话题 难度系数 词数 建议用时 社会生活 ☆☆☆☆ 323 17′ 　　

　　A Race Against Death

　　It was a cold January in 1925 in Nome，Alaska.The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.

　　On the 20th of that month，Dr.Welch __1__ a sick boy，Billy，and knew he had diphtheria，a deadly infectious (传染的) disease mainly affecting children.The children of Nome would be __2__ if it struck the town.Dr.Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick．__3__ ，the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away，in Anchorage.

　　How could the medicine get to Nome？The town's __4__ was already full of ice，so it couldn't come by ship.Cars and horses couldn't travel on the __5__ roads.Jet airplanes and big trucks didn't exist yet.

　　__6__ January 26，Billy and three other children had died.Twenty more were __7__ ．Nome's town officials came up with a (n) __8__ .They would have the medicine sent by __9__ from Anchorage to Nenana.From there，dogsled (狗拉雪橇) drivers-known as"mushers"- would __10__ it to Nome in a relay (接力) ．

　　The race began on January 27.The first musher，Shannon，picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night．__11__ he handed the medicine to the next musher，Shannon's face was black from the extreme cold.

　　On January 31，a musher named Seppala had to __12__ a frozen body of water called Norton Sound.It was the most __13__ part of the journey.Norton Sound was covered with ice，which could sometimes break up without warning.If that happened，Seppala might fall into the icy water below.He would __14__ ，and so would the sick children of Nome.But Seppala made it across.

　　A huge snowstorm hit on February 1.A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm.At one point，huge piles of snow blocked his __15__ .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 __16__ the trail again.The only hope was Balto，Kaasen's lead dog.Balto put his nose to the ground， __17__ to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail.If Balto failed，it would mean disaster for Nome.The minutes passed by.Suddenly，Balto began to __18__ .He had found the trail.

　　At 5：30 am on February 2，Kaasen and his dogs __19__ in Nome.Within minutes，Dr.Welch had the medicine.He quickly gave it to the sick children.All of them recovered.

　　Nome had been __20__ .

　　[语篇解读]　这是一篇记叙文。Nome小镇里的孩子们感染了白喉病。为了挽救孩子们，一些勇士们展开了雪橇接力赛，冒着危险，日夜兼程地把药品安全运到小镇上，孩子们最终得救了。

　　1．A.examined B．warned

　　C．interviewed D．cured

　　解析：选A　根据下文中的"and knew he had diphtheria"可知，应填examine"检查 (身体) "，表示Dr.Welch给一个生病的男孩做了检查。

　　2．A.harmless B．helpless

　　C．fearless D．careless

解析：选B　上文说这种病主要传染给孩子，下文说如果这种病袭击这个镇子，因此根据语境，应选B，表示如果发生这种情况的话，那么这里的孩子们就会很无助了。helples