Episódio 18: Snowy Pastimes (Atividades na neve)

Duolingo English for Portuguese Speakers Podcast

Quando a tempestade de neve começou, Dick Mackey tava a apenas 120 quilômetros da linha de chegada da Iditarod.

A Iditarod é uma famosa corrida de trenós puxados por cães.

O percurso da prova é de 1.600 quilômetros, numa estrada que atravessa o Alasca.

Era 1978 e aquela era a sexta vez que Dick participava.

I prepared for the race all year, and I hoped to finally finish in first place.

But as I got close to the finish line, a terrible storm started.

It was the worst storm I had ever seen.

O tempo ruim é muito comum durante a Iditarod.

A corrida acontece durante duas semanas em março, pleno inverno no Alasca.

Na trilha, ou trail, as temperaturas podem chegar a 40 graus abaixo de zero.

When this storm started, I was winning the race.

But then it started to snow really hard, and the wind was hitting my face.

I couldn’t see anything — not even the trail in front of me.

I had to make a decision then: should I try to finish this race and put my life in danger, or should I stop and accept that I would never win the Iditarod?

Welcome! Este é o décimo episódio da segunda temporada de Histórias em Inglês com Duolingo.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Nesse podcast, você vai poder praticar inglês no seu ritmo, ouvindo histórias reais e emocionantes.

Os personagens falam um inglês simples e fácil de entender — perfeito pra quem tá aprendendo.

Eu vou te acompanhar em cada episódio pra ter certeza que você tá entendendo tudo.

Hoje vamos ouvir a história de pessoas que acharam sua força interior enquanto praticavam alguns dos esportes mais gelados dos Estados Unidos.

Dick Mackey se mudou pro Alasca em 1959, ano em que o Alasca virou o estado número 49 dos Estados Unidos.

Ele tava com 27 anos, era casado e tinha 3 filhos.

I grew up in the state of New Hampshire, but I was ready for a change.

Alaska was a new state that was full of opportunity and adventure.

My family thought that I was crazy to move so far away, but I immediately fell in love with the place.

There’s so much beautiful nature and lots of outdoor activities.

It was exactly what I was looking for!

Quando Dick chegou no Alasca, não tinha muitas estradas, e as motos de neve ainda não eram muito comuns.

No inverno, a maioria das pessoas se locomovia usando trenós puxados por cães, ou dog sleds.

Outside of the city, every house had many dogs, to pull their dog sleds.

It was the most common type of transportation in Alaska.

Life in Alaska was definitely a big change, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

My oldest son went to school and noticed that everyone had dogs, so he really wanted one too.

And by the end of our first year there, we had a dozen sled dogs.

Uma dúzia de cachorros é suficiente pra levar um trenó com uma pessoa.

Quem conduz o trenó é chamado de musher.

When I became a musher and had my own sled dog team, I wanted to race.

I knew a lot of mushers who were racing, and I wanted to see how good I was.

So, I signed up for my first race.

I had a good team of dogs and I felt pretty confident.

Dick até pensou que poderia ganhar a corrida.

Mas não foi bem assim… Ele chegou em último lugar!

I decided that I didn’t like being in last place.

So I practiced more often with my dogs, and I continued to participate in local races.

Preparing for the race was the best part.

I loved taking my dogs out at night under the moonlight with snow on the ground.

It was silent except for the sound of the dogs running.

It was magical!

Mas, uma década depois que Dick chegou no Alasca, os trenós puxados por cães começaram a perder popularidade.

As motos de neve, ou snowmobiles, eram cada vez mais comuns… e algumas pessoas, incluindo Dick, se preocupavam que os trenós de cachorros iam desaparecer.

Então, eles se juntaram pra garantir que isso não acontecesse.

We decided to have a big race on the Iditarod Trail because we wanted people to get excited about dog sledding again.

Our message was: have your snowmobile, but keep your dogs too.

Everyone thought we were crazy.

They thought it was impossible to travel 1,600 kilometers across Alaska with a dog team.

But we decided to show them that it was possible.

A primeira corrida de Iditarod aconteceu em 1973, com 44 equipes de cachorros.

Os grupos saíram de Anchorage, a maior cidade do Alasca, e foram até Nome, na fronteira do Ártico.

Os trenós passaram por cadeias de montanhas e pela tundra ártica, até chegar na costa.

