To Build a Fire by Jack London
N2015 Bilingual Glossary available at https://quizlet.com/86687741/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dudg5-TNHQQ
Our story today is called "To Build a Fire." It was written by Jack London. Here is Harry Monroe with the story.
The man walked down the trail on a cold, gray day.Pure white snow and ice covered the Earth for as faras he could see. This was his first winter in Alaska. He was wearing heavy clothes and fur boots. But hestill felt cold and uncomfortable.
The man was on his way to a camp near Henderson Creek. His friends were already there. He expected toreach Henderson Creek by six o'clock that evening. Itwould be dark by then. His friends would have a fireand hot food ready for him.
A dog walked behind the man. It was a big gray animal,half dog and half wolf. The dog did not like the extremecold. It knew the weather was too cold to travel.
The man continued to walk down the trail. He came to a frozen stream called Indian Creek. He began to walkon the snow-covered ice. It was a trail that would leadhim straight to Henderson Creek and his friends.
As he walked, he looked carefully at the ice in front ofhim. Once, he stopped suddenly, and then walkedaround a part of the frozen stream. He saw that anunderground spring flowed under the ice at that spot. Itmade the ice thin. If he stepped there, he might break through the ice into apool of water. To get his boots wet in such cold weather might kill him. Hisfeet would turn to ice quickly. He could freeze to death.
At about twelve o'clock, the man decided to stop to eat his lunch. He took off the glove on his right hand. He opened his jacket and shirt, and pulled out hisbread and meat. This took less than twenty seconds. Yet, his fingers began tofreeze.
He hit his hand against his leg several times until he felt a sharp pain. Thenhe quickly put his glove on his hand. He made a fire, beginning with smallpieces of wood and adding larger ones. He sat on a snow-covered log and atehis lunch. He enjoyed the warm fire for a few minutes. Then he stood up andstarted walking on the frozen stream again.
A half hour later, it happened. At a place where the snow seemed very solid, the ice broke. The man's feet sank into the water. It was not deep, but his legsgot wet to the knees. The man was angry. The accident would delay hisarrival at the camp. He would have to build a fire now to dry his clothes andboots.
He walked over to some small trees. They were covered with snow. In theirbranches were pieces of dry grass and wood left by flood waters earlier in theyear. He put several large pieces of wood on the snow, under one of thetrees. On top of the wood, he put some grass and dry branches. He pulled offhis gloves, took out his matches, and lighted the fire. He fed the young flamewith more wood. As the fire grew stronger, he gave it larger pieces of wood.
He worked slowly and carefully. At sixty degrees below zero, a man with wetfeet must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire. While he was walking, hisblood had kept all parts of his body warm. Now that he had stopped, cold wasforcing his blood to withdraw deeper into his body. His wet feet had frozen. He could not feel his fingers. His nose was frozen, too. The skin all over hisbody felt cold.
Now, however, his fire was beginning to burn more strongly. He was safe. Hesat under the tree and thought of the old men in Fairbanks. The old men hadtold him that no man should travel alone in the Yukon when the temperature issixty degrees below zero. Yet here he was. He had had an accident. He wasalone. And he had saved himself. He had built a fire.
Those old men were weak, he thought. A real man could travel alone. If a manstayed calm, he would be all right. The man's boots were covered with ice. The strings on his boots were as hard as steel. He would have to cut themwith his knife.
He leaned back against the tree to take out his knife. Suddenly, withoutwarning, a heavy mass of snow dropped down. His movement had shakenthe young tree only a tiny bit. But it was enough to cause the branches of thetree to drop their heavy load. The man was shocked. He sat and looked at theplace where the fire had been.
The old men had been right, he thought. If he had another man with him, hewould not be in any danger now. The other man could build the fire. Well, it was up to him to build the fire again. This time, he must not fail.
The man collected more wood. He reached into his pocket for the matches. But his fingers were frozen. He could not hold them. He began to hit his handswith all his force against his legs.
After a while, feeling came back to his fingers. The man reached again into hispocket for the matches. But the tremendous cold quickly drove the life out ofhis fingers. All the matches fell onto the snow. He tried to pick one up, butfailed.
The man pulled on his glove and again beat his hand against his leg. Then hetook the gloves off both hands and picked up all the matches. He gatheredthem together. Holding them with both hands, he scratched the matches alonghis leg. They immediately caught fire.
He held the blazing matches to a piece of wood. After a while, he becameaware that he could smell his hands burning. Then he began to feel the pain. He opened his hands, and the blazing matches fell on to the snow. The flamewent out in a puff of gray smoke.
The man looked up. The dog was still watching him. The man got an idea. Hewould kill the dog and bury his hands inside its warm body. When the feelingcame back to his fingers, he could build another fire. He called to the dog. Thedog heard danger in the man's voice. It backed away.
