One day in 1848, a carpenter named Marshall, who worked in a saw mill on the American River in California, made a remarkable discovery. He noticed some bright yellow particles in the water. He bent down to pick them up, and took them to his partner, a Mr. Sutter. This was the beginning of the California Gold Rush. Sutter was a Swiss. He had gone to America some years earlier to make his fortune. 在加利福尼亞州美洲河畔鋸木廠的一位名叫馬歇爾木匠，在1848年有一個(gè)驚人的發(fā)現(xiàn)。他注意到河里有一些金黃發(fā)亮的顆粒，便俯身捧了一些帶給他的伙伴。他的伙伴是一位名叫薩特的先生。這就是加利福尼亞州淘金熱的開端。薩特是一位瑞士人，幾年前他為了發(fā)財(cái)致富到了美國?！?BR> Sutter realized the importance of the discovery and decided to file a claim so that his right to the gold would be established. So he sent a man named Bennet to San Francisco to see the Governor. He warned Bennet not to tell anyone in case people came to the valley before his claim was recognized. Bennet could not keep the secret, but the people of San Francisco did not believe him at first. Then the editor of a weekly newspaper there, Sam Brannan, went to Sutter's mill to make a report. When he came back, he ran through the streets of the town shouting “Gold! Gold!”. Within a month, almost the entire population, then only 800 people, had gone to look for the precious metal. Soldiers deserted the army, sailors left their ships and men gave up their jobs so as not to miss the chance of becoming rich. 薩特意識(shí)到這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)的重要性，決定對其權(quán)益提出要求，以確認(rèn)他對黃金的所有權(quán)。所以，他派了一位名叫貝內(nèi)特的人去舊金山見州長。他告誡貝內(nèi)特不要對任何人講這件事，以免在他的權(quán)益得到確認(rèn)之前會(huì)有人來到這個(gè)流域。貝內(nèi)特還是將此事泄漏了出去，但在一開始，舊金山的人并不相信他。后來，還是一位當(dāng)?shù)刂軋?bào)編輯薩姆·布蘭南，趕到薩特所在的鋸木廠做了一篇報(bào)導(dǎo)。他一回到舊金山，就滿城大街小巷的叫喊“黃金！黃金！”不到一個(gè)月，幾乎全城的人，當(dāng)時(shí)只有八百人，都去淘金了。士兵逃離軍營，水手棄船登岸，男人們放棄工作，以免丟失這一發(fā)財(cái)機(jī)會(huì)。
The news spread across America to Europe and thousands of people joined in the search. 這個(gè)消息從美洲傳到了歐洲，成千上萬的人加入了淘金隊(duì)伍中?！?BR> The Gold Rush proved a disaster for Sutter himself. For years he tried to evict the prospectors from his property so that his family might enjoy the wealth of his land, but his business was ruined. The prospectors did a great deal of damage, and killed one of his sons. At the end of his life, he was a poor man who continually stopped people in the street to tell them “Gold is the Devil.” 對薩特本人來說，淘金最終是一個(gè)災(zāi)難。許多年來，他千方百計(jì)要把那些淘金者從他的那塊寶地上趕走，好讓他的一家獨(dú)享這里的財(cái)寶，但他的家業(yè)被毀了。淘金者到處破壞，還殺了他的一個(gè)兒子。臨終前，他已貧困潦倒，還常常攔住街上的行人，對他們說“黃金是惡魔”?！?BR>
The news spread across America to Europe and thousands of people joined in the search. 這個(gè)消息從美洲傳到了歐洲，成千上萬的人加入了淘金隊(duì)伍中?！?BR> The Gold Rush proved a disaster for Sutter himself. For years he tried to evict the prospectors from his property so that his family might enjoy the wealth of his land, but his business was ruined. The prospectors did a great deal of damage, and killed one of his sons. At the end of his life, he was a poor man who continually stopped people in the street to tell them “Gold is the Devil.” 對薩特本人來說，淘金最終是一個(gè)災(zāi)難。許多年來，他千方百計(jì)要把那些淘金者從他的那塊寶地上趕走，好讓他的一家獨(dú)享這里的財(cái)寶，但他的家業(yè)被毀了。淘金者到處破壞，還殺了他的一個(gè)兒子。臨終前，他已貧困潦倒，還常常攔住街上的行人，對他們說“黃金是惡魔”?！?BR>