词汇提示

1.cattle drives 赶牛

2.conqueror 占领者

3.roamed 漫步

4.prairies 草原

5.interbred 杂交

6.temper 脾气

7.aggressiveness 攻击性

8.disbanded 遣散

9.tribes 部落

10.wagon 马车

11.barred 被禁止

12.barbed wire 带刺铁丝网围栏

13.dealer 商人

14.sheriff 治安官

15.tamed 驯服

16.herd 牧群

17.rancher 牧场主

18.chuck wagon 流动餐车

19.portable 便携的

20.fenced 被围起来

原文

Cowboys

The golden age of the American cowboy was short lived.

It began in the 1860s with the great cattle drives from Texas north to Kansas.

By 1890, when railroads had reached remote areas, there was no more need for large scale cattle drives.

Of course, cowboys have a history before 1860.

In fact, there were Mexican cowboys long before that.

The Spanish conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortes, brought cattle with him.

In 1521, Cortes also branded his cattle with a three-cross design.

The Spanish sharp horned cattle roamed the deserts and prairies freely.

Eventually, they found their way to Texas.

American settlers in Texas interbreed their animals with the Spanish breed.The Texas long-horn cow was the result.

It was famous for its bad temper and aggressiveness.

The long horn was a dangerous animal, with each of its horns measuring up to three and one half feet long.

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, disbanded soldiers who were former black slaves and young men seeking adventure headed west.

At that time, there were about 5 million cattle in Texas.

Back in the east, there was a big demand for beef.

By this time, railways from the east extended as far west as Kansas.

It was still more than 600 miles from South Texas to the railway between the two places.

There were rivers to cross Indian tribes, bad lands and other problems.

Fur trader named Jesse Chism had driven his wagon north.

In 1865, cowboys and cattle followed the Chism trail north to Abilene, Kansas.

This cattle trail became the most famous route for driving cattle, until it was barred with barbed wire in 1884.

In 1867, cattle dealer Joseph G McCoy built pens for 3000 cattle in the little town of Abilene.

Soon, Abilene was the most dangerous town in America.

After the long cattle drive, cowboys who had just been paid went wild.

Sheriff “Wild Bill”Hickok tamed Abilene in 1871 by forcing cowboys to turn over their guns when they arrived in town.

Other towns replaced Abilene as the wildest town in the west-Newton, Wichita, Ellsworth and Dodge City in Kansas.

A herd of 3000 Texas long horns might sell for 100000 dollars, making the rancher rich.

The cowboys might get 200 dollars in wages, which often disappeared on drink women and gambling.

Getting cattle to Kansas was far from easy.

One of the biggest difficulties was getting the herd across rivers, especially when the river was high.There were no bridges.

In 1871, 350 cowboys driving 60000 cattle waited two weeks for the water level in the Red River to go down.

Food for men and animals was also difficult to find at times. An early cattleman developed the Chuck Wagon, which were both a supply wagon and a portable kitchen.

In the 1870s, there were probably 40000 cowboys in the West.

After the prairies were fenced in, there was less work.

Large ranchers still employ cowboys to round up the cattle for branding or for sale.

Even today, about 20000 cowboys still work in North America.

翻译

牛仔

美国牛仔的黄金时代是短暂的。
它始于19世纪60年代，从德克萨斯向北到堪萨斯的大规模赶牛。
到1890年，当铁路到达偏远地区时，就不再需要大规模的赶牛了。
当然，牛仔在1860年以前就有了。
事实上，早在那之前就有墨西哥牛仔了。
墨西哥的西班牙征服者埃尔南·科尔特斯带来了牛。
1521年，科尔特斯还在他的牛身上烙上了一个三叉图案。
西班牙尖角牛在沙漠和大草原上自由游荡。
最终，他们找到了去德克萨斯州的路。
德克萨斯州的美国定居者将他们的牛与西班牙品种杂交。得克萨斯长角牛就是结果。
它以坏脾气和好斗而闻名。
长角牛是一种危险的动物，它的每个角都有3.5英尺长。
1865年美国内战结束后，被解散的士兵包括曾经黑人奴隶的和寻求冒险的年轻人向西进发。
当时，德克萨斯州大约有500万头牛。
美国东部对牛肉的需求很大。
此时，铁路从东部一直延伸到西部的堪萨斯州。
从南德克萨斯到这两个地方之间的铁路仍然有600多英里。
有河流、穿越印第安部落，有恶劣的土地和其他问题。
名叫杰西·克里斯的皮草商人把他的马车开到了北方。
1865年，牛仔和牛群沿着克里斯小道向北来到堪萨斯州的阿比林。
这条牛道成为最著名的赶牛路线，直到1884年才被铁丝网封死。
1867年，牛贩子约瑟夫·G·麦考伊(Joseph G McCoy)在小镇阿比林(Abilene)建造了3000头牛的围栏。
很快，阿比林成了美国最危险的城镇。
经过长时间的赶牛，刚拿到报酬的牛仔们变得发狂。
1871年，“狂野比尔”希科克警长驯服了阿比林，他强迫牛仔们在进城时交出他们的枪支。
其他城镇取代阿比林成为西部最荒凉的城镇——堪萨斯州的牛顿、威奇托、埃尔斯沃斯和道奇城。
一群3000只德克萨斯长角牛可以卖到10万美元，这让牧场主变得富有。
牛仔们可能会得到200美元的工资，而这些工资往往会因为酗酒的女人和赌博而消失。
把牛运到堪萨斯并不容易。
最大的困难之一是让牛群过河，尤其是在水位高的时候。因为路上没有桥。
1871年，350名牛仔赶着60000头牛等了两个星期，才等等红河的水位下降。
人类和动物的食物有时也很难找到。一位早期的牧人发明了查克马车（流动餐车），它既是一辆补给车，也是一个便携式厨房。
在19世纪70年代，西部大约有4万名牛仔。
大草原用篱笆围起来之后，工作就少了。
大牧场主仍然雇用牛仔把牛圈起来打上商标或出售。
直到今天，仍有约2万名牛仔在北美工作。

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Level 4-Day 4.Cowboys