The New Seven Wonders Karen

新七大奇迹

世界七大奇迹相信大家都不陌生。近日一份名为“世界新七大自然奇观”的榜单出炉，尽管投票机制不一定能得到所有人的认可，但不得不承认这次评选还是令许多人大开眼界的。

In 2007, public voting began and citizens around the world voiced their opinions on what they thought were the world’s most beautiful locations. On the lucky date of November 11th, 2011, voting closed and the results are now being tallied.

Founder of the New Seven Wonders of the World（N7W）, Bernard Weber was dissatisfied with the original list which was compiled by one single man. The N7W project used the Internet to reach out to the citizens of every country, allowing for many smaller and less well?鄄known sites to gain recognition.

Weber commented that many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places were still unknown to many of us. “From waterfalls to fjords, rainforests to mountain peaks, freshwater lakes to volcanoes, we are discovering together the incredible beauty and variety of our planet.”

More than 440 locations in more than 220 countries were all checked carefully by the project’s voters. Experts were also consulted before 28 candidates were chosen as finalists. Yushan Park in Taiwan was the only Chinese spot in the list. Now, the temporary list of winners has just been released, and the official list will be revealed in early 2012.

But can any of them truly be referred to as “the best”？The voting system did not prevent people from voting more than once, so its results are admittedly unscientific.

Whether it’s scientific or not, Weber’s list brings many places which had previously escaped widespread recognition from people’s eyes. It is time now for us to experience these sites with our own senses. Only then can we properly judge the list’s advantages and shortcomings.

1. The Amazon Rainforest（亚马逊丛林）―5.5 million square kilometers of the most complex environments on our increasingly fragile planet. Its beauty rivals its ecological importance.

2. Halong Bay（下龙湾）, Vietnam―A UNESCO（联合国教科文组织）World Heritage site, Halong Bay is 500 million years’ worth of limestone（石灰岩） formations, reaching out of the rolling sea waters.

3. Iguazu Falls（伊瓜苏大瀑布）, Argentina and Brazil―Legend has it that a god created these falls in order for some desperate lovers to fall into them eternally. If you gaze the cascading waters, your energetic passions will definitely come to mind. You will admit that nature is the most amazing artist.

4. Jeju Island（济州岛）, South Korea―It is a World Heritage site. This volcanic island rises out of the sea, just like a perfectly shaped pie, which is filled with grasses. It’s called Hawaii in Korea.

5. Komodo National Park（科莫多国家公园）, Indonesia―These luscious shorelines were once the Komodo dragons’（科莫多巨蜥） best living place. There are three major big islands and 26 small islands.

6. Puerto Princesa River（普林塞萨地下河）, Philippines―If you can’t find the differences between stalactites（钟乳石） and stalagmites（石笋）, you will remember after viewing the ten kilometers waterway. Many animals live here. The river protects some important forests in Asia.

7. Table Mountain, South Africa―It’s as if the gods themselves hammered this mountain into a place where they could wine and dine. Table Mountain is made up of some mountains. Its peak is circled by cloud and mist.

Notes:

fjords n. 海湾

fragile adj. 易碎的

gaze vi. 凝视

luscious adj. 甘美的