真正的美國(guó)牛仔是什么樣的?為什么他們?cè)诿绹?guó)歷史上那么重要
來聽今天的講解:
A: I want to write about something which is truly American. what do you think? A preS1dent or a buS1nessman?
我想寫點(diǎn)真正屬于美國(guó)的東西,你認(rèn)為該寫些什么呢?寫總統(tǒng)還是商人?
B: Neither, you should write about cowboys. They are a true symbol of the USA.
都不好,你應(yīng)該寫美國(guó)牛仔。他們才是真正能代表美國(guó)的象征。
A: Like in the movies?
就像電影里演的那樣嗎?
B: No, the life of a cowboy was anything but glamorous-it entailed hard work and long, lonesome hours.
不是,牛仔的生活一點(diǎn)也不誘人-----他們必須承受繁重的勞動(dòng)和長(zhǎng)期的寂寞孤獨(dú)。
A:What about the clothes?Do they really wear jeans, cowboy boots and Stetson hats?
那衣服呢?他們是真的都穿牛仔服、牛仔靴,戴寬邊帽嗎?
B: Cowboy clothing is an everyday part of their wardrobes. Today they are remembered in "Spaghetti Westerns", movies and TV shows which started a craze during the 1950s and 60s. Some are still popular today, but most people's attraction shifted to space travel, maybe because of the moon landing in 1969.
牛仔服是他們衣柜里日常生活的一部分。今天他們留給人們的記憶仍然是他們?cè)谝獯罄轿鞑科械男蜗螅沁@些影視作品在上世紀(jì)五六十年代引發(fā)了一陣熱潮。直到今天有些這樣的影片還是很受歡迎,但后來大多數(shù)人把注意力轉(zhuǎn)移到了太空旅行,這大概是因?yàn)?969年的登月事件吧。
A: Many country and western songs try to capture the true cowboy spirit. This fascination with che "Old West" is still popular today. I think lots of Americans like country and western muS1c. But you think movies, muS1c and televiS1on tells us nothing about the true cowboy?
很多鄉(xiāng)村音樂和西部歌曲都試圖表現(xiàn)真正的牛仔精神。這種對(duì)“老西部”的迷戀至今仍然還很流行我覺得很多美國(guó)人都喜歡鄉(xiāng)村音樂和西部音樂。可是,你認(rèn)為電影、音樂和電視并沒有表現(xiàn)真正的牛仔,對(duì)不對(duì)?
B: Yes, but muS1c especially has made cowboys more and more popular. The cowboy's real job isn't S1nging though, it's looking after cattle. Hence the name "cowboy".
是的,尤其是音樂,它們讓西部牛仔變得越來越有名。不過,牛仔真正的工作并不是唱歌那么輕松,而是照看牛群,所以他們才被叫做“牛仔”。
A: The cowboy's reign in the old West was quite short. about 30 years, why are they such a big pan of American history?
牛仔在美國(guó)蠻荒的西部活動(dòng)的時(shí)間并不長(zhǎng),大約是30年。為什么他們?cè)诿绹?guó)歷史上那么重要呢?
B: Well. when the Civil War ended. Many started drifting to the West on horseback.
是這樣,內(nèi)戰(zhàn)結(jié)束時(shí),很多士兵都無家可歸,于是他們就騎著馬漂泊到了西部地區(qū)。
A: I see. then ranch owners hired these hard of the soldiers had no home to return to and working men as ranch hands and they were the first cowboys.
我知道了,那里的大牧場(chǎng)主就雇傭這些勤勞的人做牧場(chǎng)的幫手,他們也就成了最早的牛仔二
B: And when Che time came to sell the beef, the hands would round-up the cattle from the open prairie and take them to market.
到了出售牛肉的時(shí)節(jié),這些勞工們就從空曠的大草原把牛群集攏到一起,把它們趕到市場(chǎng)
A: So why was their reign in the Wild West so short?
為什么牛仔在蠻荒的西部活動(dòng)的時(shí)間那么短呢?
B: It was short because the West stop Ped being wild. Barbed wire was invented and soon it was almost imposS1ble to roam around freely as they had done before.
那是斟為兩部不再荒涼了,此外,人們發(fā)明了帶刺的鐵絲網(wǎng),這樣牛仔再也不可能像 以前那樣自由自在地四處游逛了。
A:So as Western America developed, the cowboys' jobs became less and less. Nowadays no one thinks of- these original cowboys, only the ones we see in the movies.
所以隨著美國(guó)西部的發(fā)展,牛仔的工作變得越來越少?,F(xiàn)在人們知道的不是這些最初的牛仔.而是我們?cè)陔娪敖砜吹降哪切┤宋镄蜗蟆?/div>