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  3. An integral part of the story of America, the cowboy is a national symbol. America’s first cowboys came from Mexico. Beginni

An integral part of the story of America, the cowboy is a national symbol. America’s first cowboys came from Mexico. Beginni

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问题     An integral part of the story of America, the cowboy is a national symbol.
    America’s first cowboys came from Mexico. Beginning in the 1500s, vaqueros—the Spanish【C1】______for "cowboy"—were hired to drive and tend to livestock between Mexico and【C2】______is now New Mexico and Texas. Cowboys came from a【C3】______of backgrounds, and included European【C4】______, African Americans, and Native Americans. 【C5】______America built railroads further and further west,【C6】______industry, transportation and white settlements in fonner Indian【C7】______, the cowboy played a【C8】______part in the nation’s expansion. But townspeople【C9】______on cowboys as lawless troublemakers who brought【C10】______but violence and immorality , and some even【C11】______them from town. With the rise of private landholdings in the late 1800s, the cattle driving industry had lost its【C12】______. By the 1890s, the wide open ranges and cattle trails were gone and privatized, and the days of the long cattle drives were over. Smaller-scale cattle drives continued【C13】______the mid-1900s, with livestock herded throughout the southwestern United States. Most cowboys left the open trail and took jobs at one of numerous private ranches that were settling across the West. But as the work of actual cowboys【C14】______in the U. S. , the cowboy lifestyle continued to【C15】______ground by a new Hollywood film genre: the Western movie. The late 1900s were tough times for cowboys, ranchers, farmers and anyone working with the land in the U. S. Changing modes of food production and【C16】______, widespread urbanization and【C17】______economic difficulties forced many to sell their land,【C18】______bankrupt, change professions , or【C19】______in debt.
    Despite decades of socioeconomic change, cowboys still don’t have health insurance—and they don’t【C20】______. Times might be changing, but as a symbol of persistence, self-sufficiency and a hard work ethic, cowboys live on.
【C17】
选项 A、coarse
B、cruel
C、severe
D、harsh
答案C
解析 形容词辨义题。根据前面提到的tough times可知，此处指牛仔所处的艰难处境，故此处意为“严重的经济困境”，severe“严峻的，严厉的”符合题意。coarse“粗糙的”；cruel“残酷的”；harsh“严厉的”，均不修饰difficulties，故排除。
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大学英语四级

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