Kim's selection continues World Bank's decades-long trend

 　　WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- With Monday's choice of U.S.-nominated Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank, the global lending institution continued its longstanding -- and controversial -- tradition of keeping an American at the helm.

　　Nominated last month by U.S. President Barack Obama to succeed current World Bank chief Robert Zoellick, Kim's selection continued a trend dating back to the Bank's inception¹ after the Second World War.

　　"I am honored to accept the executive directors' decision to select me as the next president of the World Bank Group," Kim said Monday.

　　"I am delighted to succeed Robert Zoellick, who has served with excellence² and distinction during the last five years, and I am grateful to the bank's member countries for the broad support I have received," he said.

　　The change in leadership came amid mounting pressure from some member states of the bank -- and its sister organization the International Monetary³ Fund -- to recognize the rise of new key economic players.

　　Critics have long contended that the bank's presidency⁴ reflects the global economy as it looked more than half a century ago, underscored by the fact that the United States has the largest voting share.

　　The bank on Monday said its executive directors followed a new selection process agreed upon last year, which yielded multiple nominees⁶ for the first time ever.

　　The process included an open nomination⁷ where any national of the bank's membership could be proposed by any executive director or governor; publication of the names of the candidates; interviews of the candidates by the executive directors; and final selection.

　　But some said the process remains⁸ heavily weighted toward a U.S. advantage.

　　"One could also say that the process is still heavily flawed because of the voting power of the Americans, which in combination with the Europeans... can decide who is the next president," said Yukon Huang, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

　　Meanwhile, Huang, who used to serve as World Bank director for China, noted⁹ that the non-American candidates were given serious consideration in what amounted to a more open process this time.

　　"So a truly open process ultimately has to begin by changing the voting process for determining who the (president's) successor is," he said.

　　Still, the selection of Kim was a break from the long line of bankers who have previously¹⁰ headed the bank.

　　Huang said the decision was intelligent, as Kim is a non-political candidate who can be weighed on his personal and professional merits, rather than being a political appointee.

　　Kim has worked on development issues and has a unique personal background, having been born in South Korea, Huang noted.

　　Kim's major rival in the selection process, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, spent essentially¹¹ her whole career with the World Bank aside from her service as Nigerian Finance Minister.

　　"One could argue that if you are looking for change, it is less likely to happen with someone who I would call 'part of the system,'" Huang said.

　　Barry Bosworth, a former presidential advisor¹² and expert on fiscal¹³ and monetary policy at the Brookings Institution, said the bank has made some progress this time around with the nominee⁵ of more than one candidate.

　　"That's at least progress compared to the past, when the Americans told you who it was going to be and that was the end of it," he said.

　　For all the attention surrounding the selection, however, it makes little difference who sits at the helm, aside from appearances, as the bank is ultimately run by staff, Bosworth said.

　　Kim, president of Dartmouth College and former director of the department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization, will serve as president for a five-year term beginning July 1.

　　He has held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He was selected in 2006 as one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential¹⁴ People in the World."

1 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

13 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

14 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。