1、 ThirstforOilWerldwideeverydaywedevourtheenergyequivalentofabout200millionbarrelsofOil.MoHtoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.InfactenoughenergyfromtheSunhitstheplanet’ssurfaceeachminutetocoverourneedsforanentireyearwejustneedtofindanefficientwaytouseit.Sofartheenergyinoilhasbeencheaperandeasiertogetat.Butassuppliesdwindlethiswillchange,andwewillneedtocureouraddictiontooil.##Burningwoodsatisfiedmostenergyneedsuntilthesteam-drivenindustrialrevolutionwhenenergy-densecoalbecamethefuelofchoice.CoalisstillusedmostlyinpowerstationstocoverorlequarterofourenergyneedsbutitsusehasbeendecliningsincewcStanedpumpingupoil.Coalistheleastefficientunhealthiestandmostenvironmentallydamagingfossilfuelbutcouldmakeacomeback,assuppliesarestillplentiful;itsreservesarefivetimeslargerthanoil’s.TodaypetroleumamineraloilobtainedfrombelowthesurfaceoftheEarthandusedtoproducepetroldieseloilandvariousotherchemicalsubstancesprovidesaround40%oftheworld’senergyneedsmostlyfuellingautomobiles.TheUSconsumesaquarterofalloil,andgeneratesasimilarproportionofgreenhousegasemissions.ThemajorityofoilComesfromtheMiddleEastwhichhashalfofknownreserves.ButothersignificantsourcesincludeRussiaNorthAmericaNorwayVenezuelaandtheNorthSea.Alaska''sArcticNationalWildlifeRefuge1couldbeamajornewUSsource,toreducerelianceonforeignimports.Mostexpertspredictwewillexhausteasilyaccessiblereserveswithin50yearsthoughopinionsandestimatesvary.Wecouldfastreachanenergycrisisinthenextfewdecadeswhendemandexceedssupply.Asconventionalreservesbecomemoredifficuhtoaccess.otherssuchasoilshalesandtarsandsmaybeusedinstead.Petrolcouldalsobeobtainedfromcoal.Sincewestartedusingfossilfuelswehavereleased400billiontonnes2ofcarbonandburningtheentirereservescouldeventuallyraiseworldtemperaturesby13℃.AmongotherhorrorsthiswouldresultinthedestructionofallrainforestsandtileinchingofallArcticice.词汇:Devour/di5vauE(r)/v.吞没,耗尽dwindle/5dwindl/v.减少Dense/dens/adj.密集的dieseloil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rainforestn.(热带)雨林reliance/ri5laiEns/n.依赖,依靠tarsand沥青砂oilshale油页岩destruction/dis5trQkFEn/n.破坏,毁灭注释:(1).Alaska’sArcticNationalWildlifeRefuge: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shortton:短吨.练习:

1“...wewillneedtocureouraddictiontooil.”Whydoestheauthorsayso?

A.MostoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.

B.Oilsupplyisincreasingallthetime.

C.Demandforoilisincreasingallthetime.

D.Oilsupplyisdecreasing.

2WhichoflhefollowingstatementsisNOTmeantbytheauthor,accordingtothesecondparagraph?

A.MostoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.

B.Oilsupplyisincreasingallthetime.

C.Demandforoilisincreasingallthetime.

D.Oilsupplyisdecreasing.

3Whichcountryisthebiggestconsumerofpetroleum?

A.MostoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.

B.Oilsupplyisincreasingallthetime.

C.Demandforoilisincreasingallthetime.

D.Oilsupplyisdecreasing.

4Whatdoexpertssayabouttheearth’sfuelreserves?

A.MostoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.

B.Oilsupplyisincreasingallthetime.

C.Demandforoilisincreasingallthetime.

D.Oilsupplyisdecreasing.

5WhatisNOTtheresultofconsumingfossilfuelsaccordingtothelastparagraph?

A.MostoftheenergyonEarthcomesfromtheSun.

B.Oilsupplyisincreasingallthetime.

C.Demandforoilisincreasingallthetime.

D.Oilsupplyisdecreasing.

2、 ExploreroftheExtremeDeepOceanscovermorethantwo-thirdsofourplanet.Yet,justasmallfractionoftheundcrwalerworldhasbeenuxplored.Now,ScientistsattheWoodsHole1OceanographicInstitution(WHOI)inMassachusettsarebuildinganunderwatervehiclehatwillcarryexplorersasdeepas6,500meters(21,320feet).Thenewmachineknownasamannedsubmersibleorhuman-operatedvehicle(HOV)willreplaceanotheronenamedAlvin2whichbasanamazingrecordofdiscoveryplayingakeyroleinvariousimportantandfamousunderseaexpeditions.Alvinhasbeenoperatingfor40yearsbutcangodownonly4,500meters(14,784feet).It’sabouttimeforanupgrade,WHOIresearcherssay.Alvinwaslaunchedin1964.SincethenAlvinhasworkedbetween200and250daysayearsaysDanielFornariamarinegeologistanddirectoroftheDeepOceanExplorationInstituteatWHOI.DuringitslifetimeAlvinhascarriedsome12,000peopleonatotalofmorethan3,000dives.AnewerbetterversionsofAlvinisboundtorevealevenmoresurprisesahoutaworldthatisstillfullofmysteriesFornarisays.Itmightalsomakethejobofexplorationalittleeasier.“Wetakesomuchforgrantedonland,”Fornarisays.“Wecanwalkaroundandseewithoureyeshowbigthingsare.Wecanseecolors,specialarrangements.”Size-wisethenewHOVwillbesimilartoAlvin.It’llbeabout37feetlong.Thesettingareainsidewillbeasmallsphereabout8feetwidelikeAlvinit’llcarryapilotandtwopassengers.Itwillbejustasmaneuverable.Inmostotherwaysitwillgivepassengersmoreopportunitiestoenjoytheviewforonething.Alvinhasonlythreewindowsthenewvehiclewillhavefivewithmoreoverlapsothatthepassengersandthepilotcanseethesamething.Alvincangoupanddownatarateof30meterseverysecondanditsmaximumspeedis2knots(about2.3milesperhour)whilethenewvehiclewillbeabletoascendanddescendat44meterspersecond.It’llrea

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