Deep Sea Treasures RI.2.6 Achieve 3000

Select the best summary of the article.

• A group of international scientists urged the ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" could be established around areas targeted for mining.

• Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold, and the rare earth elements vital in the manufacturing of smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor, where these can be found.

• Rising demand for minerals found in the deep sea is causing a prospecting rush to the seafloor, but conservationists warn that this could do great damage.

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CCSS.RI.11-12.10

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

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CCSS.RI.9-10.10

What is the author's purpose for writing the article? Choose TWO

• To inform the reader about the rush to mine the minerals in the ocean floor

• To show how the technology used to mine the ocean floor works

• To entertain the reader with a story about ocean treasures

• To persuade the reader that the ocean environment should be protected

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

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CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Select the sentences that develop the idea that there is a rush to mine the minerals in the ocean floor. Choose THREE

• Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold, and the rare earth elements vital in the manufacturing of smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor, where these can be found.

• So far, most of ISA's contracts have been issued for the deep abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone.

• "The pace of activity has increased dramatically over the last five years," said Michael Lodge.

• So far, it has issued 27 exploration contracts to companies that want to mine the seabed. The large majority of these 15-year contracts were issued since 2011. They allow for mineral prospecting in large areas—more than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles)—of seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

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CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

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What effect do the underlined words have on the text?

These contracts have alarmed conservationists. They warn that the deep ocean's fragile biodiversity must be protected. They argue that not nearly enough is known about the risks of extracting minerals from the seabed.

• They have a positive connotation and convey how mining the seabed will not harm the environment.

• They are neutral and have no effect on the text.

• They have a negative connotation and convey how mining the seabed is dangerous to the environment

What is the author's point of view?

• The ocean environment should be protected.

• The rising demand for minerals is a sufficient reason for mining the ocean floor

• People should use less technology

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

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Why does the author include these details?

Current proposals for the oceans over the next several decades "look uncomfortably similar to what we did to land in the 1700s and 1800s," McCauley said. That's when rural farmland and forests were rapidly industrialized. McCauley pointed out that the onset of the land-based industrialization was associated with a spike in animal extinction rates.

• To use statistics or data to show what happens when an area is industrialized

• To provide a definition of industrialized

• To show a cause and effect relationship when an area is rapidly industrialized

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CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

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Why does the author include this information?

But there are basic steps that humanity can take to approach seabed mining intelligently, he added. First, learn what biodiversity is down there before mining. Second, go slowly on exploration contracts and study the impacts of mining as it is happening. Third, set up systems of protected areas before, not after, mining starts.

• To share a story or anecdote about mining

• To discuss a solution to the problem described in the article

• To provide a definition of mining intelligently

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Select the sentences that develop the author's point of view. Choose THREE

• They warn that the deep ocean's fragile biodiversity must be protected.

• A group of international scientists urged the ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" could be established around areas targeted for mining.

• You can't really blame people in the 1700s for the damage they did to the environment," McCauley said. "But we certainly are to blame if we don't do seabed mining properly."

• Other desirable exploration areas are found in the Western Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The ISA estimates that one site could provide up to 25 percent of the annual global market for cobalt.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6