① In 2020,the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme(WFP).
② Why a Nobel Prize for the WFP, and why now? In 2019, the WFP assisted nearly 100 million people in 88 countries. It is the safety net for those who fall off the edge of existence. It is a response to solving the problem of food instability. Its Nobel Prize reminds us all of the moral hazard in imagining that the poor and vulnerable are somebody else’s problem.
③ The WFP has been around since 1961 and has been the global coordinator of nationally based efforts to avoid disasters with food aid. Despite decades of effort to eliminate hunger, the latest estimate is that about 11% of people on the planet (about 820 million people) are suffering daily undernourishment. Progress at reducing undernourishment has stopped despite gains through the 1990s and 2000s.
④ Developed countries sometimes offer food and aid to developing ones, but at a price. One American philosopher stated that addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable is about more than money — it is mostly about creating conditions under which prosperity and opportunity can thrive. When aid is offered with heavy conditions attached, like loan repayment or food for resources, it often widens the gap between rich and poor and sustains the old world order. This is why the work of the WFP is so vital.
⑤ The scientific community, however, can provide a helping hand to the WFP.By sharing knowledge of agriculture and climate with peers in countries most vulnerable to poverty and hunger, scientists can help reduce these problems. By making its voice heard, science can lead by example. The ability to overcome food shortages that must be built into some of the poorest countries will not come from loans from wealthy countries, which may have food problems of their own, or world economic institutions. This ability will be built upon self-confident people using open and shared scientific knowledge to pull themselves out of their misery.
1. 1.What does the WFP’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize make us realize?
A More and more people in the world are suffering from starvation.
B All of us can be affected by food instability one way or another.
C It is hazardous to leave millions of people poor and vulnerable.
D It is morally wrong to think helping the poor is not our business.
2. 2.What do we learn about the WFP’s effort to eliminate hunger?
A It has ensured a sufficient food supply to millions.
B It is still far from its goal despite the progress made.
C It has done a good job in combating natural disasters.
D It is preventing starvation occurring on a global scale.
3. 3.What will happen when food aid is offered at a price?
A The rich will become richer and the poor poorer.
B More people will be willing to join in the effort.
C More food will be made available to the needy.
D The relief effort will be rendered less sustainable.
4. 4.How can scientists help cope with poverty and hunger?
A By collaborating closely with world economic institutions.
B By sharing expertise with peers in poverty-stricken nations.
C By setting up more food research programs in developing countries.
D By building self-respect in people suffering from undernutrition.
5. 5.What message does the author try to convey at the end of the passage?
A Wealthy nations should solve their own food problems first.
B Rich countries should be more generous in providing food aid.
C Poor nations should enhance their own ability to solve their food shortages.
D World economic institutions should play a bigger role in fighting hunger.
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