Aarushhh/wikipedia-simple-splitted huggingface dataset:
Many countries formerly used beheading as an execution for important people, including England. In England, many noblemen and even some kings and queens have been beheaded. There, the prisoner would be led up the scaffold and might be allowed a last speech. Then, he/she would be blindfolded and put his/her neck onto a block. Then, the executioner would lift up his axe and swing it down onto the victim's neck. If the executioner was skilled and the axe was sharp, then the axe would usually cut through the bone and organs of the victim in one stroke. But if the executioner was inexperienced, then it might take several strokes before the head was cut off.

Other ways of execution

Many countries do not allow executions as punishment any more, because it is too violent or immoral. However, many states of the United States and some other countries use it.  In the United States, less violent ways of execution are used than in the past. Here are some ways of executing people:
Hanging: Using a rope to either break the convict's neck or to choke (or strangle) them.  Widely used around the world until the 20th century. Still today in use in some countries, such as Iraq, Singapore and Japan.
 Firing Squad:  Several people shoot and kill a person.  Armies around the world have long used this method, since guns and bullets are readily available.  Firing squad was the lawful means of execution in Finland until 1944, when death penalty was abolished (stopped by the law).  It was also used in the state of Utah in the 20th century.  In most cases, not all the shooters have real bullets.  After the execution, it is not possible to determine which of the people firing killed the person just executed.
 Gas chamber: killing a person by filling the air in a room with poison gas until the person cannot breathe and dies.  This method was used for executions in some U.S. states, and for mass murder by the Schutzstaffel during the Holocaust.
Lethal injection: Killing a person by placing poisons into their bloodstream. This is the choice of execution in most U.S. states that allow executions.
Electrocution: Killing a person by placing them in an electric chair and giving them a very high electric shock.
Old-fashioned methods 
Crucifixion: a person (or their corpse) is fixed to a timber by nails or by impalement. The Romans used crucifixion to punish traitors, rebels and runaway slaves because the Romans considered it the most unpleasant death. Death by this method may take days. Besides ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the Persian empires, this method was also used in feudal Japan.
Drawing and Quartering: A violent form of execution common in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. It involved taking a person's organs out while they were still alive.
Breaking on the wheel: the executioner breaks all the bones of a person's limbs with a heavy object. The executioner wraps the person's limbs around a wheel from a carriage, and lifts the wheel to the top of a tall pole. Slowly, the person dies.
Crushing, also called pressing: used in the common law legal systems. A defendant who refused to plead ("stood mute") would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon their chest until a plea was entered or the person suffocated.
Garroting, a method of strangulation used in Spain for hundreds of years.
The Flesch Reading Ease (FRES) score says how easy something is to read. J. Peter Kincaid and others made this formula for the U.S. Navy in 1975.

How it works
The FRES test works by counting the number of words, syllables, and sentences in the text. It then calculates the average number of words per sentence and the average number of syllables per word. The idea is that shorter words and shorter sentences are easier to read. The higher the score, the easier the text is to  understand. The formula is:

Some points of reference for the score are:

The highest score possible is 121.22. It is gained if every sentence only has a one-syllable word.
"The cat sat on the mat" scores 116. There is no lower limit to this score. Some very complicated
sentences can have negative scores.
The Flesch score is usually lower for technical documentation because the topic itself is complicated.
Someone who uses the test regularly will develop a sense of a reasonable score for this type of writing.
They can then aim to align with this score.

The Flesch score for this subsection is 74.

Tools 
Tools to calculate the Flesch Reading Ease include:

 Microsoft Word's grammar check
 Abiword (open source)
 KWord (open source)
 koRpus

References

Other websites 

 CheckText.org  ; A website that calculates Flesch Reading Ease
 Rudolf Flesch, the developer of the test, provides some background information on how to write plain English .
 readabilityofwikipedia.com: a website that calculates the score for Wikipedia

Reading
February (Feb.) is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, coming between January and March. It has 28 days in common years, and 29 days in leap years. In Sweden in 1712 and 1732 the month had 30 days. This was to make the calendar match to the rest of the world. In 1930 and 1931, February had 30 days in the Soviet Union because the government changed all the months to be 30 days long. The name comes either from the Roman god Februus or else from "februa", the festivals of purification celebrated in Rome every fifteenth of this month.

February begins on the same day of the week as March and November in common years, and August in leap years. February always ends on the same day of the week as October, and additionally, January in common years.

The Month
The Month 

February is one of the last two months to be added to the calendar at the beginning of the year (the other is January). This is because in the original Roman calendar, the two months of winter, when not much would happen in agriculture, did not have names.

February is the second month of the year, coming between January and March, and is also the shortest month, with 28 days in a common year, and 29 days in a leap year. 

