The sea

fortunate

salt

creature

coral

cotton

calm

fierce

polyp

Ⅰ

1. Have you ever seen the sea on a calm summer day? Howbeautiful it is! The blue water dances in the sunshine. It is

Lading a ship

pleasant to watch the boats with their white sails, and to see the great ships going to and fro.

2. Some of these ships sail over the sea to far-off lands. They take wheat, cotton, and other things to the people there. They bring back tea, cloth, and many other things for us. The sea is like a great road from one land to another.

3. But the great sea road is not always a pleasant one for sailors. There are days when the wind blows and the waves are high. Sometimes strong ships are dashed to pieces in storm.

4. Then some of the poor sailors may be drowned. But some,more fortunate than these, get into little boats, and float aboutuntil they are picked up by passing ships. Sometimes they float about many days without food or water.

5. You may think it queer for them to want water when the great sea is all around them. But the sea water is salt, and men cannot live if they have only sea water to drink. When you are at the seaside, taste the water and see how salt it is.

A shipwreck

Ⅱ

6. We cannot drink the salt water, but many animals and plants live in the sea. Some of these are so beautiful that men go down under the water to get them.

7. In some parts of the world the sea water is warm all the year round. Here, in the deep, calm water, wonderful little animals called coral polyps have their home.

8. Many of these little creatures are very beautiful. They make the pretty red coral which you have seen. They also make coral islands on whichgreat islands? It takes many, many polyps long years to form an island.

9. But of all sea creatures fish are the ones you know best. The fish of the sea are larger than those of the streams. Some of these seafish are very fierce, but most of them do no harm and are of usto us. They are good for food.

10. Many birds have their homes on the seashore. They livecome up with a fish.

11. Many of these fishing birds have strong wings, and fly faout over the water. They may be seen sailing through the air hundreds of miles from the land.

1. Write separately the two words which form the wordseaside.

2. Copy this sentence and supply the missing word: Coral animals are called . ______

3. Copy the following sentence, changing the wordsmall to another word having the same meaning:

Small animals form coral islands.

calm

small

dashed

drowned

palm

salt

rushed

crowned

pluck

feeble