Understanding Text Complexity: Grades 3-8
December NTI/Friday, December 12th
David Abel/Fellow for Curriculum and Assessment, ELA
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Practice Excerpt 1 (Informational)
“Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is
but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer,
or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might
expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened
by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.”
--Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Practice Excerpt 2 (Literature)
“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having
little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore,
I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a
way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever
I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly
November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before
coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and
especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a
strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the
street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high
time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball…”
--Herman Melville, Moby Dick.
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Text Literature Text 1/ Excerpt from Frederick* Literature Text 2/homer Literature Text 3/Steinbeck Literature 4/ The One‐of‐a‐Kind Ring Literature 5/London Informational text 1/ Lake‐Effect Snow* Informational text 2/Rivers Informational text 3/Anne Frank Informational text 4/Asimov Informational text 5/Mars Informational text 6/Icebergs Lexile
690
Flesch‐Kincaid
3.7
Reading Maturity Metric
4.1 N/A
990
930
1040
930
620
940
1150
980
1140
N/A
5.5
4.7
6.5
6.4
3.2
6.3
8.9
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8.7
N/A 6.1 5.9 7.6 7.0 4.4 6.3 8.9 12.4 8.0 Updated Text Complexity Grade Bands and Associated Ranges from Multiple Measures ATOS Degrees of Reading Power® Flesch‐
Kincaid1 The Lexile Framework® Reading Maturity SourceRater 2nd – 3rd 2.75 – 5.14 42 – 54
1.98 – 5.34
420 – 820
3.53 – 6.13 0.05 – 2.48
4th – 5th 4.97 – 7.03 52 – 60
4.51 – 7.73
740 – 1010
5.42 – 7.92 0.84 – 5.75
6th – 8th 7.00 – 9.98 57 – 67
6.51 – 10.34
925 – 1185
7.04 – 9.57 4.11 – 10.66
9th – 10th 9.67 – 12.01 62 – 72
8.32 – 12.12
1050 – 1335
8.41 – 10.81 9.02 – 13.93
11th – CCR 11.20 – 14.10 67 – 74
10.34 – 14.2
1185 – 1385
9.57 – 12.00 12.30 – 14.50
Common Core Band (from achievethecore.org)
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Literature Text 1
Excerpt from Frederick by Leo Lionni
All along the meadow where the cows grazed and the horses ran, there was an old stone wall. In
that wall, not far from the barn and the granary, a chatty family of field mice had their home.
But the farmers had moved away, the barn was abandoned, and the granary stood empty. And
since winter was not far off, the little mice began to gather corn and nuts and wheat and straw.
They all worked day and night. All—except Frederick.
“Frederick, why don’t you work?” they asked.
“I do work,” said Frederick. “I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days.”
And when they saw Frederick sitting there, staring at the meadow, they said, “And now,
Frederick?” “I gather colors,” answered Frederick simply. “For winter is gray.”
And once Frederick seemed half asleep. “Are you dreaming, Frederick?” they asked
reproachfully. But Frederick said, “Oh no, I am gathering words. For the winter days are long
and many, and we’ll run out of things to say.”
The winter days came, and when the first snow fell the five little field mice took to their hideout
in the stones.
In the beginning there was lots to eat, and the mice told stories of foolish foxes and silly cats.
They were a happy family.
But little by little they had nibbled up most of the nuts and berries, the straw was gone, and the
corn was only a memory. It was cold in the wall and no one felt like chatting.
Then they remembered what Frederick had said about the sun rays and colors and words. “What
about your supplies, Frederick?” they asked.
“Close your eyes,” said Frederick, as he climbed on a big stone. “Now I send you the rays of the
sun. Do you feel how their golden glow…” And as Frederick spoke of the sun the four little mice
began to feel warmer. Was it Frederick’s voice? Was it magic?
“And how about the colors, Frederick?” they asked anxiously. “Close your eyes again,”
Frederick said. And when he told them of the blue periwinkles, the red poppies in the yellow
wheat, and the green leaves of the berry bush, they saw the colors as clearly as if they had been
painted in their minds. …
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Literature Text 2
The Lotus Eaters, Excerpted from The Odyssey by Homer translated by Robert Fitzgerald
I might have made it safely home, that time,
But as I came round Malea the current
took me out to sea, and from the north
a fresh gale drove me on, past Kythera.
