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Dive! A Book of Deep Sea Creatures

RDQ:	748	Max Word/Sent	36	Total Words	1631		Diff Words	513
Lex	690	Ave Word/.Sent	8	Hi Freq occurs	1052	64.5%	Hi freq	192	37.4%
AR	3.2	Long Sentences	1.6	Low Freq occurs	72	4.4%	Low freq	34	6.6%

Down to the Bottom

Would you like to visit the bottom
of the Sea?
It's easy.
Just climb aboard a little submarine.
Take your seat-and let's go!

The Submarine dives down below
the surface.
At first the water is bright blue.
It sparkles in the sunlight.
There are many fish.]]
AS the submarine drops deeper
and deeper, the water gets very dark.
The sun's rays don't reach this far.
Fewer fish swim here.

Finally, the submarine is one mile 
under the sea.
The water is darker than 
the darkest night.

Bump!
The submarine lands on the ocean bottom
and shines a bright light.
The sea floor is muddy.
It's covered with fish bones and 
broken shells.
The water, if you could feel it,
is freezing cold.]]
Very few plants and animals live here.
How odd they look!
Like beings from another planet.
Welcome to the weird and wonderful
world of deep-sea creatures!]]
The Angler fish lives near the bottom
of the ocean.
The female has a long rod that hangs
from her head.
It looks like a fishing pole.
But instead of a worm at the end,
the pole has a light.

Other fish swim toward the light.
When one gets close, the angler fish
snatches it in her mouth.
Good-bye fish!]]
The angler fish has something else
one her head.
It's the much, much smaller male
angler fish!
He attaches himself to her.
And he stays there for the rest of his life.
A very close couple!]]
Viper fish dangle an outside light
like angler fish.
But some viper fish have extra lights.
These lights are inside the mouth!

The viper fish swims with its mouth
open wide.
The lights attract small fish.
They head for the bright spot.
Before you know it, the hungry viper fish
gulps down the fish.]]
The hatchet fish has no light on a pole.
Instead, rows of light line the bottom
of its body.
The lights sparkle as the hatchet fish 
swims.

Some fish rush over to get a better look.
That's a mistake.
The hatchet fish twists around with jaws
wide open.
In one bite, the fish swallows its prey.]]
Flashlight fish also give off light.
But they don't make the light themselves.
The light comes from glowing germs,
or bacteria, inside their body.

Flashlight fish have two see-through bags 
under their eyes.
That's where the glowing bacteria live.
The fish cannot switch off the bacteria.
But they can cover them wit ha layer 
of skin.]]
The light helps protect the flashlight fish.
Suppose it sees an enemy.
The flashlight fish swims in a straight line 
with lights on.
Then it covers them up.

Quickly the flashlight fish turns.
Surprise!
The enemy can't find it.
The fish swims safely away.]]

Huge Eyes and
Wagging Arms

Many deep-sea creatures have
huge eyes.
Can you guess why?
The bigger their eyes, the better they 
can see in the dark.

Certain octopuses live in very
deep water.
They have two great, big eyes that 
help them spot their prey.]]
Eight arms stretch out from the head 
of an octopus.
Each arm has two rows of small,
Round suckers.
They can grab and hold anything.
If an octopus loses and arm, a new one 
grows in its place.]]
Squid are like octopuses.
Each has two gigantic eyes.
Around a squid's head are ten arms-
eight long ones plus two extra-long ones.
The arms have suckers to catch prey.]]
A squid swims in an odd way.
It fills parts of its body with water and
then forces the water out.
This shoots the squid forward, much like
a jet plane.

When the squid spots a fish's lights,
it whips out its arms.
The arms trap the fish.
The squid pops the fish into its mouth.]]
The giant squid is the largest squid
of all.
Its body can grow longer than 
a big bus!

This dark red deep-sea creature has 
the largest eyes of any animal on earth.
Each is the size of a car's hubcap!]]
The squid's tongue is not for licking.
It's tongue has teeth!
The squid uses it for chewing.

Sailor used to tell of huge monsters
that lived in the sea.
Now we think those monsters were 
really giant squid!]]

Deep -sea Diver

The giant squid fears only one deep-sea 
animal - the mighty sperm whale.
This whale eats many different
sea creatures.
But its favorite is the giant squid.

The sperm whale is like other whales.
It goes up to the surface to breathe air.
Yet it also feed on squid
at the ocean bottom.
How does the sperm whale do this?
It's a deep-sea diver!]]
The sperm whale fist fills its huge lungs 
with air.
Then it holds its breath and plunges down,
head first.
After a mile or so, the whale comes to rest 
on the ocean floor.
It stops and waits.

