Out with the Old-Seven New Wonders of the World
[ A ] Forget the Pyramids. Seven new wonders of the world were announced in Lisbon, Portugal, fittingly, on Saturday July 7, 2007. For longer than two years, and with more than 100 million votes from Internet polls and text messages, just about anyone with an Internet connection could vote on the new 7 wonders.
[ B ] The origin of the idea of “seven wonders of the world” dates back to Herodotus ( 484 B.C.—425 B.C. ) and Callimachus ( 305 B.C.—240 B.C. ), who made lists which included the Great Pyramid of Babylon, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria.
[ C ] Founder of the organization New 7 Wonders, Bernard Weber, came up with the idea of naming seven new wonders in an effort to raise money to reconstruct the giant statues of Buddha in Afghanistan, which were destroyed by the Taliban.
[ D ] The newly elected wonders of the world include the following architectural landmarks: the Great Wall of China, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the hidden city of Machu Picchu in Peru, Jordan’s Petra, the Taj Mahal in India, Mexico’s Chichen Itza Pyramid and the Colosseum in Rome. Other nominees included the Statue of Liberty, Easter Island, the Eiffel Tower, and Stonehenge, but all came up short in the votes. “The people of the world have created global memory—7 things that everyone will remember,” said Weber. Surprisingly, none of the new wonders is in the North America, while nearly half of them are located in Latin America.
[ E ] So what about the pyramids? The Pyramids of Giza is the only remaining wonder of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world. The other ancient wonders have fallen victim to earthquakes and arson (纵火). The Egyptians were rumored to be outraged (气愤的）that the pyramids didn’t earn a spot on the list. “Monuments do not have to parade on a podium like in a beauty contest,” said Greek Culture Minister George Voulgarakis. The competition “has nothing to do with the true value of monuments,” he added. The pyramids will not lose its position as a world wonder, in addition to the new seven.
[ F ] There were many others that questioned the credibility of the poll. The results undoubtedly left out the votes and opinions of the people in parts of the world without an Internet connection.
[ G ] The United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has taken a strong stance (态度）against the vote.Christian Nanhar, a press officer of UNESCO, an organization that names historical and world heritage sites, voiced his discontent over the voting: “All of these wonders obviously deserve a place on the list, but what disturbs us is that the list is limited to just seven.”
[ H ] Nevertheless, the new seven wonders have gotten much praise around the globe. The new list has given citizens of these countries a new sense of pride in their landmarks and will most likely see a rise in tourists flocking to see these world wonders.