The man called again. This time the dog came closer. The man reached forhis knife. But he had forgotten that he could not bend his fingers. He could notkill the dog, because he could not hold his knife.
The fear of death came over the man. He jumped up and began to run. Therunning began to make him feel better. Maybe running would make his feetwarm. If he ran far enough, he would reach his friends at Henderson Creek.They would take care of him.
It felt strange to run and not feel his feet when they hit the ground. He fellseveral times. He decided to rest a while. As he lay in the snow, he noticedthat he was not shaking. He could not feel his nose or fingers or feet. Yet, he was feeling quite warm and comfortable. He realized he was going to die.
Well, he decided, he might as well take it like a man. There were worse waysto die.
The man closed his eyes and floated into the most comfortable sleep he hadever known.
The dog sat facing him, waiting. Finally, the dog moved closer to the man andcaught the smell of death. The animal threw back its head. It let out a long,soft cry to the cold stars in the black sky.
And then it tuned and ran toward Henderson Creek…where it knew there wasfood and a fire.
You have just heard the AMERICAN STORY called "To Build a Fire." It waswritten by Jack London and adapted by Dona de Sanctis. Your storyteller wasHarry Monroe.
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Words in This Story
creek - n. a place where a small amount of water flows
glove - n. a covering for the hand that has separate parts for each finger
withdraw - v. to take something back, away or out
tremendous - adj. very large or great
blazing - adj. very hot, fast, or powerful
aware - adj. feeling, experiencing, or noticing something
N2015 Bilingual Glossary available at https://quizlet.com/86687741/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbw8jK0mtAg
1. Already. (1)__________ there. E.g. His friends were (2)__________ there: Ja. Ja allà
2. Angry. E.g. The man was (3)__________: Enfadat, empipat
3. Arrival. To arrive, arrived, arrived. E.g. The accident would delay his (4)__________ at the camp: Arribada. Arribar.
4. As far as. E.g. Pure white snow and ice covered the Earth for (5)__________ he could see: Fins on.
5. Bad, worse than, the worst. Worse ways to die. E.g. There were (6)__________ ways to die: Dolent, pitjor que, el pitjor. Pitjors forms de morir
6. Blazing. (7)__________ matches. E.g. He held the (8)__________ matches to a piece of wood: Lluent, ‘resplandeciente’
7. Branch, branches. On top of the wood, he put some grass and dry (9)__________: Branca, branques.
8. Carefully - Carelessly. E.g. As he walked, he looked (10)__________ at the ice in front of him: Curosament, amb cura, cuidadosament – sense cura.
9. Deep. E.g. It was not (11)__________, but his legs got wet to the knees: Profund
10. Fear. The (12)__________ of death. To (13)__________, feared, (14)__________. E.g. The (15)__________ of death came over the man: Por. Por de la mort. Témer.
11. Fire. E.g. His friends would have a (16)__________ and hot food ready for him: Foc, foguera
12. Flood. (17)__________ waters. E.g. In their branches were pieces of dry grass and wood left by (18)__________ waters earlier in the year: Inundació, aigues inundades.
13. Frozen. To freeze, (19)__________, (20)__________. Eg. Once, he stopped suddenly, and then walked around a part of the (21)__________ stream: Congelat. Congelar
14. Fur. (22)__________ boots. E.g. He was wearing heavy clothes and (23)__________ boots: Pell. Botes de pell
15. Glove. E.g. Then he quickly put his (24)__________ on his hand: guant
16. Knee, (25)__________. E.g. It was not deep, but his legs got wet to the (26)__________: Genoll, genolls
17. Load. (27)__________ load. To (28)__________, loaded, (29)__________. E.g. But it was enough to cause the branches of the tree to drop their heavy (30)__________: Càrrega. Pesada càrrega. Carregar.
18. Match, (31)__________. He pulled off his gloves, took out his (32)__________, and lighted the fire: Llumí, llumins.
19. On his way. E.g. The man was (33)__________ to a camp near Henderson Creek: De camí cap a
20. Pain. Sharp (34)__________. E.g. He hit his hand against his leg several times until he felt a sharp (35)__________: Dolor, pena. Dolor agut.
21. Puff of smoke. E.g. The flame went out in a (36)__________ gray smoke: ràfega de fum
22. Quickly – Slowly. E.g. His feet would turn to ice (37)__________: Depressa – lentament.
23. Sleep. To (38)__________, (39)__________, slept. The man closed his eyes and floated into the most comfortable (40)__________ he had ever known: Dormir (N). Dormir (V)
24. Spring. Unerground (41)__________. E.g. He saw that an underground (42)__________ flowed under the ice at that spot: Font. Font sota terra.
