open (READFILE, $filename)|| die "Failed to open $filename: $!";
my $filecontents;
{
    local undef $/;
    $filecontents = <READFILE>;
}
close <READFILE>;

my @words = $filecontents =~ / ... /g;
my $wordcount = scalar @words;

my @characters = ...

my @sentences = ...

# etc