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
A
a sick boy，Billy，and knew he had diphtheria，a deadly infectious（傳染的）disease mainly affecting children.The children of Nome would be（2）
B
B
if it struck the town.Dr.Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick.（3）
D
D
，the closest supply was over 1 ，000 miles away，in Anchorage.
How could the medicine get to Nome？The town's（4）
C
C
was already full of ice，so it couldn't come by ship.Cars and horses couldn't travel on the（5）
B
B
roads.Jet airplanes and big trucks didn't exist yet.
（6）
C
C
January 26，Billy and three other children had died.Twenty more were（7）
D
D
.Nome's town officials came up with a（n）（8）
A
A
.They would have the medicine sent by（9）
B
B
from Anchorage to Nenana.From there，dogsled（狗拉雪橇）drivers -known as "mushers" -would（10）
A
A
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）
C
C
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）
D
D
a frozen body of water called Norton Sound.It was the most（13）
C
C
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）
D
D
，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）
C
C
.He had to leave the trail（雪橇痕跡）to get around them.Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to（16）
A
A
the trail again.The only hope was Balto，Kaasen's lead dog.Balto put his nose to the ground，（17）
B
B
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）
A
A
.He had found the trail.
At 5：30 am on February 2，Kaasen and his dogs（19）
D
D
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）
B
B
.
| （1） |
A．examined |
B．warned |
C．interviewed |
D．cured |
| （2） |
A．harmless |
B．helpless |
C．fearless |
D．careless |
| （3） |
A．Moreover |
B．Therefore |
C．Otherwise |
D．However |
| （4） |
A．a(chǎn)irport |
B．station |
C．harbor |
D．border |
| （5） |
A．narrow |
B．snowy |
C．busy |
D．dirty |
| （6） |
A．From |
B．On |
C．By |
D．After |
| （7） |
A．tired |
B．upset |
C．pale |
D．sick |
| （8） |
A．plan |
B．excuse |
C．message |
D．topic |
| （9） |
A．a(chǎn)ir |
B．rail |
C．sea |
D．road |
| （10） |
A．carry |
B．return |
C．mail |
D．give |
| （11） |
A．Though |
B．Since |
C．When |
D．If |
| （12） |
A．enter |
B．move |
C．visit |
D．cross |
| （13） |
A．shameful |
B．boring |
C．dangerous |
D．foolish |
| （14） |
A．escape |
B．bleed |
C．swim |
D．die |
| （15） |
A．memory |
B．exit |
C．way |
D．destination |
| （16） |
A．find |
B．fix |
C．pass |
D．change |
| （17） |
A．pretending |
B．trying |
C．a(chǎn)sking |
D．learning |
| （18） |
A．run |
B．leave |
C．bite |
D．play |
| （19） |
A．gathered |
B．stayed |
C．camped |
D．a(chǎn)rrived |
| （20） |
A．controlled |
B．saved |
C．founded |
D．developed |
