Level 4-Day 70.The Calgary Stampede

词汇提示

1.stampede 奔逃

2.ranches 牧场

3.reservations 保留地

4.scout 侦察兵

5.fondly 深情地

6.rodeo 牛仔竞技比赛

7.marshal 元帅

8，topple 倾倒

原文

The Calgary Stampede

The"Wild West," as we know it from Hollywood westerns, did not last along time.

Its height was from about 1865 to 1885, or only twenty years.

By 1885, there were railways across the plains, fences had been built around farms and ranches and lawmen were on the lookout for any troublemakers.

Not only that, but by 1885 nearly all the buffalo had been killed, and most of the Indians were on reservations.

Still the "Wild West" had captured the imagination of the reading public.

A former buffalo hunter and Indian scout, Buffalo Bill Cody, decided to take advantage of his fame as a cowboy.

In 1883, he organized "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show,"and toured North America and Europe

Alberta,Canada had been the last part of the old west to be settled.

But by 1912, ranching was being replaced by farming.

The city of Calgary was itself becoming a commercial and industrial center.

Old-timers looked back fondly to the old days of cowboys and Indians.

In 1908, the Miller Brothers' Wild West Show visited Calgary.

One of the cowboys, Guy Weadick, talked to local businessmen about putting on a rodeo and the Wild West Show.

Eventually,four Calgary businessmen put up $25,000 each to finance the event.

Weadick was a good organizer.

He advertised all over the U.S. and the Canadian west for cowboys and rodeo-riders to come.

And with $25,000 in prize money, people came from as far away as Mexico.

Weadick was able to persuade the Canadian government to let large numbers of Indians leave their reservations to attend.

In fact, the Indians were a big part of the program.

The main rodeo events were bronco riding, bareback riding, women's bronco riding,steer roping and bulldogging.

These events were based on things that working cowboys actually did.

But to make them harder, special bucking horses were brought in.

One horse named Cyclone had never been ridden long by anyone.

He had thrown 127 riders in a row.

Most of the rodeo cowboys came from the United States - from Wyoming, Oregon, Oklahoma,Colorado and Arizona.

But there were also Canadian cowboys and some Canadian Indians competing.

Queen Victoria's son, the Duke of Con naught, was the grand marshal.

Many cowboys rode well, but no one could stay on Cyclone.

On the sixth and final day, the grounds were muddy from rain, and the horses kept slipping.

Cyclone escaped from his handlers and ran around the track.

Fort his last bronco-riding contest, Cyclone's rider would be Tom Three Persons.

Three Persons was a Blood Indian from Southern Alberta.

When Three Persons got on Cyclone, the horse would rear up, then plunge its head down to throw the rider.

Cyclone acted as though it would topple over backwards, but Three Persons hung on.

Then it hurled itself forward with its head almost touching the ground.

After a wild ride of several minutes, Cyclone began to tire.

The judges declared Tom Three Persons the winner of the bucking bronco event.

Three Persons was the only Canadian to win a major event at that first Calgary Stampede in 1912.

Today,the Calgary Stampede continues to be the largest rodeo and Wild West show in North America.

It has many new events and attractions and still attracts the best rodeo riders from all over North America.

翻译

卡尔加里牛仔节

我们从好莱坞西部片中了解到的“狂野西部”并没有持续很长时间。
它的鼎盛时期大约是从1865年到1885年，也就是仅仅20年。
到1885年，平原上已经有了铁路，农场和牧场周围已经建起了栅栏，执法者也在密切关注着任何捣乱分子。
不仅如此，到1885年，几乎所有的水牛都被杀死了，大多数印第安人都住在保留地。
尽管如此，“狂野的西部”还是抓住了读者的想象力。
水牛比尔·科迪(Bill Cody)曾是水牛猎人和印第安侦察员，他决定利用自己作为牛仔的名声。
1883年，他组织了“野牛比尔的狂野西部秀”，并在北美和欧洲巡回演出
加拿大的阿尔伯塔省是旧西部最后一个有人定居的地方。
但到了1912年，牧场被农业所取代。
卡尔加里市本身正在成为一个商业和工业中心。
老一辈的人深情地回忆起有牛仔和印第安人的旧时代。
1908年，米勒兄弟的狂野西部表演来到卡尔加里。
其中一名牛仔盖伊·威迪克(Guy Weadick)与当地商人讨论举办一场牛仔竞技表演和狂野西部秀。
最终，卡尔加里的四位商人每人拿出了2.5万美元来资助这次活动。
威迪克是一个很好的组织者。
他在美国和加拿大西部到处做广告，招募牛仔和竞技骑手。
带着两万五千美元的奖金，人们从遥远的墨西哥赶来。
威迪克成功地说服了加拿大政府，允许大量印第安人离开他们的保留地参加这次活动。
事实上，印第安人是这个项目的重要组成部分。
主要的竞技项目有骑野马、无鞍骑马、女子骑野马、套牛和斗牛。
这些活动都是基于牛仔们实际做的事情。
但为了让他们更坚强，他们引进了特殊的驯马。
一匹名叫旋风的马从来没有被人骑过很久。
他一连把127个车手摔了下去。
大多数牛仔来自美国——怀俄明州、俄勒冈州、俄克拉何马州、科罗拉多州和亚利桑那州。
但也有加拿大牛仔和一些加拿大印第安人参加比赛。
维多利亚女王的儿子康诺特公爵是大元帅。
许多牛仔骑得很好，但没有人能呆在旋风上。
第六天，也是最后一天，场地被雨水弄得泥泞不堪，马不停地滑倒。
旋风从他的训练员那里逃了出来，绕着跑道跑了起来。
对于这最后一次骑野马比赛，旋风的骑手将是汤姆三人。
“三人”是来自阿尔伯塔省南部的印第安人。
当“三人”骑上“旋风”时，这匹马就会抬起头来，然后一头扎下去，把骑手扔在地上。
“旋风”似乎要向后倾倒，但“三人”坚持住了。
然后它猛地向前扑去，头几乎碰到了地面。
狂奔了几分钟后，旋风开始累了。
裁判宣布汤姆三人为野马比赛的获胜者。
三人组是唯一一个在1912年第一届卡尔加里赛马大赛中获胜的加拿大人。
今天，卡尔加里踩踏节仍然是北美最大的牛仔竞技表演和狂野西部表演。
它有许多新的活动和景点，仍然吸引着来自北美各地的最佳牛仔竞技骑手。