词汇提示

1.plains 草原

2.buckskin 鹿皮

3.spear 矛

4.bow 弓

5.tame 驯服

6.creep up 爬过去

7.stamped 受惊

8.trample 踩踏

9.steep cliff 陡峭的悬崖

10.bullets 子弹

11.slain 杀死

12.teepees 圆锥形帐篷

13.nomadic 游牧的

14.rituals 仪式性的

15.warfare 战争

原文

Plains Indians

The best known picture of an American Indian is a warrior in buckskin, riding a horse, wearing a headdress of eagle feathers and carrying a spear, or bow and arrow.

This is a picture of a Plains Indian, and it appears in many Hollywood westerns and on the American five-cent piece.

There were many tribes of Plains Indians for the Northern American prairies or plains stretch from the northern forest of western Canada down to the States of Oklahoma and Texas in southern U.S.A.

It is interesting that our image of the Plains Indian is only true for the last couple hundred years.

It was not until the 1600s that Plains Indians began to ride horses.

There were no horses in America until Spanish soldiers brought them in the 1500s and 1600s.

Some of these horses escaped and ran wild on the prairies of America.

It was these wild horses that the Plains Indians learned to tame.

Before they had horses, the Indians hunted buffalo on foot.

Buffalo were huge bison, or wild cattle, which traveled in very large herds.

A big herd might have millions of buffalo.

It was difficult to cross the prairie because these animals blocked your way.

The Plains Indians had various ways of killing buffalo.

Before they had horses, Indian hunters would quietly creep up close to the herd; then they would fire their arrows together.

There was always the danger that the herd would stampede and trample the hunters.

Another method was to drive the buffalo over a steep cliff.

There are a number of places on the plains where this was done.

Once the Plains Indians had horses, they preferred to hunt buffalo on horseback.

When the tribes started to use guns, they could kill many buffalo.

Artist Paul Kane describes a buffalo hunt in the Red River Valley in 1846.

The hunters carried their bullets in their mouths so that they could shoot faster.

They would ride right into the herd, shooting at close quarters.

They would drop an article of clothes on the slain buffalo to mark it for themselves.

Then they would continue the hunt.

After the hunt, the Indians would skin the animals,and the women would dry the meat and store it in fat.

A single hunt might kill more than 30,000 buffalo.

The Plains Indians received nearly everything they needed from the buffalo.

Of course, they used buffalo meat for food.

They also used the buffalo skins for clothing, blankets, and the covering of their teepees.

These teepees were cone-shaped tents, which were easy to put up and take down.

Plains Indians were nomadic, and followed the animals they hunted.

Since these animals were plentiful, Plains Indians usually led a comfortable life.

They developed complex religions and social rituals,as well as specialized societies or clubs.

There were also rituals and customs for hunting and warfare.

Many Plains Indians fought hard against the settlement of the Great Plains.

The American government discouraged the hunting of buffalo,because without the buffalo the Plains Indians would not be able to fight.

With the buffalo disappearing, the Plains Indians had to give up fighting and move into government-sponsored reservations.

翻译

大平原印第安人

最著名的美国印第安人照片是一位身穿鹿皮的战士，骑着马，头戴鹰羽毛的头饰，手持长矛或弓箭。
这是一张平原印第安人的照片，它出现在许多好莱坞西部片和美国五美分纸币上。
美国北部大草原有许多平原印第安人部落，从加拿大西部的北部森林一直延伸到美国南部的俄克拉荷马州和得克萨斯州。
有趣的是，我们对平原印第安人的印象只有在过去的几百年里才是真实的。
直到17世纪，平原印第安人才开始骑马。
直到16世纪和16世纪西班牙士兵把马带来，美国才有马。
其中一些马逃跑了，在美国大草原上狂奔。
平原印第安人学会驯服的正是这些野马。
在有马之前，印第安人步行猎杀水牛。
水牛是巨大的野牛，它们成群结队地迁徙。
一个大群可能有数百万头水牛。
穿越大草原很困难，因为这些动物挡住了你的路。
平原印第安人有各种杀死水牛的方法。
在他们有马之前，印度猎人会悄悄地靠近马群；然后他们会一起射箭。
牧群总是有踩踏和践踏猎人的危险。
另一种方法是把水牛赶出陡峭的悬崖。
平原上有许多这样的地方。
一旦平原印第安人有了马，他们就喜欢骑马猎杀水牛。
当部落开始使用枪支时，他们可以杀死许多水牛。
艺术家保罗·凯恩（PaulKane）描述了1846年在红河谷（Red River Valley）狩猎水牛的情景。
猎人们把子弹叼在嘴里，以便能射得更快。
他们会骑马进入牛群，近距离射击。
他们会把一件衣服扔在被杀的水牛身上为自己做标记。
然后他们会继续狩猎。
狩猎结束后，印第安人会剥动物的皮，女人们会把肉弄干并储存在脂肪中。
一次狩猎可能杀死30000多头水牛。
平原印第安人几乎从水牛那里得到了他们所需要的一切。
当然，他们用水牛肉做食物。
他们还用水牛皮做衣服、毯子和圆锥形帐篷的覆盖物。
这些圆锥形帐篷很容易搭建和拆除。
平原印第安人是游牧民族，他们追踪他们猎杀的动物。
由于这些动物数量众多，平原印第安人通常过着舒适的生活。
他们发展了复杂的宗教和社会仪式，以及专门的社团或俱乐部。
还有狩猎和战争的仪式和习俗。
许多平原印第安人奋力反抗大平原的定居。
美国政府不鼓励猎杀水牛，没有水牛平原印第安人就无法战斗。
随着水牛的消失，平原印第安人不得不放弃战斗，搬到政府资助的保留地。

文稿及音频关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”

Benni Ola & Tempest