Question

Cowboys have lived and worked in the west and south—west of the United States for over three centuries and they are a famous symbol of the USA. When you watch those old Hollywood cowboy films from the fifties and sixties, you see a job. You see a _________ of freedom and adventure (冒险). However, the real job of an American cowboy has always been _________ and sometimes dangerous. It is physical with long hours and low pay.

Life hasn’t _________ much for cowboys since the early days. Cows walk across huge plains (草原) to _________ the grass and the cowboy rides on his horse to bring _________ home. Like the cowboys of the past, a 21st century cowboy _________ gets up early on freezing cold mornings and makes breakfast over a fire.

So why does a man—because it is usually a man—become a cowboy? For some, it isn't a _________, because they are born into the life. They have worked with _________ since they were children. They _________ the traditional cowboy culture: “It’s a real life about you, your horse and the open __________.”

Some people choose the job __________ in life. Pat had an office job with the US government with high pay, __________ he didn’t like city life and spending all day inside. So one day, he __________ his job and moved to a ranch (牧场) in Texas, making much less money __________ a cowboy. He wanted job satisfaction. And for a cowboy, job satisfaction doesn’t come from the money or a comfortable office. It comes from being __________ to wake up under the sky and being your own boss.

1.A.life B.place C.way D.day

2.A.interesting B.boring C.hard D.easy

3.A.got B.paid C.done D.changed

4.A.catch B.eat C.touch D.take

5.A.it B.him C.her D.them

6.A.just B.still C.even D.never

7.A.problem B.choice C.plan D.dream

8.A.parents B.brothers C.cows D.sheep

9.A.create B.miss C.love D.refuse

10.A.country B.culture C.mind D.cowboy

11.A.later B.early C.quickly D.suddenly

12.A.so B.and C.since D.but

13.A.looked for B.took up C.gave up D.cared about

14.A.for B.as C.with D.like

15.A.relaxed B.slow C.late D.free

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

5.D

6.B

7.B

8.C

9.C

10.A

11.A

12.D

13.C

14.B

15.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文，文章主要介绍美国牛仔自由而又冒险的生活。

1.

句意：你看到了一种自由和冒险的生活。

life生活；place地方；way方法；day天。根据“freedom and adventure”可知此处用名词life表示“生活”。故选A。

2.

句意：然而，一个美国牛仔的真正工作总是很难的有时是危险的。

interesting有趣的；boring无聊的；hard艰难的；easy容易的。根据“It is physical with long hours and low pay”可知此处用形容词hard表示“难的”。故选C。

3.

句意：自从早期，牛仔的生活就没有什么改变。

got得到；paid付款；done做；changed改变。根据“Like the cowboys of the past”可知此处表示“没什么变化”用动词changed。故选D。

4.

句意：奶牛走过广阔的草原去吃草。

catch赶上；eat吃；touch接触；take带走，花。根据cows和grass可知此处用动词eat表示“吃”。故选B。

5.

句意：牛仔骑在马上带它们回家。

it它；him他；her她；them他们。根据cows可知此处用them表示“它们”指代那些奶牛。故选D。

6.

句意：像过去的奶牛一样，21世纪的奶牛仍在寒冷的早上早起，在火上做早饭。

just只是；still仍；even甚至；never从不。根据“Like the cowboys of the past”可知此处用副词still表示“仍旧”。故选B。

7.

句意：对一些人来说，这不是一个选择，因为出生如此。

problem问题；choice选择；plan计划；dream梦想。根据“because they are born into the life”可知此处用名词choice表示“选择”。故选B。

8.

句意：自从他们还是孩子的时候，就和奶牛一起工作。

parents父母；brothers兄弟；cows奶牛；sheep绵羊。根据前文“Cows walk across huge plains”可知此处用名词cows。故选C。

9.

句意：他们爱这种传统的牛仔文化“这是你、你的马和旷野的真正生活。”

create创造；miss错过；love爱；refuse拒绝。此处用动词love表示“热爱”。故选C。

10.

句意：他们爱这种传统的牛仔文化“这是你、你的马和旷野的真正生活。”

country国家；culture文化；mind心理；cowboy牛仔。此处用open country表示“旷野”。故选A。

11.

句意：有些人是后来在生活中选择了这个工作。

later后来；early早的；quickly快；suddenly突然。根据上一段“they are born into the life”可知此处讲述的后来选择这个工作的人，用副词later。故选A。

12.

句意：帕特在美国政府有个办公室工作，有高薪，但是他不喜欢城市的生活，不喜欢一天都在室内。

so因此；and和；since自从；but但是。此处表示转折，用连词but。故选D。

13.

句意：因此有一天，他放弃了他的工作，搬到德克萨斯州的牧场，作为牛仔赚着少很多的钱。

looked for寻找；took up占据；gave up放弃；cared about在意。根据his job可知此处指的是他放弃了政府的工作，用动词短语gave up。故选C。

14.

句意：因此有一天，他放弃了他的工作，搬到德克萨斯州的牧场，作为牛仔赚着少很多的钱。

for为了；as作为；with和；like像。根据a cowboy可知此处用介词as表示“作为”。故选B。

15.

句意：它来自于在天空下自由的醒过来，成为你自己的主宰。

relaxed放松的；slow慢的；late后来；free自由的。根据“wake up under the sky and being your own boss”可知此处用形容词free表示“自由的”。故选D。