1、世界“新七大奇迹”揭晓 中国长城成功入选一度备受争议的世界“新七大奇迹” 评选于北京时间 7 月 8 日凌晨在葡萄牙首都里斯本揭晓，中国长城、约旦佩特拉古城、巴西基督像、印加马丘遗址、奇琴伊查库库尔坎金字塔、古罗马斗兽场、泰姬陵成为世界“新七大奇迹” 。Great Wall of China Named as New World WonderThe Great Wall of China was named as one of the new seven wonders of the world Saturday in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.Braz
2、ils Statue of Christ Redeemer, Perus Machu Picchu, Mexicos Chichen Itza pyramid, Jordans Petra, the Colosseum in Rome and Indias Taj Mahal were also chosen as the modern-day seven wonders of the world, following a global vote by about 100 million internet and telephone voters around the world.The se
3、ven winners were announced in a televised ceremony at Lisbons Benfica stadium that was watched by audiences in more than 100 countries and regions.A plethora of stars and dignitaries, including Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, Prime Minister Jose Socrates and Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, at
4、tended the ceremony.After the announcements, the New Seven Wonders of the World organizers awarded certificates and souvenir badges to representatives from the seven nations.相关链接：一度备受争议的世界“新七大奇迹”评选于北京时间 7 月 8 日凌晨在葡萄牙首都里斯本揭晓，中国长城、约旦佩特拉古城、巴西基督像、印加马丘遗址、奇琴伊查库库尔坎金字塔、古罗马斗兽场、泰姬陵成为世界“新七大奇迹”。上述“新七大奇迹” 是全球投票者
5、从主办方提供 21 个评选名单中通过电话、短信、网络等方式选出的。今年 5 月，“新七大奇迹” 基金会突然爆出“ 冷门”，中国长城的得票数已经跌出“ 前七”，因而中国长城学会和八达岭管委会开始了拉票活动。但这一举动引来的反对之声不绝于耳。旧“世界七大奇迹” 中唯一留存的埃及吉萨金字塔，将理所当然保有奇迹的地位，这主要是因为埃及官员说，要金字塔去竞争一席之地是一种侮辱，因而 8 日共产生八个世界奇迹，包括金字塔。该活动的主办方“世界新七大奇迹”基金会是 1999 年由瑞士商人、旅行家贝尔纳韦伯先生创立的。2006 年 1 月 1 日，由 6 名世界建筑师和文化界人士组成的基金会专家委员以不记名投
6、票的形式从 77 个备选的景点名单中选出了最后 21 个评选名单。2007 年 7 月 8 日选出“新世界七大奇迹” 。The Salinity of Ocean Waters （海水盐度）If The Salinity of Ocean Waters is analyzed, it is found tovaryonly slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some ofthesesmall changes are important. There are three basic processesthatcause a change in
7、 oceanic salinity.One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean bymeansof evaporation - conversion of liquid water to water vapor. Inthismanner the salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind.Ifthis is carried to the extreme, of course, white crystals ofsaltwould be center behind.Th
8、e opposite of evaporation is precipitation, such as rain,bywhich water is added to the ocean. Here the ocean is beingdilutedso that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areasof highrainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into theocean.Thus salinity may be increased by the subtractio
9、n of waterbyevaporation, or decreased by the addition of fresh waterbyprecipitation or runoff.Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong,theocean salinity is somewhat higher than it is in other parts oftheworld where there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, incoastalregions where
10、 rivers dilute the sea, salinity is somewhatlowerthan in other oceanic areas. A third process by which salinity may be altered isassociatedwith the formation and melting of sea ice. When sea waterisfrozen, the dissolved materials are center behind. In thismanner,sea water directly beneath freshly fo
11、rmed sea ice has ahighersalinity than it did before the ice appeared. Of course, whenthisice melts, it will tend to decrease the salinity of thesurroundingwater. In the Weddell Sea Antarctica, the densest waterin theoceans is formed as a result of this freezing process,whichincreases the salinity of
12、 cold water. This heavy water sinksand isfound in the deeper portions of the oceans of the world.海水盐度如果我们分析海水的盐度，会发现地区间只有轻微的变化，然而有些小的变化是重要的。导致海洋的盐度变化的基本过程有三个。其中之一是通过蒸发的方式即把液态水转化为水蒸气来减少海洋中的水分。这样由于盐留了下来，所以盐度增大。当然，如果这种方式走向极端，将会余下白色的盐晶体。与蒸发相反的是降水，如降雨，由此水被加入海中，海水被稀释，从而盐度降低。这种情形会发生在大量降雨的地区，或江河入海岸处。因此，盐度通过
13、蒸发减少水分而上升或通过降水或径流增加淡水成分而下降。一般来说，在阳光很强烈的热带地区，海水的盐度略高于世界上其它没有热带那样多的蒸发的地区。同理，在江河稀释海水的海岸地带，海水盐度略低于其它海区。第三个可以变更盐度的过程与海洋中冰的形成和融化有关。海水冻结时，溶于其中的物质被留了下来。这样，在新形成的海水冰面的正下方的海水比在冰形成之前有更高的盐度。当然，当冰融化的时候，会降低周围水中的盐度。在南极洲边缘的威德尔海中，结冰过程增加低温海水的盐度，从而形成了浓度最大的海水。这些大密度的海水下沉，可以在世界海洋的深水域发现。Topaz （黄水晶）Topaz is a hard, transpar
14、ent mineral. It is a compoundofaluminum, silica, and fluorine. Gem topaz is valuable.Jewelerscall this variety of the stone precious topaz. Thebest-knownprecious topaz gems range in color from rich yellow tolight brownor pinkish red. Topaz is one of the hardest gemminerals. In themineral table of ha
15、rdness, it has a rating of 8,which means that aknife cannot cut it, and that topaz will scratchquartz.The golden variety of precious topaz is quite uncommon. Mostofthe worlds topaz is white or blue. The white and blue crystalsoftopaz are large, often weighing thousands of carats. Forthisreason, the
16、value of topaz does not depend so much on its sizeasit does with diamonds and many other precious stones, wherethevalue increases about four times with each doubling of weight.Thevalue of a topaz is largely determined by its quality. But colorisalso important: blue topaz, for instance, is often irra
17、diatedtodeepen and improve its color.Blue topaz is often sold as aquamarine and a variety ofbrownquartz is widely sold as topaz. The quartz is much lessbrilliantand more plentiful than true topaz. Most of it is avariety ofamethyst: that heat has turned brown.黄水晶黄水晶是一种坚硬、透明的矿物质。 它是铝、硅和氟的化合物。黄水晶宝石价值不菲
18、。珠宝商把这种石头称为黄玉。最出名的黄玉有各种颜色如深黄色、淡棕色、浅红色等。黄水晶是最坚硬的宝石矿中的一种。在矿石硬度表上，它的硬度为 8，这表明刀子不能割开它而它可在石英上划痕。金黄色的黄玉品种非常罕见。世界上大多数的黄水晶是白色或蓝色的。这些白色或蓝色的黄水晶晶体很大，常常有数千克拉重。由于这个原因，黄水晶的价值不像钻石和许多其它宝石那样主要依赖于其大小，重量翻一番价值即上升约四倍。黄水晶的价值很大程度上取决于其品质，但颜色也很重要。举例来说，蓝色的黄水晶常需放射处理以加深和改善其颜色。蓝色的黄水晶常被作为海蓝宝石出售，许多种棕色石英被当作黄水晶广为贩卖。石英光亮度远小于黄水晶，矿藏储量也远较黄水晶丰富。大多数石英是一种紫水晶，高温使其变为棕色。
