Question

Millions of families around the world have been giv?en a helping hand out of poverty by micro-credits. These very small loans, usually less than US $ 200, have ena?bled the very poorest people to set up or expand busines?ses and become self-sufficient.

The micro-credit movement started with Professor Muhammad Yunus, who founded the Grarneen Bank in Bangladesh. Professor Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, used his own money to set up a bank to benefit the poorest people in Bangladesh―families living on less than US $ 1 a day. There are now hundreds of organizations around the world following his blueprint to help people escape from poverty.

So how does the system work? Local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) make contact with families and offer loans, usually to women, to enable them to start or expand a business. These are very poor people who would not normally be able to get credit, but as no col?lateral (抵押品)is required they can get micro-credits. They pay back the loan on a weekly basis, over six months to a year.

A crucial aspect to the success of the micro-credit system is that receivers get local support. The MFIs educate local communities about ways to improve their

lives, and offer practical support as well as collecting weekly loans payments. They encourage people to help each other, so that the whole community can pull itself out of poverty. MFIs may also help with literacy and health problems.

Micro-credits are mainly given to women. Experi?ence has shown that women are more motivated to improve their children's lives and will spend the money they make on better nutrition and schooling for their children. This may be the first chance they've had to contribute financially to the family, and their status in the home and the local community is raised.

The micro-credit system is not charity. The payments are fixed-term loans and interest is charged. The costs of making such small loans, collecting them and giving personal support are high. This is reflected in the interest rates, which range from 15 to 35 per cent. Despite this, the repayment rate is very high, between 95 and 98 per cent, showing that micro-credit clients re?ally value this opportunity to leave poverty behind.

5.    Micro-credits are offered to the poorest people around the world in order to A.    make profits out of the poor

B.    support poor people out of poverty

C.    establish more micro-credit institutions

D.    promote the development of world economy

6.    Why are bank loans mainly made to women?

A.    Because they make more financial contribution to the family.

B.    Because they hold higher status in the home and community.

C.    Because they are more reliable and likely to repay the loan.

D.    Because they are more likely to spend the profits on their children.

7.    The high repayment rate of the loan suggests that

A.    people do hope to take advantage of the loan to get out of poverty

B.    it is easy to make money with the aid of micro?credits

C.    micro-credits are very popular with poor families

D.    most micro-credit clients keep their promises well

8.    The passage is most probably taken from the      

section of a magazine.

A. Health       B. Business

C. Finance      D. Education

Answer 1

【文章大意】本文是一篇說明文。不需要抵押，但需要支付較高利息的小額貸款可以幫助最為貧窮的人們創(chuàng)建或擴大他們的生意，提髙生活質(zhì)量。現(xiàn)在，世界各地成千上萬的貧困家庭正在通過這種小額借貸的方式走出貧困。

B細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段第二句和第二段最后一句可知， 這些通常不到200美元的小額貸款是用來幫助那些最貧窮的家庭擺脫貧困的，所以選項B為正確答案。

D推理判斷題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段內(nèi)容可知，以往的經(jīng)驗表明：家庭主婦具有更多的積極性去提高孩子們的生活水平， 并且愿意把掙來的錢用于改善他們的營養(yǎng)和學習教育情況。所以選項D為正確答案。

A細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段最后二句內(nèi)容可知，雖然借款家庭需要支付15%〜35%的利息，伹是還款率還是很高(95%~98%)„由此可見，借貸的貧窮家庭確實想通過這種方式來擺脫貧困。

C推理判斷題。通讀全文可知，世界各地的小型金觸機構(gòu),貸款給最為貧窮的家庭，以幫助他們擺脫貧困，所以，該文章最可能刊登在雜志的金融版面上。