Teacher’s Key for Final Exam VERSIÓN

YOUTH 14 2

Please do not write on this material

Total score:
Reading: Listening: Writing:
+ 5.0 Speaking Task
5.0 5.0 5.0

Reading task (total marks: 5.0) Subcompetences assessed: 1, 3

There are 10 questions. For every complete answer award (0.5) point. If the student gives answers that correspond
to the information provided on the text but that are not complete, award 0.25 points. For incorrect answers do
not award any points.
Full Half
Suggested answers
marks marks
1. What kind of environment do deep-sea corals live in?
0.5 0.25 They live in places up to 6,000 m below the ocean’s surface. There the water is icy cold and the light
dim or absent.
2. Where do deep-sea corals grow?
0.5 0.25
They grow in continental shelves and slopes, in ocean canyons, and on tall seamounts.
3. How are these corals usually formed?
0.5 0.25 They are formed by individual coral polyps, diverse colonies with many polyps of the same species,
and reefs with many colonies with one or more species.
4. What shapes do deep-sea corals have? / What shapes do deep-sea corals come in?
0.5 0.25
They can include branching, fan-shaped, and feather-shaped forms.
5. What sizes of corals have scientist found?
0.5 0.25 Small as a grain of rice, tall as 10 m in tree-like coral colonies, and massive coral reefs that stretch for
40 km.
6. What do deep-sea corals provide organisms with? (Name 2)
- Habitat for vertebrate and invertebrate species
0.5 total - Food
--
0.25 each - Places to hide from predators
- Nurseries for juveniles
- A solid surface for invertebrates to take hold.
7. Why are species like shrimp and crabs important to humans? Use your own words.
0.5 0.25 They are important because they can be sold to make money. / Because people can sell them to make
business.
8. What benefits do the sponges found in deep-sea corals have for human beings?
0.5 0.25 They produce chemicals/compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-viral properties, and anti-tumor
activity against human lung and breast cancer cells.
9. What are two threats to the deep-sea corals? Explain one.
- Bottom trawling: smooths out the sea-floor, changes the ecosystem, and destroys corals.
- Oil and gas exploration and development: destroys coral reef.
0.5 0.25
- Climate change: (Students’ explanation based on their own background knowledge).
- Ocean acidification: The ocean absorbs excess carbon dioxide from the air; this changes the ocean’s
chemistry and causes slower growth and weaker skeletons in corals.
10. What is the author’s intention with this article? (Answers may vary)
0.5 0.25 He wants people to know about deep-sea corals and protect them. He wants deep-sea corals to be
protected by people.
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Listening section (total marks: 5.0) Subcompetences assessed: 9, 10

Full marks (0.5) are awarded for each sentence with the correct information. Half a mark (0.25) is awarded for fragments that
correspond to the info presented in the audio text. If the information is incorrect, award zero. For questions 1 and 6 award 0.5

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 Teacher’s Key for Final Exam VERSIÓN
YOUTH 14 2

points. Full marks (0.5) are awarded for each sentence with the correct information. Half a mark (0.25) is awarded for
fragments that correspond to the info presented in the audio text. If the information is incorrect, award zero. Please refer to
the answer key for more details.
Full Full
Suggested answers Suggested answers
mark mark
0.5 Corals are important because…
They provide food, shelter for other species, protection of shorelines, jobs based on tourism, and even
medicines.
Causes of Threats (students only need to write 4) Their effects (students only need to write 4)
Some species that prey on adult corals. Animals They are voracious predators and can kill the
like the crown-of-thorns sea star fish. coral in less than a year.
Competitors like seaweeds. They grow faster than corals and contain nasty
chemicals that can injure the coral.
2.0 Rising water temperatures = Coral bleaching 2.0 The corals lose the algae that produce the food
(0.5 (0.5 they need. Coral colonies can be killed or
each) each) vulnerable.
Ocean acidification or more acidic seawater Corals can’t build their skeletons. It could break
apart the existing skeletons.
Runoff from lawns, sewage, cities, and farms. It feeds the algae that can overwhelm reefs.
Deforestation Accelerates soil erosion clouding water and
smothering corals.
0.5 A possible solution (students should only write one)
- Make sure there is a healthy fish community and that water surrounding the reefs is clean.
- Have fish that eat seaweeds and keep them from damaging the corals. Fish that also eat predators of corals.
- Reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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Listening section script

Looking for more information on marine life, you come across an interview with an expert on the topic, who is leading the
Smithsonian’s effort to increase public understanding of the world’s ocean. Listen to the interview and complete the chart.

