经济学人 七月第1集

Wonders of the world 世界奇观 Reluctant marvels 勉为其难的奇迹 Jun 28th 2007 From The Economist print edition Some sites are strutting their stuff, others are blushing and shy 有的地方在大显身手，有的却畏首畏尾 WHO wants their country's finest monument to be a new wonder of the world? Not everybody, it seems. 谁希望自己国家最美的纪念碑成为世界新的奇观呢？现在看来似乎并不是人人都这么想的。 Whether they like it or not, seven successful candidates—chosen by tensof millions of electronic votes from every corner of the earth—will benamed on July 7th (yes, 07/07/07) at a glittering show in Lisbon.Bernard Weber, the Swiss-Canadian explorer who devised thisextravaganza, hopes it will put him on a par with Pierre de Coubertin,the Frenchman who revived the Olympics. 2007年7月7日，世界各地几千万人通过网上投票选出的世界七大奇观将在（葡萄牙首都）里斯本一个盛会上正式命名，不管它们乐不乐意。此次盛会的策划人瑞士裔加拿大人伯纳德•韦伯（Bernard Weber）希望这能让他与奥运会复兴者、法国人顾拜旦齐名。 India has used Bollywood glamour to promote the Taj Mahal. Back in2004, the screen diva Aishwarya Rai oversaw the launch of a balloon,inscribed with an exhortation to vote, which was then tethered to thesite—to the horror of aesthetes. Jordan's ancient city of Petra stagedfolk dances and pageants to highlight its charms. 印度是利用宝莱坞（Bollywood）魅力来宣传泰姬陵（Taj Mahal）的。2004年，影视女星埃希瓦尔雅•莱伊（AishwaryaRai）在泰姬陵参加了一个气球放飞仪式，气球上印有给泰姬陵拉票的标语。令审美主义者深恶痛绝的是，这个气球后来就始终系在泰姬陵。约旦古城佩特拉（Petra）也将民间舞蹈和盛装表演搬上了舞台，藉以凸显其迷人的魅力。 Elsewhere interest in being a wonder is slacker. When Mr Weber touredStonehenge, a prehistoric site in England, just a few bedraggled andchilly druids awaited him. And one site has stayed on the list despitelocal objections: Egypt's Giza Pyramids, the only one of the sevenwonders of the ancient world to remain intact. Vying with 20 otherjohnnies-come-lately is humiliating, the Egyptians say. In Peru,arguments swirl round the eerie ruins of Machu Picchu, a 15th-centuryInca city. Boris Gómez, head of tourism in the Cusco region, sees acontradiction: the government says no more than 2,500 people a day canvisit the place; but it has also voiced keen hopes that “wonder” statuswill boost the flow to twice that level. Perhaps we should be saying,“vote for us but don't even think of coming,” he sighs. It's not alwayswonderful to be a wonder. 其他地方对于成为奇观兴趣就没这么大。韦伯到英国史前巨石柱（Stonehenge）观光时，只有几个衣着邋遢、态度冷淡的祭师在那儿接待他。此外，有一处奇观的上榜还遭到了当地人的反对，这就是埃及的Giza金字塔，它是世界七大古代奇观中唯一保存完整的地方。埃及人认为，与其他20个“初来乍到者”一起竞争是一种耻辱。在秘鲁，关于诡异的15世纪印加古城MachuPichhu遗迹的争议也是此起彼伏。库斯科（Cusco，秘鲁南部城市，11世纪初至16世纪为印加帝国首都）地区旅游局长鲍里斯•戈麦斯（BorisGómez）认为这里面存在一个矛盾：政府一方面说到该地游览的每天不到2500人，另一方面又口口声声表示成为“奇观”将使得客流量翻一番。他无奈道，也许我们应当说，“投我们的票吧，别考虑来不来的问题”。成为奇观并不总是一件奇妙的事情。