The cowboy is the hero of many movies. He is, even today, a symbol of courage and adventure. But what was the life of the cowboy really like?
The cowboy's job is clear from the word cowboy. Cowboys were men who took care of cows and other cattle. The cattle were in the West and in Texas. People in the cities of the East wanted beef from these cattle. Trains could take the cattle east. But first the cattle had to get to the trains. Part of the cowboy's job was to take the cattle hundreds of miles to the railroad towns.
The trips were called cattle drives. A cattle drive usually took several months. Cowboys rode for sixteen hours a day. Because they rode so much, each cowboy brought along about eight horses. A cowboy changed horses several times each day.
The cowboys had to make sure that the cattle arrived safely. Before starting on a drive, the cowboys branded the cattle. They burned a mark on the cattle to show who they belonged to. But these marks didn't stop rustlers, or cattle thieves. Cowboys had to protect the cattle from rustlers. Rustlers made the dangerous trip even more dangerous.
Even though their work was very difficult and dangerous, cowboys did not earn much money. They were paid badly. Yet cowboys liked their way of life. They lived in a wild and open country. They lived a life of adventure and freedom.
A cowboy is a symbol of______.
A. courage and adventure
B. a hard life and big pay
C. movies in the past
D. cows and other cattle
Thousands of people in the city______to welcome the visiting guests.
A. turned off
B. turned up
C. turned out
D. turned over
Can animals be made to work for us? Some scientists think that one day animals may be trained to do a number of simple jobs that are now done by human beings.
They point out that at a circus, for example, we may see elephants, monkeys, dogs and other animals doing quite skillful things. Perhaps you have seen them on the television or in a film. If you watch closely, you may notice that the trainer always gives the animal a piece of candy or a piece of fruit as a reward. The scientists say that many different animals may be trained to do a number of simple jobs if they know they will get a reward for doing them.
Of course, as we know, dogs can be used to guard a house, and soldiers in both old and modem times have used geese to give warning by making a lot of noise when a stranger or an enemy comes near. But it may be possible to train animals to work in factories. In Russia, for example, pigeons which are birds with good eyesight, are being used to watch out for faults in small steel balls that are being made in one factory. When the pigeon sees a ball which looks different from others, it touches a steel plate with its beak. This tums on a light to warn people in the factory. At the same time a few seeds are given as a reward. It takes three to five weeks to train a pigeon to do this and one pigeon can inspect 3 000 to 4 000 balls an hour.
Apes have been used in America in helping to make cars, and scientists believe that these large monkeys may be one day gather crops and even drive trains.
What made scientists think animal can be made to work for us one day?
Animals are very skillful at a circus.
B. They are big and strong.
C. Some animals are as clever as human beings.
D. Animals can be trained because they like to get something as a reward.
John woke up in the middle of the night and saw something white【21】his garden. It seemed【22】towards the house.
"That【23】a thief !" he thought, and he took his gun and shot【24】him. Then he went back to bed,【25】he was too frightened【26】of the house in the dark.
The next morning John went out and saw one【27】his white shirts hanging【28】the clothes line in the garden. His wife【29】washed it the day before and【30】it out to dry. Now it had a bullet hole right through the middle of it.
"My God," said John, "I was lucky last night. If I had been wearing that shirt, the bullet would have killed me!"
(46)
A. at
B. in
C. above
D. of