Nine days I drifted on the teeming sea
before dangerous high winds. Upon the tenth
we came to the coastline of the Lotus Eaters,
who live upon that flower. We landed there
to take on water. All ships’ companies
mustered alongside for the midday meal.
Then I sent out two picked men and a runner
to learn what race of men that land sustained.
They fell in, soon enough, with the Lotus Eaters,
who showed no will to do us harm, only
offering the sweet Lotus to our friends—
but those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus,
never cared to report, not to return:
they longed to stay forever, browsing, on
that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland.
I drove them, all three wailing to the ships,
tied them down under their rowing benches,
and called the rest: ‘All hands aboard;
come, clear the beach and no one taste
the Lotus, or you lose your home of home.’
Filing in to their places by the rowlocks
my oarsmen dipped their long oars in the surf,
and we moved out again on our seafaring.
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Literature Text 3
Excerpted from The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale
wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and the
early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see
whether anything to eat had been overlooked. Outside the brush house in the tuna clump, a covey
of little birds chittered and flurried with their wings.
Kino's eyes opened, and he looked first at the lightening square which was the door and
then he looked at the hanging box where Coyotito slept. And last he turned his head to Juana, his
wife, who lay beside him on the mat, her blue head shawl over her nose and over her breasts and
around the small of her back. Juana's eyes were open too. Kino could never remember seeing
them closed when he awakened. Her dark eyes made little reflected stars. She was looking at him
as she was always looking at him when he awakened. …
Kino heard the creak of the rope when Juana took Coyotito out of his hanging box and
cleaned him and hammocked him in her shawl in a loop that placed him close to her breast. Kino
could see these things without looking at them. Juana sang softly an ancient song that had only
three notes and yet endless variety of interval. And this was part of the family song too. It was all
part.
Sometimes it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat, saying this is safety, this is
warmth, this is the Whole. Across the brush fence were other brush houses, and the smoke came
from them too, and the sound of breakfast, but those were other songs, their pigs were other pigs,
their wives were not Juana. Kino was young and strong and his black hair hung over his brown
forehead. His eyes were warm and fierce and bright and his mustache was thin and coarse. He
lowered his blanket from his nose now, for the dark poisonous air was gone and the yellow
sunlight fell on the house. Near the brush fence two roosters bowed and feinted at each other
with squared wings and neck feathers ruffed out. It would be a clumsy fight. They were not game
chickens. Kino watched them for a moment, and then his eyes went up to a flight of wild doves
twinkling inland to the hills. The world was awake now, and Kino arose and went into his brush
house. …
The sun was warming the brush house, breaking through its crevices in long streaks. And
one of the streaks fell on the hanging box where Coyotito lay, and on the ropes that held it. It was
a tiny movement that drew their eyes to the hanging box. Kino and Juana froze in their positions.
Down the rope that hung the baby's box from the roof support a scorpion moved slowly.
His stinging tail was straight out behind him, but he could whip it up in a flash of time.
Kino's breath whistled in his nostrils and he opened his mouth to stop it. And then the startled
look was gone from him and the rigidity from his body. In his mind a new song had come, the
Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage, secret, dangerous
melody, and underneath, the Song of the Family cried plaintively.
The scorpion moved delicately down the rope toward the box. Under her breath Juana
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repeated an ancient magic to guard against such evil, and on top of that she muttered a Hail Mary
between clenched teeth. But Kino was in motion. His body glided quietly across the room,
noiselessly and smoothly. His hands were in front of him, palms down, and his eyes were on the
scorpion.
Beneath it in the hanging box Coyotito laughed and reached up his hand toward it. It
sensed Danger when Kino was almost within reach of it. It stopped, and its tail rose up over its
back in little jerks and the curved thorn on the tail's end glistened.
Kino stood perfectly still. He could hear Juana whispering the old magic again, and he
could hear the evil music of the enemy. He could not move until the scorpion moved, and it felt
for the source of the death that was coming to it. Kino's hand went forward very slowly, very
smoothly. The thorned tail jerked upright. And at that moment the laughing Coyotito shook the
rope and the scorpion fell.
