New 7 Wonders vs. Ancient 7 Wondersreplying
New: Christ the Redeemer Statue
Photograph by Samba Photo/Photonica/Getty Images
The 105-foot-tall (38-meter-tall) "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was among the "new ven wonders of the world" announced July 7 following a global poll to decide a new list of human-made marvels.
The winners were voted for by Internet and phone, American Idolfury style. The other six new wonders are the Colosum in Rome, India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
The contest was organized by the New7Wonders Foundation—the brainchild of Swiss filmmaker and muum curator Bernard Weber—in order to "protect humankind's heritage across the globe." The foundation says the poll attracted almost a hundred million votes.
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斡旋怎么读Yet the competition has proved controversial, drawing criticism from the United Nations' c
ultural organization UNESCO, which administers the World Heritage sites program (pictures of the newest World Heritage sites).are you stand
"This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the prervation of sites elected by [the] public," UNESCO said in a statement.
New: Great Wall of China
Photograph by Raymond K. Gehman/National Geographic/Getty Images
This newly elected world wonder was built along China's northern border over many centuries to keep out invading Mongol tribes.
Constructed between the fifth century B.C. and the 16th century, the Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers). The best known ction was built around 200 B.C. by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di.
The wall was among the winners of the New7Wonders poll announced during a televid ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal. However the Chine state broadcaster cho not to broadcast the event, and Chine state heritage officials refud to endor the competition.
It was a different story for some of the other candidates. In Brazil, for example, President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva encouraged his compatriots to vote for Rio de Janeiro's mountaintop statue of Jesus Christ.
New: The Colosum, Rome, Italy
Photograph by John Lawrence/Photographers Choice/Getty Images
The only finalist from Europe to make it into the top ven—the Colosum in Rome, Italy—once held up to 50,000 spectators who came to watch gory games involving gladiators, wild animals, and prisoners.
Construction began around A.D. 70 under Emperor Vespasian. Modern sports stadiums still remble the Colosum's famous design.
catchonEuropean sites that didn't make the cut include Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
The Vatican in Rome accud the competition's organizers of ignoring Christian monuments, none of which was featured among the 20 finalists. Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, head of culture and archaeology at the Vatican, called the omission of sites such as the Sistine Chapel "inexplicable."
New: Petra, Jordan
Photograph by Richard Nowitz/National Geographic/Getty Images
so thatPerched on the edge of the Arabian Dert, Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingd
om of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to A.D. 40).
Petra is famous for its many stone structures such as a 138-foot-tall (42-meter-tall) temple carved with classical facades into ro-colored rock. The ancient city also included tunnels, water chambers, and an amphitheater, which held 4,000 people.
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支付结算The dert site wasn't known to the West until Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt came across it in 1812.儿童英语顺口溜
Jordan has taken the New7Wonders competition riously. Petra is an important attraction in a country where tourism has recently suffered due to troubles in the Middle East region, particularly in neighboring Iraq.
The Jordanian royal family backed a campaign promoting Petra's lection
New: Machu Picchu, Peru
Photograph by Gavin Hellier/Photographers Choice/Getty Images
One of three successful candidates from Latin America, Machu Picchu is a 15th-century
mountain ttlement in the Amazon region of Peru.
The ruined city is among the best known remnants of the Inca civilization, which flourished in the Andes region of western South America. The city is thought to have been abandoned following an outbreak of deadly smallpox, a dia introduced in the 1500s by invading Spanish forces.
