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Cowboys
Cowboys

Learn English with this western English lesson

Date: Nov 16 2018

Grammar: Simple Past Tense

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Picture it: a wide, open plain. Then over the horizon comes a man on a horse. It’s not just any man. He has the famous hat, the famous boots, and the famous attitude. It’s a cowboy.

Cowboys are major figures in American mythology. They are thought to be rugged loners, who are brave and tough. Many people find them very interesting, exciting, or attractive. People continue to wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots today, to try to copy this ideal.

Why do people continue to be so obsessed with cowboys? Find out what Mason and Lily think in this English lesson.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Mason

Mason

Lily

Lily

Mason:  Do you like my new ironic cowboy shirt?

Lily:  Oh my gosh. Why is it ironic? Do you not like cowboys?

Mason:  I just think it’s funny because I’m certainly no type of cowboy. So it’s funny that I wear this type of shirt.

Lily:  I like the idea of cowboys, the rugged loner who’s riding on the frontier on their trusty steed. They’re kind of rough around the edges and very quintessentially American. I find that really exciting. I don’t see why that would be funny to be ironic about.

Mason:  I guess I just don’t buy into that kind of ideal. Things probably weren’t that great back in cowboy days.

Lily:  Yeah, I guess you’re right. But still, cowboys are pretty hot. They’re really attractive.

Mason:  OK. So let’s go through an example. What’s your favorite cowboy movie?

Lily:  I really like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Mason:  OK. So Clint Eastwood, he’s the ideal.

Lily:  Yeah. Clint Eastwood is the rugged cowboy ideal.

 

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Mason thinks it’s pretty funny that he’s wearing a cowboy shirt, since he is nothing like a cowboy. Lily doesn’t get why it’s funny, though. She loves cowboys. She thinks they’re exciting and attractive.

Mason can’t get into that idea. He thinks that that version of a cowboy is just an ideal, and that real cowboys were probably not so glamorous. Lily doesn’t want to hear it. She still wants to believe all cowboys are just like Clint Eastwood was in old cowboy movies.

What do you think about cowboys? Do you think they represent a certain ideal? Is there a figure like the cowboy in your culture?

 

Comments

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bora_78

bora_78Super Member!

Turkey

I used to watch a lot of cowboy movies every Sunday,I think it’s quinessential all of the American films’s,they were usually  rugged and loner and their steeds  were too hot.


However,I buy into cowboys eradicated all indians ( native americans ) whenever someone calls cowboys, I remind that poor indians.

06:22 AM Nov 18 2018 |

1 person likes this

Naghmeh_M

Naghmeh_M

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I like them and the way the throw a rope a round the neck of a bull in movies and there lovely loneliness 

05:57 AM Jun 08 2015 |

1 person likes this

chathusewwandi2

Sri Lanka

I haven’t never seen cow boys. But I think he isn’t an ideal

04:18 AM Sep 29 2013 |

DanielBorges

Portugal

Cowboys are the personification of a tough guy, a rebel. 
When i think in cowboys, i think in movies and comics.
It remembers me duels.
Especially because of movies, they made part of my parents past and they are a bit old-fashioned at the moment.
However, comics made some cowboys become great legends. Remember Lucky Luck or Cisco Kid? :)
In the present I think we can only find them in rodeos.
For curiosity i left you the steps of a cowboys duel, i found it very funny when i see it on web.
Dueling consist of four stages: The grab, the draw, acquiring locks and firing.
Be careful, don’t try to do it at home!! :)

09:59 PM Sep 25 2013 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

During my youth I have seen  many  Hollywood movies  portraying  cowboys. Of all of them I remember John Wayne and James Stewart. Visiting the Hollywood wax museum which is devouted entirely to celebrity figures  I came across a faithfully replica of John Wayne, I would swear that he was alive, I couldn´t have imagined  that this famous actor was so tall ,  I am tall but in comparision besides him  I looked as a pigmy.  lol…...  


09:33 PM Sep 25 2013 |

mitya09

Russian Federation

I saw American cowboys my eyes and even told with some of them. They have shared in our organization in our city. They really wear big leathern hat, jeans with leathern cover piece and high boots, because they should be transferred permanently on steedback in any weather and they use a lasso for catching sicked cows and calfes. In reality many of them live with family, use TV, Internet, and the expression of rugged loner . Truly I mean they are normal people, which know the work and how much it costs.


It’s impossible to buy into name ‘ideal’ to somebody, therefore every does something with own goals and ability. In our culture there is a figure like the cowboy as a man, which whatch by cow herd. He looks like traveller with knapsack and long whip for cracking.

05:43 PM Sep 25 2013 |

roze1997

roze1997

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

yes i mean that :)


thank you

01:44 PM Sep 25 2013 |

1 person likes this

bkmiller69

bkmiller69

United States

thank you

12:23 PM Sep 25 2013 |

mehdimansiz

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Hi roze


yes there are so many diffrences but their root are same


in Iran it changes into CHOUPAN with peace


but in America  it changes into cowboy with carnage !

11:27 AM Sep 25 2013 |

roze1997

roze1997

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

dear mehdi


also you can see in these picture cowboys are very different with our choupan ! arent them?

10:57 AM Sep 25 2013 |

1 person likes this

mehdimansiz

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

In our culture cowboy means “CHOUPAN” but not with that special wearing and not with gun and not with carnage


but with a simple stick and with Peace and sometimes with a fife for playing in his or her  solitude


there are two pictures of cowboys and one picture of CHOUPAN below you can compare
them :



And this is the pic of  CHOUPAN  :



 


 

10:42 AM Sep 25 2013 |

roze1997

roze1997

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I havent seen a cowboy in real life but i really like to see a real one :)


their hats and boots are really beautiful . . .


Do you know how can I be a cowgirl ? . . . :)

10:39 AM Sep 25 2013 |

2 people like this

Jasonlongo

Jasonlongo

Congo, Democratic Republic Of The

In my country, we don’t have horses and cowboys are not there

10:21 AM Sep 25 2013 |

Odyssee

Odyssee

China

I havent seen a cowboy in real life until now . but i saw in movies .


They are really attractive . i love cowboys .

07:10 AM Sep 25 2013 |

1 person likes this

mesamong

mesamong

Thailand

Cowboy is the symbol of American culture.  In Thailand, We had similar guys. They were buffalo merchants in northeastern of the country and called  “Nai hoi”.


If you’d like to know more about them. you can see this movies “Dynamite Warrior”. It’s a great movie.


 

05:02 AM Sep 25 2013 |

ola33

ola33

Japan

Cowboys—yes the loners, cool, brave, reckless, weirdos, like in the song “Ringo” by Rorne Greene


They say that was the only time
That anyone had seen him smile
He slowly lowered his gun and then
He said to me “We’re even, friend”
And so at last I understood
That there was still a spark of good in Ringo


(Ringo… Ringo… )


In my culture there’s nothing came to my mind to remind cowboys apart from   cossacks maybe :) but they always used to stick together.


Кадр из фильма Тарас Бульба (2009)

01:22 AM Sep 25 2013 |

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