New leader for International Monetary Fund

France has held this position for 26 of the past 33 years. So it's "as you were" with one notable顯著, pretty obvious difference.

Christine Lagarde is a woman. She was the first woman to become the finance minister of a G7 country and will now resign her post within the French government to become the first woman to head the IMF.

But such is the respect with which this former lawyer is held internationally it has come as little surprise. She's been the point on many European financial issues in recent years, she is a fluent English speaker and once she had picked up the endorsements代言 of India and China, her confirmation as the new IMF chief was a formality禮節,拘泥形式.

There's an unwritten不成文 rule that Europe takes the IMF, the United States heads its sister organisation the World Bank. The developing countries want a bigger say but this is a critical臨界,危及的 time for Europe with Greece on the brink邊緣. The EU and the IMF is demanding unprecedented史無前例 cuts to guarantee the continued funding of last year's bailout救助 package and Europe wants one of its own at the helm掌舵. Ms Lagarde is straight in at the deep end. They voted for her knowing she is more than capable - but what a challenge.

Christian Fraser, BBC News, Paris

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2011/06/110629_witn_imf_page.shtml