25. Steel. E.g. E.g.The strings on his boots were as hard as (43)__________. He would have to cut them with his knife: Acer
26. Stream. E.g. He came to a frozen (44)__________ called Indian Creek: Riarol.
27. String, (45)__________. E.g.The (46)__________ on his boots were as hard as steel. He would have to cut them with his knife: corda, cordons
28. Suddenly. Eg. Once, he stopped (47)__________, and then walked around a part of the frozen stream: De sobte.
29. To be safe. E.g. He was (48)__________: Estar segur, sa i estalvi.
30. To be shocked. E.g The man was (49)__________: Sorprendre’s
31. To beat, (50)__________, (51)__________. The man pulled on his glove and again (52)__________ his hand against his leg: Colpejar, pegar, abatre
32. To (53)__________, became, (54)__________. To become aware. E.g. After a while, he (55)__________ aware that he could smell his hands burning: Convertir-se, esdevenir. Adonar-se
33. To (56)__________, began, begun. E.g. He (57)__________ to hit his hands with all his force against his legs: Començar
34. To begin, (58)__________, begun. E.g. He (59)__________ to walk on the snow-covered ice: Començar
35. To begin, began, (60)__________. E.g. Yet, his fingers (61)__________ to freeze: Començar
36. To bend, (62)__________, bent. E.g. But he had forgotten that he could not (63)__________ his fingers: Doblegar
37. To break, broke, (64)__________. E.g. At a place where the snow seemed very solid, the ice (65)__________: Trencar.
38. To break, (66)__________, broken. E.g. If he stepped there, he might (67)__________ through the ice into a pool of water: Trencar.
39. To build, (68)__________, built. E.g. To (69)__________ a fire: Construir. Fer foc
40. To burn, (70)__________, burnt, E.g. Now, however, his fire was beginning to (71)__________ more strongly: Cremar
41. To bury, (72)__________, buried. He would kill the dog and (73)__________ his hands inside its warm body: Enterrar, ensorrar
42. To catch, (74)__________, caught. To catch fire. E.g. The matches immediately (75)__________ fire: Agafar. Prendre foc.
43. To collect, (76)__________, collected. E.g. The man (77)__________ more wood: Recollir, col.leccionar
44. To come to, came to, (78)__________ to. E.g. He (79)__________ to a frozen stream called Indian Creek: Anar cap a, arribar a
45. To drop down, dropped down, (80)__________ down. E.g. Suddenly, without warning, a heavy mass of snow (81)__________ down: Caure
46. To dry, (82)__________, dried. E.g. He would have to build a fire now to (83)__________ his clothes and boots: Assecar.
47. To eat, (84)__________, eaten. E.g. At about twelve o'clock, the man decided to stop to (85)__________ his lunch.
48. To enjoy, (86)__________, enjoyed. E.g. He (87)__________ the warm fire for a few minutes: Gaudir
49. To expect, (88)__________, expected. E.g. He (89)__________ to reach Henderson Creek by six o'clock that evening: Esperar, confiar
50. To fail, failed, (90)__________. At sixty degrees below zero, a man with wet feet must not (91)__________ in his first attempt to build a fire: Fallar, fracassar, suspender.
51. To fall, fell, (92)__________. E.g. All the matches (93)__________ onto the snow: Caure
52. To feed, (94)__________, fed. E.g. He (95)__________ the young flame with more wood: Alimentar
53. To feel, (96)__________, felt. To feel the cold. E.g. But he still (97)__________ cold and uncomfortable: Sentir. Sentir el fred
54. To flow, (98)__________, flowed. E.g. He saw that an underground spring (99)__________ under the ice at that spot: Brollar.
55. To force, (100)__________, forced. E.g. Now that he had stopped, cold was (101)__________ his blood to withdraw deeper into his body: Forçar
56. To forget, (102)__________, (103)__________. E.g. But he had (104)__________ that he could not bend his fingers: Oblidar
57. To freeze, (105)__________, frozen. To freeze to death. E.g. He could (106)__________ to death: congelar-se. Morir congelat.
58. To (107)__________, (108)__________, gathered. E.g. He (109)__________ the matches together: Recollir, juntar.
59. To grow, (110)__________, grown. To (111)__________ stronger. As the fire (112)__________ stronger, he gave it larger pieces of wood: Crèixer. Creixer de valent.
60. To happen, (113)__________, happened. E.g. A half hour later, it (114)__________: Ocórrer, succeir
61. To hear, (115)__________, heard. E.g. The dog (116)__________ danger in the man's voice. It backed away: Sentir, escoltar
62. To hit, (117)__________, hit. E.g. He (118)__________ his hand against his leg several times until he felt a sharp pain: Colpejar
63. To hold, (119)__________, held. He could not (120)__________ the matches: Sostenir, guardar, aguantar.
64. To jump, (121)__________, jumped. E.g. He (122)__________ up and began to run: Saltar
65. To keep, (123)__________, kept. E.g. While he was walking, his blood had (124)__________ all parts of his body warm: Continuar.
