阅读理解
Cities usually have a good reason for being
where they are, like a nearby port or river. People settle in these places because
they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade. New York
City, for example, is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. Over
300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million. But not all
cities develop slowly over a long period of time. Boom towns grow from nothing almost
overnight. In 1896, Dawson, Canada, was unmapped wilderness(荒野). But gold was discovered there in 1897,
and two years later, it was one of the largest cities in the West, with a population
of 30,000.
Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences
of cities like London or Paris. People went there for gold. They travelled over
snow-covered mountains and sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson
was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people.
For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip.
Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these
stayed rich men for the rest of their lives.
But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was
never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon,
the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed
people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold
discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today,
people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism
is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762.
