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Among the more colorful characters of Leadville's golden age were H.A.W.Tabor and his second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as "Baby Doe". Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. "Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here." he said.
As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville's fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco.It was his custom to "grubstake" prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or "grub", while they looked for ore, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered.He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.
Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for "grub". Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. "Oh help yourself. One more time won't make any difference," He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. the two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the "Pittsburgh Mine," made $1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000.This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became lieutenant governor of the state.
1. Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT.
A. because Tabor became its leading citizen
B. because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there
C. because it could bring good fortune to Tabor
D. because it was renamed
2. The word "grubstake" in paragraph 2 means.
A. to supply miners with food and supplies
B. to open a general store
C. to do one's contribution to the development of the mine
D. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine, if one was discovered
3.T abor made his first fortune.
A. by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings
B. because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying
C. by buying the shares of the other
D. as a land speculator
4. The underlying reason for Tabor's life career is.
A. purely accidental
B. based on the analysis of miner's being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site
C. through the help from his second wife
D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step
5. If this passage is the first part of an article, who might be introduced in the following part?
A. Tabor's life.
B. Tabor's second wife, Elizabeth McCourt.
C. Other colorful characters.
D. Tabor's other careers.
难句突破
请翻译以下长句，
1. It was his custom to "grubstake" prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or "grub", while they looked for ore, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered.
#P#
答案与详解
【短文大意】本文主要讲述霍塞斯•奥斯汀•沃纳•泰勃发家的故事。
1. C细节题。因为Leadville可以为Tabor带来巨富。这一点不是Leadville得名的原因，因为在文章第二段中，讲到这一点时，提及三个原因：A.因为Tabor成为当地的居民代表人物，B.因为在Leadville有丰富的铅的储藏量。D.因为Leadville是因为Tabor重要而起的名，唯独C没有，因为到后来发现是银矿才给他带来巨富。
2. D词汇题。第二段中grubstake的词义与D所述内容是相同的，即"供给探矿者资金，衣物，食品以及其他物品"。(可参阅英华大辞典修订第二版64页)但此处还补充地讲，作为回报，供给者可以获得矿中资源一定份额。(见文章第二段第4行)
3. A细节题。Tabor第一次真正发财是他为两名矿工提供资助，为此他获得他们矿资源三分之一的股份。见文章第三段4-9行内容：两名开矿者从Tabor那儿借走价值17美元的物品，作为回报，Tabor获得他们矿资源三分之一股份。于是两位开矿者在一座山旁的不毛之地开始挖掘，九天之后，发现了银的富矿，于是Tabor又将两人的股份全买下，这样，银矿属于Tabor一个人所有，这个矿就是后来著名的"匹兹堡"矿。Tabor用17美元的投资换来了130万美元的收获。
4. B推断题。由原文可知泰勃的财产来源是有一定偶然性的，但是毕竟也是基于他开创的"grubstake"模式，因为A、D都不对，C更是没有根据，因为他还没有娶第二位夫人这一切就发生了。分析泰勃的做法，会得出B选项所示的结论。
5. B推断题。如果本文是一篇文章的第一部分，那么在文章的第二部分将介绍谁呢?key可以从文章第一句分析出来，在Leadville的黄金年代，其多彩的特点当中，Tabor及其第二任妻子Elizabeth McCourt是值得大书特书的，接着，文章都在讲述有关H.A.W.Tabor发家致富的历史，如先买下匹兹堡矿，后又买下Matchless矿，最后成为市长，代理州长，等等，所以涉及到的全是男主人公，因此下边再讲的话，应成为女主人公即Elizabeth McCourt的天地了，她是Tabor的第二任妻子。这是顺理成章的事。
长难句解析
①【解析】"It"是形式主语，真正的主语是"to"后面的句子，"while"引导时间状语从句。
【译文】他的通常做法是对来采矿的人"下注"，说得更明确一点就是泰勃供给这些人食品、用品等物品，作为回报，当他们采到矿后就会分给他一部分股份。
全文翻译
Leadville的繁盛时期，有诸多有趣的人物，其中就有H.A.W.Tabor 和他的第二任妻子Elizabeth McCourt ，他们被称为"Baby Doe"。他们的发家史迅速变成古西部的传奇。贺瑞斯、安斯汀、华纳、陶伯原是佛蒙特州的一个老师。1855年，他带着第一任妻子和两个孩子，乘着载有全部家当的马车来到了堪萨斯州的一个农场。也许是他不喜欢务农，也可能是他被科罗拉多州的金矿传奇所吸引，总之，几年之后，他从西部搬到了科罗拉多州的一个被称为加利福尼亚谷的小矿聚集地。之后他成为这个州的州长，便将这里重命名为Leadville。他预言大量的铅矿在这里将被发现。
结果，这里出现的不是铅矿，而是银矿，这些银矿成为Leadville的好运和财富。陶伯本身对矿厂了解很少，于是他开了一个综合经营店，销售从靴子到盐，面粉以及香烟等各式各样的东西给那些需要援助的采矿者，换句话来说，他提供食品和其他供应，一旦有人发现矿厂，作为回报，他也能从中获益。他做了很多年，但是他支助的人都没有发现任何有价值的东西。
1878年的一天，两个矿工来寻求“下注”。但陶伯已经打算放弃了，因为他在此方面花了太多钱却一无所获。他们坚持自己的要求，陶伯忙得没空和他们争吵，所以他说：“好吧，再多一次也无所谓了。”说完他就做生意去了。两个矿工得到了17美金的供给，作为回报，他们将会给予陶伯他们淘金所得的三分之一利润。他们选择了一块荒山挖矿。9天之后，他们挖到了一座很富足的银矿。陶伯买下了两个矿工的股份，独自拥有了整座银矿，这就是后来著名的匹兹堡矿。陶伯以17美金的投资获得了1300000美金的回报。
后来，陶伯在城外的荒山上用$117 000买下了一个举世无双的矿。这个矿甚至比匹兹堡矿更为惊人，它曾为陶伯创下每天$35 000的银产出。Leadville慢慢发展起来了，陶伯成为它的第一个市长，后来又成为这个州的副州长。 |
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发表于 2016-7-11 18:38:34