February begins on the same day of the week as March and November in common years and on the same day of the week as August in leap years. February ends on the same day of the week as January in common years and October every year, as each other's last days are exactly 4 weeks (28 days) and 35 weeks (245 days) apart respectively. In a leap year, February is the only month to begin and end on the same day of the week.
Every year, February starts on the same day of the week as June of the previous year, as each other's first days are exactly 35 weeks (245 days) apart. In common years, February finishes on the same day of the week as May of the previous year, and in leap years, August and November of the previous year.

In common years immediately before other common years, February starts on the same day of the week as August of the following year, and in leap years and years immediately before that, May of the following year. In years immediately before common years, February finishes on the same day of the week as July of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, April and December of the following year.
February is also the only month of the calendar that, once every six years and twice every 11 years consecutively, either back into the past or forward into the future, will have four full 7-day weeks. In countries that start their week on a Monday, it occurs as part of a common year starting on Friday, in which February 1st is a Monday and the 28th is a Sunday, this was observed in 2021 and can be traced back 11 years to 2010, 11 years back to 1999, 6 years back to 1993, 11 years back to 1982, 11 years back to 1971 and 6 years back to 1965, and will be observed again in 2027 In countries that start their week on a Sunday, it occurs in a common year starting on Thursday, with the next occurrence in 2026, and previous occurrences in 2015 (11 years earlier than 2026), 2009 (6 years earlier than 2015), 1998 (11 years earlier than 2009) and 1987 (11 years earlier than 1998)
. This works unless the pattern is broken by a skipped leap year, but no leap year has been skipped since 1900 and no others will be skipped until 2100.
From circa 700 BC, when Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, added it to the calendar, February had 23 days and 24 days on some of every second year, until 46 BC when Julius Caesar assigned it 29 days on every fourth year and 28 days otherwise. Leap year Day, February 29, is added in every year that can be divided equally by four, such as 2012 and 2016, but this does not apply when the year ending in "00" at the turn of the century does not divide equally into 400. This means that 1600 and 2000 were leap years in the Gregorian calendar, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 were rather common years. This is where the Julian calendar calculated dates differently, as it always repeated February 29 every four years.

February is a winter month in the Northern Hemisphere and a summer month in the Southern Hemisphere. In each hemisphere, it is the seasonal equivalent of August in the other. In weather lore, Groundhog Day, in the United States, is set to decide what the weather will be like for the rest of the winter.
February's flower is the violet and its birthstone is the amethyst. The meaning of the amethyst is sincerity. The zodiac signs for February are Aquarius (January 21 to February 19), and Pisces (February 20 to March 20).

Events in February

Fixed Events
February 1 - Freedom Day (United States)
 February 1 - Imbolc (Paganism)
 February 2 - Groundhog Day (United States)
 February 2 - Candlemas (Western Christianity)
 February 2 - Inventor's Day (Thailand)
 February 2 - World Wetlands Day
 February 2 - Constitution Day (Philippines)
 February 3 - Heroes' Day (Mozambique)
 February 3 - Veterans' Day (Thailand)
 February 4 - Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
 February 4 - Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
 February 4 - World Cancer Day
 February 5 - Constitution Day (Mexico)
 February 5 - Runeberg's Birthday (Finland)
 February 5 - Unity Day (Burundi)
 February 6 - Waitangi Day (New Zealand)
 February 6 - Sámi National Day (Norway, Sweden, Finland, parts of Russia)
 February 6 - Ronald Reagan Day (California)
 February 7 - Independence Day (Grenada)
 February 10 - Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck (Malta)
 February 10 - Fenkil Day (Eritrea)
 February 11 - National Foundation Day (Japan)
 February 12 - Darwin Day
February 12 - Abraham Lincoln's birthday (United States)
 February 12 - Union Day (Burma)
 February 12 - Youth Day (Venezuela)
 February 14 - Valentine's Day
 February 14 - Statehood Day in Arizona and Oregon
 February 15 - Day of the Flag of Canada
 February 16 - Independence Day (Lithuania)
 February 17 - Celebrated as Independence Day in Kosovo
 February 18 - Independence Day (the Gambia)
 February 18 - International Asperger's Day
 February 21 - International Mother Language Day
 February 21 - Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
 February 21 - Biikebrennen, celebrated in Northern Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) and southern Denmark
 February 22 - George Washington's birthday (United States)
 February 22 - Independence Day (Saint Lucia)
 February 23 - Republic Day (Guyana)
 February 23 - National Day (Brunei)
 February 23 - Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
 February 24 - Independence Day (Estonia)
 February 24 - Flag Day (Mexico)
 February 25 - National Day (Kuwait)
February 25 - People Power Day (Philippines)
 February 25 - Soviet Occupation Day (Georgia)
 February 26 - Liberation Day (Kuwait)
 February 27 - National Day (Dominican Republic)
 February 28 - Kalevala Day (Finland)
 February 28 - National Science Day (India)
 February 28 - Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
 February 29 - Leap day
Moveable and month-long Events 

