Maria is reading an article about ways that cowboys are portrayed in movies and in books. Read this excerpt: A lot of fiction is set in the American West in the 1800s, a time when settlers poured into the wide-open prairies of Oklahoma and Texas. Cowboy heroes in movies and books worked to tame the land. They are often portrayed as valiant men who fought for justice in a time of lawlessness.

What is the meaning of the phrase tame the land as it is used in the passage above?

A.
It means that the land was unsafe.
B.
It means that the land was not settled.
C.
It means that the land was not farmed.
D.
It means that the land was abandoned.