Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said that by 2035, there will be almost no poor countries. Today, the World Bank says there are 35 poor countries. Most people who live in them are on low or no incomes. Gates said that nearly all these countries will be richer in the next 20 years. All nations in South America, Asia, and Central America (but possibly not Haiti), and most in Africa will become "middle-income nations". He added that when he was born, most countries in the world were poor. He thinks that in the next two decades, most of these countries will be richer.

Mr. Gates said some countries will still be poor. These are North Korea, Haiti and some central African nations. The good news is that: "Nearly 90% will have a higher income than India does today." He believes countries will copy their richer neighbours. Countries will have new medicines, better seeds and more people will have the Internet. Gates said China, India, Brazil and Botswana（博茨瓦纳）were poor thirty years ago but are now growing quickly. He said there was still a lot of work to do. More than one billion people are very, very poor, so "it's not time to celebrate".

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1.How many poor countries are there according to the World Bank?

A 2035

B 20

C 35

D 53

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第1段第2句Today, the World Bank says there are 35 poor countries.可知，故选C。

2.What does the underlined word “decade” mean Chinese?

A 十年

B 年代

C 年龄

D 年纪

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据第1段第4句...will be richer in the next 20 years.及第1段最后一句He thinks that in the next two decades,…可知“两个十年即为20年”，故选A。

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A All nations in Central America will become "middle-income nations.

B There will be no poor countries by 2035.

C Haiti will no longer be poor by 2035.

D Poor countries can learn from richer countries to become rich.

解析：选D。D 综合理解题。根据第2段第4句He believes countries will copy their richer neighbours.可知，故选D。

4.How many people are still poor now?

A Less than 1 million.

B 10 million.

C Over 1 billion.

D 10 billion.

解析：选C。C 综合理解题。根据第2段最后一句More than one billion people are very, very poor...可知，故选C。

5.Who’s Bill Gates?

A The president of the USA.

B A famous singer.

C The founder of Microsoft.

D A movie star.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第1段第一句Microsoft founder Bill Gates...可知，故选C。