【人教版】2019版高中英语电子课本必修2版VIP专享

必修 2 unit1IN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOMFrederick William Ⅰ，the King of Prussia , could never have imagined that hisgreatest gift to the Russian people would have such an amazing history . This giftwas the Amber Room , which was given this name because several tons of amberwere 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 thecountry's best artists about ten years to make .In fact , the room was not made to be a gift . It was designed for the palaceof Frederick Ⅰ. However, the next King of Prussia , Frederick William Ⅰ,to whomthe amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter theGreat. In return , the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room because 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 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 was completed the way she wanted . Almost six hundred candleslit 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 timewhen 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 . Howe...