Book2 Unit1 Cultural relics
IN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOM
寻琥珀屋
Frederick William I, the King of Prussia, could never have imagined that his greatest gift to the Russian people would have such an amazing history. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber were used to make it. The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown colour like honey. The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels, which took the country's best artists about ten years to make.
普鲁士国王腓特烈 ·威廉一世绝不可能想到他送给俄罗斯人民的厚礼会有一段令人惊讶的历史。
这件礼物就是琥珀屋 ,它之所以有这个名字 ,是因为造这间房子用了近几吨琥珀 ,被选择的琥
In fact, the room was not made to be a gift. It was designed for the palace of Frederick I. However, the next King of Prussia, Frederick William I, to whom the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter the Great. In return, the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room became part of the Czar's winter palace in St Petersburg. About four metres long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visitors.
事实上 ,琥珀屋并不是作为礼物而建造的。它是作为腓烈特一世的宫殿而建造的。然而 , 下一位普鲁士国王 ,腓烈特 ·威廉一世 ,这个琥珀屋的主人却决定不再要它了。 1716 年 ,他把它送给了彼得大帝。作为回馈 ,沙皇则送给他一队自己最好的士兵。所以 ,琥珀屋就成了沙皇在圣彼得堡东宫的一部分。琥珀屋长约 4米 ,被用作接待重要来宾的小型会客室。
Later, Catherine II had the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St Petersburg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add more details to it. In 1770 the room wa
s completed the
way she wanted. Almost six hundred candles lit the room, and its mirrors and pictures shone like | |||||
gold. Sadly, although the Amber Room was considered one of the wonders of the world, it is now | |||||
missing. | |||||
后来、叶卡捷琳娜二世派人把琥珀屋搬到了圣彼得堡郊外避暑的宫殿中。 | 她让艺术家们 | ||||
给它增添了更多的装饰。 1770年 ,这间琥珀屋按她要求的方式完工了。 | 将近 600支蜡烛照亮了 | ||||
这个房间 ,里面的镜子和图画就像金子一样闪闪发光。不幸的是 | ,虽然琥珀屋被认为是世界奇 | ||||
迹之一 ,可是现在它却下落不明。 | |||||
In September | 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was a time when the | two | |||
countries were at war. Before the Nazis could get to the summer palace, the Russians were able | |||||
to remove some furniture and small art objects from the Amber Room. However, some of the | |||||
Nazis secretly | stole the room itself. In less than two days 100,000 | pieces were put inside | |||
twenty-seven | wooden boxes. There is no doubt that the boxes were then put | on a train | for | ||
Konigsberg, which was at that time a German city on the Baltic Sea. After that, what happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery.
被一些纳粹分子秘密地头运走了。在不到两天的时间里 | ,琥珀屋被拆成 10 万块装进了 | 27 个 | |
木箱里。毫无疑问 ,这些箱子后来被装上火车运往哥尼斯堡 | ,当时它是波罗的海的海边的一个 | ||
城市。 | |||
Recently, the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber | Room at the summer palace. By | ||
studying old photos of the former Amber Room, they have made the new one look like the old | |||
one. In 2003 it was ready for the people of St Petersburg | when they celebrated the | 300th | |
birthday of their city. | |||
从那以后 ,琥珀屋的最终归宿就成了一个谜。最近俄国人和德国人已经在夏宫建立起了
一个新的琥珀屋 ,通过研究前琥珀屋的照片 ,他们使得新的琥珀屋的样子与原来的非常相像。
2003 年,在圣彼得堡人民庆祝他们的城市建立 300周年的时候 ,它已经完工了。
Book2 Unit 2 The Olympic Games
AN INTERVIEW
一个采访
Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2,000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Games.
大约 2000 年前的一个希腊作者帕萨尼亚斯 (P)，在 2007 年 3 月 18 日踏上了一段魔幻的旅程
去查明关于现代的奥林匹克运动会。他正在采访一个 2008 年奥林匹克运动会志愿者李岩 (L)
P:My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “ Ancient Greece” and I used to write ab
out the Olympic Games a long time ago. I’ ve come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some
questions about the modern Olympics?
L:Good heavens! Have you really come from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know?
P:How often do you hold your Games?
L:Every four years. There are two main sets of Games-the Winter and Summer Olympics, and both are held every four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event
will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world.
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