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Table of specifications

Contents
Number
Skills CEF competences Test items Marks
of items
Topics Language

The human Marginal modals Linguistic • Identifying ideas

A – Listening footprint • lexical • Completing information 4 40
Modal
• grammatical • Ordering information
Blue meets green expressions with
B – Reading • semantic • Matching
a future meaning
(300-500 Baby will be old • orthographic • Multiple choice
• Short answer (text 4 60
words) The passive:
Life by design Pragmatic comprehension)
• causative have
Back to basics or get • functional • Short answer (gap filling;
C – Language • passive • discursive sentence completion; 4 50
without agent rephrasing)

Reported speech:
D – Writing reporting verbs • Essay (120-180 words) 1 50

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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A – LISTENING/VIEWING 40 marks

1. Watch the first part of the video. What is it about? Choose the correct option.
3 marks

⃝ a. Environmental problems in the world.

⃝ b. Facts about the environment in Asia.
⃝ c. Facts about the environment in the United Arab Emirates.
⃝ d. Environmental problems in the EU.

2. Complete the sentences by choosing the correct option to complete the sentences.
12 marks (4 x 3 marks)

a. UAE residents have one of the ______________ ecological footprints.

1. tiniest 2. least large 3. largest

b. Our ecological footprint refers to our ______________ on planet Earth.

1. interest 2. impact 3. Income

c. If everyone on the planet lived and consumed the same way they do, we would need
______________ planet Earths.
1. 5.4 2. 4.5 3. 3.5

d. People are ______________ the planet’s resources very quickly.

1. depleting 2. deleting 3. dealing

3. Watch the second part and order the sentences accordingly. 15 marks (5 x 3 marks)

⃝ a. Choosing imported beef results in a cascade of environmental costs.

⃝ b. Some of our choice of products may lead to an increase in natural disasters.
⃝ c. Our daily actions and choices make a difference.
⃝ d. Meat processing, packaging and transportation require vast amounts of carbon
intensive energy.
⃝ e. Most of what we consume is imported.

4. Match the beginnings of the sentences with the correct endings, according to what is said
in the last part of the video. 10 marks (5 x 2 marks)

We need to stop and a. 1. with more sustainable ones.

Replace them b. 2. your waste.
Choose c. 3. what you buy.
Try to reduce d. 4. public transport.
Be wise about e. 5. think, adopt new habits.
6. grow more vegetables.
7. the household energy.
8. renewable sources of energy.

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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B – READING 60 marks

1. Write about 30-40 words on the message conveyed in the picture stating your opinion.
10 marks

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. Read the following text.

What does 2017 hold for climate change policy?

President-Elect Donald Trump has said that

"nobody really knows" if climate change is real.
His nominee for the head of the Environmental
Protection Agency is a noted climate skeptic.
5 The overall mood in the climate science
community is grim. After years of warning that
the planet is warming, researchers are becoming increasingly outspoken about the effects
already being seen. Average temperatures have risen by about 0.85 degrees Celsius
(1.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial norms. The Arctic is warming twice as fast
10 as the rest of the globe, and scientists say Arctic sea ice will vanish during summertime
by the middle of the century. At the other pole, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
is threatening to collapse, which could have a major impact on sea level rise.
"Our actions over the next four years will continue to alter the planet permanently”,
Sarah Myhre, an oceanographer and climate scientist at the University of Washington in
15 Seatle, told Live Science. "We're talking about changing the entire planet forever. These
are really serious, huge problems. They are not an abstraction”.
Researchers are also becoming less reluctant to attribute weather events to climate
change. The California drought of 2014 was partially due to greenhouse gas warming,
according to a report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
20 and when 22 separate research teams analysed data over five droughts and heat waves
in 2013, they found the impact of climate change on all of them.
Climate change raises the risk of unusual and extreme weather, scientists say.
"Realistically, we only have a few years to act if we are to limit warming below
catastrophic levels”, Michael E. Mann, an atmospheric scientist at Pennsylvania State
25 University, told Live Science.
Climate scientists consider 2 degrees Celsius (3.5 degrees Fahrenheit) a dangerous
level of warming that would send sea levels up by metres, increase severe droughts and
make some areas along the equator unlivable, Mann said. Some scientists think even
2 degrees is too much – researcher and climate activist James Hansen has argued that
30 even that level of warming will inundate coastlines and alter the environment irreversibly.

