轉發物件 | 高中及以上水平學習者
說明
《英語時文閱讀》適合高中水平閱讀，分為二輯，每輯有24個模組，每個模組5篇文章。文章基本按照由易到難的順序排列。每篇文章後面都有問題、詞彙表和註釋。後面附有答案，供閱讀時參考。
Passage 2
The Alaska Sled Dog Race
阿拉斯加狗拉雪橇比賽
Every year in Alaska there is a big race with sleds pulled by dogs。 On the day of the race， the Alaskan dogs seem eager to go on the world’s longest and most difficult race。
The voice of the race announcer rings over the streets of Anchorage as the racers set off on their long journey “They’re off。 The last great race。。。”
Fifty-six sleds leave downtown Anchorage to start the race。 A sled leaves every two minutes。 It will take ten days to two weeks before they reach the finish line at Nome on the other side of Alaska。
Linda Joy， a racer says， “It’s not important to win。 I have a yearling（一歲牲口）team and I want as many happy tails when I cross the finish line。”
Russell Lane is an Eskimo（愛斯基摩人）。 He thinks his very first run may help his people keep in touch with the old ways。 “I’m the only Eskimo racer， so I’m really proud to be representing my people。”
One racer from Australia， Stephen Carrick， says he knows why he runs the race when he crosses the finish line。 “I did it last year。 When I got to Nome， I felt proud and I knew I had to have more of this。”
Dee Jonrowe has finished in the top ten racers in eight other races。 “I was just telling my husband， happy birthday， today’s his birthday and his present is sending me out of town。”
Gary Collins， an actor， helps the race by giving money。 He and others get to ride on the sleds for 20 miles of the trail（路線）。 The day the race starts is an exciting event in Anchorage。 There’s a big crowd to watch the race start。 The trail goes around Anchorage， and smaller crowds of fans cheer the sleds on。
Twenty miles out of Anchorage the ceremonial（儀式性的）part of the race is over and its time to get serious about the race。 For the one thousand miles， it’s just the racers and their dogs on the frozen land。
Racer Aaron Burmeister says of the first day “Really there’s not much strategy， just get running。”
And try to enjoy the ride。
Exercises:
1。 Decide whether the following statements are true or false：
1） The dog sled race in Alaska is known as the world’s longest and most difficult race。
2） The people in Anchorage don’t like the race。
3） The dogs must feel eager and excited about the race。
4） In the race， the dog sleds travel on snow and ice。
2。 Answer the following questions：
1） How long is the ceremonial run？
2） What do you think Linda Joy means when she says， “…I want as many happy tails when I cross the finish line”？
Vocabulary Builder:
announcer n 廣播員；告知者
downtown adj。 市區的
represent v。 代表
event n。 賽事；事件
fan n。 迷；狂熱者；愛好者
cheer v。 歡呼；加油
strategy n。 策略
Notes:
1。 He thinks his very first run may help his people keep in touch with the old ways。
他想他的首次比賽有助於人們維持同古老（生活）方式的聯絡。
2。 Twenty miles out of Anchorage the ceremonial part of the race is over and its time to get serious about the race。
在Anchorage市外比賽20英里的儀式性的部分結束了，到了該認真對待比賽的時候了。
3。 Really there’s not much strategy， just get running。
實在說沒有多少策略可言，只管跑就是。
Key to the exercises:
1： 1） T 2）F 3） T 4） T
2：
1） 20 miles。
2） She wants all of her dogs to be alive when theyfinish the race。
［英漢對照］現代美文閱讀-114 | TV Fascination
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