Kino's hand leaped to catch it, but it fell past his fingers, fell on the baby's shoulder,
landed and struck. Then, snarling, Kino had it, had it in his fingers, rubbing it to a paste in his
hands. He threw it down and beat it into the earth floor with his fist, and Coyotito screamed with
pain in his box. But Kino beat and stamped the enemy until it was only a fragment and a moist
place in the dirt. His teeth were bared and fury flared in his eyes and the Song of the Enemy
roared in his ears. …
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Literature Text 4
The One-of-a-Kind Ring
King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, had a servant that was his favorite. Why?
Because anything he asked him to do he did perfectly. But the other servants in the palace got
very jealous. The wise king knew that the jealousy is very bad and he had to do something about
it. So the king decided that he would give this servant a job that is impossible to do. The king
thought that the servant will not succeed, he will put him down in front of all the other servants,
it will make everybody equal and there will be no jealousy in the palace.
So the king called the servant, one month before "Pesah holiday" and he made up a story. He told
the servant that he heard about a special ring that when you wear it when you are sad you
become happy and when you wear it when you are happy you become sad. The king said: "I
want it. Can you get it?"
"Did I ever disappoint you?” said the servant; "Of course I can get it!"
"Very well" said the king, "bring it to me in 'Pesah' evening."
"'Pesah'?" asked the servant” it is one month away, I can get it to you in couple days."
"No, no" said the king, "bring it to me as a present from you, for 'Pesah' and give it to me at the
"Seder" dinner in front of everybody."
"Yes, my king" said the servant.
The servant took a group of people, divided them to four different groups and sent one to the
North, one to the South, one to the East, and one to the West, telling them "go on the way, stop
anyone you meet, and ask him about the ring. If he knows something or heard something or
knows somebody who heard or knows something, come back to me, with the information, so we
can take directions and get the ring for the king".
After two-three days the first mission came back but "Nada" (of course, the king made up the
story and there was no such ring). The second mission came back and again "Nothing", third
mission, fourth mission and three weeks had passed and the servant got "zipo". He got so
nervous. The "Seder" is one week away, and he must find the ring. He started searching for the
ring on his own and started walking from place to place, from town to town, from village to
village, door to door, house to house, didn't sleep, didn't eat, asked everyone he met and, nothing
("nada").
The night before the "Seder" he came back to Jerusalem but he was ashamed to come to the
palace, everybody was talking about him and he was walking around the streets like "meshugi"
(crazy). Eventually he found himself in the poorest neighborhood of the city and there in a small
alley he saw a petit, tiny little shop with an old man inside, a jeweler. So he was thinking to
himself "if I can't get the ring maybe this old man can make it. I have nothing to lose, I will give
it a try."
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He went into the shop and said to the old man: "The king wants a ring that when you are wearing
it when you are sad you become happy but when you are wearing it when you are happy you
become sad. Can you make such a ring?" The old man thought for a second then he said: "Sure,
it's a piece of cake". He took one of the rings he had on the table and engraved on it something in
Hebrew. The servant was only a slave and he didn't know how to read, but he had nothing to lose
so he took the ring.
Everybody knows about the story and they want to see what will happen. Everybody is happy
they are smiling, singing, telling jokes. The king [is] at the head of the table with a big smile on
his face. Except the servant, he is in the corner shaking praying, maybe the king forgot. But the
king didn't forget he was waiting especially for that moment. Then the king pointed at him
showing him to come over with his finger. Silence. Everybody got closer to listen and see what
happens. The servant was terrified; he came to the king shaking his eyes on the ground.
The king smiled and said: "Did you get the ring?"
The servant was so afraid he was whispering with a broken voice: "I hope so my king…"
"I can't hear you!" said the king.
"I hope so," said the servant louder.
"Hand it over," said the king.
He gave him the ring with a shaking hand. The king took it with a big smile, he put the ring on
read what was written on it. Then the face of the king turned over and he become sad. When the
servant saw that the king was sad he realized that he got the right ring, and smiled. And on the
ring there was a simple sentence in Hebrew "Gam Ze Ya-avor". Which means: "This too shall
pass".
http://noolabeulah.blogspot.com/2006/03/one-of-kind-ring.html
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Literature Text 5
Excerpted from To Build a Fire by Jack London
“He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances."
Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside
from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail
led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at
the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock. There was no
sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there
seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that
was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It
had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that
cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.
The man flung a look back along the way he had come. The Yukon lay a mile wide and
hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice were as many feet of snow. It was all pure
white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and
south, as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white, save for a dark hairline that curved and
twisted from around the spruce-covered island to the south, and that curved and twisted away
into the north, where it disappeared behind another spruce-covered island. This dark hairline was
the trail - the main trail - that led south five hundred miles to the Chilcoot Pass, Dyea, and salt
water; and that led north seventy miles to Dawson, and still on to the north a thousand miles to
Nulato, and finally to St Michael, on Bering Sea, a thousand miles and half a thousand more.
But all this - the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky,
the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all - made no impression on the
man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer in the land, a 'chechaquo',
and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was
quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances. Fifty
degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold
and uncomfortable, and that was all. It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty in general,
able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on it did not lead
him to the conjectural field of immortality and man's place in the universe. Fifty degrees below
zero stood for a bite of frost that hurt and that must be guarded against by the use of mittens, ear
flaps, warm moccasins, and thick socks. Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty
degrees below zero. That there should be anything more to it than that was a thought that never
entered his head.
As he turned to go, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive crackle that
startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could fall to the snow, the spittle
crackled. He knew that at fifty below spittle crackled on the snow, but this spittle had crackled in
the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below - how much colder he did not know. But the
temperature did not matter. He was bound for the old claim on the left fork of Henderson Creek,
where the boys were already. They had come over across the divide from the Indian Creek
country, while he had come the roundabout way to take a look at the possibility of getting out
logs in the spring from the islands in the Yukon. He would be in to camp by six o'clock; a bit
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after dark, it was true, but the boys would be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would
be ready. As for lunch, he pressed his hand against the protruding bundle under his jacket. It was
also under his shirt, wrapped up in a handkerchief and lying against the naked skin. It was the
only way to keep the biscuits from freezing. He smiled agreeably to himself as he thought of
those biscuits, each cut open and sopped in bacon grease, and each enclosing a generous slice of
fried bacon. …
Once in a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never
experienced such cold. As he walked along he rubbed his cheekbones and nose with the back of
his mittened hand. He did this automatically, now and again changing hands. But, rub as he
would, the instant he stopped his cheekbones went numb, and the following instant the end of his
nose went numb. He was sure to frost his cheeks; he knew that, and experienced a pang of regret
that he had not devised a nose strap of the sort Bud wore in cold snaps. Such a strap passed
across the cheeks, as well, and saved them. But it didn't matter much, after all. What were frosted
cheeks? a bit painful, that was all; they were never serious.
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Informational Text 1
Lake-Effect Snow
It was the early morning hours in Buffalo, New York. Trouble was brewing. Temperatures had
plummeted and strong squalls began to blow across neighboring Lake Erie. Even though it was
October, snow was falling faster than an inch per hour by the next afternoon.
The storm, called the “October Surprise” by locals, caught the Buffalo area off-guard. In a very
short period of time, up to 27 inches of heavy snow fell. The snow damaged trees and power
lines, shutting down electricity and blocking roads.
This storm was the result of a phenomenon called “lake-effect snow.” It’s one of the main
reasons why areas near big lakes, like the Great Lakes, get such remarkable snowstorms. Such
storms usually occur between November and February, not October. It just so happened that all
of the ingredients for lake-effect snow came together in a remarkable way that October.
Lake-effect snow forms when cold air passes over the warmer waters of a lake. Water holds on
to heat more than air. As a result, below freezing air often passes over much warmer water. This
causes some lake water to evaporate into the air and warm it. This warmer, wetter air rises and
cools as it moves away from the lake. When it cools, it dumps all that moisture on the ground. If
it’s cold enough, that moisture becomes snow.