66. To know, knew, (125)__________. E.g. The dog (126)__________ the weather was too cold to travel: Saber, conèixer
67. To lay, (127)__________, laid. E.g. As he lay in the snow, he noticed that he was not shaking: Jaure
68. To lead, led, (128)__________. E.g. It was a trail that would (129)__________ him straight to Henderson Creek and his friends: Conduir, portar
69. To lean, (130)__________, leaned. E.g. He (131)__________ back against the tree to take out his knife: Repenjar-se.
70. To let, let, let. E.g. It (132)__________ out a long, soft cry to the cold stars in the black sky: Permetre, deixar
71. To make, (133)__________, made. E.g. The underground spring (134)__________ the ice thin: Fer
72. To make, made, (135)__________. To make a fire. E.g. He (136)__________ a fire, beginning with small pieces of wood and adding larger ones: Fer, fer un foc.
73. To pick up, (137)__________ up, picked (138)__________. E.g. He tried to (139)__________ one up, but failed: Recollir
74. To pull out, (140)__________ out, pulled (141)__________. E.g. He opened his jacket and shirt, and (142)__________ out his bread and meat: Treure, extreure, ‘estirar’
75. To put on, (143)__________ on, put (144)__________. E.g. Then he quickly (145)__________ his glove on his hand: Posar-se
76. To reach, (146)__________, reached. E.g. He expected to (147)__________ Henderson Creek by six o'clock that evening: Arribar
77. To (148)__________, reached, (149)__________. E.g. He (150)__________ into his pocket for the matches: Cercar, buscar, ‘alcanzar’
78. To run, ran, (151)__________. E.g. And then it turned and (152)__________ toward Henderson Creek…where it knew there was food and a fire: Córrer.
79. To save, (153)__________, saved. E.g. And he had (154)__________ himself: Salvar, rescatar.
80. To (155)__________, scratched, (156)__________. E.g. Holding them with both hands, he (157)__________ the matches along his leg: Esgarrapar, refregar, ‘rasgar’
81. To see, saw, (158)__________. E.g. He (159)__________ that an underground spring flowed under the ice at that spot: Veure
82. To seem, seemed, (160)__________. E.g. At a place where the snow (161)__________ very solid, the ice broke: Semblar
83. To (162)__________, (163)__________, shaken. E.g. His movement had (164)__________ the young tree only a tiny bit: Sacsejar.
84. To sink, (165)__________, (166)__________. E.g. The man's feet (167)__________ into the water: Esfonsar-se
85. To sit on, (168)__________ on, sat (169)__________. E.g. He sat on a snow-covered log and ate his lunch: Seure.
86. To smell, (170)__________, smelt. E.g. After a while, he became aware that he could (171)__________ his hands burning: Fer olor, ensumar
87. To stand up, (172)__________ up, stood (173)__________. E.g. Then he (174)__________ up and started walking on the frozen stream again: Aixecar-se, plantar-se
88. To step, (175)__________, stepped. E.g. If he (176)__________ there, he might break through the ice into a pool of water: Trepitjar.
89. To take off, (177)__________ off, taken (178)__________. E.g. He (179)__________ off the glove on his right hand: treure, despegar
90. To (180)__________, took, (181)__________. E.g. This took less than twenty seconds: Prendre,portar
91. To tell, (182)__________, told. E.g. The old men had (183)__________ him that no man should travel alone in the Yukon when the temperature is sixty degrees below zero: Dir, explicar.
92. To think, thought, (184)__________. E.g. He sat under the tree and (185)__________ of the old men in Fairbanks: Pensar
93. To throw, threw, (186)__________. E.g. The animal (187)__________ back its head: Llançar
94. To turn to, (188)__________ to, turned (189)__________. E.g. His feet would (190)__________ to ice quickly: Convertir-se
95. To walk down, (191)__________ down, walked (192)__________. E.g. The man continued to walk (193)__________ the trail: Baixar caminar cap a vall.
96. To wear, wore, (194)__________. E.g. He was wearing heavy clothes and fur boots: Portar roba o calçat.
97. To withdraw, (195)__________, withdrawn. E.g. . E.g. Now that he had stopped, cold was forcing his blood to (196)__________ deeper into his body: rendir-se, abandonar, deixar.
98. Trail. E.g. The man walked down the (197)__________ on a cold, gray day: Sender, camí.
99. Warning. To warn, warned, warned. E.g. Suddenly, without (198)__________, a heavy mass of snow dropped down: Avís. Avisar
100.Wet – Dry. E.g. To get his boots (199)__________ in such cold weather might kill him: Humit, mullat - sec
101. Wood. E.g. He put several large pieces of (200)__________ on the snow, under one of the trees: Fusta, fustes
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