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
Last week oil prices finally stopped rising. They now hover around $43 a barrel, a 20-year high. The average American family wil
Last week oil prices finally stopped rising. They now hover around $43 a barrel, a 20-year high. The average American family wil
admin
2020-05-01
47
问题
Last week oil prices finally stopped rising. They now hover around $43 a barrel, a 20-year high. The average American family will spend about $2,700 on gasoline this year (driving 22,000 miles). That’s twice as much as it spent on gas two years ago. These prices are having a predictable consequence. The consumer price index has risen by 4.9 percent to date, versus 1.9 percent last year. And last week President Bush’s economic adviser, Gregory Mankiw, acknowledged that a $10 rise in the price of oil probably translates into a half-percentage-point drag on economic growth. For countries like Japan, China and India, the effect is even greater. How did this happen? And can Washington—or anybody—do much about it?
The answer that flashed on our television screens is instability in the Middle East. Pipeline explosions in Iraq, tensions with Iran and terror attacks in Saudi Arabia all contribute to what analysts call the "security premium" on the price of oil. But that premium might be exaggerated. Oil prices are rising for broader, structural reasons. The world may have to get used to expensive oil.
The largest ingredient in current oil prices has been a massive increase in demand. This year’s growth is double what it has been for the past six years (on average). That’s because the United States is in recovery, Japan’s economy is finally back and Asia—particularly China and India—is growing fast. In fact, this year is likely to have the strongest global growth on record in three decades—unless oil prices choke it off.
While demand is up, supply can’t rise much. For a variety of reasons, almost no oil-producing country has "surplus capacity"—the ability to put substantially more oil into tile market. Oil companies have been slow to increase investments in production, and these expenditures take a few years to bear fruit. "Right now oil markets are tighter than they were on the eve of the 1973 oil shocks. And they will stay tight for the next two years. That makes the geopolitics of oil crucial," says Daniel Yergin, the chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
If there is trouble anywhere, it will probably cause an oil shock. And think of the possibilities—instability in Venezuela, Nigeria, Indonesia, Libya, Saudi Arabia or, of course, Iraq. Last year the markets could absorb the loss of Iraqi oil (during the war). This year they can’t. Iraq has to stay online. And all these other countries have to stay stable.
There is only one country with significant surplus capacity—Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has increased its production repeatedly over the past two years, or else prices would be higher still than they are. And the Saudis are making investments that will increase their surplus capacity by the end of the year. In a tight oil market, Saudi Arabia is the pivotal player.
Consider the irony. One of the Bush administrations (privately stated) reasons for going to war in Iraq was to reduce our dependence on Saudi Arabia’s oil power. It was a reasonable idea. But having botched the occupation, with Iraqi oil more insecure now than before the war, America is today more dependent on Saudi Arabia than ever before. Fortunately the Saudi regime has proved a responsible and reliable player, in this realm. "The Saudis are the central bankers of the world of oil. And they take that role seriously," says Yergin.
What to do about this new reality? George Bush proposes to increase U. S. production in Alaska. John Kerry calls for increased conservation. Bush is correct to argue that some increase in American production is important. In 1973, the United States imported one third of its oil from abroad. Today it imports two thirds. And exploration does not have to be ecologically devastating. Even if the major oilfields that are assumed to exist there were discovered in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, only a few thousand acres of the 19 million-acre refuge would be affected.
But the more lasting solution to America’s oil problem has to come from energy efficiency. American demand is the gorilla fueling high oil prices—more than instability or the rise of China or anything else. Between 1990 and 2000, the global trade in oil increased by 9.5 billion barrels. Half of that was accounted for for the rise in U. S. imports.
America is consuming more because it is growing more—but also because over the past two decades, it has become much less efficient in its use of gasoline, the only major industrial country to slide backward. The reason is simple: three letters—SUV. In 1990 sport utility vehicles made up 5 percent of America’s cars. Today they make up 55 percent. They violate all energy-efficiency standards because of an absurd loophole in the law that allows them to be classified as trucks.
Bashing the Saudis is easy these days. Controlling our own wastefulness is more difficult. But making no mistake as to which one will make a difference.
The following are the reasons why Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the oil market except______.
选项
A、It has significant surplus capacity.
B、It will increase its investments in production.
C、It helps regulate the oil market.
D、There is an oil shock in the world.
答案
D
解析
本题考查对第六段的理解。沙特在世界石油市场扮演了重要角色,是因为沙特能为市场提供更多的石油,而且还将增加投资,并能调节石油市场。所以排除选项A、B和C。故选项D为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/erbK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
SuggestopediaI.Introduction—basis:how【T1】______worksandhowwelearnmosteffectively【T1】______—derivedfrom【T2】______
ChineseAmericansI.EarlyimmigrationA.thefirstgroupofChineseimmigrants—cameto【T1】______【T1】______—becamethe【T2】__
ChineseAmericansI.EarlyimmigrationA.thefirstgroupofChineseimmigrants—cameto【T1】______【T1】______—becamethe【T2】__
A、Becausehepublishedanarticleentitled"DeathofaDrunk".B、Becauseheusedatruestorytoillustratethedangerofdrinki
PASSAGEONEWhatdoestheauthormeanbysaying"Iwasoverheadandears"inPara.6?
PASSAGEONETowhichdirectiondothethornsextendtheirbranchesaccordingtoPara.2?
PASSAGETHREEAccordingtothecontext,whatdoes"doesthejob"meaninPara.8?
PASSAGETWOWhatdoestheauthormeanby"unknownunknownscroppingup"inPara.11?
PASSAGEONEWhatdoestheword"dynamite"inPara.3referto?
...Finally,oneoftheprimarypurposesofartisto【T1】______athand.Subjectmatterdoesnotchangeallthatmuchovertime.
随机试题
实践中一刀切的工作方法是由于忽视了()
主观呼吸功能障碍程度评定,下列哪项叙述是错误的
开发商在决定是否参加宗地竞价和如何竞价前,必须了解的控制指标有()。按照城市规划管理的程序,开发商在开发投资过程中必须取得()。
下列关于2014年我国的科技成就表述有误的是()。
A、 B、 C、 D、 B左边四个图形可以拼合成如下图形:
唯物史观就是“关于现实的人及其历史发展的科学”。只有把人看作现实的人,才能正确把握人及其活动的本质,把握人与社会历史的关系。现实的人是指()
关于类定义,下列叙述中错误的是
考生文件夹下存在一个数据库文件“samp3.accdb”,里面已经设计了表对象“tEmp”、窗体对象“fEmp”、报表对象“rEmp”和宏对象“mEmp”。试在此基础上按照以下要求补充设计:设置报表“rEmp”按照“性别”字段升序(先男后女)排列输出;
In1967,inresponsetowidespreadpublicconcernarousedbymedicalreportsofasbestosrelateddeaths,theNationalMedicalRe
Thebrillianceofhissatirewas______makeevenhisvictimslaugh.
最新回复
(
0
)