英语听力：自然百科 阿拉斯加淘金热

 With the price of gold at all-time highs, a familiar fever is once again sweeping¹ Alaska.

 

“Everybody has their own reason why they are into it. Some people, you know, you find what you got and you try at once to find a little bit of gold. This is kind of like gambling², you know, it’s the lure³ of winning, of finding the jackpot(彩票头奖).”

 

Still, just like back in the time of the old prospectors⁴, very few ever find that big jackpot.

 

“It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of skill and dedication⁵, and a lot of good business sense to be a miner. To strike a rich thing is definitely very much a misnomer(误称). Good mining is nothing more than a business, and if done properly, you can make money out of it. But the reality is almost all prospectors and miners go broke.”

 

Good business sense is why Herschbach isn’t broke. Besides owning 355 claims, he and his business partner also jumped on an opportunity to sell mining gear(用具) back when the price of gold was still regulated by the federal government. Now with gold at its current price of 950 dollars per ounce, a new generation of prospectors are getting in the game. And to do that, they need equipment whereas large-scale commercial mining involved a huge investment and machines that drill down to the source of gold. Placer mining requires only water and some simple tools.

 

“It’s where you are using an gold pan or the sluice⁶（斜槽,水闸） box of the dredges(挖泥机), and you are working around creeks⁸ to go and find nuggets(金块).”

 

That’s what Dennis Jameson, a department of defense⁹ employee and a 20-year recreational miner was doing when I caught up with him submerged in the cold Alaskan water at Crow Creek⁷ Mine.

 

“How did you get into it?”

 

“Uh, a guy in the army in El Paso brought in a man-aged jar full of gold nuggets when I was stationed down there, and I saw that and I said I’ve got to go to Alaska, got chance to go to Alaska, and never left.”

 

With a classic case of gold fever, Jameson’s struck it rich enough to pay for the equipment he uses-- in this instance, a two-engine six-inch dredge.

 

“What it does is the gold dredge has these suction(吸附) holes at the other end, it’s like a giant underwater vacuum cleaner, and you start sucking up all the sand and the rock, the big rock you have to roll out of the way. And anything that will go through the holes goes through the sluice box. And that’s hopefully where you will find the gold.”

 

He turns off the machine and lets the water runs for a bit and then,

 

“Ah, there is definitely some gold right there.”

 

Despite that, Jameson’s not quitting his day job any time soon.

 

“This spot here hasn’t been so good, but we are still doing maybe a hundred to two hundred dollars a day. A lot of people make good money doing this for a living you know, but I don’t think I can make enough to survive on.”

 

Instead he does it for the same reasons anyone else has a hobby.

 

“It’s a stress reliever, you get under the water, and you start seeing gold and before you know it, 4 or 5 hours has gone by, and you just, lots of relaxation¹⁰.”

 

Still if this gold nugget around Herschbach's neck is any indication, it’s a hobby that can be very lucrative¹¹ and definitely addictive¹².

 

At Crow Creek Mine from Discovery News, I am Jorge Ribas

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

3 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

4 prospectors   

n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite,quartz and asbestos here. 探矿人员在这里发现了方解石、石英、石棉等矿藏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The prospectors have discovered many minerals here. 探矿人员在这里发现了许多矿藏。 来自辞典例句

5 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

6 sluice   

n.水闸

参考例句：

• We opened the sluice and the water poured in.我们打开闸门，水就涌了进来。
• They regulate the flow of water by the sluice gate.他们用水闸门控制水的流量。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 creeks   

n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪

参考例句：

• The prospect lies between two creeks. 矿区位于两条溪流之间。 来自辞典例句
• There was the excitement of fishing in country creeks with my grandpa on cloudy days. 有在阴雨天和姥爷一起到乡村河湾钓鱼的喜悦。 来自辞典例句

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

11 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

12 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。