 Chinese New Year, falls on a new moon between January 21 and February 21.
 Lent-related observances in Western Christianity:
 Shrove Monday - can fall between February 2 and March 8
 Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) - can fall between February 3 and March 9
 Ash Wednesday, start of Lent - can fall between February 4 and March 10
 Carnival - most famous ones take place in Rio de Janeiro and Venice
 Black History Month (Canada and United States)
 Presidents' Day (United States) - Third Monday in February, celebrating the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
 Super Bowl (American football), usually on the first Sunday in February
 Six Nations (rugby union), tournament running from early February to mid-March between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
 Winter Olympics are often held in February, last in 2010, and next in 2014.

Selection of Historical Events
February 1, 1884 - The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
 February 1, 1953 - In the night from January 31, parts of the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom are severely flooded.
 February 1, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia breaks up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.
 February 2, 1913 - Grand Central Terminal in New York City is opened for the first time.
 February 3, 1931 - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits the cities of Napier and Hastings, New Zealand.
 February 3, 1959 - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper die in a plane crash in Iowa on the "Day The Music Died".
 February 4, 1948 - Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka, becomes independent.
 February 4, 2004 - Facebook is founded.
 February 5, 1818 - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte becomes King of Sweden.
 February 5, 1909 - Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite.
 February 6, 1788 - Massachusetts becomes a US State.
February 6, 1840 - The Treaty of Waitangi is signed in New Zealand, officially making it a British colony.
 February 6, 1952 - Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom becomes Queen.
 February 7, 1979 - Grenada becomes independent.
 February 8, 1542 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
 February 10, 1763 - In the Treaty of Paris, France has to give Quebec to Great Britain.
 February 10, 1863 - The fire extinguisher is patented.
 February 11, 1979 - Islamic Revolution.
 February 11, 1990 - In South Africa, Nelson Mandela is released from prison.
 February 11, 2011 - Hosni Mubarak resigns as President of Egypt, after widespread protests.
 February 11, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation, effective at the end of the month.
 February 12, 1809 - Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln are born on the same day.
 February 12, 1818 - Bernardo O'Higgins signs the Independence of Chile near Concepcion.
 February 13, 1668 - Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent country.
February 13, 1931 - New Delhi becomes the capital city of India.
 February 14, 1779 - James Cook is killed by local people in the Hawaiian Islands.
 February 15, 1965 - The Maple Leaf Flag becomes the Flag of Canada.
 February 15, 2013 - A meteorite explodes over Chelyabinsk, western Siberia, Russia, injuring over 1,000 people.
 February 16, 1918 - Lithuania declares independence.
 February 16, 1959 - Fidel Castro becomes leader of Cuba.
 February 17, 2008 - Kosovo declares independence from Serbia, which does not recognize it as an independent state.
 February 18, 1930 - Clyde Tombaugh discovers the dwarf planet Pluto.
 February 18, 1965 - The Gambia becomes independent.
 February 19, 1861 - Serfdom ends in Russia.
 February 20, 1472 - Orkney and Shetland become part of Scotland.
 February 20, 1929 - American Samoa becomes a US territory.
 February 21, 1613 - Mikhail I of Russia becomes Tsar, starting the Romanov Dynasty.
 February 21, 1848 - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto.
February 21, 1958 - The peace symbol is designed.
 February 22, 1862 - Jefferson Davis officially becomes President of the Confederate States of America.
 February 22, 1979 - Saint Lucia becomes independent.
 February 22, 2011 - A strong earthquake strikes the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people, and destroying the city's cathedral.
 February 23, 1941 - Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Glenn T. Seaborg.
 February 23, 1970 - Guyana becomes a republic.
 February 24, 1918 - Estonia declares independence.
 February 24, 2022 - Russia invades Ukraine.
 February 25, 1921 - Soviet Russia occupies Tbilisi, Georgia.
 February 25, 1947 - Prussia no longer exists from this date.
 February 25, 1986 - Through the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino becomes President of the Philippines.
 February 26, 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
 February 26, 1993 - A terrorist bomb explodes in a car park under the World Trade Center, New York City.
February 27, 1844 - The Dominican Republic becomes independent from Haiti.
 February 27, 2010 - The 2010 Cauquenes earthquake strikes Central Chile, causing major destruction and killing around 500 people.
 February 28, 1922 - Egypt declares independence.
 February 28, 1986 - Prime Minister of Sweden Olof Palme is murdered.
 February 29, 1960 - An earthquake strikes Agadir, Morocco, killing 3,000 people.
 February 29, 1984 - Pierre Trudeau announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Canada.
 February 29, 2004 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as President of Haiti following a popular rebel uprising.
Trivia 