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If the winds and temperatures are right, the air acts like a big sponge that sops up water from the
lake and wrings it out on land. The direction of the wind is important—if the wind is blowing in
a direction that covers more of the lake, the air will take in more water. The greater the
temperature difference the more water the air will take in.
All that water picked up from the lake normally travels no further than about 25 miles away
before falling, but it can sometimes travel as far as 100 miles away! That moisture can make for
a whole lot of snow. Luckily for people living near large lakes, lake-effect snow generally slows
down around February. That’s when the lakes freeze over, making it impossible for the air to
steal moisture away from the lake.
Not surprisingly, Buffalo is one of the snowiest cities in the country. Conditions are frequently
right for lake-effect snow. To many who live there, massive snowstorms are a regular part of life.
But don’t think you could get more snow days by moving to an area that experiences lake-effect
snow. People there are well trained in snow removal!
http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/lake-snow/
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Informational Text 2
Excerpted from Rivers by Clair Llewellyn and Thea Feldman
What is a river?
Rivers are bodies of fresh water that flow to the sea. They can be very different from each
other. Some rivers flow quickly, and others move slowly. Some rivers are narrow streams.
Others are so wide that you cannot see from one side to the other. A river may be all of these
things at different places along its route.
Rivers are homes for animals and plants. They are important to people, too. We travel on
them. We build towns on their banks. We take fish from them for food, and we use river water
for all sorts of things. …
The flowing river
The place where a river starts is called its source. From the source, a fiver flows
downhill on its journey to the sea. The path the river takes is called its course.
The place where a river empties into the sear is called the river’s mouth. There is often a
lot of mud there. Birds come to the mouth and push their beaks into the mud. They pull out
snails, worms, and other juicy creatures. …
Shaping the land
Rivers flow the shape of the land, but they can also change it. Moving water is very
powerful. As a river flows over the land, it picks up stones and even boulders. These roll along
with the water. They carve the riverbed and chip away at the bans making the river deeper and
wider. This carving and chipping is called erosion.
Clair Llewellyn and Thea Feldman
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Informational Text 3
excerpted from The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1943
Dearest Kitty,
This morning I was constantly interrupted, and as a result I haven't been able to finish a
single thing I've begun.
We have a new pastime, namely, filling packages with powdered gravy. The gravy is one
of Gies & Co.'s products. Mr. Kugler hasn't been able to find anyone else to fill the packages,
and besides, it's cheaper if we do the job. It's the kind of work they do in prisons. It's incredibly
boring and makes us dizzy and giggly.
Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people
are being dragged out of their homes. They're allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash
with them, and even then, they're robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn
apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that
their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their
families gone.
The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons are being sent to
Germany. Everyone is scared. Every night hundreds of planes pass over Holland on their way to
German cities, to sow their bombs on German soil. Every hour hundreds, or maybe even
thousands, of people are being killed in Russia and Africa. No one can keep out of the
conflict, the entire world is at war, and even though the Allies are doing better, the end is
nowhere in sight.
As for us, we're quite fortunate. Luckier than millions of people. It's quiet and safe
here, and we're using our money to buy food. We're so selfish that we talk about "after the war"
and look forward to new clothes and shoes, when actually we should be saving every penny to
help others when the war is over, to salvage whatever we can.
The children in this neighborhood run around in thin shirts and wooden shoes. They have
no coats, no caps, no stockings and no one to help them. Gnawing on a carrot to still their hunger
pangs, they walk from their cold houses through cold streets to an even colder classroom. Things
have gotten so bad in Holland that hordes of children stop passersby in the streets to beg for a
piece of bread.
I could spend hours telling you about the suffering the war has brought, but I'd only make
myself more miserable. All we can do is wait, as calmly as possible, for it to
end. Jews and Christians alike are waiting, the whole world is waiting, and many are
waiting for death.
Yours,
Anne
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Informational Text 4
Excerpted from Dial versus Digital by Isaac Asimov
There seems no question but that the clock dial, which has existed in its present form
since the seventeenth century and in earlier forms since ancient times, is on its way out. More
and more common are the digital clocks that mark off the hours, minutes, and seconds in everchanging number. This certainly appears to be an advance in technology. You will no longer
have to interpret the meaning of “the big hand on the eleven and the little hand on the five.”
