‘ Shark!’ It’s a word which frightens swimmers and surfers all over the world. Many people think the sea is full of dangerous shark. They think that all shark want to attack them.
But most kinds of shark never attack people. There are more than 350 differeny kinds of sharks. Only about four are very dangerous to humans. They are the white pointer, the tiger shark, the bull shark and the white tip.
Shark eat fish, seals and other sea animals. They find their food by seeing it, hearing it and smelling it. They can hear very well in the water, and they can smell food hundreds of metres away. Shark have big, sharp teeth. When they find an animal to eat, they bite big pieces off it.
Kenny Turk felt those sharp teeth in September 2010. He was surfing in Australia.
‘ I looked down and saw a big shark biting my leg. I hit it and shouted at it. Luckily, it swam away. But my leg was badly cut. I had to go to hospital. And the shark took a piece of my surfboard!’
It’s easy to understand why people are so frightened of sharks. But they don’t attack people very often. There are only about seventy-five shark attacks in the world each year. And only about ten people are killed by shark. But, each year, people kill millions of shark. So who is more dangerous? Sharks or humans?
Bites
luckily
attacked
smell
felt
Someone who rides waves on a long piece of wood or plastic
Make you scared
A feeling you have when you are hurt or sick
Cut very well
The things in your mouth that you use for eating
1 The dentist said it’s important to clean your teeth after every meal.
2 I don’t like films about ghosts. They frighten me.
3 Nat is a surfer. He spends every day at the beach surfing.
4 You need a very sharp knife to cut meat.
5 I have a terrible pain in my stomach. I think I ate too many sweets!