Passage 1
By 1991 the level of foreign indebtedness has drastically altered the role that many developing countries play in the world trading system. Imports had been severely cut back and there was evidence of a scramble to export additional products, such as timber(木材), at heavy cost to the environment. Debt had emerged as the biggest single obstacle to development, with about 50 developing countries carrying a severe debt burden, over half of them in Africa.
At the end of 1990, developing countries owed $1,280 billion to Western countries, international aid agencies, the IMF, and banks. Their yearly earnings from international trade were under $1,000 billion; the overall debt of developing countries was therefore more than the value of their exports. To service that debt—to pay interest and repay part of the capital—cost developing countries $143. 5 billion in 1990. They received $85 billion in aid and investment from abroad, thus paying richer countries nearly $60 billion more than they receiveD. New aids and investment was wiped out by past debt. In 1991, according to OCED figures, the severely indebted low-income countries paid a higher proportion of their export revenue on debt service than at any time during the 1980s—31. 3% of such revenues, compared with 23. 8% in the 1980s.
44.Debt problems are especially severe in Africa.
A、True
B、False
【正确答案】：A
【名师解析】:题目中提到，在1991年，外债问题显著改变了许多发展中国家在世界贸易体系中的角色。由于外债负担，这些国家不得不削减进口，并努力出口更多产品，如木材，这对环境造成了重大代价。外债已成为发展的最大障碍，大约有50个发展中国家承受着严重的债务负担，其中一半以上在非洲。到1990年底，发展中国家欠西方国家、国际援助机构、国际货币基金组织和银行12800亿美元。他们的国际贸易年收入不足1万亿美元，因此发展中国家的总债务超过了他们的出口价值。为了偿还债务，即支付利息和部分本金，1990年发展中国家支付了1435亿美元。他们从国外收到了850亿美元的援助和投资，因此比他们收到的多支付了近60亿美元给富裕国家。新的援助和投资被过去的债务抵消了。根据OCED的数据，1991年，严重负债的低收入国家支付的债务服务占其出口收入的比例比1980年代任何时候都要高——占这些收入的31.3%，而1980年代为23.8%。
选项A是正确的，因为题目中确实提到了非洲国家的债务问题特别严重。
