1 Savage Alaska Apr. 17 —Condensed and edited by Helen Yeh

2 Alaska is a vast wilderness (which is ) dominated by rugged landscapes and extreme weather. Throughout the cycle of the seasons, animals there must find ways to survive. to have control of or power over (someone or something)  ？ an area of land that has a particular quality or appearance  ？

3 Animal Planet’s Savage Alaska shows viewers some of the methods [ that animals use to thrive in this harsh environment.] a person who watches television  ？ very cruel or violent  ？ unpleasant and difficult to accept or experience  ？ to grow or develop successfully : to flourish or succeed  ？

4 In winter, several feet of freezing snow fall across Alaska. To survive the bitter cold, brown bears go to sleep and don’t wake up until the arrival of spring. During this period, which can last for six months or more, they don’t eat anything. to continue in time  ？ hibernate  ？

5 For the Dall sheep on Mount McKinley, the challenge is finding food while avoiding predators. Weighing over 300 pounds, these sheep have thick, white coats to keep them warm and camouflaged in the snow. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals  ？ prey to hide (something) by covering it up or making it harder to see  ？

6 They can easily climb up steep, rocky cliffs where wolves can’t reach them. Since there’s no fresh grass to eat in winter, the sheep must dig in the snow for old dead grass or anything else to get them through winter. a high, steep surface of rock, earth, or ice  ？ cliff almost straight up and down : rising or falling very sharply  ？ steep

7 Unlike other animals [ that don’t favor winter ], polar bears welcome it because they feel at home in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. When the ocean freezes, they head out onto the ice to hunt for seals. favor A over B = prefer A to B relaxed and comfortable  ? ■ She feels at home on the stage. to go in a specified direction or toward a specified place  ? head

8 18 With the passing of spring and the arrival of summer, the brown bears get ready for the event [ (which) they’ve been waiting for all year—the salmon run.] Salmon start life in Alaska’s rivers and then travel downriver to the open ocean to feed and mature. to become mature (adj.)  ？ mature (v) in the direction in which a river flows : downstream  ？ downriver

9 1 Years later ( Near the end of a salmon’s life ), they return home, swimming upstream (adv.) to spawn. The brown bears are there to meet them. They need to eat as much salmon as they can to build up enough fat to keep them through the winter. toward the source of a stream, river, etc.  ？ upstream to produce or lay eggs in water — used of animals such as fish or frogs  ？ spawn as adj./adv. as one can = as adj./adv. as possible

10 For Alaska’s polar bears, summer represents hard times. With all the ice melted, they can’t go hunt for seals. Although polar bears can swim hundreds of miles in the ocean, they can’t hunt in the water. to form or be something  ？ represent ■ The court‘s decision represents a victory for small businesses. to change or to cause (something) to change from a solid to a liquid usually because of heat  ？ melt

11 Unfortunately, each year, the polar ice diminishes at an increasing rate, summers get longer, and the hungry polar bears are stranded on shore for more time. This is also why polar bears are at risk of extinction. to become or to cause (something) to become less in size, importance, etc  ？ diminish the number of times something happens or is done during a particular period of time  ？ rate to leave (a person or animal) in a place without a way of leaving it  ？ stranded

12 As autumn approaches, the temperatures gradually drop. The cycle of survival begins again as animals prepare for the coming winter. to move or become near or nearer to something or someone [+ object ]  ？ approach ■ The cat approached the baby cautiously. ■ We are approaching [=nearing] our destination.

13 In enduring the wild extremes, the creatures of Alaska have a hard life. However, as Savage Alaska shows, these natural extremes are also the very source of Alaska’s vitality. to continue to exist in the same condition  ？ endure either one of two opposite conditions that are thought of as being far from what is normal or reasonable  ？ extreme a lively or energetic quality  ？ vitality