On January 20, Nome was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow. Worse still, Diphtheria(白喉), a 1 infectious(传染的) disease mainly affecting children, struck the town. Medicine was in great need to stop other kids from getting sick. 2 , the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.
How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s 3 was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the 4 roads. No jet airplanes and big trucks then!
By January 26, four children had died. Twenty more were 5 . Nome’s town officials came up with a(n) 6 . They would have the medicine sent by 7 from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled(狗拉雪橇) drivers would 8 it to Nome in a relay(接力).
The race began on January 27. The first driver, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. On January 31, a driver named Seppala had to 9 a frozen body of water called Norton Sound, which was covered with ice, sometimes breaking up without warning. In that case, he would 10 , and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.
A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A driver named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his 11 . He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to 12 the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground, 13 to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. 14 , he succeeded.
At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog 15 in Nome. Within minutes, the doctor quickly gave the medicine to the sick children. All of them recovered.
1. A. harmless B. deadly C. unknown D. slight
2. A. Moreover B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. However
3. A. airport B. station C. harbor D. border
4. A. narrow B. snowy C. busy D. dirty
5. A. tired B. upset C. pale D. sick
6. A. plan B. excuse C. message D. topic
7. A. air B. rail C. sea D. road
8. A. carry B. return C. mail D. give
9. A. enter B. move C. visit D. cross
10. A. escape B. bleed C. swim D. die
11. A. memory B. exit C. way D. destination
12. A. find B. fix C. pass D. change
13. A. pretending B. trying C. asking D. learning
14. A. Luckily B. Unfortunately C. Honestly D. Secretly
15. A. gathered B. stayed C. camped D. arrived
