托福阅读tpo 4 Petroleum Resources石油资源原题解析

1、阅读原文:Petroleum, consisting of crude oil and natural gas, seems to originate from organic matter in marine sediment. Microscopic organisms settle to the seafloor and accumulate in marine mud. The organic matter may partially decompose, using up the dissolved oxygen in the sediment. As soon as the oxy

2、gen is gone, decay stops and the remaining organic matter is preserved.当氧气消耗殆尽分解便停止，settling on the sea bottom temperatures and pressures,石油是由原油和天然气组成，似乎都源自于海洋的有机物沉淀。微小的有机物沉积到海 底并堆聚在海泥里，有机物会局部分解，消耗沉淀里的溶解氧 留下剩余的有机物。Continued sedimentationthe process of deposits buries the organic matter and subjects

3、it to higher which convert the organic matter to oil and gas. As muddy sediments are pressed together, the gas and small droplets of oil may be squeezed out of the mud and may move into sandy layers nearby. Over long periods of time (millions of years), accumulations of gas and oil can collect in th

4、e sandy layers. Both oil and gas are less dense than water, so they generally tend to rise upward through water-saturated rock and sediment.持续的沉积一一堆积物沉积到海底的过程将有机物埋在海底使之受到海底温度、高压的 影响，最终转变成石油和天然气。当泥状沉积物被挤压在一起时，天然气和石油液滴会被挤 出泥层，然后进入附近的沙层。经过很长的一个周期（数百万年），积聚的天然气和石油会在 沙层中聚集。因为石油和天然气的密度都比水低，所以他 们通常通过饱含水的岩层和

5、沉积物 往上升。Oil pools are valuable underground accumulations of oil, and oil fields are regions underlain by one or more oil pools. When an oil pool or field has been discovered, wells are drilled into the ground. Permanent towers, called derricks, used to be built to handle the long sections of drillin

6、g pipe. Now portable drilling machines are set up and are then dismantled and removed. When the well reaches a pool, oil usually rises up the well because of its density difference with water beneath it or because of the pressure of expanding gas trapped above it. Although this rise of oil is almost

7、 alwayscarefully controlled today, spouts of oil, or gushers, were common in the past. Gas pressure gradually dies out, and oil is pumped from the well. Water or steam may be pumped down adjacent wells to help push the oil out. At a refinery, the crude oil from underground is separated into natural

8、gas, gasoline, kerosene, and various oils. Petrochemicals such as dyes, fertilizer, and plastic are also manufactured from the petroleum.油床是宝贵的地下石油积聚处，而油田是被一个或多个油藏覆盖区域。当人们发现油藏 或油田时，就会把井钻到地下。固定的塔称为井架，建造井架是为了控制长距离的钻杆。现 代使用的便携式钻井机安装使用完成后，会被拆除和移走。因为石油的密度与在下层的水不 同，或者因为石油上面的气体扩张形成的压力，当井探至油藏时，石油通常会上升至井内。 现

9、在石油的上升已经可以很好的进行控制，但在过去，井喷或管涌经常发生。气体压力逐渐 减小，然后油从井中被抽出。水或蒸汽会通过相邻的井被注入，以帮助推出石油。在炼油厂， 地下的原油被分离成天然气、汽油、煤油和各种油类。石油还可用来生产石油化工产品，如 染料、化肥、塑料制品等。As oil becomes increasingly difficult to find, the search for it is extended into more-hostile environments. The development of the oil field on the North Slope of A

10、laska and the construction of the Alaska pipeline are examples of the great expense and difficulty involved in new oil discoveries. Offshore drilling platforms extend the search for oil to the ocean s continental shelvesthose gently sloping submarine regions at the edges of the continents. More than

11、 one-quarter of the world s oil and almost one-fifth of the world s natural gas come from offshore, even though offshore drilling is six to seven times more expensive than drilling on land. A significant part of this oil and gas comes from under the North Sea between Great Britain and Norway.随着石油越来越

12、难以找到，石油勘探已经开始到更恶劣的环境中进行。比如，在最新发 现的油田案例中，阿拉斯加北坡油田的开发和阿拉斯加管道建设就是成本高、难度大的例子。 海底钻探平台将寻找石油的区域延伸到了海洋大陆架上一一陆地附近浅海下缓缓的斜坡。世 界上1/4以上的石油和近1/5的天然气都来自近海，尽管近海钻井的成本比陆地钻井高6 至7倍。世界上相当一部分的石油和天然气来自英国和挪威之间的北海。Of course, there is far more oil underground than can be recovered. It may be in a pool too small or too far fr