 In February the Sun passes through zodiac constellations Capricornus and Aquarius.
 The signs of the zodiac within the month of February are Aquarius (January 21 to February 19) and Pisces (February 20 to March 20).
 February is the shortest month of the year.
 In a leap year, February 29 falls on the same day of the week as October 31.
 The birth flower of February is the violet.
 The Amethyst and the Pearl are considered birthstones of the month of February.
 Two of the most highly rated US Presidents were born in February - Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Other US Presidents born in February are Ronald Reagan and William Henry Harrison, who was the shortest-serving President.
 Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, two famous astronomers, were both born in February.

02
FAQ is an abbreviation for "Frequently Asked Question(s)". The term is used for a list of questions and answers. All of the questions are supposed to be asked often and they all are about the same thing. Since the acronym was first used in written form, there are different ways it is said; both "fak" and "F.A.Q." are commonly used. 

Internet slang
A flame is the part of a fire that can be seen. Flame might also mean:

 Flaming (internet) - Insult sent over the internet on purpose
 Flame polishing
 Flame retardant, a kind of material that resists heat and flame.
 Flame Nebula, a star in Orion's Belt

Organizations
 Calgary Flames, Canadian ice hockey team
 Atlanta Flames, original name of the Calgary Flames
 Guildford Flames, English ice hockey team
 Northumbria Flames, Northumbria University's ice hockey team
 Westchester Flames F.C., American football (soccer) team
 Canterbury Flames, New Zealand netball team
 Florida Flame, American basketball team
 Black Flame, publishing company

Wilflife
 Flame (moth), a kind of moth
 Flame Skimmer, a kind of dragonfly
 Flame maple, a kind of maple tree
 Flame Robin, a kind of robin

Other
 Flame gun
 Flame cell

Basic English 850 words
Financial capital is a form of capital. It is things that have value, but do not do anything by themselves. They are only valuable because people value (want) them. For example, money is a form of financial capital. You cannot do anything with money but it still has value.

Financial capital is used to pay for things, this is because there is always more of it and people always want it. This means that financial capital has a stable value and can be traded in most places and with most people.

Some forms of financial capital, such as stocks, gold or bonds are not wanted by everybody. However they can be traded with people for money or another type of financial capital. Because of this, these forms of financial capital do not have a stable price. This means that some people try to make a profit by buying and selling these types of financial capital in a market.
Some things are treated as financial capital, even though they do have a use. For example, some people buy and sell land but are not interested in doing anything with it. Some people think this sort of trade is bad because the land should be used and not just treated like money. Other types of capital, such as social capital and human capital are rarely treated like financial capital. This may be because they involve people. Treating useful capital like financial capital is called comodification.

In politics, a common question is how often the government should use financial capital. In particular, should the government use financial capital to make a profit? Traditionally, liberal politicians do not mind this kind of trading for profit, but socialist or conservative politicians are against it.

Factors of production
Finance
Fecund universes is a multiverse theory of Lee Smolin.  It relies on models of our universe and statistics from astrophysics but is more correctly a theory of cosmology.

In this theory, collapsing stars, or black holes, are always creating new universes with slightly different laws of physics.  Because these laws are only slightly different, each is assumed to be like a mutation of the original universe, as if each universe was a kind of single-celled organism.  It would reproduce by "splitting" in some sense.

This theory relies on many models of our universe to model these "mutated" alternative universes, the ones that Smolin supposes are generated or "spun off" by black holes. 

No human can ever be part of any of these "other" universes.  Observations from astrophysics can only say if the black holes exist or are common, and give some idea of how much the laws of physics can vary and still let the new universes produce new black holes.
Smolin predicts that there would be many black holes in the universe humans can see, since they are likely in a very late born universe, by simple probability.  If there are many black holes, that is evidence for his theory, 

As this shows, cosmology has a very different standard of evidence and burden of proof than is required for models of our universe only, which humans (using mathematics) can observe and exchange knowledge on.

It is hard to separate science from religion on such questions.  It may be a simple matter of preference whether one wants to see one's universe as part of a system like biology or like mechanics - clockwork.  Smolin's theory is important mostly because it challenges the mechanistic paradigm.
Even if it is wrong, it raises the idea that living beings might have to see their universe as also living to be able to understand or care about it at all.  Some compare Smolin's theory to Gaia philosophy which combines biology, geology and ecology to explain the Earth, our planet, as a living thing.  If both are right, humans are on a living planet in a living universe.  This idea is very appealing - which does not mean it is really "right".

