If there is one quality that most American shares, it is a desire that sets their eyes straining for a look beyond the horizon, their minds wondering what might be beyond their range of vision, and their feet on paths into the unknown. The horizons keep expanding; over a century the adventurers and home-seekers braved the wildness to look for independence and prosperity.
In the 1800’s the term “the West” was often used to describe any frontier region or territory that lay between the well-established settlements and the untamed wildness. As American moved steadily westward, the frontier moved westward also.
The pushing back of the frontier, however, was far from easy. The early pioneer had to face and overcome many dangers and hardships. Horrible snowstorms in winter might destroy his livestock, and many pioneers themselves were frozen to death. In summer a pioneer might stand by helplessly while his cattle died or crops withered for lack of water. At other times, floods might sweep away all of his work But his greatest danger in the early years was from Indian raids. The westward movement was a typical expression of the American character, no too strongly desiring for a settled life but seeking their dreams by moving from place to place. It is still true even now.
The worst dangers to a peaceful pioneer in the middle nineteenth century came perhaps not from natural conditions or from Indians, but from pioneers. It was difficult to enforce law and order in such a large area with so little established authority, and some people moved to the west not in order to develop the country but to rob those who were doing hard work. The movement to the west had its heroes as well as its villains.
On the way toward the West, one’s success or failure depended largely on his strength and ability in management. Hard labor and tense competition in the West made the frontiersmen rough, so was their language. This could serve as a clue to the understanding of American “honesty”. The Americans were said to value honest speech, honest people, honest government, and honest Presidents.
Some people feel that the frontier spirit no longer exists in the USA. But it expresses itself in a number of ways. Americans do not like being without work, and they will travel hundreds of miles in search of a job, showing a courage and an enterprise which is unusual in most of the older European countries. Then there is the exploration of outer space. President John Kennedy in a speech to the nation, spoke of the “New Frontier”. The frontier spirit certainly played a part in putting the first men on the moon, the most recent of all frontiersmen to be crossed.
1. The text is mainly about（ ）.
2. According to the text, what is a typical expression of the frontier spirit?
3. From the text you can learn what endangered the early pioneer was（ ）.
4. It seems that successful frontiersman（ ）.
5. From the text you can see the author thinks（ ）.
