One of the most popular events in Washington, D.C. each year is the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It takes place in early April. People from around the world come to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms on almost 1,700 flowering cherry trees. The city’s first cherry trees were a gift from Japan to the United States in 1912. About 100 of them are still alive. They are planted in Southwest Washington, along the Potomac River and a body of water called the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees are a short walk from a number of major monuments, like the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument. Over 1 million people travel to Washington each year to see the trees. However, there is a small problem. The weather in Washington has been unusually warm the past few weeks. On March 1, the temperature rose to about 27 degrees Celsius! Small buds can already be seen on the cherry trees. These growths will turn into flowers sooner than usual. In fact, this may be the earliest year ever for cherry blossoms. Experts say the trees will look their best between March 14 and March 17. The U.S. National Park Service says that may break the record of March 15, set in 1990.
Title: Cherry Blossoms Will Come Out Early in Washington
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/early_cherries.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Cherry Blossoms Will Come Out Early in Washington' data-article-id='2235'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='11583'>One of the most popular events in Washington, D.C. each year is the National Cherry Blossom Festival.</span> <span data-start-time='11583' data-end-time='15854'>It takes place in early April.</span> <span data-start-time='15854' data-end-time='30146'>People from around the world come to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms on almost 1,700 flowering cherry trees.</span> <span data-start-time='30146' data-end-time='40813'>The city’s first cherry trees were a gift from Japan to the United States in 1912.</span> <span data-start-time='40813' data-end-time='46333'>About 100 of them are still alive.</span> <span data-start-time='46333' data-end-time='58292'>They are planted in Southwest Washington, along the Potomac River and a body of water called the Tidal Basin.</span> <span data-start-time='58292' data-end-time='73313'>The cherry trees are a short walk from a number of major monuments, like the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument.</span> <span data-start-time='73313' data-end-time='80417'>Over 1 million people travel to Washington each year to see the trees.</span> <span data-start-time='80417' data-end-time='84708'>However, there is a small problem.</span> <span data-start-time='84708' data-end-time='92896'>The weather in Washington has been unusually warm the past few weeks.</span> <span data-start-time='92896' data-end-time='101688'>On March 1, the temperature rose to about 27 degrees Celsius!</span> <span data-start-time='101688' data-end-time='107521'>Small buds can already be seen on the cherry trees.</span> <span data-start-time='107521' data-end-time='114375'>These growths will turn into flowers sooner than usual.</span> <span data-start-time='114375' data-end-time='121563'>In fact, this may be the earliest year ever for cherry blossoms.</span> <span data-start-time='121563' data-end-time='131292'>Experts say the trees will look their best between March 14 and March 17.</span> <span data-start-time='131292' data-end-time='142333'>The U.S. National Park Service says that may break the record of March 15, set in 1990.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/early_cherries.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=8211 data-hint-location='114375' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/what_does_blossom_mean.m4a'>What does blossom mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='the flower of a fruit tree'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/white_or_pink_fruit.m4a'><span>white or pink fruit</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/an_early_spring.m4a'><span>an early spring</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/the_flower_of_a_fruit_tree.m4a'><span>the flower of a fruit tree</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/a_gift_from_japan.m4a'><span>a gift from Japan</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=8212 data-hint-location='11583' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/when_is_the_cherry_blossom_festival.m4a'>When is the Cherry Blossom Festival?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='early April'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/when_its_warm.m4a'><span>when it's warm</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/when_the_trees_bear_fruit.m4a'><span>when the trees bear fruit</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/all_spring.m4a'><span>all spring</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/early_april.m4a'><span>early April</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=8213 data-hint-location='84708' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/the_weather_in_washington_has_been__blank_.m4a'>The weather in Washington has been <span class='blank'>unusually warm</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='unusually warm'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/unusually_warm.m4a'><span>unusually warm</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/very_pleasant.m4a'><span>very pleasant</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/about_average.m4a'><span>about average</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1717/colder_than_normal.m4a'><span>colder than normal</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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