每个公司都喜欢雇用年轻的、有前途的、没有太多家庭负担的人。但是企业对候选人的不同对待的确有点年龄歧视的味道。

然而，研究者们没有发现确凿的证据，说明超出年龄限制的人比年纪小的人表现上有任何的逊色。40到50岁的、或者年龄更大一些的人仍然年富力强。他们有着丰富的工作经历和一个成熟的社会关系网，所以可能比年轻人更胜一筹。这种招聘政策事实上可能会抬高就业的社会成本并导致劳动力资源的浪费，也可能鼓励某些企业用年龄或其他原因作为借口来剥夺候选人的工作权利。

At the 2000 meeting, APEC launched its e-trade website, which provides enterprises access to the latest information on developments within APEC, helping them identify business opportunities, all of which contributes towards achieving the organization's goal of making trade and investment free from constraints③

难点提示
①首要任务，当务之急
②促进，促成
③限制，约束

()参考译文：
亚太经合组织的宗旨是通过成员国之间的经济和技术合作促进区域间的共同繁荣和发展，在这方面它的首要问题存在于人才资源的开发、资本市场、基础设施、技术、环境保护和中小型企业这些领域内。迄今为止，亚太经合组织已经促成了四百多个合作项目的开展。

在2000年的会议上，亚太经合组织开办了自己的电子贸易网站，给企业提供了解亚太经合组织内部最新发展情况的途径，帮助企业认准商业机遇，所有这一切有助于实现使贸易和投资不受限制的组织目标。

着眼于国家的经济实力，中国应该致力于生态安定的以下几个方面：第一，应该平衡整个国家的水资源的分配。第二，应该通过开展更多的植树造林工程②来提高天然森林的保护和开发。第三，应该尽力扩大自然保护区③同时加强对现有自然保护区的保护。

难点提示
① ecological awareness
② afforestation projects
③ nature reserve (areas)

（）参考译文
Being responsible for one fifth of the world's population, China must invest more in comprehensive ecological improvement. Pollution control efforts must not be limited to cleaning a few rivers and lakes. All enterprises, small or large, must be required to substantially reduce the pollution they produce. To safeguard national ecological security, the most important task is to enhance public's ecological awareness.
In view of the country's economic strength, China should focus its efforts on the following aspects of ecological security. First, the state should balance the distribution of water resources across the country. Second, the state should enhance protection and development of natural forests by launching more afforestation projects. Third, the state should try to expand nature reserve areas while strengthening protection of existing nature reserves.

此外，上海还成功主办了七百多场重要的国际会议，使上海在这方面享誉世界。1999年，有一百五十多个会议在上海召开。因此，上海的会展部门得到了迅速发展，经济效益每年提高20％。

难点提示
①pollution-free
②convention/exhibition sector
③ feature

（）参考译文
As an international economic, financial and trade center, Shanghai has given much support to the pollution-free, highly efficient convention/exhibition sector since the early 1990s. Shanghai now regularly hosts around 40 world-renowned professional and international exhibitions a year, featuring automobiles, electrical appliances, medical apparatus and food.

In addition, Shanghai has successfully hosted more than 700 important international meetings, earning it high worldwide fame in this regard. In 1999, more than 150 meetings were held in Shanghai. As a result, Shanghai's convention/exhibition sector has developed rapidly, with its economic benefits growing 20 percent annually.