Wordly Wise Lesson 7

It seems more important for cowboy movies to be exciting than for them to be truthful. Nobody wants to sit through a(n) _______________ western.

• monotonous

• ravenous

• realistic

• punctuation

The ringing of the dinner bell called the trail riders to the chuck wagon. To a(n) ________________ cowboy the sound was sweet music.

• constant

• origin

• ravenous

• hardy

At night, the cowboys hoped that nothing exciting would happen. They knew that a(n) ____________ could be stared by any sudden noise or by a flash of lightning.

• brawl

• mediocre

• soothe

• stampede

Cowboy songs had a practical purpose. Sung softly, they could _____________ cattle that were becoming restless.

• soothe

• origin

• veteran

• exhausted

The truth is that life on the range was often dull. Despite this, moviegoers were led to believe that action-packed adventures were a(n) _______________ part of cowboy life.

• monotonous

• constant

• casual

• mediocre

Early western movies usually showed the Native Americans as the "bad guys." At the time, movie makers had only a(n) ____________ interest in telling the truth about Native Americans.

• ravenous

• excelled

• casual

• hardy

The first real cowboys were called vaqueros. They spoke Spanish because their country of ____________ was Mexico.

• brawl

• exhausted

• stampede

• origin

Lots of soldiers who had fought in the Civil War were without jobs. The most ________________ course of action for many was to go west and become cowboys.

• realistic

• origin

• monotonous

• ravenous

Many cowboys were uneducated and were unable to read or write. Such things as spelling and ___________ were unknown.

• constant

• punctuation

• hardy

• brawl

Important skills for a cowboy were riding and roping. Those who ___________ at these activities could earn extra money at rodeos.

• punctuation

• brawl

• casual

• excelled