国家地理:Reindeer Man 圣诞老人和他的驯鹿

There's a Santa's carrier.

For Tom Scheib, today is one of those days he spends most of the year preparing for.

Let's just put the harness out right here.

This is his time to make any last-minute adjustments and see that his team is in good spirit and ready for their performance.

Hi, Elli, how are you doing? Good boy. Haha. I know it's close to time.

Everything has to be perfect. Because tonight for the people of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, the magic of the holiday season rests on the shoulders of Tom's reindeer¹ and the very important sleigh they're pulling.

The kids, they give wide eyes. The adults are wondering what you got pulling Santa Claus, you know. It's a, it's a really fun time.

The road to Rice Lake begins here on Tom's dancing reindeer farm in Milltown, Wisconsin.

This is a great job.

It all started back in 1985 when this 23-year Marine² Corps³ veteran was looking for a unique way to spend his retirement⁴.

Very few people in the United States have reindeer and I, kinda do things that are a little different as you've seen.

Stop, now.

What he found is a passion that's grown into one of the largest reindeer farms in North America.

Hi, Rudy, oh, yeah, boy, my little old guy, uh.

Unlike some farms that raise reindeer as livestock⁵, his animals are specially⁶ trained to be entertainers.

Hi, kids.

Not only are they the toast of many holiday festivals and parades, they've also made appearances in movies and on TV.

OK, Noah, you are not half the good, you are not half the you. It used to mean I'm gonna get standing⁷ up here for early close to you, Noah.

And training reindeer is no easy task. Tom and his wife Lisa work with the animals for weeks before every event to make sure they are ready to take center stage.

We are picking for these reindeer and running rehearsal⁸, training session before the parades that we do for the Christmas season.

And like every great performance, practice makes perfect.

Come on, let's go.

And sometimes it's a little bit rock, but we'll try to take a lot of the ...

Here at home. So that we give Santa a pretty smooth ride.

Ya, ya, let's go, let's go.

For Tom, it's not just a working relationship.

Put your right foot front, you take your left foot back. You do the whole people skiing. Turn it over.

Tom feels lucky to be able to share the spotlight⁹ with his amazing animals.

I don't go because it's me. I go because of these guys. They are the ones that make it all happen, you know, those are the guys that do it.

Back in Rice Lake, the star of the show is safely onboard.

Ready, Santa?

Elli, let's go.

It's full speed ahead. For Tom, the spirit of the season is found in the joy his reindeer bring to so many people. It's his holiday gift to share with the world.

Merry Christmas.

You know they are really making me happy. It's a wonderful experience. You get to meet great people. And that's what it's all about.

Words

harness : A harness is a set of leather straps¹⁰ and metal links fastened round a horse's head or body so that the horse can have a carriage, cart, or plough fastened to it. 马具,挽具

1 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。