Cobras

Cobras

Cobras
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.87

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		profession, courageous, entertainment, offenders, spitting, venomous, extremely, highly, medical, cross-legged, hence, injection, species, performer, toxic, design
	content words:		Sri Lanka, Ophiophagus Hannah

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Cobras

¹     In Sri Lanka and India, there exists a risky profession in the field of entertainment. The performer is cautious of his every move, because a lapse of concentration may very well signify a trip to the emergency room. This dangerous job, known as the snake charmer, involves handling one of the world's most venomous snakes, the cobra.

²     When the snake charmer -- usually wearing a turban and sitting cross-legged -- is ready for his act, he opens the lid of a basket to reveal a cobra that rears up and spreads its hood. As he plays a flute, the cobra seems to be hypnotized by the music and sways with the rhythm. If the snake charmer is exceptionally courageous, he may even bend down to kiss the cobra's head!

³     Certainly, such performances would impress any spectator. But, did you know that the cobra is responding not to the music, but to the movement of the flute? It turns out that cobras are nearly deaf, so they cannot be spellbound by the tone. What intrigues them is the flute that snake charmers move about so skillfully, because they view the instrument as a threat. If snake charmers keep the flute still, cobras would return to the baskets. As for the bold show of kissing their subjects' heads, snake charmers know that cobras cannot strike upward; hence, they dare to carry out this stunt.

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