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Agoldrushisaperiodoffeverishmigrationofworkerstoanareathathashadadramaticdiscoveryofgolddeposits.Majorgoldrushestookplaceinthe19thcenturyinAustralia,NewZealand,Brazil,Canada,SouthAfrica,andtheUnitedStates,whilesmallergoldrushestookplaceelsewhere.TheCaliforniaGoldRush(1848–1855)beganonJanuary24,1848,whengoldwasfoundbyJamesW.MarshallatSutter'sMillinColoma,California.ThefirsttohearconfirmedinformationofthegoldrushwerethepeopleinOregon,theSandwichIslands(Hawaii),andLatinAmerica,whowerethefirsttostartflockingtothestateinlate1848.Allinall,thenewsofgoldbroughtsome300,000peopletoCaliforniafromtherestoftheUnitedStatesandabroad.Ofthe300,000,approximatelyhalfarrivedbyseaandhalfcamefromtheeastoverlandontheCaliforniaTrailandtheGilaRivertrail.Thegold-seekers,calledforty-niners(asareferenceto1849),oftenfacedsubstantialhardshipsonthetrip.WhilemostofthenewlyarrivedwereAmericans,theGoldRushattractedtensofthousandsfromLatinAmerica,Europe,Australia,andChina.Atfirst,thegoldnuggetscouldbepickedupofftheground.Later,goldwasrecoveredfromstreamsandriverbedsusingsimpletechniques,suchaspanning.Moresophisticatedmethodsweredevelopedandlateradoptedelsewhere.Atitspeak,technologicaladvancesreachedapointwheresignificantfinancingwasrequired,increasingtheproportionofgoldcompaniestoindividualminers.Goldworthtensofbillionsoftoday'sdollarswasrecovered,whichledtogreatwealthforafew.However,manyreturnedhomewithlittlemorethantheyhadstartedwith.Inthe19thandearly20thcenturies,therewereseveralmajorgoldrushes.Thepermanentwealththatresultedwasdistributedwidelybecauseofreducedmigrationcostsandlowbarrierstoentry.Whilegoldminingitselfwasunprofitableformostdiggersandmineowners,somepeoplemadelargefortunes,andthemerchantsandtransportationfacilitiesmadelargeprofits.Theresultingincreaseintheworld'sgoldsupplystimulatedglobaltradeandinvestment.Historianshavewrittenextensivelyaboutthemigration,trade,colonization,andenvironmentalhistoryassociatedwithgoldrushes.TheeffectsoftheGoldRushweresubstantial.SanFranciscogrewfromasmallsettlementofabout200residentsin1846toaboomtownofabout36,000by1852.Roads,churches,schoolsandothertownswerebuiltthroughoutCalifornia.In1849astateconstitutionwaswritten,agovernorandlegislaturechosenandCaliforniabecameastatein1850aspartoftheCompromiseof1850whichdividedpossibleUSterritoriesintofreeandslavestates.Newmethodsoftransportationdevelopedassteamshipscameintoregularservice.By1869railroadswerebuiltacrossthecountryfromCaliforniatotheeasternUnitedStates.Agricultureandranchingexpandedthroughoutthestatetomeettheneedsofthesettlers.AtthebeginningoftheGoldRush,therewasnolawregardingpropertyrightsinthegoldfieldsandasystemofstakingclaimswasdeveloped.TheGoldRushalsohadnegativeeffects:NativeAmericanswereattackedandpushedofftheirlandsandthemininghascausedenvironmentalharm.Anestimated100,000CaliforniaIndiansdiedbetween1848and1868asaresultofAmericanimmigration.panning:washingsoilorsmallstonesinapantofindgoldorothervaluableminerals（用淘选盘）淘洗；淘金panout:(ofeventsorasituation)todevelopinaparticularway（事情或局面）发展成……panthework:toseverelycriticizethework严厉批评、抨击作品Inapinch的意思是“必要时、在紧要关头”，有人说它起源于淘金热（goldrush），也有人认为这种说法并不可靠。那它究竟起源于何处呢？关于inapinch起源于淘金热的说法是有一段小故事的。据说当时淘金者买东西时，商人们会把手伸进淘金者装金沙的袋子中，捏（pinch）一撮金沙作为交换。为了能得到更多的金沙，商人们通常会雇佣一些手掌较大的人来完成这项任务。因为这个过程关系到商人的既得利益，所以inapinch演变成“在紧要关头”的意思也不无道理。goldbrick指的是anidleworthlessperson（吊儿郎当的懒汉），它的渊源则可追溯到19世纪美国的“淘金热”。淘金时，人们为了便于装运黄金，遂把挖出的金块铸成砖形，于是，goldbrick应运而生，在当时指的可是真的“金砖”。不过，到了1879，由于一桩轰动全美的诈骗案，“金砖”在现在倒成了“赝品”和“诈骗”的代名词。随着时间的推移，goldbrick的词义慢慢扩大，现在用来指“游手好闲，吊儿郎当的懒汉、怠工者或骗子”。grassrootscommunity就是指“基层社区”。Grassroots这个词大家一定不陌生，直译就是流行用语“草根”。这种说法始于19世纪处于淘金热的美国，当时盛传山脉土壤表层草根生长茂盛的地方，下面就蕴藏着黄金。后来“草根”一词引入社会学领域，就被赋予了“基层”的内涵。人们平常说到的一些民间组织，非政府组织等等一般都可以看作是“草根阶层”。同主流、精英文化或精英阶层相对应的弱势阶层也可以被称为“草根”。