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02 西部牛仔的由来
DATE=2-15-2001
TITLE=MAKING OF A NATION #128 - THE WEST
BYLINE=FRANK BEARDSLEY
VOICE ONE:
(start at 13") THE(1) MAKING OF A NATION -- A Program In Special English.
(THEME)
Soon after the civil war ended in eighteen-sixty-five, thousands
Of land-hungry americans began to move west. The great movement of(2) settlers continued for almost forty years. The great empty west, in time, became completely (3)settled. The discovery of gold had already started a great movement to (4)California.
Voice two:
Men had rushed to the gold fields with hopes of becoming rich. A
Few found gold. The others found only hard work and high prices.
When their money was gone, they gave up the search for gold. But
They stayed in california to become farmers or businessmen or
Laborers.
Some never gave up the search for riches. They moved back toward
The east, searching for gold and (5)silver in the wild country
Between california and the (6)Mississippi river.
[opt] men found gold and silver in (7)nevada, and then in the (8)idaho
And montanaterritories. Other gold strikes were made in the
(9)Arizona (10)territory, in (11)Colorado and in the (12)Dakota territory.
[opt]
Voice one:
Each new gold rush brought more people from the east. (13)mining
Camps quickly grew into towns with stores, hotels, even
Newspapers. Most of these towns, however, lived only as long as
Gold was easy to find. Then they began to die.
In some of the gold centers, big mining companies bought up all
The land from those who first claimed it. These companies
Brought in mining machines that could dig out the gold from deep
Underground and separate it from the rock that held it.
These companies needed(14) equipment and other supplies.
(15)transportation companies were formed. They carried supplies to
The mining camps in huge (16)wagon trains pulled by slow-moving oxen.
Roads were built, and in some places, railroads.
Voice two:
The great wealth taken from the gold and silver mines was usually
(17)invested in other businesses: shipping. Railroads. Factories.
Stores. Land companies. More jobs were created in the west.
And living conditions got better. More and more people decided
To leave the (18)crowded east for a new life in the west.
But the big eastern cities continued to grow. New factories and
Industrial centers were built. People moved from the farms to
Find work in the cities.
Voice one:
The growth of these industrial centers created a big (19)demand for
Food, especially meat. Chicago quickly became the heart of the
Meat industry. Railroads brought animals to chicago, where
Packing companies killed them and prepared the meat for eastern
Markets.
Special railroad cars kept the meat cold, so it would remain
(20)fresh until sold. As the meat industry grew, the demand for
Fresh meat increased. More and more (21)cattle were needed.
Voice two:
There were millions of cattle in texas, but no way to get them to
The eastern (22)markets. The closest point on the railroad was
Sedalia, (23)Missouri, more than one-thousand kilometers away. Some
Cattlemen believed it might be possible to walk cattle to the
Railroad, letting them feed on the open (24)grassland along the way.
Early in eighteen-sixty-six, a group of texas cattlemen decided
To try this. They put together a huge(25) herd of more than
Two-hundred sixty-thousand cattle and set out for sedalia.
Voice one:
There were many problems on that first cattle drive. The country
Was rough; grass and water sometimes hard to find. (26)bandits and
Indians followed the herd trying to steal cattle. Farmers had
Put up fences in some areas, blocking the way.
Most of the great herd was lost along the way. But the cattlemen
Believed they had proved that cattle could be walked long
Distances to the railroad. They believed a better way to the
Railroad could be found, with plenty of grass and water.
Voice two:
The cattlemen got the (27)Kansas pacific railroad to extend its line
West to abilene, kansas. There was a good trail from texas to
Abilene. Cattlemen began moving their herds up this trail across
The (28)Oklahoma territory and into(29) Kansas. At abilene, the cattle
Were put on trains and carried to chicago.
In the next four years, more than one-and-a-half-million cattle
Were moved north over the chisholm trail to kansas. Other trails
Were found as the railroad moved farther west.
Voice one:
Trail drives usually began with the spring "round-up." cattlemen
Would send out (30)cowboys to search the open grasslands for their
Animals.
As the cattle were brought in, the young animals were branded --
Marked to show who owned them. Then they were released with
Their mothers to spend another year in the open country.
The other cattle were put together for the long drive to kansas.
Usually, they were moved in groups of twenty-five-hundred to
Five-thousand animals. Twelve to twenty cowboys took them up the
Trail.
Voice two:
The cowboys worked hard on a trail drive. They had to keep the
Herd together day and night and protect it from bad men and
Indians. They had to keep the cattle from moving too fast or
Running away. If they moved too fast, they would lose weight,
And their owner would not get as much money for them.
The cowboys would walk the cattle only twenty to thirty
Kilometers a day. The cattle could feed all night and part of
The morning before starting each day. If the grass was good, and
The herd moved slowly, the cattle would get heavier and bring
More money.
Voice one:
In the early eighteen-eighties, the price of cattle rose to fifty
Dollars each, and many cattlemen became rich. Business was so
Good that a five-thousand-dollar investment in the cattle
(31)industry could make forty-five-thousand dollars in four years.
More and more people began raising cattle. And early cattlemen
Greatly increased the size of their herds. Within a few years,
There was not enough grass for all the cattle, especially along
The trails. There was so much meat that the price began to fall.
Voice two:
There were two severe winters that killed hundreds of thousands
Of cattle. An extremely dry summer killed the grass, and
Thousands more died of hunger. The cattle industry itself almost
Died.
