在极地的冰雪中，我找到了梦想中的工作

在我第一次来到北极旅行时，我与当地的导游Milos坠入爱河。几年前，我辞掉了在英国的公关经理工作，搬到瑞典北部定居。在这里，我找到了一份最理想的工作——训练哈士奇拉雪橇……

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

sled 雪撬，小雪撬[sled]

Arctic北极圈，北极地方['ɑ?kt?k]

blissful极快乐的，有福的['bl?sfl]

sauna桑拿浴，蒸汽浴['s??n?]

snowmobile雪地车['sno?mo?m?bi?l]

iridescent虹彩色的[??r?'desnt]

petrified使惊呆的['petr?fa?d]

Dream jobs … and how to get them: husky driving in the Arctic（583 words）

By Harriet Fitch Little

Gaynor Leeper, husky driver, northern Sweden

The first time I came to the Arctic it was like landing in Narnia. Kiruna is the northernmost airport in Sweden and the moment the plane doors opened this rush of -20C air came flooding in. I didn't know I was supposed to bring my winter coat on as hand luggage and I was freezing — a total rookie.

On that first trip I was taking a group of tourists to try sledding and Miloš, who is now my husband, was our local guide. I'd always been scared of dogs, I mean really scared, but he gave me some nice dogs to harness and I thought, “Right, show no fear.”

I totally fell in love with them. It was very soon after that I ended up going out for the whole winter, then Miloš and I decided to give our relationship a go.

I'd quit a successful job “going places” as a communications manager in London a few years previously to work in adventure tourism, and I think that was the biggest surprise for my family. When I decided to move to the Arctic to live with 40 dogs it was another leap, but because I'd done it before I felt I could worry about the problems later.

When I got here it was as if all the skills I'd spent my life gathering were absolutely useless. I had to learn how to build fires, chop wood, tie knots and fix the lines for the dogs. Now people look at me and say, “Wow, you're so easy in this environment.” I say, “You didn't see the journey.”

We built our own house recently. It's in the wilderness about 10km from Kiruna, and we've got all the modern facilities. Miloš finished our shower on Christmas Day and it was a blissful moment. Before that we'd been washing ourselves, and our clothes, in the sauna. There's very little in the way of socialising but we've got a small network of friends, mainly other dog mushers, who come over on a snowmobile. They'll have a sauna and a beer and go home in the morning.

The summer in Kiruna is really short, basically only the month of July. We let the dogs run loose and they get very lazy. In autumn we start training them pulling a quad bike, then we switch to the sleds. The dogs work with tourists from December to mid-April. It's a really long season but I like it.

The best days are when I'm out with the dogs and I get this sheer appreciation for the environment. In the depths of winter the sun doesn't rise above the horizon for a month but it means we get these incredible iridescent clouds — they're like rainbows. The moon is the size of a massive orange in the sky and when it comes up it looks like the sun rising. But the weather can be brutal and turn things very serious very quickly.

I've done some sled-dog racing for fun. My first race was 325km and I was lucky enough to win. I think I was on the sled 19 hours. I remember this one moment — it was 3am and I was going over a swamp. It was completely pitch black and I was alone with the dogs. I thought to myself, “Wow, if I were in London right now I would be petrified beyond belief, but here I am quite happy.” It just made sense.

1.Where did the author go at the first time she came to the Arctic?

A.Canada.

B.Finland.

C.Sweden.

D.Norway.

答案(1)

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the author？

A.She got married with Miloš soon after her first trip to the Arctic.

B.She moved to the Arctic because she wanted to live with 40 dogs.

C.She lives in Kiruna together with her husband now.

D.She lived in London before moved to the Arctic.

答案(2)

3.In the fifth paragraph, what does the author mean by saying "You didn't see the journey”？

A.To indicate that she made great efforts to adapt to the life in the Arctic.

B.To indicate that traveling in the Arctic is very interesting.

C.To explain why she have to learn to fix the lines for the dogs.

D.To show that she has achieved great success in the Arctic.

答案(3)

4.When do the author and her husband train their dogs to pull a quad bike？

A.In spring.

B.In summer.

C.In autumn.

D.In winter.

答案(4)

(1)答案：C.Sweden.

解释：我第一次来到北极就像是到了纳尼亚。基律纳是瑞典最靠北的机场，机舱门一开，零下20度的空气就涌了进来。

(2)答案：D.She lived in London before moved to the Arctic.

解释：几年前，我辞去了伦敦的公关经理工作投身于探险旅游业。

(3)答案：A.To indicate that she made great efforts to adapt to the life in the Arctic.

解释：我必须学着生火、砍柴、打结、为狗引路。现在人们看到我会说：“你对这里的环境适应得真好。”我会告诉他们：“你可没看到整个过程。”

(4)答案：C.In autumn.

解释：秋天我们会训练狗拉四轮车。