The race was very hard.

Since it was the first one, the trail was hard to follow.

The weather was freezing too.

And we had to sleep outside.

But we stayed in groups, and each night, we made a fire together.

We laughed and had a good time.

It was almost like we were on a camping trip.

It didn’t feel like a competition.

We were just trying to finish the race.

Depois de 20 dias, a primeira equipe alcançou a linha de chegada.

Dick terminou a corrida em 22 dias e ficou entre os dez primeiros.

A verdade é que metade das equipes nem conseguiu acabar a prova! Algumas foram impedidas pelo tempo ruim, e outras porque seus cachorros ficaram cansados.

After that first race, I was addicted.

I’d loved seeing Alaska that way, and I’d loved being out in nature with my dogs.

They were like children to me.

I raced the Iditarod every year.

And as the race became more popular, more and more people wanted to do it, so it got more competitive.

After a while, I didn’t just want to finish the race, I wanted to win!

Mas Dick sabia que ganhar a Iditarod não ia ser fácil.

É um percurso muito longo, e tantas coisas podiam dar errado… E sim, muitas coisas deram errado!

Some years were better than others.

One year, my dogs got sick and I had to quit the race.

Another year, I hit a tree and hurt my stomach, so I had to go to the hospital.

But usually, I was one of the first ten people to finish the race.

Each year, though, I was getting older and older, and I knew I couldn’t do it forever.

At 45, I was one of the oldest mushers in the competition.

So, I decided that 1978 was going to be my year.

O favorito pra ganhar a corrida de 1978 era um homem chamado Rick Swenson.

Ele tinha ganhado a prova do ano anterior, completando o percurso em apenas 16 dias! Rick tava ficando famoso no meio das corridas de trenós puxados por cães.

Ele tinha 27 anos, portanto era 18 anos mais novo que Dick.

I knew it was going to be difficult, but I had a good team.

I had a dog named Shrew, who was really smart, and a dog named Skipper, who was really fast.

But I knew that I needed more than a good team to win.

I had to be smarter than Rick.

It was a long race, so I was going to play mind games with him.

Os jogos mentais, ou mind games, eram a grande aposta de Dick pra ganhar, já que ele não era tão jovem ou tão ágil quanto Rick.

Dick e Rick começaram a corrida empatados.

Um tomava a dianteira e logo o outro ultrapassava.

Foi assim o tempo todo! Mas Dick tinha um plano.

When the trails were difficult, I let Rick go in front of me.

When the trails were easy, I went in front of him.

And when we stopped for the night, I let him unpack his stuff and then I said, “Oh, I’m going to continue on the trail for a little longer.” Then, I traveled for a few more minutes and stopped.

And, of course, Rick followed me.

I was trying to make the race difficult for him, mentally.

Dick seguiu jogando assim durante centenas de quilômetros.

Mas não conseguiu se livrar de Rick.

Aí, quando faltavam uns 120 quilômetros, caiu uma tempestade terrível!

The storm made sledding really difficult.

The wind was very strong, and there was a lot of heavy snow.

Rick was right beside me, and we both wondered if we should continue.

We didn’t want to die trying to finish a race.

Nesse momento, Dick não estava mais preocupado em derrotar Rick.

Ele sabia que pra sobreviverem, os dois precisariam trabalhar juntos.

Fazia muito frio e ventava demais…

We talked about it, and we decided to stay together.

After doing the race so many times, I knew the trail really well.

And I knew if we continued for another 30 kilometers, then the wind wouldn’t be so strong.

So, we started working together, and we continued on the trail.

Como Dick tinha previsto, o vento finalmente perdeu força.

E juntos, Dick e Rick chegaram a uma pequena clareira na floresta, que tinha uma cabana no meio.

O dono da cabana acenou, convidando os dois pra entrar.

After an awful night of sledding in the storm, we were so happy to go inside and get warm.

The man gave us a cup of coffee, and we took off our coats and just chatted.

Then, I looked at my watch and realized 40 minutes had passed.

We needed to go! We were still in a race.

So, we grabbed our jackets and ran out of the cabin to our sleds.

Eles passaram as horas seguintes disputando o primeiro lugar.

Quando Dick e Rick chegaram na reta final, estavam quase um do lado do outro! Nessa hora, o cachorro-guia de Dick, Skipper, se enroscou na coleira.

