IN THE NEWS - Wolfowitz and the World Bank

IN THE NEWS - Wolfowitz and the World Bank
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, March 19, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

President Bush this week nominated Paul Wolfowitz to become president of the World Bank. The current head of the bank, James Wolfensohn, has held that position for ten years. His second term ends May thirty-first.

Mister Wolfensohn announced in January that he would not seek a third term as leader of the development bank. It provides loans, policy advice and other assistance to help countries reduce poverty.

Paul Wolfowitz has served in both the State Department and the Defense¹ Department. For the last four years he has been deputy defense secretary under Donald Rumsfeld. Mister Wolfowitz was a major planner of the invasion of Iraq two years ago. He is often called the "architect" of the war.

Some aid groups and others criticized the choice of an official so closely linked to the Iraq war to lead the World Bank. European reaction was mixed. Japan welcomed the nomination².

Mister Wolfowitz recently traveled to South Asia to see the damage from the earthquake and tsunami³ waves in December. He helped plan American military assistance to the area.

His nomination must be approved by the twenty-four directors of the World Bank. They represent one hundred eighty-four member countries. Traditionally, an American leads the World Bank while a European heads the International Monetary⁴ Fund.

Paul Wolfowitz has taught at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities. During the late nineteen eighties, he served as ambassador to Indonesia. He won praise as a diplomat⁵.

Later, Mister Wolfowitz served as undersecretary of defense for policy under the first President Bush. As such, he developed policy during the Persian Gulf⁶ War after Iraq invaded Kuwait in nineteen ninety.

In two thousand one he was a leading supporter of military strikes against al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. That was after the September eleventh terrorist attacks on the United States.

Each year, the World Bank provides thousands of millions of dollars to developing countries. Education and health programs often receive money.

But critics of the World Bank say programs for the poor are often cut as a result of financial reforms required to get loans. They say rich countries get richer, while poor countries struggle to repay.

Mister Bush described Paul Wolfowitz as a "proven leader and experienced diplomat who will guide the World Bank effectively and honorably."

Also this week, the White House sent to the Senate the nomination of presidential adviser⁷ John Bolton for his new job. Mister Bush has chosen the State Department official as ambassador to the United Nations. Mister Bolton has been a critic of the U.N. He is to replace John Negroponte, who is nominated as the first Director of National Intelligence.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 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。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。