1、fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels, which took the countrys 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 Fredrick I. However, the next King of Prussia, Fredrick William I, to
2、 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 Czars winter palace in St Petersburg. About four metres long, the room served as a small reception hall for im
3、portant vistors. Later, Catherine 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 candles lit the room, and its mirrors and pictures shone lik
4、e gold. Sadly, although the Amber Room was cnsidered one of the wonders of the world, it is now missing. In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was atime when the two countries were at war. Before the Nazis could get to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some
5、furnitures and small art objects from the Amber Room. However, some of the Nazis secretly stole the room itself. In less than two days 100000 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 a time a German city
6、on the Baltic Sea. After that, what happened to the Amber Room remains 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 looke like the old one. In 2003 it was ready for the peop
7、le of St Petersburg when they celebrated the 300th bithday of their city. A fact of an opinion What is a fact? Is it something that people believe? No. A fact is anything that can be proved. For example, it can be proved that China has more people than any other country in the world. This is a fact.
8、 Then what is an opinion? An opinion is what someone believes is true but has not been proved. So an opinoion is not good evidence in a trail. For example, it is an opinion if you say “Cats are better pets than dogs”. It may be true, but it is difficult to prove. Some people may not agree with this
9、opinion but they also cannot prove that they are right. In a trail, a judge must decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe. The judge does not consider what each eyewitness looks like or where that person lives or works. He/She only cares about whether the eyewitness has given tr
10、ue information, which must be facts rather than opinions. This kind of information is called evidence. Big Feng to the rescue His friends and family call him “Big Feng” because he is bery tall and played basketball as a young man. But he is also big in a different way he fights hard to protect China
11、s past. His real name is Feng Jicai and he has written many novels about life in China. Several years ago, however, he put down his pen for a while and began to protect the cltural relics in Tianjin, where he lives. Once someon asked him why he no longer wrote. He replied that at the moment he felt
12、protecting cultural relics was more important. Feng loves his hometown. He believes that old things must be given a plave next to new thins, or people will soon forget ther great past. He does not make speeches to get others to help him in his projects. Instead he goes out and does what he can himes
13、elf. If others follow him, so much the better. One of his biggest projects was to protect the oldest street in Tianjin. Along that street some shops had done business for seven hundred years. Althought the city government rebuilt this street, they did save its oldest building. Another project was mo
14、re successful: he persuaded the city government to buy some land in the centre of the city so it could not be sold for businesses. This area is very improtant for the history of Tianjin. It was here that the city was first built during the Song Dynasty. Later many treasures were found here. To Feng,
15、 digging down in to the earth is like reading page after page of a book. Each dynasty found in the earth is like an interesting story. Not long ago he and other writers and artists took photos of the old parts of Tianjin. The photos were put into a book which was very popular. The money from the boo
16、k helps his prjects. Once, and old man asked Feng to sign a book for him, saying he would give it to his grandson who was not yet born. Feng was glad to do it - he knows that he past is not only for us to enjoy but also for the children of the future. Unit 2 An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek w
17、riter about 2000 year 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 Olympics Games. P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “ Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olym
18、pic Games a long time ago. Ive 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 themodern Olympics? L: Good heavens! Have reallycome from so long ago? But of course you can ask any question
19、s 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 Gamesthe Winter and the 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 a
20、thletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world. P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses? L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead ther
21、e are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why theyre called the Winter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over
22、 the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women! L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one ha
23、s its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports and P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed? L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for
24、them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: Thats sounds very expansive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games? L: As a matter of fact,every country wants the opportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be cho
25、sen. Theres as much competitions among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. P: Oh yes! You must be very proud. L: Certainly. And after that the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new villag
26、e for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course and P: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been replaced! Oh dear! Do you compete for prize money too? L: No,fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure decor
27、ated with gold and jewels, which took the countrys 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 Fredrick I. However, the next King of Prussia, Fredrick William I, to whom the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716
28、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 Czars winter palace in St Petersburg. About four metres long, the room served as a small reception hall for important vistors. Later, Catherine had the Amber Room moved to a
29、 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 cnsidered one of the
30、 wonders of the world, it is now missing. In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was atime when the two countries were at war. Before the Nazis could get to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furnitures and small art objects from the Amber Room. However,
31、some of the Nazis secretly stole the room itself. In less than two days 100000 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 a time a German city on the Baltic Sea. After that, what happened to the Amber Room
32、remains 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 looke like the old one. In 2003 it was ready for the people of St Petersburg when they celebrated the 300th bithday of t
33、heir city. A fact of an opinion What is a fact? Is it something that people believe? No. A fact is anything that can be proved. For example, it can be proved that China has more people than any other country in the world. This is a fact. Then what is an opinion? An opinion is what someone believes i
34、s true but has not been proved. So an opinoion is not good evidence in a trail. For example, it is an opinion if you say “Cats are better pets than dogs”. It may be true, but it is difficult to prove. Some people may not agree with this opinion but they also cannot prove that they are right. In a tr
35、ail, a judge must decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe. The judge does not consider what each eyewitness looks like or where that person lives or works. He/She only cares about whether the eyewitness has given true information, which must be facts rather than opinions. This
36、kind of information is called evidence. Big Feng to the rescue His friends and family call him “Big Feng” because he is bery tall and played basketball as a young man. But he is also big in a different way he fights hard to protect Chinas past. His real name is Feng Jicai and he has written many nov
37、els about life in China. Several years ago, however, he put down his pen for a while and began to protect the cltural relics in Tianjin, where he lives. Once someon asked him why he no longer wrote. He replied that at the moment he felt protecting cultural relics was more important. Feng loves his h
38、ometown. He believes that old things must be given a plave next to new thins, or people will soon forget ther great past. He does not make speeches to get others to help him in his projects. Instead he goes out and does what he can himeself. If others follow him, so much the better. One of his bigge
39、st projects was to protect the oldest street in Tianjin. Along that street some shops had done business for seven hundred years. Althought the city government rebuilt this street, they did save its oldest building. Another project was more successful: he persuaded the city government to buy some lan
40、d in the centre of the city so it could not be sold for businesses. This area is very improtant for the history of Tianjin. It was here that the city was first built during the Song Dynasty. Later many treasures were found here. To Feng, digging down in to the earth is like reading page after page o
41、f a book. Each dynasty found in the earth is like an interesting story. Not long ago he and other writers and artists took photos of the old parts of Tianjin. The photos were put into a book which was very popular. The money from the book helps his prjects. Once, and old man asked Feng to sign a boo
42、k for him, saying he would give it to his grandson who was not yet born. Feng was glad to do it - he knows that he past is not only for us to enjoy but also for the children of the future. Unit 2 An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2000 year ago, has come on a magical journey on Mar
43、ch 18th ,2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympics Games. P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “ Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out ab
44、out the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questions about themodern Olympics? L: Good heavens! Have reallycome 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 ho
45、ld your Games? L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Gamesthe Winter and the 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 wi
46、ll be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world. P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses? L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow
47、and ice. Thats why theyre called the Winter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used
48、to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women! L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very
49、 important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports and P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed? L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: Thats sounds very expansive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games? L: As a matter of fact,every country wants the opportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Th