http://www.livescience.com/57346-2017-climate-science-predictions.html
(abridged and adapted), accessed in January 2016

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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3. Decide who or what the following words refer to in the text. 15 marks (5 x 3 marks)

a. his (l. 3) _____________________________

b. which (l. 12) _____________________________
c. our (l. 13) _____________________________
d. they (l. 21) _____________________________
e. them (l. 21) _____________________________

4. Find the synonyms for these words in the first four paragraphs. 20 marks (5 x 4 marks)

a. disbeliever _______________________________________
b. general __________________________________________
c. negative depressing ________________________________
d. communicative ____________________________________
e. unwilling _________________________________________

5. Answer these questions based on the ideas in the text. 15 marks (3 x 5 marks)

5.1. What are some of the effects of climate change referred to in the text?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

5.2. Are most dramatic weather events caused by climate changes? Justify by quoting from
the text.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

5.3. What might be some of the consequences of an increase of 2 degrees?

______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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C – LANGUAGE 50 marks

1. Choose the correct modal to complete the following sentences. 10 marks (5 x 2 marks)

1.1. Some people ____________________ think about the dramatic impact of global
warming. They are in denial or too afraid.
a. ought b. daren’t c. needn’t

1.2. Politicians ____________________ take stronger measures and agree on regulations

concerning the environment, for the sake of the planet.
a. ought to b. needn’t c. daren’t

1.3. With global warming, hurricanes ____________________ be more frequent than

before.
a. might b. can’t c. won’t

1.4. ____________________ the common citizen ever be able to force politicians to take
action on our planet’s health?
a. Couldn’t b. Won’t c. Will

1.5. ____________________ we remind the new American administration that our planet
is the only one we have?
a. Ought to b. Need c. Daren’t

2. Complete the text with six words from the box. 18 marks (6 x 3 marks)

melting burning climate

storms greenhouse increase

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual a. ______________________

in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is
believed to be permanently modifying the Earth’s b. ______________________.
The scientific consensus on climatic changes related to global warming is that the average
temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years. The
increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other c. ______________________ gases
released by the d. ______________________ of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture and
other human activities, are believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that
has occurred over the past 50 years. Changes resulting from global warming may include
rising sea levels due to the e. ______________________ of the polar ice caps, as well as
an increase in occurrence and severity of f. ______________________ and other severe
weather events.

http://www.livescience.com/topics/global-warming (abridged),
accessed in January 2017

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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3. Choose the correct reporting verb to fill in the gaps. 12 marks (4 x 3 marks)

apologised suggested reminded insisted

a. “You must help me create a flyer for my project”, he said.

A student ____________________ that I help him create a flyer for his project.

b. “It is a good idea to check on the internet for more ideas.”

I ____________________ checking on the net for more ideas.

c. “Sorry, I can’t help you with the homework.”

I ____________________ for not being able to help her with the structure.

d. “Don’t forget to alert people to recycle and save energy.”

I ____________________ her to alert people to recycle and save energy.

4. Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. 10 marks (2 x 5 marks)

a. No one has really implemented vertical gardens here.

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

b. People hide political scams against the environment every day.

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

D – WRITING 50 marks

In about 120-180 words, comment on the following quote expressing your opinion.

Refer to:

• how the climate is changing;

• areas of the world most affected;
• the impact we have had on the
planet;
• What actions must we take to
tackle the problem;
• …

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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ANSWER KEY

A – Listening/Viewing

Environmental problems in the UAE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BlJxGcd5A)

1. a.
2. a. 3; b. 2; c. 2; d. 1.
3. a. 3; b. 4; c. 1; d. 5; e. 2.
4. a. 5; b. 1; c. 4; d. 2; e. 3.

