Unit 1 Cultural Relics
what happened to the amber room?(the amber room was given to the russian people as a great gift by the king)
read the text quickly, trying to get the main idea each paragraph. discuss in your group of four.
ask ss to speak out the main idea of each paragraph:
1.the amber room has a strange history and something about its design and building.
2.the history of the amber room and its functions in russia.
3.catherine ii had the amber room moved to the palace outside st petersburg and it became one of the great wonders.
4.the nazi german army stole the amber room in 1941. after that what really happened to it remains a mystery.
5.the russians and germans have built a new amber room at the summer palace, following the old photos.
pair work t or f questions:
1. the amber room was not easy to make.
2. catherine ii didn’t like everything about the amber room when she first saw it.
3. the amber room was taken to konigsberg and hidden there in 1941.
4. the russians didn’t care about the amber room.
5. the russians don’t think the amber room will ever be found.
step 3 careful reading :
listen to the tape and follow it to read the text and answer the following questions:
1.what could the king of prussia never think of his present to the russian?
he could never think of his present would have such a strange history.
2. why was the gift given the name the amber room?
because about seven thousand tons of amber were melt to make it.
3. what shape can the amber be made into when heated? any shape.
4. is the amber room pure amber made with?
no. it’s also made with gold and jewels.
5. was the amber room specially made to be a gift? no, it wasn’t.
6. what was the amber room made for? for the palace of frederick i.
7. what did the czar give the king of prussia in return? 55 of his best soldiers.
8. where was the amber room first placed?
in the czar’s winter palace in st petersburg.
9. what did catherine ii do to the amber room?
she had her artists add more details to its design.
10. is the amber room still in russia? no, it isn’t.
11. where is it now? no one knows. it remains a mystery.
12. what happened to the amber room? it was stolen by the nazis and is missing now.
13. when did the amber room disappear? during the second world war.
14. what were saved from the amber room? the furniture and small art objects.
step 4 comprehending
after finishing all the questions, ask the ss to listen to the tape and try to get the main idea of the passage, then read the passage again by themselves and do the comprehending exercises.