So, when gold was discovered in the West in 1849, he 23 thousands of others and rushed to California. 24 he planned to open a shop in San Francisco, he took many goods with him, 25 a large quantity of canvas.
答案：(D) joined
語意「他跟其他數千人一樣加入了淘金潮」，joined（加入）符合；took（拿）、avoided（避開）、paid（付款）都不符合這個語境。
本題大考中心未公布逐題答對率，以下不談數據，只談觀念。
四個選項都是很基本的動詞，但如果沒看清楚受詞是「人」不是「東西」，很容易挑錯。
四個選項都是動詞，可見這一格考的是語意與搭配，那就先看它後面接什麼：thousands of others——是「其他數千人」，是人不是物。再看整句：when gold was discovered in the West in 1849, he ___ thousands of others and rushed to California.（一八四九年西部發現金礦時，他……其他數千人，趕往加州。）and 後面是 rushed to California，代表他跟那數千人做了同一件事，所以空格要說的是「加入他們的行列」，填 joined。join 後面直接接人，意思就是加入那群人一起做某事，掛鉤是最常聽到的 Join us!（一起來吧！）與 join sb for dinner（跟某人一起吃晚餐）。
avoided（避開）：方向完全相反，避開別人就不會跟著趕往加州。took（拿、帶）：took thousands of others 會變成「他帶走了數千人」，語意荒謬。paid（付錢給）：與淘金潮的情境無關。
join sb（加入某人的行列）、join in（參加）、rush to（趕往）、be discovered（被發現）、thousands of（數以千計的）、take part in（參加）。
When Levi Strauss arrived in the United States from Bavaria, he was only seventeen, poor, and knew very 21 English. Like most immigrants, he was 22 a better life. So, when gold was discovered in the West in 1849, he 23 thousands of others and rushed to California.
24 he planned to open a shop in San Francisco, he took many goods with him, 25 a large quantity of canvas. He hoped to sell 26 as material for tents or wagon covers. Business, however, was not 27 he had expected.
28 , as he sat in a cafe in a small town, he had an idea. He saw a man with a hole in the leg of his trousers and 29 realized what Californians 30 for the rough work they were doing—good, strong trousers!