Cosmology
Food is what people, plants and animals eat to live. Every organism needs energy to carry on with the process of living which comes from food. Food usually comes from animals and plants. It is eaten by living things to provide energy and nutrition. Food contains the nutrition that people and animals need to be healthy. The consumption of food is normally enjoyable to humans.

It contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, water and minerals. Liquids used for energy and nutrition are often called "drinks". If someone cannot afford food they go hungry.

Food for humans is mostly made through farming or gardening. It includes animal and vegetable sources. Some people refuse to eat food from animal origin, like meat, eggs, and products with milk in them. Not eating meat is called vegetarianism. Not eating or using any animal products is called veganism.
Food produced by farmers or gardeners can be changed by industrial processes (the food industry). Processed food usually contains several natural ingredients and food additives (such as preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers). For example, bread is processed food.

Food processing at home is done in the kitchen, by the cook. The cook sometimes uses a cookbook. Examples of cooking utensils are pressure cookers, pots, and frying pans.

Food can also be prepared and served in restaurants or refectory (in particular for children in school).

The utensils used may be a plate, knife, fork, chopsticks, spoon, bowl, or spork.

Many people do not grow their own food. They have to buy food that was grown by someone else. People buy most of their food in shops or markets. But some people still grow most or all of their own food.

People may buy food and take it home to cook it. They may buy food that is ready to eat from a street vendor or a restaurant.
Other countries have their own way of eating food. An example of an ethnic food is Mexican food.

Production of food  
Originally, people got food as hunter-gatherers. The agricultural revolution changed that. Farmers grew crops including those invented and improved by selective breeding. These improvements, for example the invention of maize, allowed feeding more people, and further improvements gave it a better taste.

Food shortage has been a big problem throughout history. Many people do not have enough money to buy the food that they need. Bad weather or other problems sometimes destroy the growing food in one part of the world. When people do not have enough food, we say that they are hungry. If they do not eat enough food for a long time, they will become sick and die from starvation. In areas where many people do not have enough food, we say that there is famine there.

Food and water can make people sick if it is contaminated by microorganisms, bad metals, or chemicals.
If people do not eat the right foods, they can become sick.
 If people do not eat enough protein, they get the disease called kwashiorkor.
 If they do not eat enough vitamin B1 (thiamine), they get the disease called beriberi.
 If they do not eat enough vitamin C, they get the disease called scurvy.
 If children do not eat enough vitamin D, they get the disease called rickets.

People may often have a variety of eating disorders that cause them to either eat too much, or not be able to eat certain things or amounts. Common diseases like Coeliac disease or food allergies cause people to experience ill effects from consuming certain foods that are normally safe. If people eat too much food, they can become overweight or obese. This causes numerous health problems. On the other hand, eating too little food, from lack of access or anorexia could cause malnutrition. Therefore, people have to balance the amount, the nutrition, and the type of food to be healthy.
Food in religions 
Many cultures or religions have food taboos. That means they have rules what people should not eat, or how the food has to be prepared. Examples of religious food rules are the Kashrut of Judaism and the Halal of Islam, that say that pig meat cannot be eaten. In Hinduism, eating beef is not allowed. Some Christians are vegetarian (someone who does not eat meat) because of their religious beliefs. For example, Seventh-day Adventist Church recommends vegetarianism.

In addition, sometime beliefs do not relate to the religion but belong to the culture. For example, some people pay respect to Guān Yīn mothergod and those followers will not consume "beef" as they believe that her father has a shape of the cow.

References

Basic English 850 words
If someone is found guilty of a crime, their punishment may be to pay a fine, a certain amount of money. In many countries, fines can be ordered by police, court judges and some government officers.

When agreeing to a contract with a business, a customer may agree to certain rules. If the customer breaks the rules, then they agree to pay a fine for doing so. For example, when somebody hires a car and agrees to return it by Friday, they agree that if they do not return the car by Friday, they must pay a $50 fine to the business.

Punishments
Money
Frying is cooking food in hot butter or vegetable oil or other fat. We can fry food in a small amount of fat in a pan or in a lot of oil in a pot. Some restaurants use deep frying to fry a large amount of food.

Cooking methods
Fish (plural: fish or fishes) are a group of animals with bones which live in water and respire (get oxygen) from their gills. As a group, they are much older than other vertebrates. The first fish developed about 500 million years ago.