Presenter: Today we have a very special guest; Dr. Nancy Knowlton, expert on marine life. Welcome Dr. Knowlton. We know
that your field of work is corals and coral reefs, what can you tell us about the topic?
Dr. Knowlton: Thank you for inviting me. Well, coral reefs are the most diverse of all marine ecosystems. They are very
important because they provide food, shelter for other species, protection of shorelines, jobs based on tourism, and even
medicine. Because they are so diverse and rich, they are often called the rainforests of the sea.

P: Interesting! They’re also known as the big cities of the sea, right?
Dr. K: That’s right! Unfortunately, there are several things coral reefs need to fight against in order to survive. In some places,
reefs have been entirely destroyed, and in many places today reefs are a pale shadow of what they once were.

P: How sad! Can you tell us more about this?

Dr. K: Of course. There are some species that prey on adult corals. Crown-of-thorns sea stars, for example, are particularly
voracious predators in many parts of the Pacific Ocean. Population explosions of these predators can result in a reef being
covered with tens of thousands of these starfish, with most of the coral killed in less than a year.
Corals also have to worry about competitors. They use the same nematocysts that catch their food to sting other invading
corals and keep them at bay. Seaweed are a particularly dangerous competitor; they typically grow much faster than corals
and contain nasty chemicals that injure the coral as well.

P: I guess those can be called “internal threats”, are there any “external threats”?
Dr. K: Absolutely! The greatest threats to reefs are rising water temperatures and ocean acidification. High water
temperatures cause corals to lose the microscopic algae that produce the food corals need—a condition known as coral
bleaching. Severe or prolonged bleaching can kill coral colonies or leave them vulnerable to other threats. Meanwhile, ocean
acidification means more acidic seawater, which makes it more difficult for corals to build their calcium carbonate skeletons.

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 Teacher’s Key for Final Exam VERSIÓN
YOUTH 14 2

And if acidification gets severe enough, it could even break apart the existing skeletons that already provide the structure for
reefs.

P: Wow!
Dr. K: And there’s more. Overfishing and overharvesting of corals also disrupt reef ecosystems. If care is not taken, boat
anchors and divers can scar reefs. Invasive species also threaten coral reefs. The lionfish, native to Indo-Pacific waters, has a
fast-growing population in waters of the Atlantic Ocean. With such large numbers the fish could greatly impact coral reef
ecosystems through consumption of, and competition with, native coral reef animals.

Even activities that take place far from reefs can have an impact. Pollutants from lawns, sewage, cities, and farms feed algae
that can overwhelm reefs. Deforestation speeds up soil erosion, which clouds water—smothering corals.

P: That’s not a very promising scene. Is there anything that can be done?
Dr. K: Absolutely! There is much that we can do locally to protect coral reefs, by making sure there is a healthy fish community
and that the water surrounding the reefs is clean. Well-protected reefs today have much healthier coral populations, and are
more resilient to natural disasters.
Fish play important roles on coral reefs, particularly the fish that eat seaweed and keep them from smothering corals. Fish
also eat the predators of corals, such as crown-of-thorns starfish.
Clean water is also important. That’s why land erosion is so bad. Seawater with too many nutrients speeds up the growth of
seaweed and increases the food for predators of corals when they are developing as larvae in the plankton. Clean water
depends on careful use of the land, avoiding too many fertilizers and erosion caused by deforestation and certain construction
practices. Reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is increasing rapidly due to burning of fossil fuels, will determine
the future of coral reefs around the world.
Script adapted from http://ocean.si.edu/corals-and-coral-reefs
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FOR TEACHER´S USE ONLY. DO NOT WRITE HERE.

Writing section (total marks: 5.0)
Subcompetences assessed: 6, 7

Check the following criteria according to what the student wrote. Award a full mark (1) when the criteria are fully
completed. Award a half mark (0.5) when the criteria are evident but not fully completed. Award a zero (0) when
the criteria are not completed.
The student: YES SW NO
writes a complete letter of reasonable length (minimum 22 lines) including
MEANING

the suggested items.

organizes his/her ideas in a coherent way that is easy to read and
understand.
writes connected ideas that show an appropriate structural pattern in English
(S V C).
FORM

Writes complete, coherent and cohesive texts (letters and biographies) by

combining different language structures.
Appropriately, uses different verb tenses such as simple present, present
progressive, present perfect, simple past, past progressive, past perfect, etc.
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