VOA慢速英语20061115b

EXPLORATIONS - American History: When Gunfighters Ruled the Streets of the Wild WestBy Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:


They were known as the Dodge¹ City Peace Commission². Standing³, from left: W.H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson and W.F. Petillon. Seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Frank⁴ McLain and Neal Brown.

And this is Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS from VOA Special English. Today we present the first of two programs about some of the most famous people who lived in the American West many years ago. We tell about lawmen, criminals and gunfighters. And we will try to tell as much truth as possible about this interesting time in American history.

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VOICE ONE:

Our story begins in eighteen eighty-three in Dodge City, Kansas. Dodge City was a railroad⁵ town. Huge herds⁶ of cattle were brought there from western states to be transported by railroad to markets in the eastern United States.

A man named Luke Short owned a small store where he sold alcohol⁷. People also took part in gambling⁸ -- games of chance -- in his store. Several people who owned similar businesses wanted Luke Short to leave Dodge City. They did not like the business competition. Luke Short was threatened several times. He knew his life was in danger. So he left Dodge City.

VOICE TWO:

Several weeks later, the people in Dodge City began to see something that frightened them. Strangers were entering the town. All of these men carried guns. The men said they were friends of Luke Short. They caused no trouble. A newspaper in Dodge City printed a story that identified the men.

One of the first of these men to arrive was a former Dodge City lawman. His name was William Masterson. The newspaper said he was well known as an expert with guns and had killed several men. His friends called him Bat.

Two other men arrived together. One was Wyatt Earp. He was a famous gunfighter
Doc Holliday

from Tombstone, in the Arizona territory. He also was a former lawman who had killed men in gunfights. With him was his friend, a dentist, John Holliday, who also survived several shooting incidents. His friends called him Doc.

About twelve other men also arrived in Dodge City to help Luke Short. They were not as famous as the three named in the newspaper. But they were also considered to be very dangerous.

VOICE ONE:

Luke Short returned to Dodge City wearing his guns. The chief lawman of the town quickly sent a telegram to the governor⁹ of the state asking for help. He was afraid a major civil war would begin in his town. The men who had forced Luke Short out of town decided¹⁰ to negotiate¹¹ a settlement. They did not want to face his many dangerous friends.

A few days after the settlement, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the other dangerous friends of Luke Short left Dodge City. No one ever fired a shot. No one was even threatened. All it took to force a negotiated¹² settlement was for these dangerous men to show their faces in Dodge City. Just the fear of them settled the argument in favor of Luke Short. No one wanted to deal with men who were not afraid of a gunfight.

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VOICE TWO:

Who were these dangerous men? Why did people fear them so much? Why did they become so famous? The story of these famous men began a little before the American Civil War of the eighteen sixties.

This wild and lawless period in the West has been shown in hundreds of movies, television programs and books. It only lasted for about seventy years. The first shooting incident by a person who could be considered a professional gunman took place in Texas in eighteen fifty-four.

Most of the shooting incidents between professional lawmen and outlaws¹³ took place during the eighteen seventies in Texas.

VOICE ONE:

The real movement into the American West began after the Civil War. Many families moved west to build new lives after the war. Land was almost free. Some people wanted to find gold or silver and become rich. Other families wanted to raise cows or horses or begin a farm and start a new life.

But living in the American West was not easy. There were no laws, no courts and little or no government. There were few lawmen to keep order. The people who arrived in the West included many criminals. Many were escaping punishment from their crimes. They knew that an area with no law would provide them with safety. These professional criminals often used force to take what they wanted -- cows, horses or money. Often, there was little to stop them.

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VOICE TWO:

Honest people who moved to the West carried weapons to protect themselves and their property. These settlers began to build small towns when they found areas they liked. They tried to improve their towns with churches, schools and the rule of law. But it was often difficult.

To protect their towns, the settlers often had to employ people who were expert in the use of firearms. Several lawmen in the Old West had learned¹⁴ to use their weapons when they were criminals.

