The Sea
What do you know about the sea? We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be very rough1 when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it?
The first thing to remember is that the sea is very big. When you look at the map of the world you will find there is more water than land. The sea covers three quarters of the world.
The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere. Some parts of the sea are very shallow2. But in some places the depth3 of the sea is very great. There is one spot, near Japan, wherethe sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain were put into the sea at that place, there would be 2 kilometers of water above it! What a deep place!
If you have swum in the sea, you know that it is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, which flow into the sea, carry salt fromthe land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are saltier than other parts. There is one sea, called the Dead Sea, which is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea!
In most parts of the sea, there are plenty of fishes and plants. Some live near the TOP of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also millions of tiny living things that float in the sea. These floating things are so small that it is hard to see them. Many fish live by eating these.
The sea can be very cold pers5 who go deep down in the sea, know this. On the TOP the water may be warm. When the per4 goes downwards6, the sea becomes colder and colder. Another thing happens. When the per goes deeper, the water above presses down on him.
It squeezes7 him. Then the per has to wear clothes made of metal. But he cannot go very deep. Some people who wanted to go very deep used a very strong ping ship! They went down to the deepest part of the sea in it. They went down to a depth of eleven kilometers!
1. The sea looks beautiful when it is calm.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
2. The land takes up 25% of the world.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
3. The sea is 6 kilometers in depth on average.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
4. The Dead Sea is so salty that nothing can live in it.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
5. The deeper one goes down in the sea, the fewer fishes and plants he can find.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
6. The deeper a per goes down in the sea, the greater water pressure he hears.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
7. Divers have to use a very strong ping ship when they want to go down to the deepest part of the sea mainly because it is extremely8 cold there.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
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