Introduction
In the icy winter of 1924-25, the town of Nome in Alaska was completely cut off by road, rail, air and sea. When Curtis Welch, Nome’s only doctor, diagnosed diphtheria among the town’s children in mid-January, the race was on to bring thousands of doses of antitoxin from the nearest railway station, 674 miles away over the old Iditarod Trail. American women were among those agog for the latest updates.
THREE cheers for dogs! Again they have proved their dependability. For days the dogs racing to the rescue of Nome have held front-page space and absorbed attention.
Winter-bound, shut off from the world except over deep-covered trails, Nome has an epidemic of diphtheria. The only serum was five years old, and it is supposed to be effective only six months. They used the old serum for what it might be worth and sent out a call for aid. With the temperature running to 30 degrees below zero, it was thought no airship could survive.* Anyhow — “we know what dogs can do, we don’t know about airplanes.” So the dog teams started, and as this is written one of them, after a record-breaking race, has reached Nome with the precious antitoxin.*
At any minute Roy S. Darling, a former navy flyer, may dare the dangers and start with another consignment of serum. Five have died in Nome, thirty are suspected of having the disease and fifty others have been exposed.
* Air transport was still barely out of its infancy in 1925. The civilian authorities were keen to try it, but experienced pilots told them it was madness in the freezing storms raging about Nome.
* The first consignment of serum, 300,000 units in all, arrived at Nome at around 5.30am on Monday 2nd February, 1925, brought in by Gunnar Kaasen and his thirteen-strong team of dogs. In all, there were twenty mushers (sled-drivers) working their dogs in relay, in theory carving up the 674-mile trip into 25-mile stages, regarded as an extreme day’s mush. Time was of the essence: not only were children dying, but the fresh batches of serum were not expected to survive more than six days on the trail owing to the plunging Alaskan temperatures. The dogs and their mushers brought it home with half a day to spare.
Précis
In 1925, diphtheria broke out in the Alaskan town of Nome. The town had no usable antitoxin, but the grip of winter was so brutal that the only way to bring in more was by dogsled. After a record-breaking sprint over hundreds of miles, the first vials of serum were delivered, and one women’s paper gave ‘three cheers for dogs’. (60 / 60 words)
In 1925, diphtheria broke out in the Alaskan town of Nome. The town had no usable antitoxin, but the grip of winter was so brutal that the only way to bring in more was by dogsled. After a record-breaking sprint over hundreds of miles, the first vials of serum were delivered, and one women’s paper gave ‘three cheers for dogs’.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, if, just, may, or, unless, until, who.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Another. Die. Race.
2 After. Dare. Start.
3 Bound. Expose. Know.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Minute. 2 Known. 3 Proven. 4 Written. 5 Boundless. 6 Effective. 7 Diseased. 8 Oldest. 9 Deep.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
std (8+5)
ousted. seated. sited. stadia. stood. stud. studio. suited.
sated. sauted. sauteed. staid. steed.
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