人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT6-2

R: Our program today is about the eightieth, anniversary¹ of the Anchorage-to-Nome dog sled race. Mr Parks, can you tell us something about  the history of the race?
P: The first race wasn't a competition, but it was a race against time. Eighty years ago, it was front-page news all over the world, but outside Alaska most people have now forgotten how twenty brave people and their dogs saved hundreds of people from death.
R: What happened?
P: Nome was only a small city of about 1,430 souls. One day, in the winter of 1925, Dr Curtis Welch discovered that some children had a terrible disease² for which he had no medicine. The   nearest hospital lay 1,000 miles away.
R: Thank you. We have here with us Miss Welch, who is a granddaughter of Dr Welch. Miss Welch, can you tell us something more?
W: On January 21, a man came to my grandfather asking him for help. His children were very sick. The mother thought they had the flu, because their throats had become red and painful. Their temperatures were very high, and their breathing shallow³. The following day they died.
R: What sickness was it?
W: A few days later he discovered that several children were sick. They all had diphtheria, a disease that spreads very fast. If untreated, it would produce a powerful poison that would kill the patient. Dr Welch had enough vaccine⁴ for perhaps five people. The only way to prevent a catastrophe⁵ wag⁶ to get more as quickly as possible.
R: Where could they get it?
P: There was widespread relief when it was discovered that a hospital in Anchorage had a good  supply of 300,000 units. But the question was how to deliver it to Nome fast.
R: Was that a problem?
W: In 1925, nothing got to Nome quickly. The sea was frozen⁷, while the only two planes had been stored.
R: So, what was to be done?
P: The only way would be a relay⁸ of dog teams over the 674 miles between Nenana and Nome. Twenty drivers would carry the vaccine in a relay race. The Arctic⁹ winter is very cold, but these were all tough men. Each team covered a distance of 18 to 53 miles. Every minute counted. It was thought that the trip could take up to 13 days to complete.
R: How was the vaccine brought to Nenana?
W: The doctor in Anchorage wrapped the medicine in a quilt and tied it up. A train took the packet from Anchorage to Nenana.
R: So the real race against time started frown¹⁰ Nenana, right?
P: Yes. We could only pray that the medicine would arrive on time. Eighteen drivers rode day and night for five days through snow storms and the temperature was more than 30 degrees below zero. The last driver faced a terrible storm, but he knew that lives were at stake¹¹. Reaching the end of his trip, he found the next driver asleep. Time would be lost waking him. Twenty-one miles away people were dying¹², so he kept going.
R: Did he get there on time?
P: He did, but when the team arrived before dawn, there was no one to greet them -- almost the whole town was sleeping. But relief soon spread through Nome like the golden rays of the dawn itself. The dogs were so tired that they could not even bark. The children of Nome were saved !
W: Yes! The drivers had covered almost 700 miles in a little more than 127 hours. But the real heroes should not be forgotten. In December that year a bronze sculpture of a dog was placed in New York City's Central Park: a memorial to all who risked their lives to save those of others.

1 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 shallow   

adj.浅的，肤浅的，浅显易懂的；n.(pl.)浅滩，浅处；v.变浅

参考例句：

• The dish is too shallow to serve soup in.盘子太浅，盛不了汤。
• His analysis was always shallow.他的分析总是很肤浅的。

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 wag   

v.摇动，摆动

参考例句：

• Dogs wag their tails when they are pleased.狗一高兴就摇尾巴。
• I'll not wag an ace further.我一步也不再动啦。

7 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

8 relay   

n.接力赛，中继转播（设备）；vt.转述，转播

参考例句：

• They will relay your message.他们会转达你的口信。
• This metal tower is used to relay television signals to distant villages.这个金属塔是用于向遥远的村子转播电视讯号的。

9 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

10 frown   

vi.皱眉，不满，用皱眉对…表示不满(at)

参考例句：

• Don't frown at me like that.不要那样对我皱眉。
• Her frown gave him a speechless message.她眉头一皱给了他一个暗示。

11 stake   

n.木柱；赌注，奖金；v.打赌，下赌注

参考例句：

• A wooden stake was driven firmly into the ground.木桩被牢牢钉进土地里。
• He put up a stake to support the newly planted tree.他竖了一根桩支撑新种的树。

12 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。