题目内容
阅读理解
将标有AF的段落插入文章中标号为69的合适的位置,使这篇文章意义完整,结构连贯;其中有一个段落是多余的。
The cowboys who lived in the United States of America,before there were good roads or big modern cities,used to live on the huge spaces of grassland called ranges,because that was where the cows that they looked after could find plenty of grass and water. 1
In the early days it was a hard job getting the cows to the markets where they were killed.It was no good killing them on the range because there were no lorries or railways to carry the meat. 2
On the trail the leader was the trail boss,who told the men which jobs to do.He decided where they should camp at night.
Hundreds or maybe thousands of cattle were taken on the trail. 3
Of course,the chuck wagon went too.“ Chuck was a cowboy name for food,and so the chuck wagon was where the cook did his work and carried his stores of food.The tail board of the wagon made a good shelf,as the back part of the wagon could open outwards so it served very well as a shelf.The cook was able to feed the cowboys,but the cattle had to find their own food on the trail.They ate as they moved along.
4 The cowboys worked very hard and had little time to play When they were resting on the trail they would play cards,tell stories,sing cowboy songs and mend their equipment.
5 The cattle will also arrive fresh and fat when they arrive at the place whereas they would have become tired and thin if they had been taken on the trail.
A.The cattle had to be driven along in a large herd to the towns where they were needed.The places with lots of people who needed meat were often hundreds or thousands of miles away from the ranges.The cattle were rounded up,and those to be sent away were kept together.
B.It was a long,slow job,and the herd covered only about fifteen or twenty miles each day.This meant that the journey to market took many weeks.All this time the cowboy worked in the saddle and slept on the hard ground.They began work the sun rose and they were on their horses for many hours day after day.
C.Because of the danger of the stampede(惊跑),the trail boss and his men did everything they could to keep the cattle quiet.During the day the herd was moved along at a slow,steady pace.At night when most of the men were asleep,a gang of cowboys would ride round and round the herd,singing and whistling softly.This was to let the cows know that everything was all right.
D.But when the time came to sell the cows,there were no buyers on the range-they had to be taken into market.
E.The herd was not made to move too quickly-if they rushed along they would get thin and not be worth much at the market.Some cowboys rode beside them,some in front and others at the back.Cows which moved too slowly were hurried along.Cows which tried to get away were made to go back to the herd.
F.When railways were built there were no need to take cattle on the trail.Instead they were put into railway cars and taken quickly to the markets.Today a fast cattle train will take only a few hours to do a journey which once took the cowboys and their herds many days or weeks.