Cattlemen also had problems with farmers and sheepmen. Farmers
Coming west would claim grassland used by the cattle growers.
They would put up fences and plow up the land to plant crops.
Other settlers brought huge herds of sheep to (32)compete with cattle
For the grass, and the sheep always won. Cattle would not eat
Grass where sheep had eaten.
(33)violence broke out. Cattle growers fought the farmers and
Sheepmen for control of the land. The cattlemen finally had to
Settle land of their own, putting up fences and cutting the size
Of their herds. They no longer could let their cattle run free
On public lands.
Voice one:
By the late eighteen-hundreds, the years of the cowboys were
Ending. But the story of the cowboy and his difficult life would
Not be forgotten. Even today, the cowboy lives in movies, on
Television, and in books.
When one thinks of the "wild west" of america, he does not think
Of the miners who opened the way to the west. Nor does he think
Of the men who struggled to build the first railroads across the
Wild land. And one does not think of the farmers who pushed
Slowly westward to (34)fence, (35)plow, and plant the land.
Voice two:
The words "wild west" bring to mind just one (36)character: the
Cowboy. His difficult fight to protect his cattle on the long
Trail was an exciting story. It has been told by many writers.
Perhaps the best-known was a young easterner, owen wister. He
Worked as a cattleman for several years, then wrote about the
Heroic life of the cowboy in a book called the virginian.
Another easterner who came west to learn about the cowboy was the artist frederick remington. Remington was a cowboy for only two years. But he spent the rest of his life painting pictures of The west and writing about it. His exciting works made the west And the cowboy come to life for millions who never saw a real Cowboy.
Voice one:
The cowboy has also lived in music. He had his own kind of songs
That told of his problems, his hopes, and his (37)feelings. That
Will be our story next week.
(theme)
Voice two:
You have been listening to the special english program, the
Making of a nation. Your narrators were leo scully and
Robert bostic. Our program was written by frank beardsley
(1)making[ 5meikiN ]n.制造, 发展, 素质
(2)settler[ 5setlE ]n.移民者, 殖民者, [律]财产赠予者, 托管财产者
(3)settled[ 5setld ]adj.固定的
(4)California[ kAli5fC:njE ]n.加利福尼亚, 加州
(5)silver[ 5silvE ]n.银, 银子vt.镀银
(6)Mississippi[ 7misi5sipi ] n.密西西比河(发源于美国中北部湖沼区,南注墨西哥湾,是世界上最大的河流之一), 密西西比州(美国州名)
(7)Nevada[ ne5vB:dE ]n.内华达州(美国西部内陆州)
(8)Idaho[5aIdEhEJ]n.爱达荷州(美国州名)
(9)Arizona[ 7Ari5zEunE ]n.亚利桑那州(美国西南部的州)
(10)territory[ 5teritEri ]n.领土, 版图, 地域
(11)Colorado[ 7kClE5rB:dEu ]美国科罗拉多州(位于美国西部)
(12)Dakota[ dE5kEutE ]达科他(美国过去一地区名, 现分为南、北达科他州) 达科他人的
(13)mining[ 5mainiN ]n.采矿, 矿业
(14)equipment[ i5kwipmEnt ]n.装备, 设备, (一企业除房地产以外的)固定资产, 才能
(15)transportation [ 7trAnspC:5teiFEn ]n.运输, 运送
(16) wagon[ 5wA^En ]n.四轮马车, 货车v.用运货马车运输货物
(17) invest[ in5vest ]v.投(资), 购买(有用之物)～, 授予, 投资
(18) crowded[ 5kraudid ]adj.拥挤的, 塞满的
(19)demand[ di5mB:nd ]n.要求, 需求(量), 需要
(20)fresh[ freF ]adj.新鲜的, 无经验的, 生的, 冒失的, 鲜艳的
(21)cattle[ 5kAtl ]n.牛, 家养牲畜
(22)market[ 5mB:kit ]n.市场, 销路, 行情vt.在市场上交易, 使上市vi.在市场上买卖
(23)Missouri[ mi5zuEri ]n.密苏里州(美国州名)
(24)grassland[ 5^rB:slAnd ]n.牧草地, 草原
(25)herd[ hE:d ]n.兽群, 牧群v.把...赶在一起放牧, 成群
(26)bandit[ 5bAndit ]n.强盗
(27)Kansas[ 5kAnzEs ]n.堪萨斯州
(28)Oklahoma[ 7EuklE5hEumE ]n.俄克拉荷马州
(29)Kansas[ 5kAnzEs ]n.堪萨斯州
(30)cowboy[5kaJbCI]n.<美>牛仔, 牧童, 美国西部牧人
(31)industry[ 5indEstri ]n.工业, 产业, 行业, 勤奋
(32)compete[ kEm5pi:t ]vi.比赛, 竞争
(33)violence[ 5vaiElEns ]n.猛烈, 强烈, 暴力, 暴虐, 暴行, 强暴
(34)fence[ fens ]n.栅栏, 围墙, 剑术
(35)plow[ plau ]n.犁v.耕, 犁, 犁耕, 费力穿过,
(36)character[ 5kAriktE ]n.(事物的)特性, 性质, 特征(的总和), (人的)品质, 特征, 人物
(37)feeling[ 5fi:liN ]n.触觉, 知觉, 感觉, 情绪, 同情
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