worth /wə:θ/ prep. 值得的;相当于……的价值 n. 价值;作用 adj. /古/ 值钱的
rebuild /ri:'bild/ vt. 重建
local /'ləukl/ adj. 本地的;当地的
apart /ə'pɑ:t/ adv. 分离地;分别地
take apart 拆开
Leningrad /'leningræd/ n.列宁格勒 (苏联城市)
painting /'peintiŋ/ n. 绘画;画
castle /'kɑ:sl/ n. 城堡
Windsor /'winzə/ Castle 温莎城堡 (英国著名城堡)
trial /'traiəl/ n. 审判;审讯;试验
eyewitness /ai 'witnis/ n. 目击者;证人
evidence /'evidəns/ n. 根据;证据
Jan Hasek /'jæn 'hæzək/ 简·哈兹克(男名)
Czech Republic /'tʃek ri'pʌblik/ 捷克共和国(东欧国家)
explode /ik'spləud/ vi. 爆炸
entrance /'entrəns/ n. 入口
Hans Braun /'hænz 'brɔ:n/ 汉斯·布朗(男名)
sailor /'seilə/ n. 水手;海员;船员
sink /siŋk/ (sank,sunk; sunk,sunken) vi. 下沉;沉下
Anna Petrov /'ænə 'petrɔv/ 安娜·帕特罗夫 (女名)
maid /meid/ n. 少女;女仆
Berlin /bə: 'lin/ n. 柏林(德国首都)
think highly of 看重;器重
Johann Webber /jəu'hæn 'veibə/ 约翰·韦伯(男名)
informal /in'fɔ:ml/ adj. 非正式的
debate /di'beit/ n. 争论;辩论 vi. 争论;辩论
IN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOM
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.
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.
Later, Catherine Ⅱhad 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 was 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.
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 remain a mystery.
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.