VOA慢速英语2009-EXPLORATIONS - Yukon Gold Rush: Newspapers Said

VOICE ONE:

This is Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS². Today we tell the second part of our story about the discovery of gold in the area of Canada called the Yukon.

We tell about the thousands of people who traveled to Alaska and on to Canada hoping that they would become rich.

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VOICE ONE:

Last week, we told how three men discovered huge amounts of gold near the Yukon River in northwestern Canada. Their discovery started a rush of people traveling to the American territory³ of Alaska and across the border to Canada. History experts believe that between twenty and thirty thousand people traveled to the area.

Newspapers printed stories that said it was easy to become rich. All you had to do was pick up the gold from the ground. Books and magazines told how to travel to the area and the best method of finding⁴ gold. However, most of this information was false. It was not easy to find gold. It was extremely⁶ hard work under very difficult conditions.

VOICE TWO:

The first ship carrying the gold seekers arrived in the port town of Skagway, Alaska, on July twenty-sixth, eighteen ninety-seven. These people were very lucky. It was summer and the weather was warm. However, they found few places to live in Skagway. Most people had to make temporary houses out of cloth.

Skagway was a very small port town. It had very few stores. And everything was very costly⁷.
　
Soapy Smith, right

Skagway also had a crime⁸ problem. One of the chief criminals⁹ was a man named Jefferson Randolph Smith. He was better known¹⁰ as "Soapy" Smith. He did his best to take money from men who were on their way to seek gold.

One method he used seems funny, now. Soapy Smith had signs printed that said a person could send a telegram¹¹ for five dollars. Many people paid the money to send telegrams¹² to their families back home to say they had arrived safely in Skagway.

But they did not know that the telegraph¹³ office wires only went into the nearby forest. It was not a real telegraph office. It was a lie Soapy Smith used to take money from people who passed through Skagway.

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VOICE ONE:

Most of the gold seekers wanted to quickly travel to the area where gold had been discovered. However, the Canadian government required that each person had to bring enough supplies to last for one year if they wanted to cross the border into Canada. This was about nine hundred kilograms¹⁴ of supplies.

Each person had to bring food, tools, clothing, and everything else needed for one year. There were no stores in the Yukon. There was no place to buy food.

People who brought their supplies with them on the ship were lucky. Others had to buy their supplies in Skagway. They had to pay extremely high prices for everything they needed.

VOICE TWO:
　
A long line of gold seekers heading¹⁵ up the Chilkoot Pass

When they had gathered all the supplies, the gold seekers then faced the extremely hard trip into Canada. Their first problem was crossing over a huge mountain. They could cross the mountain in one of two places -- the White Pass and the Chilkoot Pass. Each gold seeker began by moving his supplies to the bottom of the mountain. Their progress to the mountain was painfully slow.

A man named Fred Dewey wrote to friends back home that it took him two weeks just to move his supplies from Skagway to the mountain. His wrote that his body hurt because of the extremely hard work.

VOICE ONE:

Then the gold seekers had to move their supplies up the mountain.

Some men made as many as thirty trips before they had all of their supplies at the top. But others looked at the mountain and gave up. They sold their supplies and went back to Skagway.

At the top of the mountain was the United¹⁶ States border with Canada. Canadian officials weighed the supplies of each man. If the supplies did not weigh enough, the men were sent back. They were not permitted¹⁷ to cross into Canada.

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VOICE TWO:

A gold seeker who had successfully¹⁸ traveled up the mountain still faced the most difficult and dangerous part of the trip. Both trails¹⁹ up the mountain ended near Lake Bennett in British Columbia. From there it was almost nine hundred kilometers by boat down the Yukon River to the town of Dawson were gold had been discovered.

But there was no boat service. Each person or small group had to build their own boat. They cut down many trees to build the boats. Within a few months, some forests in the area were gone.

The summer quickly passed and winter began. The gold seekers were still building their boats. The Yukon River turned to ice. Winter in this area was extremely cold. The temperature often dropped to sixty degrees below zero Celsius²⁰. The cold could kill an unprotected person in just a few minutes.

VOICE ONE:
　
Jack²¹ London

American writer Jack London was among the gold seekers. He became famous for writing about his experiences in Alaska and Canada. He wrote a short story that perhaps best explains the terrible conditions gold seekers faced. It is called "The White Silence."

In the story, Mister²² London explained how the extreme⁵ cold made the world seem dead. It caused strange thoughts. He said the cold and silence of this frozen²³ world seemed to increase a man's fear of death. This cruel cold could make a man afraid of his own voice.

The story also tells what could happen to a person who had an accident. There were not many doctors in the gold fields. A seriously injured²⁴ person could only expect to die. Jack London's many stories truthfully explained just how hard it was to be a gold seeker in eighteen ninety-seven.

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VOICE TWO:

By the end of winter, the area around Lake Bennett was a huge temporary town of more than ten thousand people. They were all waiting for the ice to melt²⁵ so they could continue on to the gold fields. On May twenty-eighth, eighteen ninety-eight, the Yukon River could again hold boats. The ice was melting²⁶. That day, more than seven thousand boats began the trip to Dawson.

Many of these gold seekers did not survive the trip on the Yukon River. All of the boats had to pass through an area called the White Horse Rapids. The water there was fast and dangerous. Many boats turned over. Many of the gold seekers died.

VOICE ONE:

At last, the remaining gold seekers reached the city of Dawson. Dawson had been a small village before the discovery of gold. It became a big city within a short time. Stores and hotels were quickly built. The price of everything increased.

