It was January 1848. A man was digging near the small village of San Francisco， California， Suddenly， he saw something shiny—gold.

　　By the next year the <<<>>> gold rush had begun. Thousands of men came to <<<>>>. They were called “forty-miners” after the year 1849. The forty-miners came from all around the <<<>>>. They even came from other countries， including Mexico， Australia， China， France， and England. They left their families and jobs， and made the difficult trip to California. They all shared a dream. They all wanted to make a fortune in gold.

　　Towns and camps grew quickly wherever gold was found. These towns were rough places. There was almost always a saloon， where the men drank whiskey and gambled at cards. In mining towns， men stole and sometimes killed for gold.

　　Did the miners make their fortune? Some did， especially those who came early were lucky. In 1848， miners usually made about twenty dollars a day. In 1852 miners made about six dollars a day. Many other people came to <<<>>> to make money from the miners. Prices were very high. A loaf of bread， which cost five cents in New York， cost almost a dollar in San Francisco.

　　In 1848 <<<>>> had been a village. Six years later it was a city with a population of 50，000. In 1850 <<<>>> had enough people to become a state.

　　( )1. In 1849 thousands of men came to <<<>>> because _______.

　　A. they were forty-miners

　　B. they wanted to find gold

　　C. they had families

　　D. <<<>>> was a beautiful place

　　( )2. Towns and camps _________.

　　A. grew quickly

　　B. grew where there was a saloon

　　C. grew where there was no gold

　　D. grew fast wherever there was gold

　　( )3. Some of the miners who were lucky _________.

　　A. made twenty dollars

　　B. made their fortune

　　C. made bread

　　D. became poor

　　( )4. The towns of the old West were rough places ________.

　　A. where people fought a lot

　　B. where there are mountains

　　C. where there is no water

　　D. with irregular land

　　1.B 2.D 3.B 4.A