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Family Fortune
In 1840, times were hard for Bentley Harcourt. He had a farm in Yorkshire, but it didn’t make money. He wanted to marry but decided to wait until better times came along. Better times did not come along. One day, he saw a newspaper article about the American West. It sounded like the land of milk and honey. He thought about it. He had no family. Nobody cared if he lived or died. Why not make a new life in the New World? He sold his farm and immigrated to America. After a year of drifting he found himself in Texas. He loved it. He loved the fact that you could travel for days and not meet another soul. He used his savings to buy some land. That year he died.
In 1910, an oil company moved on to his land and found oil. They took millions of barrels of oil out of the ground, all the profits due to the owner of the land were paid into a bank account in Houston, where they waited for a relative to claim them. The money sat in the bank for years. By 1975, the amount stood at two billion dollars.
In 1975, in Bradford, England, a man called David Kingsley took up a new hobby – tracing his family tree. He studied church records, visited museums, checked every reference to families called Kingsley. He also checked on his mother’s family. They were called Harcourt. He discovered one day that his mother’s great-great uncle, a man with the splendid name of Bentley Harcourt, had sailed from Liverpool to America.
In the same year, shortly after learning about his great-great uncle, Kingsley read a magazine article about a fortune that lay unclaimed in a Texas bank. This article told the story of a lonely immigrant called Bentley Harcourt, and about how he had died shortly after buying his dream ranch in Texas. The magazine promised to pay the legal expenses of anyone who could claim to be a descendant and who might be entitled to the fortune. Kingsley read the story with mounting excitement. Surely, this must be the same Bentley Harcourt that he had come across during his research into his family tree! He talked the matter over with his wife and then wrote to the magazine.
As it turned out, Kingsley was not the only one who claimed to be a descendant. By the end of 1977, over 60 people were claiming they were entitled to the fortune. The arguments, the quarrels, and the court cases went on, and on, and on. In the end, Kingsley did not get the money, but, funnily enough, he didn’t mind. He had found something much more important. He had a great-great uncle named Bentley Harcourt, there was no doubt about that. But, amazingly, it was a different Bentley Harcourt. It seemed impossible that there could be two people with such an unusual name, but it was true. This Bentley Harcourt had settled in Orange Country, California, and had made his fortune in fish canning. He married a hardworking Swedish girl, and they had thirteen children. David Kingsley had found a different treasure: a branch of his family across the Atlantic. The two families wrote to each other. Later, they visited each other. They became the best of friends.
And the fortune of the other Bentley Harcourt? It is still unclaimed. As I write this, the sum stands at 2.3 billion dollars. This may be a good moment to start tracing your family tree!
| What did Bentley Harcourt think about the American West when he read the newspaper article?
| | |
| 1)
| He thought it was a land with a lot of free food.
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| 2)
| He thought he might find himself a wife there.
| |
| 3)
| He thought it was a land where life was easy and wonderful.
| |
| 4)
| He thought he could hide himself there from people.
| | | Why did the oil company decide to send part of the profits to the bank?
| | |
| 1)
| The money belonged to the owner of the land.
| |
| 2)
| It was required by the owner of the land.
| |
| 3)
| They wanted to hide it from the owner of the land.
| |
| 4)
| They wanted to buy the land out for that money.
| | | How did David Kingsley learn about the unclaimed money in the Texas bank?
| | |
| 1)
| He found the information in church records.
| |
| 2)
| His great-great uncle wrote to him about it.
| |
| 3)
| He learned it from his mother’s relatives.
| |
| 4)
| He found the story in a magazine.
| | | David Kingsley thought that the owner of the Texas ranch was
| | |
| 1)
| of no relation to him.
| |
| 2)
| related to his mother.
| |
| 3)
| related to his father.
| |
| 4)
| related to the Harcourt from Orange Country.
| | | Why was David Kingsley surprised to find another Bentley Harcourt who had left for America?
| | |
| 1)
| Bentley Harcourt had not many close relatives and descendants.
| |
| 2)
| The name was too unusual for there being two of them.
| |
| 3)
| He didn’t come across him in the family tree.
| |
| 4)
| Harcourt’s relatives had never contacted him.
| | | David Kingsley never got Bentley Harcourt’s money because he
| | |
| 1)
| didn’t want to quarrel with other candidates.
| |
| 2)
| didn’t prove in court that its owner was his relative.
| |
| 3)
| decided that the other descendants deserved it more.
| |
| 4)
| thought that that money was not important.
| | | Why does the narrator advise the readers to study their family trees?
