American life .

A short intermediate level English resource.

Profession : Cowboy

Cowboys all lived in the 19th century, when the Wild West really was wild. There are no cowboys in the USA in the 21st century. Right ? No, wrong ! Even today, there are still men and women who work as cowboys and cowgirls in the western USA and in Canada.... and in South America too !

There is no shortage of people who want to be cowboys. The profession has a very special reputation; it is different from other jobs, but it can be hard work, with long hours. Besides, many cowboys are not very well paid. It can also be a dangerous job.
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    Cowboys are working men; they look after the herds of cattle that live on the prairies in the mountains, from Texas to Canada. They have lots of jobs to do; they have to mark cattle so that they can be identified; they have to move cattle from place to place; they have to vaccinate them, and check that they are healthy. They also have to inspect miles and miles of fences and barbed-wire barriers.
    There is no shortage of people who want to be cowboys. The profession has a very special reputation; it is different from other jobs, but it can be hard work, with long hours. Besides, many cowboys are not very well paid. It can also be a dangerous job.
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Student Worksheet

PROFESSION: COWBOY

Before writing this article, our reporter talked with a real cowboy in the Wild West of . Here are some of the questions that she asked; Imagine how the cowboy answered them. Complete each of the answers, adding at least six words

Do you always work on horseback these days ?
No .......................................
And what have you done today ?
We've .......................................
Did you do the same yesterday ?
No, we .......................................
I see that you're carrying a gun. Is that really necessary ?
Oh yes, if .......................................
Is it a good job being a cowboy in the 21st century ?
Well, .......................................
And could I become a cowboy too, For a week, maybe ?
Sure ! .......................................

For Teachers

Vocabulary: Can pupils find the opposites of these words, as they read through the article? The answers are given below: some of the opposites will certainly not be in your pupils' active vocabulary; they will need to search for them.

Find the opposites of: not yet / rarely / hardly ever / small / useful / sick / abundance / the same as / easy / safe / very poor / useless / departure points /

1				2		3	4		5		6
7
			8			9
10
			11					12		13
14
			15			16
		17		18
											19
	20				21
22
								23

Written exercise:
here are some things that a cowboy would use, not all of them mentioned in the article: have pupils write down a sentence, saying why each is important. Sentences should exploit the structure so that....

horse / gun / ranch / fences / pick-up / vaccination / truck / lasso / corral.

For example:
A cowboy needs a horse, so that he can travel across the prairie.
Cowboys need fences, so that their cattle cannot walk on big roads.

This teaching resource is © copyright Linguapress 1995 renewed 2020.
Fully revised and extended 2020 . Originally published in Horizon, the Low-intermediate level English newsmagazine.
Republication on other websites or in print is not authorised

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