Gold rush

[1] Since the very beginning of civilization, gold has been regarded as a symbol of power and wealth. In many societies, gold was seen as a magic substance, which could protect people against illness or evil spirits. Gold has always been a beacon¹ for explorers and adventurers as well as a lure for thieves and conquerors. Humankind never seems to have enough gold and the search for it has men mad. The need to search for gold has been compared to a disease, and is called ‘gold fever’. It occurs when thousands of fortune hunters rush to where gold is discovered.

Large gold rushes happened in the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa in the 19^th century. The first and most famous gold rush in North America began in California on Jan. 24, 1848 when gold was accidentally discovered at the sawmill of John Sutter.

[2] John Sutter emigrated from Switzerland to California in 1839. California was then a Mexican province, and from its governor he gained title to land² in order to found a settlement named New Switzerland at the meeting point³ of the Sacramento and American rivers. He took possession of 50,000 acres, and 10 years later, he was a prosperous rancher. After the Mexican War of 1846–48, California became a part of the United States and Sutter's future seemed assured. Then, suddenly, events turned against him.

[3] On the morning of Jan. 24, 1848, one of his employees, James Marshall, discovered gold at the site of a sawmill construction. Marshall and Sutter agreed to become partners in mining the gold, but soon the news of this find leaked out⁴ and quickly spread all over the country. Thousands of farmers, sailors, lawyers, preachers, and people from nearly every other occupation – all of whom wanted to find the gold and to strike it rich⁵ rushed to this part of California. They were known as ‘forty-niners’⁶. Within a year, about 80,000 forty-niners flooded into California and in the process, they built up northern California and the city of San Francisco.

[4] The gold rush of 1849 played a significant role in the social and economic development of California. It was an important factor in turning the region into a thriving⁷ U.S. state. Although the average production of the gold fields was barely 15.6 grams per man per day, some 77.8 million grams of gold passed through buyers' and dealers' hands in one year. After a few years, the gold fever faded, and there were few new finds, but gold is still found in California from time to time.

[5] There were many other smaller gold rushes in North America. They happened in British Columbia in 1858, Nevada in 1859–60, Colorado in the late 1850s and 1890s, and South Dakota in 1876–78. The last main goldstrike⁸ of the 19^th century took place in the frozen north, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. In the whole history of humankind’s desire for gold, the Klondike gold rush has probably fired the imagination⁹ of more people than any other event. Jack London and Robert Service are two of the authors who wrote of the inaccessibility of the region and its terrible climate. Yet, even with the worst that the environment could muster against them, the diggers extracted millions of dollars in gold.

Rich gold-bearing gravels¹⁰ were found in the area between the Yukon and Klondike rivers in about 1896. Within four years, about 30,000 people arrived to this inhospitable region. The annual output of gold reached a peak of 22 million dollars in 1900. Production steadily declined after that, until it fell to 5.6 million dollars in 1906. By 1910, most of the diggers had left for Alaska and other regions.

In the North America of the 19^th century, the gold mining was individual enterprise. The diggers, either alone or in very small groups, mined gold and reaped profits. With the end of the gold rush period, the mining was largely taken over by corporations and governments.

Notes: 1) beacon – перен. путеводная звезда

2) to gain title to land – получить право на владение землей

3) at the meeting point – на пересечении

4) to leak out – стать известным; просочиться

5) to strike it rich – неожиданно разбогатеть

6) forty-niner – золотоискатель [прибывший в Калифорнию в 1849 г.]

7) thriving – бурно развивающийся

8) goldstrike – открытие месторождения золота

9) to fire smb.'s imagination – захватить чьё-л. воображение, вызывать чью-л. фантазию

10) gold-bearing gravels – залежи золотоносного песка

Упр.10. Перепишите и письменно переведите 2, 3 и 4 абзацы текста.

Упр.11. Ответьте на поставленные вопросы, выбрав правильный вариант(ы).

1) When does a gold rush usually occur?

a) when a new gold deposit is discovered

b) when people begin to buy up a lot of jewelry

c) when thousands of diggers rush to where gold is discovered

2) When did the first and most famous gold rush in North America begin?

a) when John Sutter emigrated from Switzerland to California

b) when James Marshall discovered gold-bearing gravel at the site of a sawmill construction

c) at the time of the Mexican War

3) Why did thousands of people rush to California in 1849?

a) to have a rest

b) to find a job

c) to strike it rich

4) What was the average production of the gold fields in California?

a) a little more than 15 grams of gold per man per day

b) a little less that 15 grams of gold per man per day

c) about 77.8 million grams of gold per man per day

5) Where did the last main gold rush of the 19^th century take place?

a) in Nevada

b) in South Dakota

c) in the Yukon Territory of Canada

6) Who was engaged in the gold mining in the 19^th century?

a) private multinational corporations

b) gold diggers, either alone or in very small groups

c) only state-owned companies

В А Р И А Н Т 3

Упр.1. Перепишите предложения, поставив глагол в указанную видовременную форму, и переведите их.

1) The exchange rate of American currency [to maintain – Past Continuous Passive] at the same level all month long.

