Balto：The Brave Sled Dog

Balto: The Brave Sled Dog

巴尔托：勇敢的雪橇犬

In 1925 in Alaska, diphtheria was spreading quickly. The terrible disease was infecting the children in the coastal town of Nome, causing high fevers and breathing problems. Some were dying. All were at risk. The town did not have enough serum to stop the disease. At this time, serum was used to protect people everywhere from infectious diseases. But only the city of Anchorage had enough of the diphtheria serum to help Nome. Unfortunately, Anchorage was eight hundred miles away, and a huge snowstorm was keeping airplanes on the ground.

1925年，在阿拉斯加州，白喉迅速蔓延。 这种可怕的疾病感染了沿海诺姆镇的儿童，导致高烧和呼吸问题。 有些人快死了。所有人都面临风险。 该镇没有足够的血清来阻止这种疾病。 此时，血清被用于保护各地的人免受传染病的侵害。 但只有安克雷奇市有足够的白喉血清来帮助诺姆镇。 不幸的是，安克雷奇在800英里外，一场巨大的暴风雪使飞机停在地面上。

There was only one way to get the serum to Nome—by dogsled. A call went out for dog teams to help in the effort. Twenty of the best dogsled drivers, called mushers, and about one hundred and fifty of the fastest dogs were chosen. They were formed into relay teams. Each team would travel from one roadhouse to another along the trail. Roadhouses were places that mailmen used to deliver mail to isolated areas of Alaska.

只有一种方法可以把血清送到诺姆——用狗拉雪橇。 一个叫狗队帮忙的电话响了。 20名最优秀的狗拉雪橇手，被称为“雪橇手”，和大约150只最快的狗被选中。 他们组成了接力队。每支队伍都会沿着小路从一个路站行进到另一个。 路站是邮递员用来向阿拉斯加偏远地区投递邮件的地方。

At each roadhouse, one team would pass the serum to another team. This would allow the serum, packed in a cylinder to protect it from the cold, to go from team to team until it reached Nome. The effort was called the “ Great Race of Mercy, ” and later would be known as the “ Serum Run of 1925. ” The serum would be taken by train from Anchorage to the town of Nenana, and then the mushers would take over to get it to Nome. The mushers would have to cover 674 miles!

在每个路站，由一队将血清传递给另一队。 在到达诺姆之前，可将血清装在一个圆筒中以保护其避免受冻，从一个队传递到另一个队。 这项努力被称为“伟大的慈善竞赛”，后来被称为“1925年血清拉力赛”。 血清将由火车从安克雷奇运送到内纳纳镇，然后由拉雪橇车夫接手运送到诺姆。 拉雪橇车夫必须走674英里！

When Gunnar Kasson’s team was called, he knew his lead dog would be Balto. Of the 13 dogs on his team, Balto, a Siberian husky, was very special. He looked like a wolf, but he was gentle and could follow any trail. The big, black dog could think for himself. Kasson was to make the run along the coast of the Seward Peninsula from the town of Bluff to Point Safety, a distance of about forty miles.

当甘纳尔卡斯森的团队接到电话时，他知道他的领头狗将是巴尔托。 在他的团队的13只狗中，西伯利亚哈士奇巴尔托非常特别。 他看起来像一只狼，但他很温和，可以追踪任何踪迹。 这只大黑狗可以自己思考。 卡斯森将沿着苏厄德半岛海岸从布拉夫镇到安全点，距离约40英里。

Then, another team would take the serum the remaining 22 miles from Point Safety into Nome. But the team Kasson was waiting for was late getting to Bluff, because the storm had gotten worse. The temperature was thirty degrees below zero. The tired and cold driver warned Kasson it was too dangerous to continue, so Kasson tried to wait out the storm. But when Kasson saw that the storm wasn’t letting up, he decided to go anyway. People were dying and he had to get the serum to Nome.

然后，另一个队将从安全点到诺姆镇剩余的22英里处提取血清。 但卡斯森等待的队伍到达布拉夫时迟到了，因为风暴已经变得更糟了。 气温已经是零下三十度了。 疲惫而寒冷的司机警告卡斯森继续下去太危险了，所以卡斯森尝试耐心地等待暴风雨过去。 但当卡森看到风暴都没有减弱时，他决定无论如何都要去。 人都快死了，他不得不把血清送到诺姆镇。