Jim Wolfensohn, the master networker who led the World Bank into this century, lined the window of his office with silver-framed photographs of the global elite. Paul Wolfowitz, the neoconservative defence expert who succeeded him, replaced them with vicious-looking ornamental daggers from Asia. Robert Zoellick, who on Wednesday announced he will retire after a five-year stint as president, is less flashy and less bellicose; his window ledge is covered with stacks of neat manila folders and phalanxes of books. But Mr Zoellick has presided over an unheralded triumph. Quietly, the World Bank has done a power of good.
帶領世界銀行(World Bank)邁入本世紀的人際交往大師吉姆?沃爾芬森(Jim Wolfensohn)，在他辦公室的窗臺上擺滿了用銀質相框裝飾的全球精英的照片。他的繼任者、新保守主義國防專家保羅?沃爾福威茨(Paul Wolfowitz)，用幾把來自亞洲的、看上去頗為凌厲的裝飾短劍取代了它們。上周三宣布將在五年任期屆滿之后退休的羅伯特?佐利克(Robert Zoellick)，則既沒有那么浮華，也沒有那么好斗；在他的窗臺上，擺放著一摞摞整齊的馬尼拉紙文件夾和書。但佐利克指揮了一場不為人知的勝利。世界銀行默默間做成了許多十分有益的事。