Fish used to be a class of vertebrates.  Now the term covers five classes of animals that live in the water:
Jawless fish
Armoured fish
Cartilaginous fish
Ray-finned fish
Lobe-finned fish

There are more fish than four-limbed animals: there are over 33,000 described species of fish. Fish are usually covered with scales. They have two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Most fish are cold-blooded (poikilotherm).
There are many different kinds of fish. They live in fresh water in lakes and rivers (freshwater fish), and in salt water (marine fish) in the oceans. Some fish are less than one centimeter long. The largest fish is the whale shark, which can be almost 15 meters long and weigh 15 tons. Almost all fish live in the water. A group of fish called the lungfish have developed lungs because they live in rivers and pools which dry up in certain parts of the year. They burrow into mud and aestivate until the water returns.
The English word "fish" does not fit neatly into cladistics, which is the scientific way to put living things into groups.  So scientists call it a paraphyletic word.  This means that the animals called "fish" in English do not fit into just one phylum.  Some fish are more closely related to land animals than they are to other fish.  For example, lobe-finned fish were the first animals with bones to come live on land, and all land animals are their descendants.  Lobe-finned fish are more closely related to humans than to ray-finned fish.

Types of fish 
"Fish" is not a formal taxonomic grouping in systematic biology. Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals all descended from lobe-finned fish. But the use of the term "fish" is so convenient that we go on using it.

Fish are the oldest vertebrate group. The term includes a huge range of types, from the Middle Ordovician, about 490 million years ago, to the present day. These are the main groups:
Agnatha: the jawless fish. Cambrian to present day.
 Pteraspids: the head-shields
 Anaspids: gills opened as holes. Silurian to end-Devonian.
 Cephalaspids: early jawless fish
 Lampreys: living ectoparasites
 Osteostraci: bony-armoured jawless fish.
 Gnathostomata: the jawed fish. Includes all types commonly called fish, except the lamprey.
 Placoderms: heavily armoured fish
 Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish: sharks, rays and skates.
 Acanthodii: extinct spiny sharks
 Osteichthyes: bony fish.
 Actinopterygii: the ray-finned fish.
 Chondrostei: sturgeons and some other early types.
 Neopterygii: first seen in the later Permian, lighter and faster-moving than previous groups.
 Holostei: the gars and bowfins
 Teleostei: the most successful group, Triassic to present day.
 Sarcopterygii: the lobe-finned fish
 Dipnoi: the lungfish; eight genera survive.
 Coelacanths: two species survive. They were probably a sister-group to the tetrapods.
Certain animals that have the word fish in their name are not really fish: crayfish are Crustacea, and jellyfish are Cnidaria. Some animals look like fish, but are not. Whales and dolphins are mammals, for example.

Anatomy

Bony and cartilaginous fish 
Most kinds of fish have bones. Some kinds of fish, such as sharks and rays, do not have real bones. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, and so they are known as cartilaginous fish.
Fish scales 
All fish are covered with overlapping scales, and each major group of fish has its own special type of scale. Teleosts ('modern' fish) have what are called leptoid scales. These grow in concentric circles and overlap in a head to tail direction like roof tiles. Sharks and other chondrichthyes have placoid scales made of denticles, like small versions of their teeth. These also overlap in a head to tail direction, producing a tough outer layer. Shark skin is available for purchase as shagreen, a leather which as original is smooth in one direction, and rough in the other direction. It may be polished for use, but is always rough in texture and resistant to slipping.

The scales are usually covered with a layer of slime which improves passage through the water, and makes the fish more slippery to a predator.

There are various types of eel: most are in the Anguilliformes. Their life-style has evolved many times. Eels have scales with smooth edges or are absent.

Freshwater fish
Freshwater fish 

41% of all fish live in freshwater. There are also some important fish which breed in rivers, and spend the rest of their life in the seas. Examples are salmon, trout, the sea lamprey, and three-spined stickleback. Some fish are born in salt water, but live most of their mature lives in fresh water: for example the eels.
Species like these change their physiology to cope with the amount of salt in the water.

Saltwater fish 

59% of fish live in saltwater and are known as marine fish. Some of the common marine fish are from the family Pomacentridae and sub-family Pomacentrinae. Many of the smaller, colourful marine fish are used in aquariums.

Swimming 
Fish swim by exerting force against the surrounding water. There are exceptions, but this is usually done by the fish contracting muscles on either side of its body. This starts waves of flexion which travel the length of the body from nose to tail, generally getting larger as they go along.
Most fishes generate thrust using lateral movements of their body & tail fin (caudal fin). However, there are also species which move mainly using their median and paired fins. The latter group profits from the gained manoeuvrability. This is needed, for example, when living in coral reefs. Such fish cannot swim as fast as fish using their bodies & caudal fins.

Muscle 
Fish can swim slowly for many hours using red muscle fibres. They also make short, fast bursts using white muscle. The two types of muscle have a fundamentally different physiology. The red fibres are contined in the middle of the body along the spine and usually alongside a much greater number of white fibres.
The white fibres get their energy by converting the carbohydrate glycogen to lactate (lactic acid). This is anaerobic metabolism, that is, it does not need oxygen. They are used for fast, short bursts. Once the lactic acid builds up in the muscles, they stop working, and it takes time for the lactate to be removed, and the glycogen replaced. Using their white fibres, fish can reach speeds of 10 lengths per second for short bursts.