I had to jump off my sled to help him.

My dogs continued, and I had to run next to my sled.

It was hard to breathe, but I knew that Rick was right behind me.

Finally, I saw Skipper’s nose cross the finish line.

I was so excited that I tried to jump into my sled but I fell right on the ground.

Everyone at the finish line was shocked.

They thought I had a heart attack, but I immediately stood up.

And I thought, “I won! I finally won!”

Dick venceu Rick por apenas um segundo.

Foi o resultado mais apertado de todas as corridas de Iditarod até hoje.

Seu tempo total foi de 14 dias, 18 horas, 52 minutos e o mais importante… 24 segundos!

After my victory, I raced two more times, but I didn’t win.

After that, I retired.

But I still go to the start of the race every year.

It always makes me want to race again, but then I go home and really enjoy sleeping in my warm bed.

Assim como o Alasca, o estado de Wisconsin, que fica no centro-oeste dos Estados Unidos, também tem um inverno muito rigoroso.

Mas pra Hannah Stonehouse Hudson o frio não é um problema… Na verdade, ela até gosta, principalmente quando ela tá pescando no gelo, ou ice fishing, tentando pegar peixes por um buraco num lago congelado.

Everyone thinks it’s crazy to choose to be in this weather for fun, and they’re right.

You have to be crazy to enjoy being out in freezing temperatures.

And that’s why I love the ice fishing community.

We are a bunch of strange people who love the cold.

Hoje Hannah adora pescar no gelo, mas nem sempre foi assim.

Ela só descobriu essa modalidade de pesca aos 26 anos, enquanto tava vivendo nas redondezas do Lago Superior, o maior dos cinco Grandes Lagos que ficam na fronteira dos Estados Unidos com o Canadá.

In 2004, I was living near Lake Superior, in the city of Bayfield, in the state of Wisconsin.

I was studying to become a nurse.

Bayfield is a tiny town, with only around 500 people.

While I lived there, a lot of people told me that I should meet this guy named Jim.

He was one of the few police officers in Bayfield.

Everyone thought we would like each other a lot.

And one night, I finally met him at a local bar.

Hannah se aproximou de Jim, se apresentou e eles começaram a conversar.

Sentiram uma conexão instantânea.

Pretty quickly, we started to talk about fishing.

I told him that I taught myself how to fish and his eyes got huge.

He stopped and said, “Wait, you like to fish?” I only knew how to fish in the water — not under the ice! So, he told me all about ice fishing.

And that’s all we talked about for the rest of the night.

I knew right then that I was going to marry that man.

Nesse mesmo fim de semana, eles foram juntos pescar no Lago Superior.

It was a cold, windy day in April and we fished for 12 hours.

I loved every minute of it.

Very quickly, fishing became our favorite thing to do together.

A month later, I even bought him a boat.

He was so happy that he cried! And in December, after Lake Superior froze, he took me ice fishing for the first time.

No inverno, partes do Lago Superior congelam, acumulando até 50 centímetros de gelo.

Pra conseguir pescar, as pessoas dirigem até o lago num caminhão ou numa moto de neve… e perfuram, ou drill, um buraco no gelo.

We rode Jim’s snowmobile out onto the lake to a place Jim knew there were a lot of fish.

And then, he drilled a hole into the ice.

Aí, eles jogaram as varas de pescar, ou fishing rods, no buraco que Jim tinha perfurado.

We just sat there for hours, moving our fishing rods up and down to attract the fish.

While we were out there, I got really worried every time I heard a noise.

I thought we were going to fall through the ice.

But Jim kept telling me that it was just the sound of the lake freezing, and that I shouldn’t be afraid.

It was like being on an airplane — you hear strange noises, but you can’t do anything about them.

Hannah e Jim pegaram todo tipo de peixe naquele primeiro dia.

Depois de várias horas pescando, eles guardaram o equipamento e subiram na moto de neve pra ir embora… mas a moto não pegava.

There was a guy ice fishing close to us, and he had his truck with him.

So, I walked over to ask if he could help us get our snowmobile started.

He said, “Sure, no problem.” We got into his truck and started driving on the lake towards Jim.

As we got closer to him, I saw Jim jumping up and down waving at us.

He started shouting, “Don’t drive over here! The ice will break!” I quickly got out of the truck, and I could hear the ice cracking below us.

