环球英语 — 237：Seven New Wonders

Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.

Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special

English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no

matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1
Imagine a large, beautiful round building. This building stands at the centre

of an ancient city. Think of a great wall that is thousands of miles long. It

stretches over mountains and deserts. Imagine a tall white statue. This

statue rises high in the air above the sea. What names come to you when you

think of these things?

Voice 2
If you said the Coliseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China, and the statue of

Christ³ the Redeemer in Brazil then you are right! Each one of these

structures⁵ is famous. Each one is loved by many people around the world. But

they have something else in common too. In today’s Spotlight we will tell

what that common factor⁶ is.

Voice 1
People have thought about special things for thousands of years. The people

of ancient Greece were very interested in things that had been built. Groups

of writers there made lists of the most wonderful structures that they knew.

They wrote about buildings that were very large. They took note of others

that were very beautiful. Every structure⁴ that they chose was special in some

way. In an earlier Spotlight programme we talked about some of these ancient

places. We talked about how a group of them have become known⁷ as the Seven

Wonders of the Ancient World. Only one of these original seven wonders still

exists today – the great pyramid⁸ at Giza in Egypt.

Voice 2
In 2001, a Swiss⁹ filmmaker named Bernard Weber was thinking about these

ancient wonders. He was also thinking about the modern world and the many

places in it. He said:

Voice 3
“The famous list of world wonders is more than two thousand [2000] years

old, it’s time to make a new one!”

Voice 1
Bernard Weber wanted his list to be different from the ancient one. He

decided¹⁰ that his list should not be made by only a few people. He wanted to

ask the people of the world for their opinions. He wanted them to choose the

seven structures that would be on the list.

Voice 2
Mr. Weber found a group of people to help him organise¹¹ his project. These

organisers began to ask people all over the world: which structures should be

on the list? After several years, they had received a large number of

suggestions – too many, in fact. It was difficult to remember them all! To

solve this problem, Mr. Weber employed a group of experts to reduce the

number of possible Wonders to just twenty–one [21]. Many of these experts

were famous architects¹² – they had all designed modern buildings. One member

of this group was a former head of the United¹³ Nations cultural organisation¹⁴

– UNESCO.

Voice 1
At the start of 2006, voting began. There were twenty–one candidates¹⁵. But

only seven could be chosen. People were able to vote on the Internet or by

telephone. And many people did so. The organisers say they received thousands

of votes. Their records show that some people in every country of the world

had made a choice. After more than eighteen [18] months voting finally

stopped. On the seventh of July 2007, the ‘New’ Seven Wonders of the World

were declared!

Voice 2
Do you know which structures were chosen? You can probably guess three of

them! At the start of this programme we talked about the Coliseum in Rome,

the Great Wall of China and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil. If

you think that they are three of the new world wonders then you are right.

Each one was a winner in the competition.

Voice 1
Three of the other winners are ancient cities. They are Petra in Jordan,

Machu Picchu in Peru¹⁶, and Chich鮠Itzᬠin Mexico. These beautiful places all

provide a window into the past. The ancient buildings in them are amazing to

see. They are symbols of the great skill of the people who made them.

Voice 2
The final winner of the competition is a very famous place – the Taj Mahal,

in Agra. It was built by a great king of India after his wife had died –

almost four hundred years ago. He wanted to have a place where he could

remember her. The result was a beautiful symbol of his love. The Taj Mahal

has been a place enjoyed by visitors for hundreds of years.

Voice 1
Bernard Webber was very happy with the work he and his team had done. He

hoped that by encouraging people to think about the beautiful places of the

world he could achieve something else too. He hoped that the people around

the world could be brought together. He hoped that they would understand the

value of people with different cultures.

Voice 2
Not everyone was happy with the competition though. Some groups criticised

the way the event was organised. UNESCO would not give its support. They felt

the project was a commercial¹⁷ one. They did not think that the organisers

should make money from it.

Voice 1
Other people were worried about the effects the competition could have. A

group of archaeologists¹⁸ has expressed concern about what will happen to the

winning¹⁹ structures. They feel that the competition may encourage too many

people to visit these places. These new visitors may cause great damage.

Voice 2
But in the end, Bernard Webber felt that the competition had been a success.

More than one hundred million [100,000,000] people had voted. And many had

voted for structures far away from the countries where they lived. Tia

Viering is one of the organisers. She talked about how the competition was

the first ever global²⁰ vote. She said:

Voice 4
“It is so exciting. There are not many things that could bring the world

together like global culture, ... this is something that every single person

in the world can have an interest in.”

Voice 1
What do you think about the Seven ‘New’ Wonders of the World? Do you think

the competition will bring people around the world closer together? Or do you

think it was not such a good idea? You can e-mail us your comments, questions

and ideas at radio @ english.net.

 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

4 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

5 structures   

n.结构( structure的名词复数 )；[生物学]构造；机构；构造物v.组织( structure的第三人称单数 )；安排；制定

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flexibility of labour was obtained through the breakup of old trade union structures. 打破了旧的工会结构之后，雇用劳工可以灵活处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 factor   

n.因素；要素；因子；因数；系数

参考例句：

• Her previous experience in social work is a plus factor.她先前在社会工作方面的经验是一个有利因素。
• Poor organization was certainly a contributory factor to the crisis.组织不善肯定是导致危机的因素之一。

7 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

8 pyramid   

n.金字塔

参考例句：

• The Great Pyramid is the biggest of all.大金字塔是其中最大的一座。
• Pyramid is one of the miracles in the world.金字塔是世界奇迹之一。

9 Swiss   

adj.瑞士的；瑞士人的

参考例句：

• The Swiss I know all are clever.我认识的瑞士人都很聪明。
• Today Swiss watches are sold in stores all over the world.现今瑞士的手表在世界各地出售。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

12 architects   

n.建筑师( architect的名词复数 )；设计师；缔造者；创造者

参考例句：

• He was one of the principal architects of the revolution. 他是那次革命的主要发动者之一。
• He was one of the architects of the republic. 他是这个共和国的缔造者之一。 来自辞典例句

13 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

15 candidates   

n.报考者( candidate的名词复数 )；申请求职者；攻读学位者；最后命运或结局如何已显然可见者

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• one of the leading candidates for the presidency 总统职位的主要候选人之一

16 Peru   

n.秘鲁(南美洲国家)

参考例句：

• Lima is the capital of peru.利马是秘鲁的首都。
• China and peru are friendly countries.中国和秘鲁是友好国家。

17 commercial   

adj.商业的，商用的，商品化的；n.广告节目

参考例句：

• He has gained a footing in the commercial world.他已在商界取得立足之地。
• The plane did not fly the usual commercial route.飞机没有沿通常的商业航线飞。

18 archaeologists   

n.考古学家( archaeologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• Archaeologists have worked for years to piece together the huge mosaic. 考古学家经年累月拼组这幅巨大的马赛克。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

20 global   

adj.全球的；球形的；世界的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• The report takes a global view of the company's problems.这份报告对公司的问题作了综合性的论述。