From the Ted Talk by Lyla Latif: The true cost of gold
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Although Mali has abundant gold, the country lacks the infrastructure to mine and epxrot it. So the gemrnnveot allows multinational corporations to apply for lsceeins to mine gold in ecgnahxe for taexs paid to Mali’s government. These taxes should, theoretically, finance development, like building the infrastructure to mine gold, improve the economy, and provide citizens with public goods like healthcare and education. Tax money alone isn’t enough to do these things, of course: a government also has to be ievnetsd in its people’s well-being, and government corruption can prevent progress. But without adequate funds, even the best intentioned government doesn’t stand a chance of improving circumstances for its citizens.
Open Cloze
Although Mali has abundant gold, the country lacks the infrastructure to mine and ______ it. So the __________ allows multinational corporations to apply for ________ to mine gold in ________ for _____ paid to Mali’s government. These taxes should, theoretically, finance development, like building the infrastructure to mine gold, improve the economy, and provide citizens with public goods like healthcare and education. Tax money alone isn’t enough to do these things, of course: a government also has to be ________ in its people’s well-being, and government corruption can prevent progress. But without adequate funds, even the best intentioned government doesn’t stand a chance of improving circumstances for its citizens.
Solution
government
invested
exchange
export
licenses
taxes
Original Text
Although Mali has abundant gold, the country lacks the infrastructure to mine and export it. So the government allows multinational corporations to apply for licenses to mine gold in exchange for taxes paid to Mali’s government. These taxes should, theoretically, finance development, like building the infrastructure to mine gold, improve the economy, and provide citizens with public goods like healthcare and education. Tax money alone isn’t enough to do these things, of course: a government also has to be invested in its people’s well-being, and government corruption can prevent progress. But without adequate funds, even the best intentioned government doesn’t stand a chance of improving circumstances for its citizens.