A Big Year By Bob Kowalski Would you go to the ends of the earth to see a bird? What if it were a really special bird: one with beautiful feathers, an entrancing call, or a silly dance? What if seeing that one special bird would allow you to win a contest? If that contest doesn't get you on television or win you any cash prizes, would you still do it? For those who participate in the "Big Year," the honor of beating the previous record is the only reward they get or even want. A "Big Year" is a year in which a person attempts to see as many different species of birds as possible within a particular region. For most in North America who participate in a "Big Year," this region is the lower 48 American states, plus Alaska, Canada, and a couple of French islands off the Canadian coast. You may be thinking that looking at birds is silly, but just think about the numbers of the recent record holders and the commitment it takes to get these numbers. One recent "Big Year" winner managed to see 744 birds in one year, missing the record by just one bird. Big Year birders travel by train, plane, boat, car, bicycle, and of course, by foot. They can cover over 150 thousand miles to get numbers of sightings this high. They can also spend a small fortune. Just to clarify, the birds these contestants are counting are the number that they see in a particular year. You see, the contest is based on an honor system. No pictures or other evidence is required as proof of a sighting. Most birders take great pride in their reputation and their abilities to see or hear and then identify a bird. Usually, important sightings of the rare birds needed to get counts in the 700s are visited by hundreds of birders. It is pretty hard to cheat your way to a record-breaking year, but in general, few are interested in cheating. This honesty comes from the fact that most people who want to break such a record know the greatest rewards are not necessarily in winning. Such rewards are in being able to commit a year of your life to doing somethi.

Acommunity park it was friday, and as she walked home from school, samara thought about what she would do that weekend. everyone would be at the fund-raiser for new sports equipment at the high school on saturday. as she was trying to remember if any good movies were coming out this weekend, she noticed a group of kids playing tag. samara thought they looked comical running around in circles on a small plot of land between two houses. “well, they certainly seem happy,” thought samara as the light turned and she crossed the street. on the opposite side of cherry street, samara saw mr. peters sitting on a bench. he was reading his newspaper as the heavy traffic of the town’s main thoroughfare whizzed by him. she wondered how he could concentrate. later, as she took the last turn onto her street, samara saw her neighbor planting her annual vegetable garden. every year, mrs. yang grew eggplant, cucumbers, and bok choy, because that’s all she had room for. “the garden looks good so far, mrs. yang,” samara called. “ you, dear,” mrs. yang said. “you know, if i had room, i would plant enough vegetables to feed the entire neighborhood! my mother had a garden that was one square acre when i was a little girl in korea.” as samara nodded and waved goodbye, she started thinking about what she had seen on her walk home that day. she realized that pine grove did not have any open public spaces where everyone could go to relax and enjoy nature. the only unused space was a vacated plot on cedar avenue that was completely overgrown. suddenly, samara had a great idea. she decided to spend her summer campaigning for a new community park. the only problem was that she had no idea where to start. that evening, she went to the library and learned about what she would need to do in order to get the idea in front of the town zoning board. it was all a little intimidating, but wanda, the reference librarian, samara break it down into manageable steps. when samara mentioned the cedar avenue plot, wanda’s eyes lit up. “that is a perfect spot,” wanda said. “it’s right in the middle of town, and better yet, the town owns it.” samara spent many afternoons over the next few weeks at the library with wanda and a few other librarians drawing up a detailed plan to present to town officials. samara and the librarians even planned and priced out irrigation necessary for the area that was designated as a garden. when the day of the zoning board meeting arrived, samara felt nervous, but wanda and the other librarians were there for moral support. samara thought she at least sounded confident as she presented her idea to the board. when she finished her presentation, she was ready to wait patiently for an answer; wanda told her that this kind of decision might take weeks, so samara was surprised when the board members asked her to stay while they deliberated. the president of the board explained that samara’s presentation had been the last order of business for the day, and he wanted his board to be able to agree on one thing before they left. after about 15 minutes, samara was informed that the community park had been approved. samara had been telling her neighbors and friends about the park from the moment she thought of it, and it seemed as though everyone wanted to be a part of making her vision a reality. as soon as her idea was approved, samara called a meeting for anyone interested in collaborating. at the meeting, residents voted on what would be included on the land: a playset for young children and one for older children, a swing set, several park benches, and a dog run. it was also decided that there would be a cooperative organic vegetable garden and an herb garden at the north end of the park. residents agreed that mrs. yang would manage the gardens. at wanda’s suggestion, samara asked a representative from a nearby horticultural society to come and advise the group on the design of the park, the best native shrubs to plant, and where to put them. samara also asked local businesses to sponsor the park by the square foot so that the community would be able to afford equipment and plants. surprised by the response, samara went to the bank to open an account where the surplus would be saved for next spring. in a few weeks’ time, the space had been cleared and residents were beginning to roll out sod and plant small vegetable plants and summer flowers. by midsummer, the community was able to enjoy the new, peaceful space. samara was happy to have been part of creating not only a beautiful space, but a common area where residents could come together. which conclusions can be drawn from the last paragraph of this story? select each correct answer. a.wanda is eager to begin gardening with samara and mrs.yang. b.samara's family proudly joins the park staff. c.samara feels a sense of accomplishment. d.samara will run a workshop for less-experienced gardeners. e.business owners in pine grove support its beautification.