环球英语 — 237：Seven New Wonders

Voice 1

Hello. I’m Marina Santee.

Voice 2

And I’m Ruby 1 Jones. Welcome to Spotlight 2. 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

Christ 3 the Redeemer in Brazil then you are right! Each one of these

structures 5 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 factor 6 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 structure 4 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 known 7 as the Seven

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

exists today – the great pyramid 8 at Giza in Egypt.

Voice 2

In 2001, a Swiss 9 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

decided 10 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 organise 11 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 architects 12 – they had all designed modern buildings. One member

of this group was a former head of the United 13 Nations cultural organisation 14

– UNESCO.

Voice 1

At the start of 2006, voting began. There were twenty–one candidates 15. 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 Peru 16, 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 commercial 17 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 archaeologists 18 has expressed concern about what will happen to the

winning 19 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 global 20 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.