I was terrified!

Mas o motorista não pensou duas vezes.

Pegou uma corda no assento traseiro, amarrou a moto do Jim no caminhão e tirou ela do gelo.

After that, I fell in love with ice fishing.

It was such an adventure.

Soon, I even started to love the sound of the ice.

It sounds like the ice is singing.

But my favorite part is sitting on the ice and looking at all the fish and plant life below.

It’s like an exclusive aquarium.

A pesca no gelo virou o passatempo favorito da Hannah.

E Jim ensinou pra ela tudo sobre o assunto.

Ele tinha aprendido as técnicas na sua comunidade de Chippewa, que é um povo indígena americano.

Os Chippewa pescam no Lago Superior há várias gerações.

Jim taught me everything about ice fishing, like how to find specific fish, which fishing rod to use, how to read maps — literally everything.

Um ano depois de se conhecerem no bar, Hannah e Jim se casaram.

E com o barco novo que Hannah comprou pro Jim, ele finalmente conseguiu largar o emprego de policial e virar guia de pesca, que era um sonho pra ele.

He was a pretty good one, too.

Everyone in the fishing community knew him.

He was even asked to be on fishing TV shows.

He was a local celebrity.

Num dia de janeiro de 2013, Jim se levantou por volta de 5h30 da manhã, como era de costume, pra levar um grupo de meninos pra pescar no gelo.

Ele tava explorando uma nova área do Lago Superior quando sua moto de neve caiu dentro da água congelada.

I was at home and someone knocked on my door.

It was one of the local police officers.

He looked really sad.

He said, “Jim’s snowmobile fell through the ice.” I immediately went to the hospital.

When I got there, they were trying to revive him, but it was too late.

Jim tinha 34 anos.

After Jim died, I promised myself that I would not be afraid of the ice.

Lake Superior was my husband’s favorite place on Earth.

He’s a part of that lake, and I didn’t want to be scared of it.

So, I continued doing activities on the ice.

But I couldn’t ice fish again for a while.

Um ano depois da morte de Jim, uma amiga de Hannah veio pedir ajuda num projeto pra promover a pesca no gelo entre as mulheres, já que historicamente a atividade era dominada por homens.

O projeto estava precisando de um fotógrafo, e Hannah, que fotografava desde pequena, era perfeita pro trabalho.

I loved the idea.

There aren’t many positive photos of women ice fishing.

If you Google “women ice fishing,” the first things you see are images of women fishing in bikinis.

I wanted to help change that.

Assim, Hannah e sua amiga começaram o projeto Women Ice Angler e passaram a organizar eventos pra tirar fotos de mulheres pescando no gelo.

Já em pleno inverno, Hannah foi a Minnesota pra pescar no gelo com algumas participantes do projeto.

This was my first time ice fishing without my husband Jim, and I didn’t know what to expect.

We were out on the ice, and suddenly, I started crying so hard.

But it was so nice to be out there with all those women.

They consoled me, and we started fishing.

And we caught a lot of fish.

Then I knew I could do it, even if Jim wasn’t there with me.

I had all the skills to do it myself and those women helped me realize that.

Desde essa primeira pesca de gelo com o grupo, Hannah já voltou várias vezes.

Ice fishing didn’t kill my husband.

It was an accident, and I don’t want fear to stop me from doing what I love — and what Jim loved.

The best way to honor him is to use what he taught me and keep fishing.

Because when I’m ice fishing, he is always with me.

Hannah vive em Fargo, na Dakota do Norte, Estados Unidos, com o namorado Sam e o cachorro Stewie.

Ela acabou de mudar de Wisconsin pra lá pra ficar mais perto de bons pontos de pesca no gelo.

Nosso primeiro narrador, Dick Mackey, é aposentado e vive em Wasilla, no Alasca, com a esposa e o cachorro Foxxy.

Ele participou oito vezes da Iditarod, o que acabou virando uma tradição familiar.

Seus quatro filhos já completaram a prova: dois deles ganharam, e um deles venceu por quatro anos seguidos.

Esse episódio foi produzido por Paige Sutherland, jornalista que vive em Boston, Massachusetts.

Histórias em Inglês é uma produção de Duolingo e Adonde Media.

Assine nosso feed no Spotify ou na sua plataforma preferida.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Thank you for listening!