hecowboyhasbecometheheroofmanymovies.Heis,eventoday,believedtohavecourageandadventure(冒险).Butwhatwasthelifeofacowboyreallylike? 　　Thecowboy’sjobisclearfromtheword“cowboy”.Acowboy,accordingtodictionaryexplanation,isamanwhoridesahorseandwhosejobistocareforcattle(牛).ThecattlewereintheWestandinTexas.PeopleinthecitiesoftheEastwantedbeef(牛肉)fromthesecattle.Trainscouldtakethecattleeast.Butfirstthecattlehadtogettothetrains.Partofthecowboy’sjobwastotakethecattlehundredsofmilestotherailroadtowns. 　　Thesetripswerecalledcattledrives.Acattledriveusuallytookseveralmonths.Cowboysrodeforsixteenhoursaday.Becausetheyrodesomuch,eachcowboybroughtalongabouteighthorses.Acowboychangedhorsesseveraltimeseachday. 　　Thecowboyshadtomakesurethatthecattlearrivedsafely.Beforestartingonadrive,thecowboysbranded(给---烙上印)thecattle.Theyburnedamarkonthecattletoshowwhotheybelongedto.Butthesemarksdidn’tstoprustlers(盗窃牲口的人),orcattlethieves.Cowboyshadtoprotectthecattlefromrustlers.Rustlersmadethealreadydangeroustripevenmoredangerous. 　　Eventhoughtheirworkwasverydifficultanddangerous,cowboysdidnotearnmuchmoney.Theywerepaidbadly.Butcowboyslikedtheirwayoflife.Theylivedinawildandopencountry.Theylivedalifeofadventureandfreedom.