B – Reading
1. Personal answer.
3. a. Donald Trump’s;
b. the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is threatening to collapse;
c. people’s;
d. 22 separate research teams;
e. data over five droughts and heat waves in 2013.
4. a. skeptic (l. 4); b. overall (l. 5); c. grim (l. 6); d. outspoken (l. 7); e. reluctant (l. 17).
5.1. The average temperatures have risen by about 0.85 degrees Celsius, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the
rest of the globe, and scientists say Arctic sea ice will vanish during summertime by the middle of the century,
while the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is threatening to collapse, which could have major impacts on sea level
rise.
5.2. Yes, they are. “The California drought of 2014 was partially due to greenhouse gas warming, according to a
report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and when 22 separate research teams
analyzed data over five droughts and heat waves in 2013, they found of the impact of climate change on all of
them.” (ll. 18-21)
5.3. Such an increase would send sea levels up by metres, inundating coastlines, causing more severe droughts,
making some areas along the equator unlivable and altering the environment irreversibly.

C – Language
1.1. b.
1.2. a.
1.3. a.
1.4. c.
1.5. b.
2. a. increase; b. climate; c. greenhouse; d. burning; e. melting; f. storms.
3. a. instead; b. suggested; c. apologised; d. reminded.
4. a. Vertical gardens haven’t really been implemented here.
b. Political scams against the environment are hidden every day.

D – Writing
Personal answer.

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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Correction criteria
Test items Criteria

• Correct/incorrect
• Multiple choice
– Sequencing items will only be given marks if the whole sequence is correct
• True / false
– One mark off in true/false items for each incorrect quotation from the text, when
• Matching
applicable
• Sequencing
– One mark off in true/false items for each incorrect answer, if quotation from the
• Short answer (gap filling)
text is correct, when applicable

• Short answer (sentence completion; • One mark less for each language mistake, up to a maximum of 3 marks
rephrasing) • Incomprehensible or decontextualised answers will be marked wrong

• Short answer (text comprehension) • One mark less for language mistakes, up to a maximum of 3 marks

41 to 50: The student shows excellent writing skills; totally respects the topic or text
type; presents his own ideas about the topic, contextualises and develops them; uses
appropriate and varied cohesive devices; organises the text in a coherent manner;
mistakes (structure or spelling) are irrelevant for the comprehension of message.

31 to 40: The student shows reasonable writing skills; respects the topic or the text
type; presents some ideas about the topic and contextualises them; uses simple
cohesive devices but not always successfully; choice of words is good; makes few
mistakes (structure or spelling) which hardly affect the message.

21 to 30: The student shows some writing skills; respects the topic or the text type;
presents some ideas about the topic and tries to contextualise them; uses some
cohesive devices but the text is slightly disorganised; choice of words is adequate;
makes some mistakes (structure or spelling) which sometimes make message slightly
• Essay
confusing.

11 to 20: The student shows poor writing skills; only partially respects the topic or the
text type; presents some ideas about the topic but the text is slightly confused; uses
few cohesive devices but the text is not well organised; choice of words is poor;
makes some mistakes (structure or spelling) which sometimes impede meaning.

0 to 10: The student shows very poor writing skills; doesn’t fully respect the topic or
the text type; ideas are scarce and mostly decontextualised; uses few cohesive
devices and the text is disorganised; choice of words is very poor; makes many
mistakes (structure or spelling) which sometimes make message incomprehensible or
illegible.
Note: the student will get 0 marks if the topic or text type is not respected, or if the
whole text is incomprehensible or illegible.

© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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A – Listening B – Reading C – Language D – Writing

Total Mark
1 2 3 4 Total 1 3 4 5 Total 1 2 3 4 Total 1 Total
No. Name 3 12 15 10 40 10 15 20 15 60 10 18 12 10 50 50 50 200
1
2
3
4
© ASA • Upgrade 11 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões

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6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30