VOA标准英语2013--Hats Rule at Rodeo Time in Houston

 

Hats Rule at Rodeo Time in Houston

There's a saying here in Texas about someone being "all hat and no cattle." At the Houston Livestock¹ Show and Rodeo, plenty of people have both hats and cattle.

But more than 80 percent of Texans now live in urban areas. The rodeo gives them a chance to get into the cowboy spirit.

Women especially seem to enjoy it.

"I love western wear, and I love the rodeo, and I normally come 10, 12 times," said one woman at the event.

"I'm just dressed up for the rodeo," said another woman.

"I wanted to come to the concert, and I wanted to dress like this," said a young girl who was there.

If you don't have a hat, there are plenty on sale.

You can even have one custom-made by Oklahoma City's Shorty Koger, but you'll have to wait.

"We are five months out right now, but if you just made one hat, it would take a full week," said Koger.

This woman is trying on hats that are made of beaver² fur. She said they last a long time.

If you need your hat cleaned and re-shaped, John Garcia is the man. He steams them.

"It gives it the ability to change the hat's shape, make it tighter or dip it down a little bit more," said Garcia.

Kansas rancher Harold Ralston knows how to judge a cowboy's hat. "If their hat is nice and clean, it just came out of the box, like this one. I got this one when I retired⁴."

Another fellow who has spent years under a cowboy hat is movie actor Buck⁵ Taylor. He also paints western scenes and sells them at events like this.

"Cowboys never ridicule⁶ or make fun of anyone who wears a cowboy hat. I ranch³ up in northwest Texas, near Abilene, and I love that lifestyle," said Taylor.

Taylor was a regular on the TV series Gunsmoke in the 1970s. He loves the old western styles, like in his painting of rodeo riders a century ago.

"They were more flamboyant⁷ back then. I think we have kind of mellowed⁸ compared to these guys," he said.

Taylor said people who put on western wear for events like the rodeo are keeping that heritage alive.

So it doesn't matter if you don't have cattle. At the rodeo, you can wear a hat. 

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

6 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

7 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

8 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。