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.

　　词汇：

　　devour/di5vauE (r)/v.吞没，耗尽 dwindle/5dwindl/v.减少

　　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.(热带)雨林

　　reliance/ri5laiEns/n.依赖，依靠 tar sand 沥青砂

　　oil shale 油页岩 destruction/dis5trQkFEn/n.破坏，毁灭

　　注释：

　　1. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge：美国阿拉斯加北极国家野生动物保护区。2001年，美国众议院通过了一项基于布什提出的在那里进行石油开采的议案。该议案遭到环境保护主义组织的反对。因此，目前在该区禁止开采石油。

　　2. tonnes：公吨(=1，000公斤)。不同于ton。 ton：在美国等于二千磅(=0.907公吨)，所以称作short ton：短吨。

　　练习：

　　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.

　　答案与题解：

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

　　2. C 短文的第二段告诉我们，木材曾经是主要燃料来源，然后被煤所替代;白人们开始采油后，对煤的需求下降了，但因为煤的储量远大于石油，它可能又会成为主要燃料，尽管它对环境最具破坏力。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 文章的第三段说，美国消耗全世界四分之一的石油。

　　4. B 答案在第五段第二句中。该段第一句说，地球上的燃料储量将在50年内耗尽，所以A不是正确选择;第三句的意思是，常规燃料的获取将变得困难，而不是不可获得，所以C也不是正确选择;D明显不是作者的意思。

　　5. D 选项A、B、I：都是最后一段中所表达的意思，所以D是正确选择。

　　Explorer of the Extreme Deep

　　Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. Yet，just a small fraction of the undcrwaler world has been uxplored. Now，Scientists at the Woods Hole1 Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are building an underwater vehicle hat will carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters (21,320 feet).The new machine，known as a manned submersible or human-operated vehicle (HOV)，will replace another one named Alvin2 which bas an amazing record of discovery，playing a key role in various important and famous undersea expeditions.Alvin has been operating for 40 years but can go down only 4,500 meters (14,784 feet).It’s about time for an upgrade，WHOI researchers say.

　　Alvin was launched in 1964.Since then，Alvin has worked between 200 and 250 days a year，says Daniel Fornari，a marine geologist and director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI.During its lifetime，Alvin has carried some 12,000 people on a total of more than 3,000 dives. A newer，better versions of Alvin is bound to reveal even more surprises ahout a world that is still full of mysteries，Fornari says.It might also make the job of exploration a little easier.“We take so much for granted on land,” Fornari says.“We can walk around and see with our eyes how big things are. We can see colors，special arrangements.”

　　Size-wise，the new HOV will be similar to Alvin.It’ll be about 37 feet long.The setting area inside will be a small sphere，about 8 feet wide，like Alvin，it’ll carry a pilot and two passengers.It will be just as maneuverable.In most other ways，it will give passengers more opportunities to enjoy the view，for one thing.Alvin has only three windows，the new vehicle will have five，with more overlap so that the passengers and the pilot can see the same thing.

　　Alvin can go up and down at a rate of 30 meters every second，and its maximum speed is 2 knots (about 2.3 miles per hour)，while the new vehicle will be able to ascend and descend at 44 meters per second.It’ll reach speeds of 3 knots，or 3.5 miles per hour.

　　词汇：

　　fraction/5frAkFEn/n.一部分 dive/daiv/v.& n.潜水;跳水

　　underwater/5QndE5wC:tE(r)/adj. bound/baund /adj.受约束的，一定的

　　水下的;adv.在水下

　　sphere/sfiE(r)/n.球体;范围 manned/5mAnd/adj.载人的

　　maneuverable/mE5nu:vErEbl/adj. undersea/5QndEsi:/ adj.海底的

　　机动的，可调动的 submersible/sQb5mE:sEbl/n.潜艇;潜水器

　　overlap /5EuvE5lAp/v.& n.重叠 upgrade/5Qp^reid/n.升级

　　ascend/E5send/ v.上升 geologist/dVi5ClEdVist/n.地质学家

　　注释：

　　1. Woods Hole：美国马萨诸塞州的一个渔村，但同时拥有许多重要研究机构，如：the Marine Biological Laboratory，the Sea Education Association以及the Woods Hole Oceanographic lnstitution。

　　2. Alvin：世界上第一个深海潜水器，它最有名的深海探测包括1986年对泰坦尼克号残骸的测量工作。

　　练习：

　　1. What is Alvin?

　　A A research institute.

