The New Seven Wonders世界新七大自然奇迹 带你走入奇幻景致

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(voting mechanism)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。现在，让我们用自己的感官来评选“世界新七大自然奇观”吧。

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 auspicious date of November 11th, 2011, voting closed and the results are now being tallied.

2007年，公众投票正式启动，世界各地的人们对于自己心中世上最美地点各抒己见。在2011年11月11日这个幸运之日，投票过程截止，最终结果正在统计之中。

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-known sites to gain recognition.

作为“世界新七大自然奇观”评选的发起人，伯纳德•韦伯对之前的那份全凭一人编排的“世界七大奇迹”榜单很不满意。此次的“世界新七大自然奇观”计划利用互联网使得各个国家的人民都可以参与其中，使得很多小众且不为人知的景点也能获得认可。

Weber commented that many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places are 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."

韦伯评论道，我们中的许多人对于诸多具有惊人之美的自然景观还一无所知。“从悬瀑到峡湾，从雨林到山峰，从淡水湖再到火山，让我们一起去探索地球上的梦幻美景，发掘我们生存的星球的多姿多彩。”

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

此次评选活动中，参与投票的人们评审了来自220多个国家的440多处景观。最后将听取专家们的意见，从中筛选出28处候选景观进入最后一轮评选。台湾玉山公园是唯一进入最后一轮评选的中国景区。现在，暂定入围名单已被公布，而官方榜单将于2012年年初公布。

But out of the hundreds of locations entered, 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. But is that a problem?

然而，尽管从数百个入围景区中脱颖而出，但这七个景区中，任意一个都能被称为真正意义上的“最佳”吗？投票系统没有禁止每人多次投票，所以投票结果显然不够科学。但这会是问题所在吗？

Weber`s list unquestionably serves its purpose of opening our eyes to places which had previously escaped widespread recognition. It is time now for us to experience these sites with our own senses. Only then can we properly judge the list`s merits and shortcomings.

毫无疑问，韦伯的这份榜单拓展了我们的眼界，让我们了解那些之前没有获得广泛认可的景区。现在，该是我们用自己的感官来体验这些景区的时候了，只有那样，我们才能公允地评判出这份榜单的优点和不足。



辞海拾贝

auspicious	吉祥的；吉利的		tally	计数；统计
compile	编辑；编制		breathtakingly	惊人的；令人激动的
finalist	入围选手，参加决赛的选手		provisional	临时的；暂时的
admittedly	公认的；无可否认的		merit	优点
fragile	脆弱的		ecological	生态的；生态学的
limestone	石灰岩		plummet	垂直落下
cascading	梯溜，喷泻		turbulent	湍流的；骚乱的
meringue	调合蛋白（蛋白拌糖打硬后置于饼或蛋糕上）；蛋白霜		lush	苍翠繁茂的

Internet

亚马逊热带森林

1. The Amazon Rainforest – 5.5 million square kilometers of the most ecologically complex environments on our increasingly fragile planet. Its beauty rivals its ecological importance.

1.亚马逊热带雨林——这片面积550万平方公里的土地是我们日益脆弱的地球上最为复杂的生态环境。它美丽与其自身的生态价值相媲美。

2. Halong Bay, Vietnam – A UNESCO World Heritage site, Halong Bay is 500 million years` worth of limestone formations, proudly jutting out of the rolling ocean waters.

2.越南下龙湾——该地区被联合国教科文组织列为世界自然遗产，下龙湾由五亿年之久的石灰岩组成，这些岩体从翻滚的海水中凸现出来，十分壮观。

3. Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil – Legend has it that a god created these falls in order for some desperate lovers to plummet into them eternally. Gaze into the cascading waters, and turbulent passions will definitely come to mind.

3.位于阿根廷和巴西边界的伊瓜苏大瀑布——传说一位神灵创造了这些瀑布，为的是让一些绝望的情人们纷纷投身于瀑布之中。凝视着这些喷泻的水流，自然会产生汹涌澎湃的激情。

4. Jeju Island, South Korea – A World Heritage site, this volcanic island rises out of the sea in a perfectly shaped pie, filled with a meringue of lush grasses.

4.韩国的济州岛——世界自然遗产。这座火山岛从海中突起，犹如一个外形完美， 填满葱翠草丛做馅料的馅饼。

5. Komodo National Park, Indonesia – These luscious shorelines were once the Komodo dragons` best kept secret.

5.印度尼西亚的科莫多国家公园——这些唯美的海岸线曾经是科莫多巨蜥守护得最好的秘密。

6. Puerto Princesa River, Philippines – If you can`t remember the difference between stalactites and stalagmites now, you will after cruising 10 kilometers of this underground waterway.

6.菲律宾的普林塞萨地下河——如果你现在忘了钟乳石和石笋的区别，在“巡游”完这条10公里的地下水道后你便会统统都记起。

7. Table Mountain, South Africa – It`s as if the gods themselves hammered this mountain into a place where they could wine and dine.

7.南非的桌山——这里仿佛是神灵们自己动手将这座山锤打成为一个容他们饮酒欢宴的地方。

{:soso__4770529309374014441_2:}全是奇观，可怜偶一个也没见过～～