Your digital clock will tell you at once that it is 4:55. And yet there will be a loss in the
conversion of dial to digital, and no one seems to be worrying about it.
When something turns, it can turn in just one of two ways, clockwise or
counterclockwise, and we all know which is which. Clockwise is the normal turning direction of
the hands of a clock and counterclockwise is the opposite of that. Since we all stare at clocks
(dial clocks, that is), we have no trouble following directions or descriptions that include those
words. But if dial clocks disappear, so will the meaning of those words for anyone who has never
stared at anything but digitals. There are no good substitutes for clockwise and counterclockwise.
The nearest you can come is by a consideration of your hands. If you clench your fists with your
thumbs pointing at your chest and then look at your fingers, you will see that the fingers of your
right hand curve counterclockwise from knuckles to tips while the fingers of your left hand curve
clockwise. You could then talk about a “right-hand twist” and a “left-hand twist,” but people
don’t stare at their hands the way they stare at a clock, and this will never be an adequate
replacement.
Nor is this a minor matter. Astronomers define the north pole and south pole of any
rotating body in such terms. If you are hovering about a pole of rotation and the body id rotating
counterclockwise, it is the north pole; if the body is rotating clockwise, it is the south pole.
Astronomers also speak of “direct motion” and “retrograde motion,” by which they mean
counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively.
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Here is another example. Suppose you are looking through a microscope at some object
on a slide or through a telescope at some view in the sky. In either case, you might wish to point
out something to a colleague and ask him or her to look at it, too. “Notice that object at eleven
o’clock,” you might say—or five o’clock or two o’clock. Everyone knows exactly where two,
five, or eleven—or any number from one to twelve—is located on the clock dial, and can
immediately look exactly where he is told. (In combat, pilots may call attention to the approach
of an enemy plane or the location of antiaircraft bursts or the target, for that matter, in the same
way.)
Once the dial is gone, location by “o’clock” will also be gone, and we have nothing to
take its place. Of course, you can use directions instead: “northeast,” “southwest by south,” and
so on. However, you will have to know which direction is north to begin with. Or, if you are
arbitrary and decide to let north be straight ahead or straight up, regardless of its real location, it
still remains true that very few people are as familiar with compass as with a clock face. …
Informational Text 5
Mars One Mission
What are the qualifications to apply?
Qualifications
Mars One will conduct a global search to find the best candidates for the first human
mission to Mars. The combined skill set of each astronaut team member must cover a very wide
range of disciplines. The astronauts must be intelligent, creative, psychologically stable and
physically healthy. On this page, Mars One offers a brief introduction to the basics of our
astronaut selection process.
The astronaut selection process
In spaceflight missions, the primary personal attributes of a successful astronaut are
emotional and psychological stability, supported by personal drive and motivation. This is the
foundation upon a mission must be built, where human lives are at risk with each flight.
Once on Mars, there are no means to return to Earth. Mars is home. A grounded, deep sense of
purpose will help each astronaut maintain his or her psychological stability and focus as they
work together toward a shared and better future.
Mars One cannot stress enough the importance of an applicant’s capacity for selfreflection. Without this essential foundation, the five key characteristics listed below cannot be
utilized to the fullest potential.
Five Key Characteristics of an Astronaut
Characteristic
Practical Applications
Resiliency
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Your thought processes are persistent.
You persevere and remain productive.
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Adaptability
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Curiosity
Ability to Trust
You adapt to situations and individuals, while taking into account
the context of the situation.
You know your boundaries, and how/when to extend them.
You are open and tolerant of ideas and approaches different from
your own.
You draw from the unique nature of individual cultural
backgrounds.
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You ask questions to understand, not to simply get answers.
You are transferring knowledge to others, not simply showcasing
what you know or what others do not.
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You trust in yourself and maintain trust in others.
Your trust is built upon good judgment.
You have self-informed trust.
Your reflection on previous experiences helps to inform the
exchange of trust.
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You are flexible in how an issue / problem / situation is
approached.
You are not constrained by the way you were initially taught when
seeking solutions.
Your humor is a creative resource, used appropriately as an
emerging contextual response.