2) The Finance Minister [to note – Past Indefinite Active] that the monthly pension [to increase – Past Perfect Passive] by 30 per cent this year.

3) Nowadays, it is not profitable to keep savings in dollars because their value [to fall – Present Continuous Active].

4) When Robert Lucas [to win – Past Indefinite Active] his Nobel Prize in Economics in 1995, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences [to proclaim – Past indefinite Active] that he [to be – Past Indefinite Active] “the economist who [to make – Past Perfect Active] the greatest contribution in macroeconomic research since 1970.”

5) Some countries of Central and Eastern Europe [to join – Present Perfect Active] the European Union recently, such as Lithuania and Poland while others [to plan – Present Continuous Active] to do it in the nearest future.

Упр.2. Перепишите и переведите предложения, обращая внимание на употребление эквивалентов модальных глаголов to be allowed to, to be able to, to be to, to have to. Подчеркните эквиваленты модальных глаголов и соответствующие им варианты перевода.

1) Credit cards are very convenient because you do not have to carry cash, but they are expensive because you are to pay interest for using your cards.

2) It is not allowed to sell all foodstuffs after the expiration date as they go bad.

3) In earlier times, people who wanted to buy or sell something had to gather on special days in some special place called the market.

4) We will not be able to fulfil an important order in time because several machines have broken down.

5) Sometimes, the government has to impose ceiling prices on the essential goods to protect consumers with low incomes.

Упр.3. Выберите модальный глагол или его эквивалент из предложенных вариантов. Предложения перепишите и переведите.

1) Any business следует be regarded as an economic entity.

a) has to b) is allowed to c) should d) could

2) Several decades ago people не могли travel easily from one European country to another without visas.

a) are not able to b) were not to c) could not d) was not able to

3) According to the terms of the contract, the payment for the equipment должен be effected in Japanese currency.

a) is to b) should c) is able to d) had to

4) If you buy goods on credit, you не нужно pay for them immediately.

a) will not to be allowed to b) don’t have to c) couldn’t d) is not to

5) People in many European countries могут retire at the age 60-65.

a) are to b) are able to c) were allowed to d) need

Упр.4. Перепишите и переведите предложения, обращая внимание на способы перевода герундия [Gerund].

1) One of the ways in which governments raise money without adding new or higher taxes is holding state lotteries.

2) Using computers for drawing up financial statements enabled accountants to increase the efficiency of their work.

3) The European Monetary Union was founded in 1999 with the goal of establishing a common currency – the euro – for all member countries of the European Union and replacing national monetary units such as French francs, German deutsche marks, or Italian lire with the euro coins and bills.

4) In recent years, this company has merged about ten smaller companies by buying most of their shares.

5) Although banks specialize in granting short-term loans, they are prepared to give loans for longer periods – up to 20 years in certain circumstances.

Упр.5. Перепишите и переведите предложения, обращая внимание на значения ing-формы. Подчеркните Participle I одной чертой, Gerund – двумя.

1) A person collecting or studying coins is called a numismatist. This term is derived from the Latin word ‘numisma’ meaning ‘money’.

2) Instead of increasing fares, the Railway Management should concentrate on reducing its costs and improving efficiency of its operation.

3) Aiming to have an active trade balance, any country is interested in exporting more goods than in importing.

4) Nowadays, selling consumer goods as well as theatre/air/rail tickets has become a flourishing branch of e-commerce conducted by means of Internet.

5) The Paris Club is an informal forum where countries having trouble in paying their debts to government and private institutions meet with their creditors in order to restructure these debts.

Упр.6. Перепишите и переведите предложения, обращая внимание на значения ed-формы.

1) Developed in the early 1970s, automated teller machines are now widely used by bank customers for withdrawing cash from their accounts.

2) A single currency known as the euro replaced national monetary units such as French francs, German deutsche marks, or Italian lire in 2002.

3) Wages are fixed either in accordance with the amount of worked time [hours, days, weeks, months] – it is called time wages; or in accordance with the quantity of produced articles – it is called piece wages.

4) The percentage of the European labor force employed in agriculture ranges from less than 1 percent in Monaco to about 40 percent in Albania, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, and Turkey.

5) Income tax is a direct tax levied by the government on the income – wages, rent, dividends – received by individuals.

Упр.7. Перепишите и переведите данные словосочетания, обращая внимание на особенности перевода определений, выраженных существительными.

1) promotion prospects 6) currency exchange bureau

2) labor market research 7) middle-income families

3) safety engineering inspector 8) real estate agent

4) state tax commission 9) service sector growth

5) production technology improvement 10) after-tax company profit

Упр.8. Поставьте сказуемые, данные в скобках, в отрицательную форму. Предложения перепишите и переведите.

1) Nowadays Russia [belongs] to powerful states: its share in the world gross domestic product is only 2.6%.

2) He [could find] a job because he [was experienced] enough.

3) The shareholders of the company [received] any dividends last year because the company [made] profit.

4) The old equipment at the factory has been replaced, but the workers [have been trained] to operate the new one yet.

5) I [want] to put my money into the current account because its interest is too small.

Упр.9. Прочитайте текст, устно переведите его и выполните упражнения, данные ниже.