阅读理解。

    Welcome to Shawnee Mountain, a great place for skiing! All people can have a wonderful time here. For more information, you can visit www.shawneemt.com or call 570-421-7231.

    Tulips(郁金香) are the national flower of Iran and Turkey. The European name for the flower is a misuse of the Persian word for turban(头巾), a mistake probably arising in the common Turkish custom of wearing flowers in the folds of the turban. Alternatively, the misuse may have arisen because this eastern flower, when not yet in full bloom, looks like a turban. In Persia, to give a red tulip was to declare your love for someone. The black center of the red tulip was said to represent the lover's heart, burned to a coal by love's passion.

    Originally growing in the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey), tulips were imported into Holland in the sixteenth century. When Carolus Clusius wrote the first major book on tulips in 1592, they became so popular that the tulips in his garden were stolen from time to time. As the Dutch Golden Age grew, so did this colorful flower. They were commonly seen in paintings and at festivals. In the mid-seventeenth century, tulips even created the first economics bubble（泡沫经济）, known as “Tulip Mania”. At that time, tulips were so expensive that they were used as money until the market for them crashed.

    Today, Holland is still known for its tulips and other flowers, often sincerely called “the flower shop of the world.” Tulips are planted in great fields of beautiful color, and transform the landscape into a sea of different colors. Tulip festivals are held throughout the country in spring. However, the most well-known tulip festival is organized in the Noordoostpolder, a province in the central Netherlands, each year. Held in the middle of the tulip fields, this flower festival runs from late April to early May. The Dutch people took their love of tulips abroad when they settled, and tulips and tulip festivals are now found in New York and Michigan, where the connection to their Dutch roots is still very strong.

    For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive （善于接受的） to such messages.

    Scientists are using powerful radio telescope to listen to signals from about 1,000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan (扫视) the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.

    Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy （银河星系）, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.

    However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent （有智力的） life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible （可理解的） messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

    Other scientists believe that our search hasn't been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family in only about five billion years old,  our galaxy is about 20 billions years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilizations are much more advanced than ours. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

    Trip 1 Black Bear Count

    There have been fires in this area in the last few years and the Office of the National Park is not sure how many black bears are still living. Some bears have been seen since the fires, and the office has asked for young people to help count them. The entire trip will last three hours. Booking is necessary.

    Cost: Free                   When: May 8

    Trip 2 Garland Valley

    Bring your drink and lunch for this walk in a beautiful area of the Blue Mountains. Garland Valley is close to the town of Garland but is part of the National Park. Many wild animals live in this area, including many rare birds. This is a great walk for bird-lovers. The trip lasts four hours. Booking is necessary.

    Cost: $ 15                  When: May 8, May 15

    Trip 3 Flashlight Adventure

    Put on your warm clothes, bring a flashlight and a pair of glasses, and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley. A guide will lead the tour. You will see many of the animals on this trip. The guide will tell you about the lives of the animals you see. Numbers are strictly limited on night trips, so be sure to book early. This walk lasts two and a half hours.

    Cost: $ 12                  When: May 8, May 15, May 22

    Equipment to be needed:

    Please bring enough water and food for all walks

Wear good walking shoes—no high heels.

    Wear a hat for day walks.

    Dress warmly for night walks.

    Children must be with an adult.

    Make sure your flashlight works well and bring extra batteries for night walks.

    Follow all instructions from guides during the walks. The mountains are a dangerous place.

    Bookings:

Booking for the above trips can be made by telephone (893—4847) or on the Internet at www.Bluemountaintour.com.

    Raccoons are smaller relatives of bears. They are native to North America, but they can also be found in Asia and Europe. Raccoons live in wooded areas close to water, but they can be often found near urban areas. There are about 7 different species of raccoons. Pygmy raccoon is the only endangered species.

    Raccoons usually reach 40 to 70cm in length and weigh between 5­26kg. Raccoons that live in colder climates are larger and heavier. They have grayish fur, black masks around eyes and long tails covered with black and brown bands. Because of their tails, they are also called "ringtail".

    Raccoons are omnivores. They like to eat insects, eggs, small mammals, fruit, berries, garbage, and so on. Raccoon's hands look like human's. They each have five fingers and are used to collect food, open shells, door or trash cans. Raccoons often place food in water before they start to eat it. They have highly sensitive sense of touch and water increases their sensitivity even more. By touching the food, they get better insight about things they will eat.

    They are easily adaptable (适应的) to various environments. They can live in hollow (中空的) trees equally happily like they can in useless cars. Raccoons live on their own and hunt at night. They don't hibernate (冬眠), but they spend the coldest days of winters in their holes.

    Mating (交配) season takes place from January to mid March. Two months later, female will give birth to 3­4 babies. Their tails don't have bands, and the mask around eyes is still missing. Mother is very protective and she will teach them how to survive and what to eat as they become­ready to leave the hole. Raccoons usually can live only 1.8 to 3.1 years in the wild, but they can live up to 20 years at a zoo.

    Raccoons can pass rabies, a kind of disease, to home­raised animals and people, which is very dangerous. What's more, their waste often has roundworms.

Racing is nothing new for Sebastian Rosado. He was born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), which affects a person's ability to move. Though most of his life has been limited to a wheel-chair, he has done at least one race a year since 2011.

It was about a decade ago that his mother, Jaime, was training for a race in Puerto Rico, and Sebastian asked if he could accompany her. She'd have to push him in the wheelchair because his arm functions are limited, and she was okay with that. However, the race wouldn't allow it. Then, Sebastian's family decided to make a special race for children like Sebastian. The race gives them a chance to prove that despite being told from a young age that they might not be able to do some things in their lives, they can also become what they wish to be in life.

Sebastian has run it every year using a special walker. Each year, he tries to outdo his previous goal. Instead of just 5 km in 2020, he wanted to attempt to run 21 km over 30 days. Sebastian's plan is to complete the distance by May 9, accounting for completing 1 km, at most, in a day.

Sebastian used to train in a track and field facility close to home, and it's amazing to hear runners telling him things like, "Wow , sometimes I don't have the strength to train but when I see you doing this, I feel that I have no excuse," 62 swimmers are joining Sebastian's challenge this month by swimming 800 meters each one.

Sebastian has a saying that your disability is not in your body, but in your mind. It's really powerful. If you promise yourself you'll do something, you can achieve it by using your mind.