Extensive new studies suggest that the world has made extraordinary progress in reduc
The news comes as the World Bank is about to open its annual meeting in Washington—an event that has been troubled in recent years by protests that the Bank and its sister Institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF 国际货币组织), have done too little for the world's poor. (80) The new economic research will not put an end to that dispute. Vast populations remain poor, and many still question the wisdom of World Bank policies. Nonetheless, the research findings are helpful to understand what policies should be followed by those institutions and hundreds of other development groups working very hard to hasten the pace of world economic progress. If dramatic gains are under way, the present policies—calling for open markets, free business activities, and tight monetary control—are working and correct.
But critics of IMF and World Bank policies maintain that such economic success stories as Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore are rooted in more than just "free" markets. These nations have managed to grow rapidly, and thereby reduce poverty, by limiting imports when their domestic industries were young, pushing exports to rich nations, and putting controls on purely international financial flows. They have been open to foreignowned factories but have often insisted that those investors share the knowledge and skill on modern technologies.
The word "plunged" in the first paragraph means ______.
A.decreased
B.climbed
C.increased
D.dropped into water