[单项选择]Oil prices are likely to fluctuate because of
A. the economic boom in many countries.
B. the refusal of many countries to export oil.
C. the embargo against Iraqi oil exports.
D. competition among exporting countries.

[单项选择]Business in this area has been （） because prices are too high.
A. prosperous
B. secretive
C. slack
D. shrill

[填空题]Increases in oil prices hurt developing economies more than developed ones.

[单项选择]Oil prices rose yesterday among market fears that the Panamanian crisis could hit US crude oil supplies.
A. 昨天石油价格大幅上涨，引起了市场的恐慌，这次的巴拿马的危机会打击美国的原油供应。
B. 在市场的恐慌之中，昨天石油价格大幅上涨，如此—来，巴拿马的危机会阻断美国的原油供应。
C. 石油的价格昨天大幅度上涨，人们担心巴拿马危机会打击美国的原油供应。
D. 石油的价格昨天大幅度上涨，市场恐慌的是：巴拿马危机直接威胁到美国的原油供应。

[单项选择]High oil prices have not yet produced an economic shock among consuming countries, but further rises, especially sharp (21) , would undoubtedly hurt the world economy, and (22) would inevitably harm producers, too. Beyond this obvious point, (23) , higher prices could even do harm to both oil firms and producers.
Big oil firms (24) rolling in money today, but that disguises the fact that their longer-term prospects are (25) Behind the reserves-accounting scandal at Royal Dutch/ Shell (26) a problem bedeviling all of the majors: replacing their dwindling reserves. (27) existing fields in Alaska and the North Sea are rapidly declining; OPEC countries and Russia are (28) them out. (29) they are to survive in the long term, the big oil firms must embrace other sources of energy (30) oil.
(31) it is to believe, higher oil prices could be bad news for produc
A. ones
B. shock
C. prices
D. countries

[单项选择]Despite the approach of winter, oil prices to industrial customers are exceptionally low this year and likely to remain so. Therefore, unless the winter is especially severe, the price of natural gas to industrial customers is also likely to remain low.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the conclusion above
A. Long-term weather forecasts predict a mild winter.
B. The industrial users who consume most natural gas can quickly and cheaply switch to using oil instead.
C. The largest sources of supply for both oil and natural gas are in subtropical regions unlikely to be affected by winter weather.
D. The fuel requirements of industrial users of natural gas are not seriously affected by the weather.
E. (E) Oil distribution is more likely to be affected by severe winter weather than is the distribution of natural gas.

[单项选择]The recent surge in oil prices to roughly ＄55 a barrel teaches some useful lessons. One is that surprises happen. A year ago futures contracts predicted today’s price would be ＄25. A second is that the economy has grown less vulnerable to oil "shocks". Compared with 1973, we now use almost 50 percent less energy for each dollar of output. New industries (software, theme parks) need less than the old (steel, chemicals). But the largest lesson is depressingly familiar. Americans won’t think realistically about oil. We consider cheap fuel a birthright, and when we don’t get it, we whine—rather than ask why or what we should do.
If prices rise, we blame a conspiracy of greedy oil companies, OPEC or someone. The reality is usually messier. Energy economist Philip Verleger Jr. attributes the present price run-up to massive miscalculation. Oil companies and OPEC underestimated global demand, particularly from China. Since 2001 China’s oil use has jumped 36 percent. This error led OPEC
A. restraining and limiting gasoline use
B. promoting fuel-efficient vehicles
C. becoming independent of Middle East oil
D. increasing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve