The Iditarod

10/10/2020 6:24:00 PM
A musher and his dogs. Image: theguardian.com

Do you know?

  • Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual dogsled race running between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska, U.S.
  • The trail is over 1000 miles in distance and the race alternates between the Northern course and the Southern course every year.

Let's explore more about this race!

FACT: Each sled is pulled by a team of 16 dogs, and they need 10-12,000 calories a day. 

A musher and his dogs. Image: theguardian.com

Listen and choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.

  • In which month is the Iditarod race?
  • Why do mushers sometimes shoot at wild animals?

In which month is the Iditarod race?

  • January
  • February
  • March
Why do mushers sometimes shoot at wild animals?
  • To hunt them for food
  • To make them go away
  • To catch their attention

Complete the text you are listening to by dragging the correct word to each blank.

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 . Each musher races alone with a team of 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 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 heavy snow in a bad storm. It was so dark that no one could see. He fell to his 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 water below. 

At night, the mushers sleep in . In the morning, they can see 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, dangerous, and cold. The mushers spend eleven or twelve days running this race. The temperature can go down to -46°C (minus forty-six degrees Celsius). The dogs and the mushers take care of each other during this adventure.

Read and answer the following questions.

Mushers handle their dog care in a cold morning. Image:taiwannews.com.tw 

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. Each musher races alone with a team of 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 heavy snow in a bad 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, dangerous, and cold. The mushers spend eleven or twelve days running this race. The temperature can go down to -46°C (minus forty-six degrees Celsius). The dogs and the mushers take care of each other during this adventure.

Source: Thoughts and Notions

What can you NOT conclude about Susan Butcher and Rick Swenson from the passage?

  • They both are mushers in the Iditarod race.
  • Butcher's team won more Iditarod races than Swenson's team.
  • Susan Butcher took part in the race held in 1990.
  • Rick Swenson encountered a bad storm during the race in 1991.
How do the mushers know that wild animals come near the camp at night?
  • Because their dogs can sniff out the wild animals.
  • Because the animals have left some marks on their tents.
  • Because they see the footprints of the wild animals.
  • Because their sleds disappear in the morning.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

  • The first dog in the pack is called the musher.
  • The dogs eat a lot of food during the race.
  • The mushers spend less than a week running the race.
  • The temperatures at Iditarod can be below freezing.
Choose the main idea of the text.
  • The Iditarod race is a big adventure for mushers.
  • Mushers and their dogs take care of each other.
  • The cold weather at Iditarod can be a difficulty.
  • Mushers sleep in tents and can meet wild animals.

Put the right word in each blank. The sentences are from the text. 

  1. A musher is an . 
  2. Mushers are very to go on this adventure. 
  3. In the morning, they can see of wild animals near the camp.
  4. He fell to his and got up again. 
  5. No one could live in the water below.
  6. At night, the mushers sleep in .

Put the right word in each blank. These are new sentences for words in the text. 

  1. Junko Tabei had a great when she climbed Mount Everest. 
  2. Your are in the middle of your legs. 
  3. When you walk on the beach, you leave your in the sand. 
  4. Junko Tabei is a woman.
  5. He fell into the waters of the Moscow river.
  6. Everyone was sleeping outside in .