西部牛仔的歌曲

04 西部牛仔的歌曲

Date=2-22-2001
Title=the making of a nation #129 - cowboy songs
Byline=harold braverman

     announcer:
     The making of a nation -- a program in special english.
     (theme)
     Here is kay gallant¹ with our program.
     Narrator:
     last week, we talked about the growth of the (1)cattle industry. This industry started in texas during the eighteen-seventies. With its growth came a new kind of worker -- the man who watched and took care of the cattle. These men who watched the cows and rode with them as they moved across the wild lands were often young. Just boys. And so they were called "cowboys."
     People all over the world have seen all sorts of films about the (2)cowboy. And he is often shown in television shows. But the real life of the cowboy is not often shown. His work has been hard, and his life (3)lonely and full of danger.
     The cowboy has told his own story in many songs and ballads³. Hundreds of these have come from cowboys whose names are not known. They just sang these songs as they rode on the (4)saddles of their horses across the cattle lands. Or, as they sat at their campfires at night.
     They sang about the things that were close to them. Horses and     Cows and danger and death. Often, they sang about the long ride to the cattle markets where the cows were sold for beef, as in this song called, "git along little dogie."
     (5)dogie is another name for a young cow, (6)especially one which (7)wanders away from the herd⁴. The song tells how the young cowboy keeps (8)driving the dogies forward. He feels sorry for them, because they will soon be sold for meat. But that's their hard luck, not his. And he keeps (9)pushing them on while he sings
.     ((tape cut 1: "git along little dogie"))
      One of the most famous of cowboy (10)ballads is this one, called "the chisholm trail."
        ((tape cut 2: "the chisholm trail"))     Day and night, the horse was at the cowboy's side. A cowboy was as proud of his horse as he was of his skill in riding him. There is this feeling in the song "i ride an old paint." a paint, or pinto, is a horse of three or more different colors.
          ((tape cut 3: "i ride an old paint"))
      The cattle herds⁵ were driven a very long way to the cattle markets and had to be kept and watched on the open trail for many weeks. And the trail took the cowboys over rough country in all kinds of weather. The wild prairie lands were not (11)friendly to men or animals. It was a lonely land. And the howling of wolves and winds at night made it more so.
     Across this (12)strange land, no man in the early days of the west knew just where death was waiting for him. A listener hears the (13)mournful feeling cowboys had for the prairie in this song called, "the dying⁶ cowboy."     He does not want to be buried out in these wild lands -- in the lone² prairie -- as the song says. Still, the dying cowboy does not get his wish. There is no choice. He can be buried only in the lone prairie in a narrow (14)grave six by three...six feet deep and three feet wide.
     ((tape cut 4: "the dying cowboy")) 
    (theme)
     Announcer:
     You have been listening to the special english program, the making of a nation. Your narrator was kay gallant.

(1) cattle[ 5kAtl ]n.牛, 家养牲畜
(2) cowboy[5kaJbCI]n.<美>牛仔, 牧童, 美国西部牧人
(3) lonely[ 5lEunli ]adj.孤独的, 寂寞的, 偏僻的, 人迹罕至的
(4) saddle[ 5sAdl ]n.鞍, 鞍状物v.承受
(5) dogie[ 5dEu^i ]n.迷途小牛, 失去母牛的小牛
(6) especially[ is5peFEli ]adv.特别, 尤其
(7) wander[ 5wCndE ]vi.漫步, 徘徊, 迷路, 迷失方向, 离题
(8) drive[draIv]n.驾车, 驱动器, 快车道, 推进力, 驱使, 动力, 干劲,
(9) push[ puF ]n.推, 推动, 奋发, 干劲, 进取心, 攻击vt.推, 推动,
(10) ballad[ 5bAlEd ]n.民歌, 歌谣, 叙事歌, 流行歌曲, 情歌
(11) friendly[ 5frendli ]adj.友好的, 友谊的
(12) strange[ streindV ]adj.陌生的, 生疏的, 前所未知的, 奇怪的,
(13) mournful[ 5mC:nful ]adj.悲哀的
(14) grave[ ^reiv ]n.墓穴, 坟墓adj.严重的, (颜色)黯淡的,

1 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

2 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

3 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。