高中英语第一册课本(上)U07reading

Where there is a river, there is a city. Perhaps this is not always true,but it is true that many of the world's greatest cities have been built on the banks of a river. The Neva River flows through the centre of St Petersburg in Russia. Three hundred years ago, the Russian Czar Peter the Great came here and built a new capital---St Petersburg. Peter the Great,like his country, was strong and proud. Many great palaces were built during his lifetime¹. The palaces were large and beautiful, and they often looked like something out of a fairy tale.

St Petersburg has also been the centre of many important events in history. In 1941, the Germans tried to destroy the city. It was under attack for 900 days, but the people of the city never gave in. The Germans burned many of the palaces as they left. St Petersburg was almost in ruins: fires burned verywhere. Buildings were destroyed, and paintings and statues lay in pieces on the ground. Restoring² the city and its cultural relics³ seemed impossible, but the people of this great city would not give up, "We will not let our history and culture be destroyed, and we will do verything we can to save our city!"

When the Nazis⁴ had gone, the people of St Petersburg began rebuilding the city. Pieces of the palaces that had been hidden before the Nazis came could now be used to rebuild the city and its culture. It was not easy. Painters and workers had to be very careful when they were trying to bring the city back to life. It was difficult to save the palaces and buildings without destroying their old beauty. With the help of old paintings and photographs, the people of St Petersburg were able to bring back the beauty of their culture and history. Now, after years of hard work, parts of statues have been put back together and missing⁵ pieces have been replaced. Old paintings, including a Ortrait of Peter the Great which was found in the snow outside St Petersburg, have been carefully recreated, and the old palaces havebeen made as wonderful as in the past.

Today Peter the Great on his bronze⁶ horse can once again look out over the city he built. Like their hero Peter, the people of St Petersburg have shown that dreams can come true. Strong, proud and united⁷, the people of St Petersburg are the modern heroes of Russia.

1 lifetime   

n.一生，终身，寿命，使用期限

参考例句：

• He wrote many books during his lifetime.他一生著作甚多。
• During his lifetime his work was never published.他的作品在他的有生之年从未出版过。

2 restoring   

v.归还( restore的现在分词 )；交还；使恢复；修复

参考例句：

• Morris intended to foster an art restoring the dignity of the craftsman. 莫里斯的目的在于扶植一种能恢复手工艺工人威望的艺术。 来自辞典例句
• She was aware of Peter McDermott's calm, restoring voice once more. 她又一次注意到彼得·麦克德莫特的平静而使人宽慰的声音。 来自辞典例句

3 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

4 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

6 bronze   

n.青铜；青铜艺术品

参考例句：

• She won a bronze medal.她得了铜牌。
• This statue is made of bronze.这个雕像是青铜做的。

7 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。