1、Arctic Hero - the Story of MatthewHenson 僅范 6-16)By Alison HawesIntroductionIn 1909 a black American explorer called Matthew Henson helped to discover the North Pole.This story tells you how Matthew became an explorer and the dangers he faced in the bitter cold of the Arctic.Chapter 1: Running AwayA

2、s a boy, Matthew always longed for adventure. When he was about 12 years old, he ran away to sea. He joined a ship as a cabin boy, peeling potatoes and cleaning the decks.When he left, at the age of 18, he had already traveled the world.Chapter 2: Matthew Meets Robert PearyA few years later Matthew

3、was working in a shop when he met an explorer called Robert Peary.Robert offered him a job, as his servant, working in the jungles of Central America.Matthew was keen to travel again, so he took the jobWhile they were in the jungle, one of Robert s survey team fell into some quicksand. The man was s

4、o frightened, he left the expedition.Matthew asked if he could take over the man s job, and he never worked as a servant again. After working in the sticky heat of the jungle, Robert s next trip was to the bitter cold of the Arctic. He asked Matthew to come with him as a member of his team.He and Ma

5、tthew then spent the next 18 years exploring the Arctic together.Chapter 3: Matthew in GreenlandThey began by making several trips to Greenland, where the Inuit people （因紐特 人，過去稱為愛斯基摩人，居住在北美北部 嚴寒地區(qū)）helped them to learn the skills they needed tosurvive in the Arctic.Matthew quickly learned to speak I

6、nuit and became good friends with the people. They called him Matthew-the-kind-one”（好人馬修）.They learned how to fish for charr （嘉 魚） and hunt for seals. They learned to build igloos （雪屋） and make clothes and boots from animal skins. They also learned to build sledgeS 雪橇）and drive teams of husky dogs.

7、In fact, Matthew soon became an expert （專 家）sledge driver.Matthew and Robert traveled across the unexplored ice fields in the north of Greenland. They made maps and helped to show that Greenland is an island. They also found three enormous （巨大的） meteorites （隕石）.But even with help from the Inuit, the

8、 Arctic was a dangerous place for Robert and Matthew to be （生存）.Once they were out hunting when a musk ox suddenly charged at （向沖去）Robert. Just in time, Matthew saved Roberts life. He shot the ox with his last bullet.Another time they were hundreds of miles from camp when they ran out of food. They

9、were cold and weak, and a man traveling with them was dangerously ill. In the end they had to eat their dogs or （否貝U） starve to death.Chapter 4: To the North PoleDespite（盡管 =in spite o。the dangers, Robert and Matthew bravely went back to the Arctic again. This time they wanted to do something no one

10、 had ever done before. They wanted to try to reach the North Pole. But on their first attempt Robert s feet became badly frostbitten （嚴重凍傷）Robert was in such pain that he couldn't walk or even stand. As soon as they could travel, Matthew strapped （捆綁） Robert to a sledge and rushed 250 miles toba

11、se camp（大 本營）,where there was a doctor. The doctor had to take off eight of Robert's toesBut still Robert and Matthew would not give up. Three more times they tried to reach the Pole. Each time they got closer than before. But each time they were beaten back by blizzards （暴雪）or melting ice.Chapt

12、er 5: One Last ChanceIn 1908 Robert and Matthew sailed from New York to make their fifth attempt to reach the Pole. But theyagreed （達成共識）, because of their age, that they would make this their last trip to the Arctic. This would be their last chance to reach the North Pole!On their way north, they s

13、topped in Greenland to buy the huskies, furs and equipmentt（設備）that they needed. They also visited several villages to hire Inuit men and women to come with them and help them on their last journey.As their ship sailed further north, the sea began to freeze over. At first the ship was able to cut th

14、rough the ice, but as the ice got thicker they sometimes had to usedynamite （炸藥） to help them break through.In the end the sea ice was just too thick and they could go no further. So they set up their base camp on an island off the coast of Canada （靠近加拿大海岸線的）.They spent the winter getting ready for

15、their last attempt to reach the Pole.In the spring they were ready to set out Robert put the men into teams and they began setting up a line of camps across the sea ice. At each camp they left food, equipment and igloos for Robert and Matthew to use on their way back from the Pole.But this was not e

16、asy. Time and time again they were held up by the ice and the bad weather.At times the ice was so jagged it broke their sledges.Other times it was so high that they had to drag their heavy sledges over it by hand.The ice creaked and moaned and cracked openwithout warning.Once Robert was going to sle

17、ep when he heard a noise. Looking outside, he saw a crack open up around one of the other igloos! He and Matthew shouted to the men whcjust had time to leap to safety （差點來不及跳到安全 的地方）.When they were 130 miles from the Pole, they set up their last camp. Robert sent the last support team back to base c

18、amp, as they were no longer needed.Then, with Matthew and four Inuit men, he set off on the last leg of their journey to（踏上他們?nèi)ネ淖詈笠欢温烦蹋﹖he Pole itself. For once the ice was smooth and the weather good, and for the next few days the six men made good speed. But, just a few miles from（就在離幾英里的地方）the Po

19、le, Matthew suddenly fell through the ice. Luckily one of the men was close by and pulled him out before he drowned. Later that day the six men reached the Pole. It was t6 April 1909.After years of hard work, disappointments and danger, Robert and Matthew had done it （成功了） at last. They were the fir

20、st people ever to stand at the North Pole!Chapter 6: Back HomeMatthew and Robert arrived back in New York months later, expecting to be treated as heroes. But this was not to be. While they were away, a man called Frederick Cook had claimed to have reached the North Pole before them!In the end, Cook

21、's claim was shown to be a hoax. Robert, being the leader of the expedition, was rewarded with the fame and medals hedeserved （配得至U,應得的）.But sadly in America at that time, black people were given little respect. So, at first, Matthew was not rewarded for his part （發(fā)揮 的作用）in the expedition.Chapte

22、r 7: Rewarded at LastIt wasn't until （直到 才） he was an old man that Matthew was given any rewards for his part in reaching the North Pole. And even now, years after his death, the world is still only just learning about this great explorer. In 2000 the greatest medal an explorer could ever wish f

23、or - the Hubbard medal - was awarded to Matthew s niece on Matthew s behalf.Matthew Henson - the man who helped to discover the North Pole - would now be remembered by people all over the world! More information about Matthew HensonIn 1998 a film called Glory and Honor （光榮與榮譽，中文譯名又為極地悍 將） was made, claiming to be the true story of the search forthe North Pole.Then, in 2001, a radio programme called Stealing the Glory was produced.You can find more information about MatthewHenson on these websites: /hen