本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第24期，International版块。

Where does the aid go?

Jun 11th 2016

Why do donors lavish[1] money on some countries and not others? Being well-governed (represented by the dark circles) seems to make no difference; nor, strangely, does being poor (the smallest circles). What helps is to be small. Among 56 low- and middle-income countries[中低等收入国家], the top ten aid recipients per person include seven of the ten least populous[人口最少]. The ten receiving the least aid include the six biggest. In 2014 Samoa[萨摩亚(南太平洋中部一群岛)] received $458 per person; India made do with[2] $3.69. Smaller countries tend to have less bureaucracy[官僚作风;官僚主义;官僚体制], so aid can be put to use more quickly. But the main reason is probably that a little cash can have a more visible effect in a small country. Jesus told his followers to do good secretly, and be rewarded in heaven. Some donors, it seems, cannot wait.

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[1]lavish sth on sb/sth

to give someone a lot, or too much, of something such as money, presents or attention 为…倾注，为…挥霍，为…提供大量的…

She lavishes money on her grandchildren.

她为孙辈们大把花钱。

The committee lavished praise on the project.

委员会对该工程大加赞赏。

[2]make do (with something)：to use what is available although it is not enough or what you wanted 设法应付；勉强对付

Can you make do with $5 for now and I’ll give you the rest tomorrow

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以上言论不代表本人立场。

原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。

其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries

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