Every year in early March, dogs pull sleds in a race along the Iditarod trail. This trail is 1,770 kilometers long. It goes from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The people who drive the dog teams are called mushers.

　　A musher is an adventurer. He runs by himself with his dogs. Some mushers are women. Susan Butcher is a famous musher. She won the Iditarod race four times. Rick Swenson won the race five times.

　　Mushers are very brave to go on this adventure. The dogs run across snow and ice pulling their sleds. Sometimes the mushers ride, and sometimes they walk. In 1991, Rick Swenson led his dogs through a snow storm. It was so dark that no one could see. He fell to his knees and got up again. In 1990, Susan Butcher’s dogs got sick. Then they came to a river where there was water on top of ice. They were very lucky that they didn’t fall through the thin ice. No one could live in the icy water below.

　　At night the mushers sleep in tents. In the morning they can see footprints of wild animals near the camp. Sometimes they have to shoot at the wild animals to make them go away.

　　The Iditarod race is very long and dangerous. The mushers spend eleven or twelve days running this race. The temperature can go down to -46℃. The dogs and the mushers take care of each other during this adventure.

　　Help :

　　Sled n. 雪橇, 摘棉

　　Musher 赶狗拉雪橇的人

　　Think about :

　　Who is Susan Butcher? Do you know her race experience ?

作者：佚名
【发表评论】【加入收藏】【告诉好友】【打印此文】【关闭窗口】