世界上十大令人嘆為觀止的美景(上)

There are many things that can leave someonebreathless, aside from grinding out a triathlon orspending time at high altitudes. The sight of a brideon her wedding day may take the breath from agroom-to-be. Witnessing an orchestra play aMozart symphony in a grand concert hall might doit as well. Perhaps the sight of your baby being bornmight do the trick.

除了參與“鐵人三項”的運動或者在高原地區(qū)生活，世界上還有很多會讓人窒息的事。準新郎在婚禮當天看到美麗新娘的剎那可能會被驚艷到窒息;在音樂大廳聆聽樂團演奏莫扎特交響曲時，你可能會被震撼到窒息。再也許，當你第一眼看到剛出生的寶寶時也會激動到窒息。

But sometimes it's not a life event at all, but the mere sight of something awe-inspiring. Youstand before it, a chill comes over you and your breath becomes shallow and measured. Onecan only imagine the early settlers making their way across the American West and riding up tothe rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time. The feeling they must have gotten is likelysimilar to what a modern tourist might feel when faced with that same breathtaking vista. TheGrand Canyon makes the cut on our list, along with nine other breathtaking views around theglobe.

然而有時候讓你驚嘆的常常不是一些生活中的具體事情，僅僅只是你看到的某些東西。站在這些事物面前，你會感覺心頭一顫，呼吸也變得急促起來。你們大可以想象早期移民者穿越美國西部過程中，在科羅拉多大峽谷邊緣看到的景象。面對這令人嘆為觀止的景色時，他們一定和現(xiàn)在的游客有過一樣感受。本文中，美國的大峽谷，連同全球各地的其他九大美景，為讀者朋友們呈現(xiàn)出十大無與倫比的景觀。

10.Top of the Empire State Building

10.帝國大廈之頂

The expanse of New York City's urban jungle is something that's left many tourists over theyears confused and maybe a little intimidated. Street level is where the action is, but if youreally want to take it all in and leave your breath behind, there's no better way than to take thelong elevator ride to the observation deck of the Empire State Building (ESB). Since the fallof the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, the ESB has regained its status as the tallest building inNew York. This National Historic landmark climbs more than a quarter of a mile straight up,with the observation deck located 1,050 feet (320 meters) above the city streets on the 86thfloor. The view from the deck has taken the breath away from more than 110 million visitorssince it opened in 1931. The deck offers a 360 degree vista of the 230 buildings that are atleast 30 stories high, including an unparalleled view of the chrome spires of the legendaryChrysler Building.

紐約城龐大復雜——也許還帶著點兒恐怖意味的城市建筑多年來一直讓游客很頭疼。游客通常在街道上欣賞這些城市美景，但是如果你非要把它一次性盡收眼底，就拋開你的恐懼，乘上電梯直達帝國大廈觀景臺。自從2001年9月11日雙子塔倒塌后，帝國大廈就是紐約城最高的建筑了。這座國家歷史性地標垂直高度達400多米，觀景臺大約在距地面320米處，相當于地面高樓第86層的高度。自1931年對公眾開放以來，大廈已經(jīng)吸引了1.1億多游客前來參觀。大廈觀景臺提供了360度的視角，可以看到230幢至少30層樓高的大廈，包括傳說中壯觀得無與倫比的克萊斯勒大廈樓頂。

9.Top of the Eiffel Tower

9.埃菲爾鐵塔之頂

What the Empire State Building offers New York tourists, the Eiffel Tower matches in Paris. Andwhile the City of Lights doesn't have the kind of jaw-dropping skyscrapers that Gotham does,it's still a breathtaking view once you take the elevator ride up the tower to the observationdeck. At 984 feet (320 meters), the tower is the second tallest structure in France, behind theMillau Viaduct, and was the tallest in the world until the completion of the Empire StateBuilding. While there are 1,671 steps that go to the top of the tower, visitors can only climb tothe first and second tiers at 189 feet (57 meters) and 379 feet (115 meters). In order to go tothe top lookout for the most breathtaking view, you need to ride one of two elevators that makethe trip every eight minutes -- about 100 per day. For the best viewing, show up about anhour before sunset and take in the "magic hour" before the sea of yellow lights come to life asdarkness falls.

巴黎旅行必去埃菲爾鐵塔，如同紐約旅行必去帝國大廈。雖然巴黎的燈光不如紐約摩天大樓的璀璨燈光來的讓人瞠目結舌，但是乘電梯直上埃菲爾鐵塔觀景臺，壯觀的景象依然會讓人震驚。塔高320米，是法國第二高建筑，僅次于米洛高架橋，在美國帝國大廈竣工前埃菲爾鐵塔一直是世界最高建筑。通往塔頂?shù)呐_階有1671個，通常游客只能達到57米高的第一層和115米高的第二層。為了達到塔頂看到壯景，人們需要乘坐電梯，那里有兩架電梯，每8分鐘一個班次，一天來回約100次。為了欣賞最美的景色，你可以日落前一個小時到達埃菲爾塔頂，然后感受那具有魔幻色彩的一小時——夜色降臨前，夕陽余暉灑落海面。

8.Rim of the Grand Canyon

8.科羅拉多大峽谷的邊緣

The shining star of the National Park Service program in the United States, the Grand Canyonhosts more than 5 million visitors each year. Standing on the edge of the canyon rim issomething that can only be fully understood by doing it yourself. No words can aptly describe,and no photograph can fully capture the sheer size and magnitude of the natural worldwonder. It truly does take your breath away and is something that must be experienced inperson. The canyon is a jaw-dropping 277 miles (445.7 kilometers) long and 18 miles (29kilometers) wide at its widest point and we can thank the Colorado River for forming it over aperiod of about 3 to 6 million years. For a little more solitude, try venturing out to the moredistant North Rim. This section of the canyon is no less breathtaking, and gets about 10percent the number of visitors as the more heavily frequented South Rim.