| | |
| 1)
| They may find relatives who would turn into best friends.
| |
| 2)
| Some of them might still be Bentley Harcourt’s relatives.
| |
| 3)
| There is a chance to find some rich relatives.
| |
| 4)
| This study may become a very profitable hobby.
| |
| 1.
| Inspired by noble goals
| | 2.
| Protected by law
| | 3.
| Small size – great opportunities
| | 4.
| Little experience – big success
| |
| | 5.
| Hard to see and to believe
| | 6.
| Hard to explain how they could
| | 7.
| Breathtaking just to watch
| | 8.
| From travelling to discovery
| | | | A.
| Charles Darwin’s five-year voyage on H.M.S. Beagle has become legendary and greatly influenced his masterwork, the book, On the Origin of Species. Darwin didn’t actually formulate his theory of evolution while sailing around the world aboard the Royal Navy ship. But the exotic plants and animals he encountered challenged his thinking and led him to consider scientific evidence in new ways.
| | B.
| The 19th century was a remarkable time for exploration. Vast portions of the globe, such as the interior of Africa, were mapped by explorers and adventurers. It was the time when David Livingstone became convinced of his mission to reach new peoples in Africa and introduce them to Christianity, as well as free them from slavery.
| | C.
| Louis Pasteur's various investigations convinced him of the rightness of his germ theory of disease, which holds that germs attack the body from outside. Many felt that such tiny organisms as germs could not possibly kill larger ones such as humans. But Pasteur extended this theory to explain the causes of many diseases – including cholera, TB and smallpox – and their prevention by vaccination.
| | D.
| Frederick Law Olmsted, the architect who designed New York City’s Central Park, called the Yosemite Valley “the greatest glory of nature.” Californians convinced one of their representatives, Senator John Conness, to do something about its protection. In May 1864, Conness introduced legislation to bring the Yosemite Valley under the control of the state of California. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law.
| | E.
| The Maya thrived for nearly 2, 000 years. Without the use of the cartwheel or metal tools, they built massive stone structures. They were accomplished scientists. They tracked a solar year of 365 days and one of the few surviving ancient Maya books contains tables of eclipses. From observatories, like the one at Chichen Itza, they tracked the progress of the war star, Mars.
| | F.
| Bali has been a surfing hotspot since the early 20th century, and continues to attract surfers from all over the world. The island's small size and unique geography provides wonderful surfing conditions, in all seasons, for surfers of any level of experience. Inexperienced surfers might like to try Kuta's kind waves, while more able surfers will try Nusa Dua's powerful waves.
| | G.
| Base jumping is an extreme sport, one which only very adventurous travelers enjoy. Some base jumpers leap off bridges, others off buildings and the most extreme off cliffs in Norway. Once a year, base jumpers in the US get to leap off the New River Bridge in West Virginia. During the annual Bridge Day, hundreds of jumpers can go off the bridge legally. Thousands of spectators show up to watch.
| |
| Arizona’s world class cruise
Spectacular Canyon Lake is situated in the heart of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, giving home to the Dolly Steamboat. The Dolly Steamboat, A __________, now cruises the secluded inner waterways of this beautiful lake. It is worth exploring this favourite destination of President Theodore Roosevelt who declared, “The Apache Trail and surrounding area combines the grandeur of the Alps, the glory of the Rockies, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon and then adds something B __________.” You will marvel as you travel up to the national forest, which provides the most inspiring and beautiful panorama C __________. Every trip brings new discoveries of rock formations, geological history, and the flora and fauna distinct to the deserts of Arizona.
Once aboard the Dolly Steamboat, you may view the majestic desert big horn sheep, bald eagles and a host bird of other wildlife, water fowl, D __________. Experience the unique sound harmony that is created by the waters of Canyon Lake. Stretch out and relax at one of the tables or stand next to the railings on the deck. There is plenty of leg room on the Dolly. You will get a unique chance to listen to the captain E __________.
All the passengers are treated with outstanding service and personal attention to every need. Feel free to ask questions, move about and mingle with the crew. So enjoy an unforgettable vacation cruise and see F__________ like a ride on Arizona’s Dolly Steamboat.
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|
| | 1.
| that none of the others have
| | 2.
| who pays much attention to children’s safety
| | 3.
| continuing a tradition of cruising since 1925
| | 4.
| hovering over the magnificent lake
| | 5.
| that nature has ever created in the wild
| | 6.
| who retells the legends of the mysterious past
| | 7.
| for yourself why there is nothing quite
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