环球英语 The Statue of Christ the Redeemer
July 5, 2015
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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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A man stands on the top of Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He can see the whole city spread out before him. He looks at white buildings surrounded by deep green hills and forests. He can also see the beautiful Guanabara Bay, with white sand, blue ocean and islands. The view from Corcovado Mountain is one of the most beautiful in all of Brazil. But the man standing on the mountain is not just there to see the beauty of nature. He is also there to see something made by humans - the statue of Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer. This amazing monument is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. More than 5,000 people visit it every day. This statue is a cultural and religious treasure for Brazil and for the whole world. Today's Spotlight is on the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.
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In 1920, there was a group of Christians in Rio called Circulo Carioca. They proposed the idea for an important religious monument. They wanted to build a large statue of Jesus Christ in the city. First of all, the group wanted to celebrate 100 years of independence from Portugal. They also wanted Rio to have a symbol of the importance of the Christian religion in Brazil. Brazilian politicians gave Circulo Carioca permission to build the monument. But private citizens paid for most of the statue. People even went from house to house asking for money to pay for the statue! It was truly a work of national pride.
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After the idea was approved, Circulo Carioca held a competition to design the statue. A man named Heitor da Silva Costa won the competition. Da Silva Costa worked with a Brazilian artist named Carlos Oswald and a European artist named Paul Landowski. It took a long time to design the final plans, and even longer to build them. In total, it took ten years to finish the statue. The designers wanted it to be an object of great wonder and beauty. But it also needed to be strong enough to stand against time and weather. The designers wanted people to be able to see it from all points of the city. They also wanted the statue to represent the Christian faith before the world.
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When Da Silva Costa designed the statue, he imagined the sun rising and setting on the top of Corcovado Mountain. He wrote,
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"The statue of Jesus will be the first image to come from the darkness of night. It will receive the touch of the sun, surrounding it with beautiful light. Then the sun's setting will build a crown of light around its head that is fit for the Man-God."
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Da Silva Costa was a Christian. Christians call Jesus the Christ, or Messiah. Messiah means "special chosen one." Christians also call Jesus the Redeemer of the world. A redeemer is a person who saves. In the Hebrew language, Jesus’ name means "he who saves." So the statue's title "Christ the Redeemer" means "the special chosen one who saves." Christians believe that Jesus is the one who saves the whole world.
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At first, Da Silva Costa designed the statue to include Jesus holding his cross. The cross is an important symbol for Jesus. Jesus chose to die on a cross. Christians believe that he became a sacrifice – he took the punishment for all the wrong things in the world. Then, Christians believe that he defeated death – he returned to life, and he is still alive. And he offers new life, and forgiveness to all people.
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With the help of Carlos Oswald, Da Silva Costa redesigned the statue. In this design, there was no cross. Instead, Jesus is standing in the shape of a cross. He stands with his arms spread wide open. This is the design we see today. It represents all these elements of the Christian faith. But it also shows something else. The stories of Jesus show that Jesus loved all people. He cared for all people - rich and poor, from different cultures. The statue’s wide open arms represent this side of Jesus. It looks like Jesus is embracing the city, and blessing it.
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Christ the Redeemer is not the world's tallest statue of Jesus. But it is the most famous. Millions of people come to visit it every year. In 2007, the world's population voted on the new Seven Wonders of the World. More than 100 million people voted. Along with other famous structures, such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal in India, Brazil's Christ the Redeemer became one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
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When Da Silva Costa designed the Christ statue, he imagined the light of the sun touching Jesus' head. He maynot have imagined lightning. However, for a tall statue on the top of a mountain, lightning has always been a danger. And lightning has damaged the statue several times. Recently, lightning storms have become even more intense. They present more danger to the statue than ever before. Osmar Pinto works for the Brazilian Institute of Space Research. He told the BBC,
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"In the past few years, there have been some cases of storms with more than one thousand lightning bolts. This has not happened before."
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Because of the more intense storms, the Brazilian government has increased its efforts to protect the statue. Officials have been working hard to design ways for the statue to survive lightning strikes. Businessman Paolo Dal Pino is paying for some repairs to the statue. He told the BBC,
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"This monument has two million visitors a year - it is going to be three million people probably in 2014. A place like this, damaged, is something that cannot exist."
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Christ the Redeemer is important for the cultural and religious history of Brazil. But it is also important for the millions of people from many countries who visit it.
Padre Omar is the rector, or priest, of the church at the base of the statue. He told the BBC,
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"It is a religious symbol, a cultural symbol, and a symbol of Brazil. Christ the Redeemer brings a wonderful view of welcoming, open arms to all those who pass through the city of Rio de Janeiro."
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The writer of this program was Jen Hawkins. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This program is called, “The Statue of Christ the Redeemer."
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