A tale of two rushes 英汉A tale of two rushes 英汉.doc

A tale of two rushes 美国的两次经济热潮 There’s gold in them there wells WHEN his neighbour discovered gold in a Californian river in 1848, Sam Brannan could have kept quiet about it. Instead, he filled a jar with gold dust and rushed around the streets of San Francisco shouting “Gold! Gold! Gold!” He had good reason to incite a gold rush: he owned a shop nearby. He became California’s first millionaire by selling picks, shovels, beans and bacon to the horde of prospectors who heeded his call. 1848年，山姆·布兰南的邻居在加利福尼亚河发现了黄金，山姆·布兰南本来可以保守这个秘密。但山姆·布兰南却带着一罐砂金在旧金山街道到处转悠，并大喊大叫“金子！金子！”。山姆·布兰南的行为引发了美国的淘金热；实际上，山姆的商店就在发现砂金的地点的附近，他向闻讯而来的众多淘金者出售锄头、铁铲、咖啡豆、腌肉等商品，没过多久，山姆就成为了加利福尼亚的第一位百万富翁。 Gold fever spread fast. The lure of buried treasure “sucked nearly every free hand and available arm to the gold mines”, observes H.W. Brands in “The Age of Gold”, a brilliant history of the period. “They tore themselves from warm hearths and good homes, promising to return; they fled from cold hearts and bad debts, vowing never to return.” The Alta California, a local paper, reported that “The whole country…resounds to the sordid cry of gold! GOLD!! GOLD!!!” It added that this would be the last issue for a while, since all its staff were heading for the gold fields. 淘金热迅速向外传播。按照HW·布兰兹所著的《黄金年代》一书对此描述道：“淘金热吸引了每一个自由人带着武器前往金矿。他们要么从自己温暖的家前往加利福尼亚，并告诉家人他们一定会回来，要么从冰冷的住处逃离，以躲避债主，并发誓再也不回来了。”。《上加利福尼亚》是当地的一份报纸，该报对淘金热有如此报道：“整个美国都回荡着‘金子！’‘金子’的疯狂叫喊声。”《上加利福尼亚》”《上加利福尼亚》还对此标注：本报将暂停出版，因为我们的员工也都去淘金了。 America’s current shale-energy boom has plenty in common with the gold rush, and might prove as momentous. It has created a gusher of wealth in remote places. It has lured young men to wild frontier towns, such as Williston, North Dakota. Jim Cramer, a television host, sounded just like Brannan when he reported from North Dakota in 2011. “This new black gold rush is just getting started!” he bellowed, against a backdrop of nodding donkeys. “Listen, people in this country who need a job, get up here!” 美国现在的页岩能源热潮与美国19世纪的淘金热有着诸多