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Thirst for Oil

Werldwide every day，we devour the energyequivalent of about 200 million barrels of Oil.MoHt of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun.In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planet’s surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year，we just need to find an efficient way to use it.So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get at.But as supplies dwindle，this will change，and we will need to cure our addiction to oil.

Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution，when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice.Coal is still used，mostly in power stations，to cover orle quarter of our energy needs，but its use has been declining since wc Staned pumping up oil.Coal is the least efficient，unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel，but could make a comeback，as supplies are still plentiful;its reserves are five times larger than oil’s.

Today petroleum，a mineral oil obtained from below the surface of the Earth and used to produce petrol，diesel oil and various other chemical substances，provides around 40% of the world’s energy needs，mostly fuelling automobiles.The US consumes a quarter of all oil，and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions.

The majority of oil Comes from the Middle East，which has half of known reserves.But other significant sources include Russia，North America，Norway，Venezuela and the North Sea.Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge1 could be a major new US source，to reduce reliance on foreign imports.

Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years，though opinions and estimates vary.We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades，when demand exceeds supply. As conventional reserves become more difficuh to access.others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead.Petrol could also be obtained from coal.

Since we started using fossil fuels，we have released 400 billion tonnes2 of carbon，and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 13℃.Among other horrors，this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and tile inching of all Arctic ice.

詞匯：

devour/di5vauE (r)/v.吞沒，耗盡 dwindle/5dwindl/v.減少

dense/dens/adj.密集的 diesel oil 柴油

pump/pQmp/v.用泵抽吸 accessible/Ek5sesEbl/adj.可使用的，

可得到的

petrolcum/5petrEl/n.石油，原油 rainforest n.(熱帶)雨林

reliance/ri5laiEns/n.依賴，依靠 tar sand 瀝青砂

oil shale 油頁巖 destruction/dis5trQkFEn/n.破壞，毀滅

注釋：

1. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge：美國阿拉斯加北極國家野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)。2001年，美國眾議院通過了一項(xiàng)基于布什提出的在那里進(jìn)行石油開采的議案。該議案遭到環(huán)境保護(hù)主義組織的反對。因此，目前在該區(qū)禁止開采石油。

2. tonnes：公噸(=1，000公斤)。不同于ton。 ton：在美國等于二千磅(=0.907公噸)，所以稱作short ton：短噸。

練習(xí)：

1. “...we will need to cure our addiction to oil.” Why does the author say so?

A Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun.

B Oil supply is increasing all the time.

C Demand for oil is increasing all the time.

D Oil supply is decreasing.

2. Which of lhe following statements is NOT meant by the author，according to the second paragraph?

A Wood wets the fuel of choice before coal.

B The use of coal is declining.

C Coal is the most environmentally unfriendly fuel next to oil.

D Coal reserves are plentiful and will be likely to become the major fuel of

choice.

3. Which country is the biggest consumer of petroleum?

A The United States.

B Russia.

C Norway.

D Venezuela.

4. What do experts say about the earth’s fuel reserves?

A The earth’s fuel reserves will be accessible for the next 50 years.

B There will soon be an energy crisis.

C Conventional reserves will soon become inaccessible.

D Fuel demand will decline.

5. What is NOT the result of consuming fossil fuels according to the last paragraph?

A Rainforests will be destroyed.

B Arctic ice will be melted.

C The earth’s temperature will be raised.

D The sea level will go up.

答案與題解：

1. D 答案在第一段最后一句中。這里的xupplies指oil supplies。

2. C 短文的第二段告訴我們，木材曾經(jīng)是主要燃料來源，然后被煤所替代;白人們開始采油后，對煤的需求下降了，但因?yàn)槊旱膬α窟h(yuǎn)大于石油，它可能又會成為主要燃料，盡管它對環(huán)境最具破壞力。所以A、B、D均是作者的意思，而C不是。ncxt to oil除石油以外。

3. A 文章的第三段說，美國消耗全世界四分之一的石油。

4. B 答案在第五段第二句中。該段第一句說，地球上的燃料儲量將在50年內(nèi)耗盡，所以A不是正確選擇;第三句的意思是，常規(guī)燃料的獲取將變得困難，而不是不可獲得，所以C也不是正確選擇;D明顯不是作者的意思。

5. D 選項(xiàng)A、B、I：都是最后一段中所表達(dá)的意思，所以D是正確選擇。