Unit 1 • Extra Reading

1. Reading
A Read the article quickly. Who are Melissa’s teammates?

B Read the article slowly. Check your answer in Ex. A.

The Great Race

Meet Melissa Owens. She’s 18, and she’s from Nome, Alaska. She
often races in the Iditarod, a famous dogsled race in Alaska. It
goes from Anchorage to Nome. It runs for 12 to 15 days and it’s
1,868 kilometres long.
The race is in February and March,
so it’s very cold. There’s a lot of snow
and wind. About 50 teams enter the race
every year. Teams have a musher and
12 to 16 sled dogs. The musher cares
for the sled and the dogs. The musher
also tells the dogs to rest or to run.
Melissa loves the Iditarod, but she
likes other things, too. She’s athletic,
so she’s pretty good at sports. She likes
school a lot, too. But her favourite time
is with her dogs. She likes playing with
them. Her dogs are good friends and
great teammates, too!

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 Unit 1 • Extra Reading

C Complete the sentences. Use the words in the box.

cares for (v.) kilometres (n.) rest (v.) teammates (n.)

dogsled (n.) musher (n.) snow (n.) wind (n.)

1. In the mountains, there’s a lot of and in December.

2. That race is 42 long.
3. She’s got 19 on her football team.
4. The mother bird feeds the little bird every day. She the little bird.
5. My favourite team’s got 16 dogs and a great .
6. It’s good to after a basketball game.

D Answer the questions.

1. How old is Melissa Owens?
She’s 18.
2. What’s the Iditarod?

3. Where’s the Iditarod race?

4. How many kilometres is the Iditarod race?

5. When’s the Iditarod race?

6. What’s Melissa pretty good at?

E What do you think? Tick (✓) Agree or Disagree (don’t agree).

Agree Disagree
1. It’s important to be active.

2. Races are exciting.

3. It’s OK to race dogs.

4. It’s important to play team sports.

5. It’s dangerous to do sports in the snow.

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 Unit 1 • Extra Reading

2. Writing
A What’s your favourite sport? Complete the chart.

What’s your favourite sport?

Is this sport a team sport? (How
many people are on the team?)
Is this sport easy or difficult?
Where can you play this sport?
When can you play this sport?

B Write about your favourite sport. Use the chart in Ex. A to help you.

My favourite sport is

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