题目内容:
根据下面资料,回答题 Alaska
① In 1858 Americans welcomed Alaska into the Union as the 49th state, symbolizing achange of attitude that hold in 1867, when the peninsula was purchased from Russia. Then, mostAmericans had little interest in 1,500,000 square kilometers "of icebergs and polar bear"--beyondCanada's western borders ,far from the settled areas of the United States.
② In those sections of the state which lie above the Arctic Circle, Alaska still is a land of icebergs and polar bear. Ice buried in the earth, which is permanently frozen to a depth of 90 or moremeters, From early May until early August, the midnight sun never sets on this flat, treeless region,but the sun cannot melt the icy soil more than two thirds of a meter down.
③ Alaska is America's largest state, but only about 325,000 people live there. Accordingtoestimates,800,000 hectares of its land area are fit for plowing but only about 640,000 hectares arebeing cultivated.
④ Arctic Alaska has been the home of Eskimos for countless centuries. It is believed that theEskimos moved there from Mongolia or Siberia, probably crossing Bering Strait, named for Vitus Bering, the Danish sea captain who discovered Alaska on his voyage for Russia in 1741. The Eskimosare the state' s earliest known inhabitants. Russian fur traders established settlements but, by the time
Alaska was sold to the United States, most of the traders had departed.
⑤In 1896 gold was discovered near the Klondike River in Canada just across the Alaskanborder. Thousands of Americans rushed to the region on their way to Klondike; Alaska was nevercompletely cut off again, although even today transportation is a major problem. There are only twomotor routes from the U. S. mainland, and within the state, every town has its own airfield. Planes fly
passengers, mail and freight to the most distant villages.
⑥ The gold that changed life so suddenly for Alaska was soon ended,and although many stories about mining camps have become part of American literature, the gold from Alaskan earth contributed less to economic progress than the fish from Alaska waters. The fish caught in a single year
range in value from $80 million to $90 million. Fur-bearing animals are plentiful in the forests andstreams, and valuable fur seals inhabit the waters. After fishing, the state' s chief industry is lumberand the production of wood pulp. In recent years, Alaska' s single most important resource has become oil. The state also has large deposits of coal, copper, gold and other minerals.

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