The name “cowboy” conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagi

The name “cowboy” conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagined cowboys range from white-hat-wearing heroes to gun-shooting hooligans(流氓).But, cowboys are actually real people from US history.
When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country’s rural West. Ranchers(农场主) hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie(牧场) and drive the cattle miles to the market.
With the invention of barbed wire(铁丝网),the cowboy era(1865-1890) began to come to an end. But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle. Many country/western songs during this time tried to capture the true cowboy spirit. Newspapers published cowboy tales in serial form and adventure novels followed. The bigger the fiction, the better the sales. These novels often portrayed cowboys as cruel and violent men. Cowboys carried the bad reputation for many years afterwards.
When movies began to be popular in the 1920s, the cowboy image changed again. Now, a cowboy became the great white knight(骑士) that loved his horse more than the beautiful ladies he rescued. As the cowboy of the “Old West” spent more time with his horse than the ladies, this era's image was not entirely false.
Then, in the 50s,Hollywood began producing so-called “spaghetti westerns(意大利西部片)”.They earned the nickname because Italian companies financed the films and TV shows. This started the decade’s “Cowboy Craze”. While this didn’t last long, it made modern country / western music, fashion and dance extremely popular.
In recent years, with the help of musicians, radio stations and bars, cowboy nostalgia(怀旧情绪) has returned. Even though his image is still changing — somewhere between ballad singing country boy and bar room fighter — there’s one thing for sure, you can’t keep the cowboy down.
【小题1】The purpose of this story is to .A．introduce cowboy movies and novelsB．introduce various productions associated with cowboysC．show the cowboy's everlasting charmD．inform us about the cowboy’s spirit【小题2】Before they became cowboys, they .A．served in the armyB．worked as bar-room fightersC．owned ranchesD．were adventurous explorers【小题3】During “the cowboy era” mentioned in the story, .A．the cowboy often came to the rescue of ladies in newspaper talesB．the distant Wild West appealed to people in the EastC．cowboys were shown as cruel and violent men on the silver screenD．country music started the cowboy craze which swept the whole country【小题4】By saying “you can’t keep the cowboy down”, the writer means that .A．cowboys are real people in historyB．cowboys still fascinate peopleC．you can't make cowboys unhappyD．you can’t grasp the cowboy spirit【小题5】Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?A．The cowboy has been presented in different lights in different eras.B．Cowboys are gun-shooting hooligans, without doubt.C．Cowboys have always been a passing phenomenon.D．Cowboys enjoy Italian foods, for example, spaghetti.D

(答案→)D 解析：文章的主要介绍在不同时期人们对cowboy的不同理解。美国内战结束后一些小说经常把牛仔描绘成残酷和暴力的男人。当电影开始流行在1920年代,牛仔形象又变了。现在,一个牛仔成为伟大的白衣骑士。最近牛仔的形象仍然是变化的。【小题1】主旨大意题。根据全篇文章来理解，可推测出答案。故选D。【小题2】细节理解题。根据When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country’s rural West. Ranchers(农场主) hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie(牧场) and drive the cattle miles to the market. 在第二自然段中可找到答案。 故选A。【小题3】推理判断题。根据文章第三自然段中“But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle.”可得出答案。故选B。【小题4】推理判断题。根据这句话之前的语境可推测出答案。牛仔让人着迷，故选B。【小题5】主旨大意题。通读短文可知文章的主旨为介绍在不同时期人们对cowboy的不同理解。故选A。

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