Swimming for long periods needs oxygen for the red fibres. The oxygen supply has to be constant because these fibres only operate aerobically. They are red because they have a rich blood supply, and they contain myoglobin. Myoglobin transports the oxygen to the oxidising systems. Red muscle gets its energy by oxidising fat, which weight for weight has twice as much energy as carbohydrate or protein. Using their red fibres, fish can keep up a speed of 35 lengths per second for long periods.

Swimming in groups
Many fish swim in groups.  Schools of fish can swim together for long distances, and may be chased by predators which also swim in schools. Casual groups are called 'shoals'.

Body shape 
The shape of the body of a fish is important to its swimming. This is because streamlined body shapes makes the water drag less. Here are some common fish shapes:-

The picture on the right shows a shark. This shark's shape is called fusiform, and it is an ovoid shape where both ends of the fish are pointy. This is the best shape for going through water quickly. Fishes with fusiform shapes can chase prey and escape predators quickly. Many live in the open ocean and swim constantly, like marlins, swordfish, and tuna. Ichthyosaurs, porpoises, dolphins, killer whales all have similar shapes. This is an example of convergent evolution.
Eel-like 
The long, ribbon-like shape of an eel's body shows another shape.  This enables them to hide in cracks, springing out quickly to capture prey, then returning quickly to their hiding spot.

Flatfish 

Flatfish live on the bottom of the ocean or lake. Most use camouflage: they change colours to match the ocean floor. During their early lives, their eyes move to the upper side of their flat body.

Reef fish also have flat bodies, and their body is often highly coloured. Flat bodies can slip in and out among the corals, sponges, and rocks, avoiding predators. Angelfish, surgeonfish, and butterflyfish are examples.

Fish as food 

Some people eat many different kinds of fish. These include carp, cod, herring, perch, sardines, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, tuna, and many others.  A person who buys and sells fish for eating is called a fishmonger.
The word to fish is also used for the activity of catching fishes.  People catch fish with small nets from the side of the water or from small boats, or with big nets from big boats.  People can also catch fish with fishing poles and fishhooks with bait.  This is often called angling.  Anglers also different types of fishing lures.

Because people are catching too many fish for food or other uses, there are less and less fish in the sea. This is a problem known as overfishing.

Fish as pets 
Selective breeding of carp made them into the domesticated koi in Japan, and goldfish in China. This breeding began over 2,000 years ago. The Chinese brought their goldfish indoors during the Song Dynasty. They kept them in large ceramic vessels. That we now do in glass fish tanks.

Gallery

Related pages 
 Shark

References 

Basic English 850 words
Foot is also the name of a unit of measurement. See foot (unit).

A foot (one foot, two or more feet) is a body part on the end of a leg. It is used when walking. It is also important for balance: it helps people stand straight. People also use it to kick, in both fighting and sports, football being an example.

People's hands and feet have the same shape: they both have five digits (the fingers and toes). Many other animals with backbones also have five digits. The part of the foot which joins it to the leg is called the heel. The bottom of the foot is called the sole. 

Most land vertebrates have feet, and there are many different sorts of foot. The feet of monkeys are much like the hands. The hard foot of an ungulate is a hoof. When an animal has soft feet, or feet with soft parts on the underside, it is called a paw. Many invertebrates also have feet.
Many use footwear to protect themselves from weather and dirt. There are multiple kinds of footwear, for example sandals, shoes, and boots.  When people do not remove footwear, especially in hot places or when they are very active, their feet can smell badly (foot odour).  Wearing footwear that is too big or small can be bad for the feet, causing blisters. People who have foot, leg, and back problems can also get help from special shoes. 

People have different traditions in different parts of the world for when to wear footwear.  For example, in many countries, usually do not wear their shoes or boots in a home.  In the United States people often wear shoes inside a home.  In Japan, people do not wear shoes in homes, and floors are often made of very soft materials. In Japan it is also important to keep the floors clean. In cultures where people always wear shoes, people sometimes think it is bad not to wear them.  Not wearing shoes can be good for the feet, especially if they are damaged.
Conditions like Athlete's foot affect the feet, causing the feet to feel dry and cracked.  Doctors who work with people's feet are podiatrists or chiropodists''.

Bones 
Half the bones in a human body are in the foot.  There are 26 bones there.  They are 14 phalanges (toes), 5 metatarsals (arch of the foot), and 7 tarsals (ankle bones).

Basic English 850 words
France ( or ; ), officially the French Republic (, ), is a country in Western Europe. It also includes various departments and territories of France overseas. 

Mainland France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is sometimes referred to as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the shape of its territory. 

France is a unitary semi-presidential republic. The head of state is the President, who is also a  politician. The Prime Minister is secondary to the President. 

