首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply cuts in March, the price of crude oil
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply cuts in March, the price of crude oil
admin
2017-04-21
112
问题
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979-1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?
The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.
Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consultation and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP(in constant prices)rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0. 25%- 0. 5% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies — to which heavy industry has shifted — have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.
One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity price inflation and global excess demand. A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. The Economist’s commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%.
We can draw a conclusion from the text that ______.
选项
A、oil-price shocks are less shocking now
B、inflation seems irrelevant to oil-price shocks
C、energy conservation can keep down the oil prices
D、the price rise of crude leads to the shrinking of heavy industry
答案
A
解析
本题是推理题。所得出的结论肯定是没有在文中明确表述过的。从文章最后一段来看,石油价格的冲击不再那么令人震惊了,因为作者说:“我们不能为石油价格的上涨而失眠的另一个原因是石油价格上涨没有发生在整体农产品价格上涨和全球需求过度的环境下,这与20世纪70年代的石油涨价不同。”这句话也表明B项“通货膨胀似乎和油价冲击无关”是错误的选项。C、D两项的内容在文章中没有表述。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Gx9d777K
本试题收录于:
BFT阅读题库国际化人才外语考试(BFT)分类
0
BFT阅读
国际化人才外语考试(BFT)
相关试题推荐
Yougotaletterfromacompanymanager,JimGreen.Dec.1st,20
Youareatourguideinatravelagencyandarerequestedtomakeawrittenannouncementtoallthetouristsforthedetailsbel
Youhaveapart-timejobinabookshop.Themanagerwantstomaketheshopmorepopularwithyoungpeopleandasksyoutowrite
Usingtheinformationinthetext,completeeachsentence14-18withanexpressionfromthelistbelow.Foreachsentence(14
Readthefollowingpassageandanswerquestions9-18.1.WhenChristopherColumbuslandedonAmerica’sshores,heencounteredco
Directions:Usingtheinformationinthetext,completeeachsentence6-10,withawordorphrasefromthelistbelow.Foreach
ItiscommonforAmericanstohavedifferent"circlesoffriends"suchaschurchfriends,workfriends,orsportsfriends.【R1】__
Facialexpressionscarrymeaning,determinedbycontextsandrelationships.【R1】______Awoman’ssmileatapolicemanwhoisabou
Therearevariouswaysinwhichindividualeconomicunitscaninteractwithoneanother.Threebasicwaysmaybedescribedasth
1.Onceitwaspossibletodefinemaleandfemaleroleseasilybythedivisionoflabor.Menworkedoutsidethehomeandearned
随机试题
有16件产品,12个一等品,4个二等品.从中任取3个,至少有一个是一等品的概率
A.术后3小时内每30分钟测量血压B.观察胃管、伤口引流液的性质和量C.注意口腔护理D.禁食期间静脉补偿液体E.术后拔除胃管后当日可进软食消化性溃疡患者术后护理不正确的是
凡属脾胃虚弱之痿证,治宜
可行性研究报告的内容包括( )。
以下明细账中不宜采用数量金额式的有()。
依照民法理论,代理行为关系是指( )。
上市公司实施重大资产重组,应当符合的要求有()。Ⅰ.重大资产重组所涉及的资产权属清晰,资产过户或者转移不存在法律障碍,相关债权债务处理合法Ⅱ.有利于上市公司增强持续经营能力,不存在可能导致上市公司重组后主要资产为现金或者无具体经营业务的情
有一个小孩,在上中学时,父母曾为他选择文学这条路。只上了一个学期,老师就在他的评语中写下了这样的结论:“该生用功,但做事过分拘礼和死板。这样的人即使有着完善的品德,也决不能在文学上有所成就。”后来,一位化学老师了解到他的这个特点后,就建议他改学化学,因为化
AndersendiedonApril4,1875.CollinmanagedtogetmoneyforAndersentoreceivemoreeducation.
LadiesandGentlemen,LetmestartbytellingyouthestoryofBeatriceGakuba.InRwandainAfrica,Imetaremarkablewoman
最新回复
(
0
)