VOA慢速英语2014 加州淘金热拉动美国西部发展

 

California Gold Rush Pulls Americans West 加州淘金热拉动美国西部发展

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is The Making of a Nation.  I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise². 

In 1847, California became a US territory. Most Americans at the time lived on the East Coast. But thousands traveled west to California after a settler reported finding³ gold there.  

James Marshall found the gold nugget in January 1848.  Mr. Marshall was building a sawmill near the American River in central California.  When he looked in the water, he saw shiny pieces of metal.  One of them was about the size of a fingernail. Mr. Marshall took the piece and put it in his mouth.

Paul Johnston is curator of Maritime⁴ History at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History here in Washington, D.C.  The museum displays the gold nugget Mr. Marshall found.

“And you can see Mr. Marshall actually bit down on it.  You can see the molar marks, his bite mark on it as well a little chip taken out of the upper left hand corner for assaying, or testing the purity⁵ of the gold.”

Mr. Marshall knew he found gold because the metal was soft.  He and his boss gave the nugget to the US government to prove they found gold on the land.

News of James Marshall’s discovery traveled to the East Coast.  But communication was slow in the middle of the 19th century.  People in the big eastern cities of New York and Boston heard only rumors⁶ about gold in California.  It was not until December 1848, almost a year after Mr. Marshall’s discovery, that President James Polk told Congress⁷ the rumors were true.

During the next weeks and months, thousands of young men from the Northeast left their homes and families to seek great riches in California. 

“You didn’t really have to work for it, as far as they knew.  You just had to lean over and pick it up and you were rich.”

One of those young men was Benjamin Buckley.  His records suggest he found thousands of dollars’ worth of gold.  Buckley put some money in banks and sent some to family members.

Alexander Van Valen, however, was not as successful.  The Smithsonian’s Museum of American History has letters he wrote to his wife and daughters in New York.

“His wife tried to make a living by sewing and borrowing money from the financiers against her husband’s future profits.  But it wasn’t any easier for her than it was for her husband 3,000 miles away in California.”

In two years, Alexander Van Valen earned only $500.  

Most people who traveled to California to find gold were like Van Valen – they did not get rich.  But Paul Johnston says the California Gold Rush was important for other reasons.

“The Gold Rush really put California on the map.  It made it desirable⁸.  It made the East Coast really want California to become part of the U.S.  So, it was huge.”

In 1850, California became the country’s 31st state.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

4 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

5 purity   

n.纯净，纯洁，纯度

参考例句：

• She was a woman of purity and goodness.她是一位纯洁善良的妇女。
• The white colour is a symbol of purity.白色是纯洁的象征。

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

8 desirable   

adj.值得拥有的；可取的，有利的

参考例句：

• Some reasonable adjustments seem desirable.某些合理的调整似乎是可取的。
• Prolonged negotiation was not desirable.拖长了的谈判并不是大家所想要的。