Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H. A. W. Tabor and his 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. Then 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（矿石）, 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 mountain side 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.
小题1:Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT that| A．Tabor became its leading citizen. | | B．great deposits of lead is expected to be found there. | | C．it could bring good fortune to Tabor | | D．it was renamed |
小题2:The underlined word “grubstake” in Paragraph 3 means| A．to supply miners with food and supplies | | B．to open a general stores | | 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 |
小题3:We can infer that Tabor’s life career is.| A．purely lucky | | B．based on his managing theory of “grubstake’ | | C．through the help from his wife | | D．because he planned well and accomplished targets step by step |
小题4:Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?| A．Tabor’s Life. | B．A legend of the Old West | | C．Lead Makes Leadville’s Fortune | D．The Best Investment |
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