　　B A transporting vehicle.

　　C A submersible.

　　D A scientist.

　　2. Which of the following statements is NOT a fact about Alvin?

　　A h can carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters.

　　B It has played a key role in various important undersea expeditions

　　C It was launched in the sixties of the twentieth century.

　　D It has been used for more than 40 years.

　　3. “...a world that is still full of mysteries” refers to

　　A the earth.

　　B out space.

　　C the ocean.

　　D Mars.

　　4. In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin similar?

　　A Size.

　　B Speed.

　　C Capacity.

　　D Shape.

　　5. In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin different?

　　A Offering better views.

　　B Speed.

　　C Size.

　　D Both A and B.

　　答案与题解：

　　1. C 短文第一段的第四、第五句提供了答案

　　2. A 文章第一段从第三句开始说，科学家正在研制一艘可将研究人员带到6 500米深处的潜水装置，而它将替代Alvin，因为Alvin只能潜到4 500米深处。A不是事实，所以是正确选择。

　　3. C 本文讨论探索海底世界的潜水装置，所以“充满神秘色彩的世界”指的就是海洋。

　　4. D 第三段的头三个句子告诉我们，HOV和Alvin在体积上和容量上相似。所以D是正确选择。

　　5. D 第三段最后两句告诉我们，Alvin只有三个窗户，而HOV有五个。最后一段告诉我们，两艘潜水装置的上下活动速度和行进速度有所差别。所以D是正确选择。

　　Plant Gas

　　Scientists have been studying natural sources of methane for decades but hadn’t regarded plants as a producer，notes Frank Keppler，a geochem[st at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg，Germany1.Now Keppler and his colleagues find that plants，from grasses to trees，may also be sources of the greenhouse gas.This is really surprising，because most scientists assumed that methane production requires an oxygen-free environment.

　　Previously，researchers had thought that it was impossible for plants to make significant amounts of the gas.They had assumed that，microbes2 need to be in environments without oxygen to produce methane.Methane is a greenhouse gas，like carbon dioxide.Gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere and contributeto global warming.

　　In its experiments，Keppler’s team used sealed chambers that contained the same concentration of oxygen that Earth’s atmosphere has.They measured the amounts of methane that were released by both living plants;and dried plant material，such as fallen leaves.

　　With the dried plants，the researchers took measurement at temperatures ranging from 30 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees C.At 30 degrees C，they found，a gram of dried plant material released up to 3 nanograms of methane per hour.(One nanogram is a billionth of a gram.) With every 10-degree rise in temperature，the amount of methane released each hour roughly doubled.

　　Living plants growing at their normal temperatures released as much as 370 nanograms of methane per gram of plant tissue per hour.Methane emissions tripled when living and dead plant was exposed to sunlight.

　　Beeause there was plenty of oxygen available，it’s unlikely that the types of bacteria that normally make methane were involved. Experiments on plants that weregrown in water rather than soil also resulted in methane emissions.That’s another strong sign that the gas came from the plants and not soil microbes.

　　The new finding is an “interesting observation,” says Jennifer Y.King，a biogeochemist at the University of Minnesota in St.Paul3.Because some types of soil microbes consume methane，they may prevent plant-produced methane from reaching the atmosphere.Field tests will be needed to assess the plant’s influence，she notes.

　　词汇:

　　methane/5meWein/n.甲烷，沼气 emission/i5miFEn/n.散发，发射

　　geochemist n.地球化学家 triple/5tripl/v.增加三倍;adj.三倍的

　　Celsius n.&.adj.摄氏(的) bacteria/bAk5tiEriE/n.(bacterium 的复数)细菌

　　microbe/5maIkrEJb/n.微生物 nanogram n.微克

　　biogeochemist n.生物地球化学家 chamber/5tFeimbE(r)/n.室，房间;腔

　　注释：

　　1. the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg，Germany：马克思・普朗克核物理研究所，位于德国海德堡。海德堡系德国西南部城市，在巴登一符腾堡州的内卡河畔。海德堡大学是德国历史最悠久的大学。

　　2. microbe：细菌，意义同bacterium(bacteria的单数形式)。但microbe不用作专门术语。

　　3. St.Paul：圣保罗，美国明尼苏达州首府。

　　练习：

　　1. What was scientists understanding of methane?

　　A h was produced from plants.

　　B It was not a greenhouse gas.

