Accessibility NotepadLine ReaderFeatureRead the selection and answer each question.Counting Trees(1)Even though my family lives in a city, we have plenty of trees to shade our path on hot, sunny days. One day in late spring, though, my brother and I noticed that the sun was painting light on a patch of sidewalk where there used to be shadow.(2)When we looked up, we saw that one of the biggest trees on our block was still nearly winter-bare, its branches spindly with patches of browning leaves. All of the other trees were lush and green. We closely examined its trunk and the bald knees of its roots peeking out of the earth, but we could not tell whether it was dead or sick or even what kind of tree it was, much less how we could help.(3)Until that day, we had hardly noticed the trees at all, taking their shade for granted. Now, we saw an entire forest around us, and we wanted to know how we could help take care of it. Our dad suggested we call the city’s Parks & Recreation Department to report the sick tree, and that’s how we first became involved as volunteers in the Neighborhood Tree Inventory Project.(4)It’s no secret that trees are good for the environment. They are especially good for an urban, or city, environment like ours, where noise and heat can become quite intense in the barren valleys between high-rise buildings. A city with a healthy tree canopy has cleaner air, cooler and quieter streets, higher property values, and happier residents. As it turns out, though, like any forest in the modern world, the urban forest requires a great deal of care.(5)Most upkeep of street trees is provided by public employees and contractors. However, more and more, the Parks & Recreation Department has been relying on the efforts of volunteers like my brother and me to help them with tree inventories: counting trees and recording information about each one. We collect and submit the information to the department. The department then distributes this information to neighborhood groups, which make plans to care for existing trees and plant new ones in places where they are needed.(6)On our first day as volunteers, I was not sure we would be very much help. After all, we could not even tell an oak tree from a maple. However, within minutes, we were paired with a trained arborist, or tree expert, named Anya. Anya equipped us with tape measures, notebooks, and a special device called a clinometer, which is used to measure the height of trees. She showed us how to use each one. She also showed us how to accurately describe the location of trees, identify the most common trees by their leaves and bark, and look for signs of sickness. She boosted our confidence by telling us that 90 percent of the information collected by volunteers was as accurate as that collected by experts. Then she set us—along with about a dozen other volunteers—loose in the neighborhood to get up close and personal with each and every tree.(7)Whenever we came to a tree, we examined the leaves and recorded the type of tree. Then my brother would sling the tape-measure around the widest part of the trunk. We took turns using the clinometer, and we carefully recorded all of our findings in our notebooks. Then we marked the tree with an X of spray paint so others would know we had already counted it.(8)Late in the afternoon, we came to the tree on our own block with mostly bare branches and brown leaves. Now, we could tell by its bark that it was an oak. However, we still did not know what was wrong with it. We called Anya over, and she told us that the tree was probably suffering from a common leaf disease called anthracnose. She took careful notes on the tree and explained that with proper treatment, the tree could recover.(9)“It’s a good thing we caught it early,” she said, patting the tree like it was a beloved horse that deserved humane treatment. “We can still save this guy.”(10)My brother and I discovered first-hand how volunteers who care about their neighborhood trees can mean the difference between a dead tree and a living one. Everyone should get involved in a local tree inventory. It’s the only way to keep our urban forest healthy.QuestionWhich sentence provides a fact to support the idea that volunteers are quite useful for tree inventories?ResponsesOur dad suggested we call the city’s Parks & Recreation Department to report the sick tree, and that’s how we first became involved as volunteers in the Neighborhood Tree Inventory Project.Our dad suggested we call the city’s Parks & Recreation Department to report the sick tree, and that’s how we first became involved as volunteers in the Neighborhood Tree Inventory Project.They are