福布斯百強女性榜 默克爾蟬聯榜首米歇爾上榜
US first lady Michelle Obama is among the world's 100 most powerful women in a list topped for the fourth consecutive year by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to a Forbes ranking released on Wednesday.
Obama debuted at No. 40, coming in ahead of talk show host Oprah Winfrey at 41 and Britain's Queen Elizabeth at 42.
Sheila Bair, chair of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures bank deposits, retained the No. 2 spot after debuting on the Forbes list last year. She has gained increased prominence as the US recession grinds on.
The chief executives of PepsiCo, Anglo American, Temasek, Kraft Foods, WellPoint, and Areva all remain in the Forbes top 10.
The list is based on factors such as economic impact, media reach and career accomplishments.
The chief executives of Dupont and Sunoco are new to the top 10, replacing the Xerox Corp. chair, who dropped to No. 15, and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who fell off the list after leaving office in January.
Rice's successor, Hillary Clinton, came in at No. 36, dropping from No. 28 last year when her presidential bid made her the woman with the highest public profile on the list.
Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, retained No. 35.
"Women in power are rising to leadership positions in business, government and philanthropy by making daring and unconventional moves," Forbes said. "Gone are the days of women feeling they must stick with one employer and patiently wait for promotions."
"Highly ambitious women ... are moving across companies and industries, making big leaps with each change, and repositioning themselves for opportunities that allow them to gain a breadth of experience," the business magazine said.
Merkel, 55, became the first female chancellor of Germany in 2005 and is widely expected to retain power in a federal election on September 27.
Obama, 45, has won fans for her down-to-earth personality, her support of causes including healthy eating and the arts, and her fashion sense that has seen her grace several best-dressed lists.
Other U.S. newcomers include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at No. 54, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at No. 56, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano at No. 51 and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro at No. 55.
Also new to the list are Prime Minister of Bangladesh Hasina Wajed at No. 78, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay at No. 63 and Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir at No. 74.
《福布斯》雜誌於本週三發佈“全球百位最具影響力女性”排行榜，德國總理安格拉•默克爾連續四年蟬聯冠軍，美國第一夫人米歇爾•奧巴馬則首次躋身該榜。
米歇爾名列第40位，脫口秀主持人奧普拉•溫芙瑞和英國女王伊麗莎白位居其後，分列第41位和42位。
提供銀行存款保險的美國聯邦存款保險公司董事長謝拉•貝爾蟬聯亞軍，她於去年首次入選該榜。隨着美國經濟危機的持續，她的影響力也逐漸提升。
百事、英美資源集團、淡馬錫、卡夫食品、康典公司和阿海琺公司的總裁今年仍佔據排行榜前十位。
該榜的評選標準包括經濟影響力、媒體曝光度以及職業成就等因素。
杜邦公司和美國太陽石油公司的首席執行官取代施樂公司董事長（跌至第15位），以及美國前國務卿康多莉扎•賴斯，首次躋身前十。賴斯自今年1月離任後便跌出榜單。
賴斯的繼任者希拉里•克林頓從去年的第28位跌至第36位。去年希拉里因參選美國總統，使其成爲榜上公衆形象最佳的女性。
美國衆議員發言人南茜•佩羅西仍名列第35位。
《福布斯》稱：“無論是在商界、政府還是慈善領域，具有影響力的女性通過大膽和反傳統的作爲佔據了各種領導職位。讓女性們感到不能跳槽，苦等升遷的日子一去不復返了。”
這家商業雜誌評論稱：“雄心勃勃的女性們在公司和行業間遊刃有餘，每次轉變都是大步跨越，並對自己進行重新定位以獲得能增長經驗的機會。”
55歲的默克爾於2005年當選德國首位女總理，普遍觀點認爲她將在9月27日的德國聯邦大選中獲得連任。
45歲的米歇爾•奧巴馬以其平易近人的性格贏得衆多“粉絲”，她倡導健康飲食，推廣藝術，其時尚品味讓其多次躋身最佳着裝榜，這些都是人們鍾愛她的理由。
其他首次上榜的美國女性包括，美國最高法院大法官索尼亞•索托馬約爾（排名第54），美國衛生與公衆服務部部長長凱瑟琳•西貝柳斯（排名第56），美國國土安全部部長珍尼特•納波利塔諾（排名第51），以及美國證券交易委員會主席瑪麗•夏皮羅（排名第55）。
其他新上榜的女性還包括，孟加拉國總理哈西娜•瓦吉德（排名第78），聯合國人權事務高級專員納瓦尼特姆•皮萊（排名第63），以及冰島總理喬安娜•斯古達多蒂爾。
Vocabulary:
debut：a first public appearance（初次登場）
grind on:無情地、堅定地向前移動
down-to-earth：practical and realistic（務實的，實際的）
