New starting point for progress

For Wei Zhizhong, 48, the past Spring Festival was special. It was the first Chinese New Year he celebrated since shaking off poverty last June, Xinhua reported.
据新华社报道，对于48岁的魏志忠而言，过去的春节十分特别。这是自去年六月脱贫后他庆祝的首个农历新年。

Wei lives in Hebu, once a poverty-stricken village in Xihaigu, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. As a farmer, he often struggled to support his family.
魏志忠家住何堡村，这里曾是宁夏回族自治区西海固地区的贫困村。身为农民的他常常难以养家糊口。

Thanks to the national campaign against poverty, Wei was offered a job in 2017 as a forest ranger with an annual salary of 10,000 yuan. He also received a loan of 50,000 yuan to raise cattle.
在国家扶贫工程的帮助下，魏志忠在2017年成为了一名年收入有1万元的护林员。他还获得了一笔5万元的养牛贷款。

Wei was among the millions who benefited from the campaign against poverty in China.
魏志忠是获益于我国扶贫工程的数百万人之一。

On Feb 25, a gathering was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the nation’s poverty alleviation accomplishments and honor model poverty fighters. President Xi Jinping announced that absolute poverty has been ended, saying that China has secured a “complete victory” in its fight against poverty.
2月25日，全国脱贫攻坚总结表彰大会在北京人民大会堂举行，对全国脱贫攻坚先进个人、先进集体以及所取得的扶贫成就进行表彰。国家主席习近平庄严宣告，我国脱贫攻坚战取得了全面胜利，我国完成了消除绝对贫困的艰巨任务。

According to Xinhua, over the past eight years, the 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living below the current poverty line have been lifted out of poverty. All 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 villages have also been removed from the poverty list.
据新华社报道，在过去的8年间，9899万农村贫困人口全部脱贫, 832个贫困县全部摘帽, 12.8万个贫困村全部出列。

The country has met the poverty eradication target set out in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. And according to World Bank data, China has contributed to 70 percent of worldwide poverty reduction in the last 40 years.
我国提前10年实现《联合国2030年可持续发展议程》减贫目标。世界银行数据显示，在过去的40年间，中国对世界减贫贡献率达70%。

“China’s success should inspire the world to work together to end extreme poverty, drawing on China’s experience, including massive investments in education, public health and advanced infrastructure,” Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University, US, who served as a special adviser to former UN secretaries-general Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, told China Daily.
“中国的成功应该会为全球合作消除绝对贫困带来启发，如利用好大规模投资教育、公共卫生以及先进基础设施等方面的中国经验，”曾任前联合国秘书长安南与潘基文特别顾问的美国哥伦比亚大学教授杰弗里·萨克斯在接受《中国日报》采访时如此表示。

For China, eliminating absolute poverty is a new starting point. The country is moving on to push for higher-level development in its rural areas, and progress is already underway.
对于中国而言，消除绝对贫困是一个新起点。国家正转向推动乡村地区高质量发展，并已经取得了一系列成效。

On Feb 25, a new government body was unveiled for promoting rural vitalization. It was transformed from the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development.
2月25日，国家乡村振兴局挂牌，这个新政府机构的前身为国务院扶贫开发领导小组。

Efforts will also be made to prevent any large-scale relapse into poverty, including a five-year transition period during which major supportive policies and assistance for the poor will remain stable.
为防止规模性返贫，还需做好一系列工作，如设立五年过渡期，保持主要帮扶政策总体稳定等。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高三741期