　　C It was produced in oxygen-free environments.

　　D It traps more heat than any other greenhouse gas.

　　2. To test whether plants are a sot，roe of methane，the scientists created

　　A a oxygen-free environment.

　　B an environment with the same concentration of oxygen as the Earth has.

　　C a carbon dioxide-free environment.

　　D an environment filled with the greenhouse gas.

　　3. Which statement is true of the methane emissions of plants in the experiment?

　　A The lower the temperature，the higher the amount of methane emissions.

　　B I.iving plants release less methane than dried plants at the same temperature.

　　C When exposed to sunlight，plants stop releasing methane.

　　D The higher the temperature，the greater the amount of methane emissions.

　　4. Which of the following about methane is Not mentioned in the passage?

　　A Plants growing in soil release methane.

　　B Plants growing in water release methane.

　　C Soil microbes consume methane.

　　D Microbes in plants produce methane.

　　5. What is the beneficial point of some microbes consuming plant-produced methane?

　　A Methane becomes less poisonous.

　　B Methane is turned into a fertilizer.

　　C Less methane reaches the atmosphere.

　　D Air becomes cleaner.

　　答案与题解：

　　1. C 短文的第一和第二段都讲到，科学家过去曾经认为，沼气必须在无氧的环境中才能产生。注意，作者用的是过去式：Most scientists assumed that...They had assumed that...。

　　2. B 第三段第一句说，科学家使用密封的房间来做实验，房间里氧气的浓度与地球大气中的氧气浓度相仿。所以B句符合原文的意思，其他三个选择则不符合原文内容。

　　3. D 根据第四和第五段的内容，只有D是正确的说法。温度越高沼气的释放量越高，有生命的植物释放的沼气远大于干植物的释放量，在阳光下，它们的沼气释放量是正常情况的三倍。

　　4. D 最后两段告诉我们，无论在土壤中还是在水中生长的植物都能释放沼气，土壤中的微生物消耗沼气，使沼气不至于进入空气。所以A、B、C的内容均符合短文最后两段中作者的意思。D的内容短文中没有提到。

　　5. C 最后一段的第二句可以找到本题的答案。

　　五:补全短文

　　Albert Einstein, whose theories on space time and matter helped unravel the secrets of the atom and of the universe, was chosen as "Person of the Century" by Time magazine on Sunday.

　　A man whose very name is synonymous with scientific genius, Einstein has come to represent_(1)_the flowering of 20th century scientific thought that set the stage for the age of technology.

　　"The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic, but technological-technologies_(2)_," wrote theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in a Time essay explaining Einstein's significance. "Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein."

　　Time chose as runner-up President Franklin Roosevelt to represent the triumph of freedom and democracy over fascism, and Mahatma Gandhi as an icon for a century when civil and human rights became crucial factors in global politics.

　　"What we saw Franklin Roosevelt embodying the great theme of freedom's fight against totalitarianism, Gandhi personifying the great theme of individuals struggling for their rights, and Einstein being both a great genius and a great symbol of a scientific revolution that brought with it amazing technological advances_(3)_," said Time Magazine Editor Walter Isaacson.

　　Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. In his early years, Einstein did not show the promise of what he was to become. He was slow to learn to speak and did not do well in elementary school. He could not stomach organized learning and loathed taking exams.

　　In1905, however, he was to publish a theory which stands as one of the most intricate examples of human imagination in history. In his "Special Theory of Relativity," Einstein described how the only constant in the universe is the speed of light. Everything else-mass, weight, space, even time itself-is a variable. And he offered the world his now-famous equation: energy equals mass times the speed of light squared-E=mc2.

　　"Indirectly, relativity paved the way for a new relativism in morality, art and politics, " Isaacson wrote in an essay___(4)____. "There was less faith in absolutes, not only of time and space but also of truth and morality."

　　Einstein's famous equation was also the seed that led to the development of atomic energy and weapons. In1939, six years after he fled European fascism and settled at Princeton University, Einstein, an avowed pacifist, signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging the United States to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany did. Roosevelt heeded the advice and formed the "Manhattan Project"_(5)_. Einstein did not work on the project.

　　Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey in 1955.

　　A.explaining Time's choices

　　B. how he thought of the relativity theory

　　C. more than any other person

　　D. that secretly developed the first atomic weapon

　　E. that flowed directly from advances in basic science

　　F. that helped expand the growth of freedom

　　Key: CEFAD