课文标题是In search of the amber room 【原文】
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 Peter *** urg. About four metres long, the room served as a *** all reception hall for important visitors.
Later, Catherine Ⅱhad the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St Peter *** urg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add more details to it. In 1770 the room was pleted 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 Peter *** urg. 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 *** all 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 Konig *** erg, 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 Peter *** urg when they celebrated the 300th birthday of their city.
【翻译】
寻找琥珀屋
普鲁士国王威廉一世决不可能想到他送给俄罗斯人民的厚礼会有这样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好几吨的琥珀。
选出来的琥珀色彩艳丽，呈现蜂蜜一样的黄褐色。
琥珀屋的设计采用了当时流行的别致的建筑式样。
它也是用金银珠宝装饰起来的珍品。
一批国家最优秀的艺术用了大约十年的时间才把它完成。
事实上，这个琥珀屋并不是作为礼物来建造的。
它是为腓特烈一世的宫殿设计（制作）的。
然而，下一位普鲁士国王，腓特烈·威廉一世，这个琥珀屋的主人却决定不要它了。
在1716年，他把琥珀屋送给了彼得大帝。
作为回赠，沙皇则送给他一队自己最好的士兵。
这样，琥珀屋就成了沙皇在圣彼得堡冬宫的一部分。
这间琥珀屋长约四米，被用作待重要宾的小型会客室。
后来，叶卡捷琳娜二世派人把琥珀屋搬到圣彼得堡郊外她避暑的宫殿中。
她叫她的工匠在原来设计的基础上增添了更多精细的装饰。
1770年，这间琥珀屋按照她的要求完成了。
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，可悲的是，尽管琥珀屋被认为是是世界上的一大奇迹之一，可是现在它却消失了。
1941年9月，纳粹德国的军队逼近圣彼得堡。
这是在两国交战的时期。
在纳粹分子到达夏宫之前，俄罗斯人只能把琥珀屋里的一些家具和小件艺术饰品搬走。
可是琥珀屋本身却被一些纳粹分子偷偷地运走了。
在不到两天的时间里，10万个部件装进了27个木箱。
毫无疑问，这些想在后来被装上火车运往哥尼斯堡，当时德国在波罗的海边的一个城市。
从那以后，琥珀屋的去处便成了一个迷。
近来，俄罗斯人和德国人已经在夏宫建起了一个新的琥珀屋，通过研究琥珀屋原来的照片，他们建造的新琥珀屋样子和旧的看起来非常像。
2003年春，圣彼得堡人民就用它来庆祝该市建成300周年。