科羅拉多大峽谷作為國家公園服務項目中閃耀的明星，每年接待超過500萬名的游客。只有親身站在峽谷的邊緣才能完全理解這一切。沒有任何語言可以形容這樣的景色，沒有一張照片可以完全把這個規(guī)模宏大的世界級自然奇跡收納進去。它的景色的確美得令人窒息，而且這種無法形容的美必須親自體驗?？屏_拉多大峽谷長達277英里(相當于445.7千米)，最寬處有18英里(即29千米)。對此，我們應該感謝科羅拉多河——經(jīng)過它三百到六百萬年的沖刷，這峽谷景觀才得以形成。另外，喜歡清靜的話就去探索更遠的北部峽谷邊緣，那里的景色絲毫不比其他地區(qū)差，并且大部分游客通常都是去南緣觀景的，只有大約10%的游客才會去峽谷北緣。

7.Summit of Mount Everest

7.珠穆朗瑪峰的峰頂

This view takes your breath away in more than one way. Not only will you feel like you're at thetop of the world at the summit of Nepal's Mount Everest, but the incredible altitude willliterally leave you breathless. Everest was formed about 60 million years ago and is the tallestpeak (from sea level) on the planet at 29,035 feet (8,850 meters). Because of the extremeweather conditions at the summit, climbers rarely attempt to complete the ascent outside ofthe months of May and June, when the jet stream is pushed north. If you do choose to makethe ascent, you may come across some dead bodies along the way. There are about 120 bodiesof those that the mountain has claimed on your path to the top -- they've been impossible toremove. But don't let that dissuade you. If you're an experienced mountaineer, you can beone of the 150 people that attempt to reach the summit each year. Once you're at the top,have your camera ready, because you'll only be there for a few minutes before you start yourdescent.

這里的景色會以不同的形式令你屏息。珠峰峰頂不僅僅會讓你感受到自己正站在世界的最高處，它那高得令人難以置信的海拔也會讓你無法呼吸。珠穆朗瑪峰形成于6000萬年前，它的最高峰(從海平面算起)有29035英尺(8850米)。由于珠峰頂上極端惡劣的天氣情況，除了5月和6月——這兩個月的急流是向北的，天氣較為溫暖，登山者很少嘗試去爬完全程。如果你選擇登山，沿途也許你會看到一些尸體。在通往峰頂?shù)穆飞?，大約有120具已經(jīng)無法被移動的登山者的尸體。但是不要讓這些成為你登頂?shù)恼系K。如果你是一個經(jīng)驗豐富的登山家，你完全可能成為每年成功登頂?shù)?50個人中的一位。一旦你站在峰頂，準備好你的相機，因為幾分鐘之后你就要開始下山。

6.Top of Machu Picchu

6.馬丘比丘之端

The Incan ruins at Machu Picchu have been the subject of research and speculation since theirrediscovery in 1911. While Peruvians knew about this "Lost City of the Incas" above theUrubamba Valley, they weren't excavated and examined by historians until Hiram Bingham didso in 1911. Ever since then, the tiered stone ruins have been on the radar of historians,anthropologists and tourists alike. Nobody is exactly sure why the Inca people built thisarchitectural wonder, but some theories include use as a destination for religious pilgrimages,a retreat for Incan rulers or as an astronomical observatory. Whatever its purpose, to viewthe ruins that sit unseen from below remains one of the truly breathtaking things you can takepart in. The three distinct areas constructed in the 1400s (agricultural, urban and religious)are all built to blend seamlessly into the surrounding natural environment. The combinationof the history, mystery and natural wonder of Machu Picchu make it one of the new SevenWonders of the World.

馬丘比丘——印加帝國的遺跡，在1911年被重新發(fā)現(xiàn)后一直是人們研究和思索的對象。當初秘魯人得知坐落在烏魯班巴河谷之上的這座“失落的印加城市”時，并沒有任何的歷史學家去挖掘和研究它，直到1911年，海勒姆·賓厄姆才首次著手研究馬丘比丘。從此之后，這個石城遺跡備受廣大歷史學家、人類學家、旅游愛好者等的關注。沒有人確切知曉印加人建造這一建筑奇跡的原因，然而猜想則有很多，比如說用作宗教朝圣的地點、印加皇室的避暑勝地，還有人認為它可能是當時國家的天文臺。 不管其修筑的目的是什么，親臨此境來觀賞這平時在低處難以見到的景色已是令人真正心潮澎湃的一件事。15世紀的人們居然能夠把三個不同領域(農業(yè)、城市和宗教)的特色景觀完美地融進一座城及其周圍的自然環(huán)境中：馬丘比丘古城遺址外圍是層層梯田形成的農業(yè)區(qū)，城區(qū)則由200座建筑和109個連接山坡和城市的石梯組成。城內規(guī)劃井然，北部多為莊嚴的宮闕神殿，南部是作坊、居室和公共場所。奇妙的歷史、令人產生無限遐想的各種謎團和引人入勝的自然奇觀，使馬丘比丘古城成為世界新七大奇跡之一。