The freezing Northeast hasn't been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say "sunshine". I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C, thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers' market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.

The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.

Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened promise, I've refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they're unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown's Grove Farm's stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn't be experiencing again for months.

Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown's Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I'd be ordering every tomato on it.

Questions:
question_stem: What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
choices: tag: A
text: Exciting.

tag: B
text: Boring.

tag: C
text: Relaxing.

tag: D
text: Annoying.
answer_key: B

question_stem: What made the author's getting up late early worthwhile?
choices: tag: A
text: Having a swim.

tag: B
text: Breathing in fresh air.

tag: C
text: Walking in the morning sun.

tag: D
text: Visiting a local farmer's market.
answer_key: D

question_stem: What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
choices: tag: A
text: They are soft.

tag: B
text: They look nice.

tag: C
text: They taste great.

tag: D
text: They are juicy.
answer_key: B

question_stem: What was the author going to that evening?
choices: tag: A
text: Go to a farm.

tag: B
text: Check into a hotel.

tag: C
text: Eat in a restaurant.

tag: D
text: Buy fresh vegetable
answer_key: C