Hi Kim! This means that technology would have evolved at a much slower pace if there was no poverty (I assume because poor nations provide lots of technological manufacturing?). We use the phrase "anywhere near" in negative sentences like this to mean "much less" (or in this case, much slower). For example: "I don't eat anywhere near as much as Bob - he eats like a horse!" I hope this helps! Matt

Kim, I think you can start with understanding this “Technology would not have evolved at ---------- the pace if there is no poverty in the world” Then adding "anywhere near" in between means "far from" or "far below" the current pace, in this context. Eddie