Metropolitan France is bordered (clockwise from the North) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. The overseas departments and collectives of France share land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint Martin). France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes under the English Channel.
France is the largest country in the European Union and the second largest in Europe. It has been one of the world's most powerful countries for many centuries. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonized much of North America. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built one of the largest colonial empires of the time. This included large parts of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific Islands. France is a developed country and has a large economy. 

It is the most visited country in the world, with 82 million foreign visitors every year.
France was one of the first members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. It is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, NATO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. France has the largest number of nuclear weapons with active warheads, and the largest number of nuclear power plants, in the European Union.

France's official language is French, which is also official in 29 other countries. Some other French speaking countries include the Congo, Quebec, and Mauritius. 

An interesting fact is that the French King Louis XIX only enjoyed 20 minutes of royal fame after his father Charles X abdicated, leaving him to ascend the French throne in July 1830.
Geography and climate 
France is in Western Europe. France shares its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France has two mountain ranges near its borders: the Alps in the east and the Pyrenees in the south. The climate of southern France is similar to Greece which both have Mediterranean climate. There are many rivers in France, including the Seine and the Loire. In the north and the west of France, there are low hills and river valleys.

In France there are many different climates. The Atlantic has a major effect on the weather in the north and west. This means the temperature is about the same most of the year. It is in the marine west coast climate region. In the east, winters are cold and the weather is good. Summers are hot and stormy. In the south, winters are cool and wet. Summers are hot and dry. The north has a temperate climate similar to that of the United Kingdom and other Northern European countries.
France has the second-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world. It covers 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,637 sq mi). Only the United States has a larger one.

History

Name 
The name "France" comes from the Latin word Francia ', which means "land of the Franks".

Roman Gaul 
The borders of modern France are about the same as those of ancient Gaul. Celtic Gauls inhabited Ancient Gaul. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul for Rome in the 1st century BC. Eventually, the Gauls adopted Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. Christianity first appeared in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It became firmly established by the fourth and fifth centuries.
Franks 
In the 4th century AD, the Germanic tribes, principally the Franks invaded the Gauls. This is how the name Francie appeared. The modern name "France" comes from the name of the Capetian Kings of France around Paris. The Franks were the first tribe of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Christianity rather than Arianism. The French called themselves "the most Christian Kingdom of France".

The Treaty of Verdun (843), divided Charlemagne's Empire into three parts. The biggest area was Western Francia. It is similar to modern France.

Kingdom

Middle Ages 
The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet became King of France. His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, unified the country with many wars and dynastic inheritance.
Enlightenment 
The monarchy was the most powerful during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV of France. At that time, France had the largest population in Europe. The country had a big influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the common language of diplomacy in international affairs. Much of the Enlightenment happened in France. French scientists made big scientific discoveries in the 18th century. France also conquered many overseas possessions in the Americas and Asia.

Republic

Napoleonic Wars 
France had a monarchy until the French Revolution in 1789. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793. Thousands of other French citizens were killed. Napoleon Bonaparte took control of the Republic in 1799. He later made himself Emperor of the First Empire (1804–1814). His armies conquered most of continental Europe. The metric system was invented by French scientists during the French revolution. That time 3 estates were developed.
After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, another monarchy arose. Later Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte created the Second Empire in 1852. Louis-Napoléon was removed after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. The Third Republic replaced his regime.

Colonialism 
The large French colonial empire in the 19th century included parts of West Africa and Southeast Asia. The culture and politics of these regions were influenced by France. Many ex-colonies officially speak the French language.

World Wars 
The country actively took part in both the First and Second World Wars, with battles taking place on its soil. During the First World War, millions were killed in the trenches including over a million in the Battle of the Somme. The conditions were extremely difficult for the soldiers on the front. The last surviving veteran was Pierre Picault who died on 20 November 2008 at the age of 109.
During the Second World War, Nazis occupied France. The Allies landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944 and began the Battle of Normandy. German forces lost France in just a few months.

Divisions 

The 13 regions and 96 departments of metropolitan France include Corsica. France is divided into (administrative) regions:
 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
 Brittany (Bretagne)
 Centre-Val de Loire
 Corsica (Corse)
 Grand Est
 Hauts-de-France
 Île-de-France
 Normandy (Normandie)
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 Occitanie
 Pays de la Loire
 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Corsica has a different status than the other 12 metropolitan regions. It is called collectivité territoriale.

France also has five overseas regions:
 French Guiana (in South America)
 Guadeloupe (in the Caribbean)
 Martinique (in the Caribbean)
 Mayotte (in the Indian Ocean)
 Réunion (in the Indian Ocean)
These five overseas regions have the same status as the metropolitan ones. They are like the overseas American states of Alaska and Hawaii.