US first lady Michelle Obama is among the world's 100 most powerful women in a list topped for the fourth consecutive¹ year by German Chancellor² Angela Merkel, according to a Forbes ranking released on Wednesday.

Obama debuted³ 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 debuting⁴ on the Forbes list last year. She has gained increased prominence⁵ 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 accomplishments⁶.

The chief executives of Dupont and Sunoco are new to the top 10, replacing the Xerox⁷ 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 promotions⁸."

"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 Supreme⁹ 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 Commissioner¹⁰ for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay at No. 63 and Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir at No. 74.

The full list can be seen at www.forbes.com/women.

《福布斯》杂志于本周三发布“全球百位最具影响力女性”排行榜，德国总理安格拉•默克尔连续四年蝉联冠军，美国第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马则首次跻身该榜。

米歇尔名列第40位，脱口秀主持人奥普拉•温芙瑞和英国女王伊丽莎白位居其后，分列第41位和42位。

提供银行存款保险的美国联邦存款保险公司董事长谢拉•贝尔蝉联亚军，她于去年首次入选该榜。随着美国经济危机的持续，她的影响力也逐渐提升。

百事、英美资源集团、淡马锡、卡夫食品、康典公司和阿海珐公司的总裁今年仍占据排行榜前十位。

该榜的评选标准包括经济影响力、媒体曝光度以及职业成就等因素。

杜邦公司和美国太阳石油公司的首席执行官取代施乐公司董事长（跌至第15位），以及美国前国务卿康多莉扎•赖斯，首次跻身前十。赖斯自今年1月离任后便跌出榜单。

赖斯的继任者希拉里•克林顿从去年的第28位跌至第36位。去年希拉里因参选美国总统，使其成为榜上公众形象最佳的女性。

美国众议员发言人南茜•佩罗西仍名列第35位。

《福布斯》称：“无论是在商界、政府还是慈善领域，具有影响力的女性通过大胆和反传统的作为占据了各种领导职位。让女性们感到不能跳槽，苦等升迁的日子一去不复返了。”

这家商业杂志评论称：“雄心勃勃的女性们在公司和行业间游刃有余，每次转变都是大步跨越，并对自己进行重新定位以获得能增长经验的机会。”

55岁的默克尔于2005年当选德国首位女总理，普遍观点认为她将在9月27日的德国联邦大选中获得连任。

45岁的米歇尔•奥巴马以其平易近人的性格赢得众多“粉丝”，她倡导健康饮食，推广艺术，其时尚品味让其多次跻身最佳着装榜，这些都是人们钟爱她的理由。

其他首次上榜的美国女性包括，美国最高法院大法官索尼亚•索托马约尔（排名第54），美国卫生与公众服务部部长长凯瑟琳•西贝柳斯（排名第56），美国国土安全部部长珍尼特•纳波利塔诺（排名第51），以及美国证券交易委员会主席玛丽•夏皮罗（排名第55）。

其他新上榜的女性还包括，孟加拉国总理哈西娜•瓦吉德（排名第78），联合国人权事务高级专员纳瓦尼特姆•皮莱（排名第63），以及冰岛总理乔安娜•斯古达多蒂尔。

完整榜单在www.forbes.com/women网站上公布。

Vocabulary:

debut：a first public appearance（初次登场）

grind on:无情地、坚定地向前移动

down-to-earth：practical and realistic（务实的，实际的）