Both the outlaws and the lawmen in the Old West had something else in common. They could do something many other people could not. They were willing to risk their lives to enforce¹⁵ the law or to commit a crime. And they were willing to do this with a gun.

VOICE ONE:

A good example was a man named William Matthew Tilghman. He was arrested two times and charged with stealing when he was a young man. However, he later became a deputy¹⁶ United States marshal¹⁷, a law officer.

On July fourth, eighteen eighty-eight, a man named Ed Prather began shooting his gun in the street in Farmer City, Kansas. People ran away in fear. Tilghman made him stop. Prather left the street angry and went into a drinking place. He began drinking alcohol and making threats.

Later, Tilghman went into the drinking place looking for Prather. Prather put his hand on the gun he was carrying. Tilghman told him to move his hand away from the gun. When he did not obey, Bill Tilghman pulled out his gun and shot Ed Prather two times. He died immediately.

VOICE TWO:

That was only one of the many times Bill Tilghman used his gun as a law officer. He served in many other towns. Often, all he had to do was walk into a room to stop a fight. Outlaws feared and obeyed him. Most criminals stayed away from a town where Bill Tilghman was the marshal.

Bill Tilghman was shot to death on November first, nineteen twenty-four. He was trying to arrest a man who had been drinking too much alcohol. He was seventy years old and still working as the marshal of Cromwell, Oklahoma. His life had lasted exactly the seventy years of the American Wild West.

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VOICE ONE:

The famous American gunman named Wyatt Earp has been the subject of at least four major motion¹⁸ pictures, one television series and many books. He served as a marshal in Tombstone, Arizona. He took part in one of the most famous gunfights in American history -- the gunfight at the OK Corral.

Wyatt Earp was once asked how to win a gunfight. He said a good gunfighter took his time. He said he had to go into action as quickly as possible -- as fast as he could move. But then he should take his time with the shooting. He said a successful gunfighter could not let fear or anything else force him to shoot too soon and miss the target. Missing¹⁹ the target could get him killed.

Wyatt Earp was very successful. He was only wounded once in a gunfight. He is one of the few successful gunfighters who lived to old age. He died in nineteen twenty-nine. He was eighty-one years old.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Experts on the American West often disagree about who were the most dangerous gunmen in that period of American history. Was it one of the famous lawmen? Was it Bill Tilghman, or perhaps Wyatt Earp?

Or was it one of the outlaws? Maybe it was the famous bank robber²⁰ Jesse James or an extremely dangerous gunman named John Wesley Hardin.

Those questions will never truly be answered. However, join us next week when we tell about two of the most dangerous gunfighters of the Old West.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

2 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

5 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

6 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

7 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

8 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

9 governor   

n.统治者，地方长官(如省长，州长，总督等)

参考例句：

• The governor was an expert at fencing with reporters.这位州长是搪塞新闻记者的能手。
• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 negotiate   

v.洽谈，协商，谈判，顺利通过，成功越过

参考例句：

• I'll negotiate with their coach on the date of the match.我将与他们的教练磋商比赛的日期问题。
• I managed to negotiate successfully with the authorities.我设法同当局进行了成功的协商。

12 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。

13 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

14 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

15 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

16 deputy   

n.代理人，代表，副职；adj.代理的，副的

参考例句：

• John will act as a deputy for me during my absence.我离开期间，约翰将代理我的职务。
• She is the deputy headmistress of the school.她是那所学校的代理校长。

17 marshal   

n.元帅，总指挥，（美）执法官；vt.整理，集结

参考例句：

• The oldest general was appointed marshal of the armies.资格最老的将军被任命为军队的元帅。
• Marshal your arguments before debating.辩论前整理一下你的论点。

18 motion   

n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意

参考例句：

• She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
• Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时，请勿打开车门。

19 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

20 robber   

n.抢劫者，强盗，盗贼

参考例句：

• The robber told the woman to come across with her purse.拦路抢劫者勒令那个女人把钱包交出来。
• The robber tried to run away but a man tackled him.强盗企图逃跑，但一个人把他抓住了。