One man named Miller²⁷ brought a cow to Dawson. He sold the milk for thirty dollars for a little less than four liters²⁸.

For the rest of his life he was known as "Cow Miller." He did not get rich seeking gold. But he made a great deal of money selling milk.

Many people did the same thing. They bought supplies in the United States and moved them to Dawson. Then they sold everything at extremely high prices.

VOICE TWO:

The gold seekers quickly learned²⁹ that most of the valuable areas of land had already been claimed by others. Many gave up and went home. Some gold seekers searched in other areas. Others went to work for people who had found gold.

Experts say about four thousand people became rich during the great Klondike gold rush. Groups of men formed large companies and began buying land in the area. The large companies used huge machines to dig³⁰ for gold. One of these companies continued to make a profit digging³¹ gold until nineteen sixty-six. History records say that in only four years the area around Dawson produced more than fifty-one million dollars in gold. This would be worth more than one thousand million dollars today.

VOICE ONE:

The great Yukon gold rush was over by the end of eighteen ninety-nine. As many of the gold seekers began to leave, news spread of another huge discovery of gold. Gold had been found in Nome, Alaska. Thousands of people rushed to Nome. Gold was later discovered in another part of Alaska in nineteen-oh-two.

Today, people visiting the area of the great Klondike gold rush can still find very small amounts of gold. The amount of gold is not much. But it is enough to feel the excitement of those gold seekers more than one hundred years ago.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. This is Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 explorations   

探险旅行( exploration的名词复数 )； 搜寻； 考察； 勘探

参考例句：

• Our underwater explorations also helped to confirm the theory. 我们的水下考察也有助于证实这个理论。
• The geographical explorations had revealed the inadequacies of the existing maps. 地形勘查揭露出现有地图的不妥之处。

3 territory   

n.领土，领地，版图，地区，活动范围

参考例句：

• Resources in plenty can be found in this territory.这一地区能找到大量自然资源。
• Our country has a vast territory and abundant resources.我国土地辽阔，资源丰富。

4 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。

5 extreme   

adj.末端的，尽头的；极度的，极端的；n.极度，最大程度

参考例句：

• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。
• His views are rather extreme.他的见解相当偏激。

6 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

9 criminals   

n.罪犯，犯人( criminal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is not one of your garden-variety criminals. 他不是个普通的罪犯。
• All citizens should help the police in tracking the criminals down. 所有市民都应该帮助警察追捕罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

11 telegram   

n.电报；vt.用电报发送(打电报)

参考例句：

• Will you hand on this telegram to your friend?你把这份电报转交给你的朋友好吗？
• I've got your telegram.我已经收到了你的电报。

12 telegrams   

n.电报( telegram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Telegrams expressing sympathy poured in from all parts of the country. 全国各地纷纷打来了慰问电。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I received two telegrams today. 我今天收到了两封电报。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 telegraph   

n.电报，电报机；v.打电报，显示

参考例句：

• A new telegraph line has been set up between the two cities.那两个城市之间架设了一条新的电报线。
• Telegraph communication was broken off.电讯中断了。

14 kilograms   

n.千克( kilogram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 2 kilograms of rice 2公斤大米
• Every tonne of coal contains,on average,30 kilograms of nitrogen. 每吨煤平均含30公斤氮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 heading   

n.上标题，标题，起始字，方向

参考例句：

• The heading was in large letters.标题是用大号字母印刷的。
• He realized that he was heading in the wrong direction.他意识到走错了方向。

16 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。

17 permitted   

允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 )； 许可； 许用

参考例句：

• Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
• Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。

18 successfully   

adv.圆满地；顺利地；成功地

参考例句：

• The meeting passed off successfully.会议开得很成功。
• At last we successfully put through the business deal.最终我们成功地完成了这桩交易。

19 trails   

n.足迹( trail的名词复数 )；臭迹；小径；一缕v.（使某物）被拖在后面( trail的第三人称单数 )；跟踪，追踪；（在比赛等中）输；（尤指跟在他人后面）疲惫地走

参考例句：

• He was a shrewd lawyer with a talent for uncovering paper trails of fraud. 他是个精明强干的律师，能从一连串文件中找出诈骗的蛛丝马迹。
• Police dogs have good noses for following criminals' trails. 警犬的嗅觉对罪犯留下来的痕迹特别敏锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

21 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

22 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

23 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

24 injured   

adj.受伤的

参考例句：

• Our best defender is injured and won't be able to play today.我们最佳的防守员受伤了，今天不能参加比赛。
• The injured men have been dug out of the snow.受伤人员从雪中被挖了出来。

25 melt   

v.（使）融化，（使）熔化，使软化，使感动

参考例句：

• If you warm ice,it will melt into water.如果你给冰加热它会融化成水。
• It is easy to melt ice.融化冰很容易。

26 melting   

adj. 融化的 动词melt的现在分词

参考例句：

• The snow showed no sign of melting. 雪没有一点融化的迹象。
• the vast melting pot of American society 美国社会这个大熔炉

27 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

28 liters   

n.升( liter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This can holds five liters of water. 这个容器可装五升水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

30 dig   

v.挖（洞，沟等）；掘

参考例句：

• It is difficult to dig the ground when it is frozen.地面冻住了就不易挖掘。
• In those days we often went to dig for wild vegetables.那时候我们常常出去挖野菜。

31 digging   

n.挖掘v.挖，掘( dig的现在分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• They were digging up worms to use for bait. 他们正在挖蚯蚓作鱼饵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade. 在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。 来自《简明英汉词典》