If the whale is lucky, a giant squid swims by.
The whale slams its mouth shut
on one of the squid's arms.
The squid puts up a fight.

The whale and the squid are about the 
same length.
But the whale is much heavier.
It swallows the squid in one gulp-
whole and alive!
But the squid keeps on fighting.
It cuts and scratches the whale's stomach
leaving scars inside.]]
A sperm whale can only stay in deep 
water for about an hour.
Then it needs to breathe.
The whale swims to the surface
and breathes out.
Its warm breath forms a mist
that sprays up like a fountain.

After a while, the whale takes another 
deep breath.
And down it plunges.]]

Big Mouths and 
Elastic Stomachs

Life is hard in deep water.
It can be a long time between meals.
One in a great while, there's lots to eat.
Then the fish want to gobble up
all they can.
Large mouths and elastic stomachs are 
a big help.

Fish near the ocean bottom are 
usually small.
But many have mouths that can open
real wide.
Their jaws swing far apart.
They can swallow prey twice their size!]]
The mouth of the gulper eel is the 
biggest part of its body.
The rest is long and thin like a tail.
A small, red light at the end looks like
a taillight on a car.

The taillight attracts prey.
The jaws take care of the rest.
Dozens of small, sharp teeth hold the victim.
Then the gulper swallows it whole.

As the gulper eats, its belly grows larger
and larger.
It can double in size!]]
The great swallower also has a huge 
mouth and a n elastic stomach.
You can guess how it got its name.
It's only about six inches long.
Yet this fish can swallow prey almost
twice its size.

Sometimes the great swallower stuffs
itself with food.
The skin over its belly stretches very thin.
Look closely and you can see its last
meal inside!]]

The Ocean Floor

The ocean floor has few signs of life.
But the creatures that do live here are
very strange.
Most bizarre is the tripod fish.
It walks!

The tripod walks on three ""legs""-
its tow stiff side fins and tail.
They lift the fish off the ocean floor.
Best of all, they let it catch shrimp that
swim just above the ocean bottom.]]
The ratfish looks a little like a shark.
It digs in the mud for creatures that 
hide there.
Sometimes it finds bits of food buried
in the ooze.

Male ratfish attract females
in an odd way.
They make loud drumming sounds.
If a female likes the beat, she swim over.]]
Sea cucumbers look like garden cucumbers 
with legs.
But they're animals, not vegetables.
These tubby creatures live in large groups.
In the mud, they find what they like to eat.

Fish and crabs prey on sea cucumbers.
But these enemies had better watch out.
When in danger, sea cucumbers squirt out
long, sticky tubes.
The tubes tangle up the enemy.
And they give the sea cucumber a chance 
to escape.]]
Sea pens are like sea cucumbers.
Large numbers live together on the ocean floor.
Each sea pen looks like an old-fashioned
quill or feather pen.
Rooted to one spot, they wait to have
their food delivered.
Each snatches small bits of food
from the water around it.

Also stuck in the sea floor are
sea squirts.
Their name comes from the way they 
take in water, pull out any tiny creatures,
and squirt out the rest of the water.]]

Black Smokers

Deep water is icy cold-except in
a very few places.
Here, cold water seeps down 
through cracks in the ocean floor.
The heat inside the earth warms
the water.
The warm water bubbles up through
""chimneys,"" called black smokers.]]
Tubeworms cluster around these 
warm spots.
The creatures live inside tall, thin, 
white tubes stuck to the ocean floor.
They make the tubes from sand
and material from their own bodies.]]
The tubes protect them from crabs
and other enemies.
The tallest are about the height of a tall man.
Tubeworms don't have to look for food.
Bacteria in their body make food
for them.
The bacteria get chemicals
from the water around the smokers.
The chemicals feed the bacteria,
which become food for the tubeworms.

Deep-sea shrimp also count on bacteria 
for food.
The bacteria live in their mouth.
They take in chemicals that the shrimp
scrapes loose from the ocean floor.
The chemicals feed the bacteria,
which become food for the shrimp.]]
Even a submarine can't stay underwater
forever.
It's time to leave the deep-sea creatures
with-
flashing lights,
huge eyes and wagging arms,
big mouths and elastic stomachs,
three ""legs,"" and 
bodies stuck in the mud.
Let's hope we see them again soon!]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Formal

Features

Topic

Fish

Undersea Life

Nature

*Animals

Animals: Ocean

Ocean

Low Frequency Words

aboard	angler	bacteria	chemicals	dangle
fashioned	fewer	gigantic	gulp	gulps
hatchet	heavier	height	lungs	material
octopuses	ooze	sailor	smokers	snatches
sperm	stomachs	submarine	swallow	swallower
swallows	taillight	tangle	tow	tripod
tubeworms	underwater	viper	weird