You have a good sense of play and spirit of playfulness.
You are aware of different forms of creativity.
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Creativity /
Resourcefulness
You see the connection between your internal and external self.
You are at your best when things are at their worst.
You have indomitable spirit.
You understand the purpose of actions may not be clear in the
moment, but there is good reason—you trust those who guide you.
You have a “Can do!” attitude.
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Age
The astronaut selection program will be open for applicants who are 18 years or older.
This is the age by which children become legal adults in most countries in the world. Mars One
believes it is important that applicants who enter the astronaut selection program are capable of
entering into a legal contract without the supervision of others.
There is not an upper age limit to apply for the astronaut selection program. If the
applicant enjoys good health and he or she has all the other characteristics needed for the mission
he or she has what it takes to apply.
Medical and Physical Requirements
In general, normal medical and physiological health standards will be used. These standards
are derived from evidence-based medicine, verified from clinical studies.
 The applicant must be free from any disease, any dependency on drugs, alcohol or
tobacco;
 Normal range of motion and functionality in all joints;
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Visual acuity in both eyes of 100% (20/20) either uncorrected or corrected with lenses or
contact lenses;
Free from any psychiatric disorders;
It is important to be healthy, with an age- and gender-adequate fitness level;
Blood pressure should not exceed 140/90 measured in a sitting position;
The standing height must be between 157 and 190 cm.
Country of Origin and Language
Mars One accepts applicants from any country in the world. The official language, will
be English.
http://www.mars-one.com/faq/selection-and-preparation-of-the-astronauts/what-are-the-qualifications-
Informational Text 6
Quick Facts on Icebergs
WHAT IS AN ICEBERG?
Icebergs are pieces of ice that formed on land and float in an ocean or lake. Icebergs
come in all shapes and sizes, from ice-cube-sized chunks to ice islands the size of a small
country. The term "iceberg" refers to chunks of ice larger than 5 meters (16 feet) across. Smaller
icebergs, known as bergy bits and growlers, can be especially dangerous for ships because they
are harder to spot. The North Atlantic and the cold waters surrounding Antarctica are home to
most of the icebergs on Earth.
HOW DO ICEBERGS FORM, AND WHERE DO THEY GO?
Icebergs form when chunks of ice calve, or break off, from glaciers, ice shelves, or a
larger iceberg. Icebergs travel with ocean currents, sometimes smashing up against the shore or
getting caught in shallow waters.
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When an iceberg reaches warm waters, the new climate attacks it from all sides. On the
iceberg surface, warm air melts snow and ice into pools called melt ponds that can trickle
through the iceberg and widen cracks. At the same time, warm water laps at the iceberg edges,
melting the ice and causing chunks of ice to break off. On the underside, warmer waters melt the
iceberg from the bottom up.
WHY ARE ICEBERGS IMPORTANT?
Icebergs pose a danger to ships traversing the North Atlantic and the waters around
Antarctica. After the Titanic sank near Newfoundland in 1912, the United States and twelve
other countries formed the International Ice Patrol to warn ships of icebergs in the North
Atlantic.
The International Ice Patrol uses airplanes and radars to track icebergs that float into major
shipping lanes. The U.S. National Ice Center uses satellite data to monitor icebergs near
Antarctica. However, it only tracks icebergs larger than 500 square meters (5,400 square feet).
Icebergs can also serve as tools for scientists, who study them to learn more about climate
and ocean processes.
WHY DO SCIENTISTS STUDY ICEBERGS?
Climate scientists study icebergs as they break up for clues to the processes that cause ice
shelf collapse. Scientists have noticed that the way icebergs break up when they reach warmer
waters mirrors the disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves. By studying the factors that cause
icebergs to break up, researchers hope to better understand the influences that lead to ice shelf
breakup, and to better predict how ice shelves will respond to a warming climate.
Oceanographers follow icebergs because the cold freshwater they contribute to the sea
can influence currents and ocean circulation far away from their origins.
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Biologists study icebergs to find out how they influence ocean life. As icebergs melt, they
leak nutrients into the ocean around them. Recent studies have shown that the water surrounding
icebergs teems with plankton, fish, and other sea life.
https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icebergs.html
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