VOA标准英语2012--New World Bank Chief to Face Many Challenges

New World Bank Chief to Face Many Challenges
President Obama has nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to be the next World Bank president. Since 1944, an American citizen has always led the institution. But with the growing strength of emerging economies, more countries want to influence how the World Bank does business.
Dr. Kim is one of three candidates for the World Bank presidency¹. He’s a doctor and former World Health Organization official. The others are Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo.
However, Fredrik Erixon, director of the Brussels-based European Center for International Political Economy, said the American is the runaway² favorite for the post.
“I think it’s already close to a done deal that the White House nominee³ will take up the post simply because the United States and Europe are probably going to agree on him being the candidate. And that means that he’s going to win. But I think that he, like the other two candidates, should be asked to present what they’d like to do with the World Bank. And they should in particular be asked how they want to reform the World Bank to revitalize its role for economic development,” he said.
Political pressures?
Erixon also said this being a presidential election year it’s very unlikely anyone but an American would become World Bank president.
“(The) United States would have been keen to get an American to head up the World Bank even if it would not have been an election year in the United States. But this year of course they’re going to be even keener to make sure that he is going to win. Because otherwise President Obama will be accused by Republicans of being soft on foreign policy or soft on defending United States interests abroad or a president that only leads from behind,” he said.
The next World Bank leader may face more pressure than past bank presidents.
“We are now at a time when lots of developing countries in the world have continued to increase economic growth at a time when the United States, Europe and other older economic powers, so to speak, have declined. And of course this has again continued to reinforce the larger trend of developing countries being much more influential⁴ in global economic policies these days,” said Erixon.
And, he said, they want that influence to extend to the World Bank.
“Now what we’re seeing is lots of developing countries that are asking for a change in the selection process when the World Bank and the International Monetary⁵ Fund are going to elect new leaders,” he said.
In fact, there was evidence of that last year when Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as leader of the IMF amid a sex scandal. He was replaced by Christine Lagarde, the former French finance minister.
Emerging economies
The head of the European Center for International Political Economy likens the situation to the rise in influence of G20 nations in relation to the G8.
“Developing countries today represent such a big part of the world economy – that means every time that world leaders need to get together in order to flesh out new policies these countries also need to be at the table. If you look, for instance, at economic growth in 2012, 75 percent of world economic growth is going to come outside ”the old West”—to use that phrase,” he said.
The growth has occurred in both Asian and African countries.
Erixon said, “Having a good understanding about the particular predicaments of developing countries will be even more important in the future than it has been in the past. Because whoever is going to lead the institution, they’re going to be challenged by a landscape of developing countries, which differ from each other much more than they did in the past. What we’ve seen in the past 10 years is extremely rapid economic development in some countries, while we have seen very poor economic development in other countries.”
Hebelieves developing countries will probably call on the next World Bank president to streamline⁶ credit and loan procedures and to make the bank less bureaucratic⁷.
“The second thing, he said, “ is to find a good balance between the fast rising countries in East Asia and in some parts of Africa and countries that have not jumped on the band wagon⁸ of high economic growth yet. And these types of countries are going to need entirely⁹ different help from the World Bank. And finding that balance is going to be a difficult one, but it’s a critical one.”
The successor to outgoing president Robert Zoellick is expected to be announced in time for the World Bank’s spring meeting. It begins April 20th.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

7 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

8 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。