13、om a potential market to justify the expense of drilling. Some oil lies under regions where drilling is forbidden, such as national parks or other public lands. Even given the best extraction techniques, only about 30 to 40 percent of the oil in a given pool can be brought to the surface. The rest i

14、s far too difficult to extract and has to remain underground.当然，地下还能发现更多的石油。油藏可能太小或远离潜在的市场因而钻井费用过高而 不适宜开采。一些石油存在于禁止钻井的地区，如国家公园或其他公共土地。即使提供最好 的采油技术，油藏中也只有大约30%到40%的石油可以抽至地面。其余的因为太难抽取而不得 不留在地下。Moreover, getting petroleum out of the ground and from under the sea and to the consumer can create environme

15、ntal problems anywhere along the line. Pipelines carrying oil can be broken by faults or landslides, causing serious oil spills. Spillage from huge oil-carrying cargo ships, called tankers, involved in collisions or accidental groundings (such as the one off Alaska in 1989) can create oil slicks at

16、sea. Offshoreplatforms may also lose oil, creating oil slicks that drifshore and foul the beaches, harming the environment. Sometimes, the ground at an oil fieldmay subside as oil is removed. The Wilmington field near Long Beach, California, has subsided nine meters in 50 years; protective barriers

17、have had to be built to prevent seawater from flooding the area. Finally, the refining and burning of petroleum and its products can cause air pollution. Advancing technology and strict laws, however, are helping control some of these adverse environmental effects.此外，从地下和海底开采石油并运送到消费者的途中的任何地方都会产生环境问

18、题。如 果石油运输管道因为故障或塌方损坏，将会造成严重的石油泄漏。运载石油的油轮在发生碰 撞或意外搁浅（如在1989年阿拉斯加发生的油轮搁浅）的情况下，石油泄露会导致海上产生 浮油。海上钻井平台也可能会泄露石油，导致油污漂流到岸上造成海滩污染，危害环境。有 时一个油田的石油被抽取后，地面会发生下沉。加利福尼亚州长滩附近的威尔明顿油田在50 年内下沉了 9米；人们不得不建造 保护围墙以防止海水灌进这个地区。最后，石油炼制、燃 烧以及其产品也会造成空气污染。不过不管怎样，先进的技术和严格的法律正在协助控制这 些对环境的不利影响。第1题:The word “accumulate” in the pa

19、ssage is closest in meaning toA： grow upB： build upC： spread outD： break apart题目解析个和累积不是- apart意思反了所以都不对。accumulate沉积，聚集，累积之意，所以build up正确，注意grow up表示长大，这 个概念，原文与之并列的动词是settle，叫做落下来，稳定下来，所以break ，而且grow up和spread out在某种意义上是差不多的，第2题:According formation?to paragraph 1, which of the following is trueab

20、out petroleumand natural gas.A： Microscopic organisms that live in mud produce crude oilB： Large amounts of oxygen are needed for petroleum formation to begin.C： Petroleum is produced when organic material in sediments combines with decayingmarine organisms.D： Petroleum formation appears to begin in

21、 marine sediments where organic matter is present.题目解析以 petroleum formation 做关键词，没有，但有 petroleum originate from blablabla， 说石油起源于海洋沉积物当中的有机物，与D选项说的完全一致，D正确；A错，原文没说 live； B错，原文没说需要大量氧气，只说用光了氧气之后有机物能够保存;C错，原文没说 combineo第3题:In paragraphs 1 and 2, the author s primary purpose is toA： describe how petrol

22、eum is formedB： explain why petroleum formation is a slow processC： provide evidence that a marine environment is necessary for petroleum formationD： show that oil commonly occurs in association with gas题目解析问两段，分别看两段的开头，第一段开头说石油是怎么开始的，第二段第一句说继续沉 积blabla，也就是在延续第一段所说的石油的形成过程，所以A正确。第4题:Which of the sen

23、tences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.A： Higher temperatures and pressures promote sedimentation, which is responsible for petroleum formation.B：Depos

24、its of sediments on top of organic matter increase the temperature of and pressure on the matter.C：Increase pressure and heat from the weight of the sediment turn the organic remains into petroleum.D： The remains of microscopic organisms transform into petroleum once they are buried under mud.题目解析去掉

25、原句中的插入语，原句变成了 sedimentation bury and subject to blabla, convert to petro, A错，没说温度压力提升sedimentation； B遗漏了重要信息，原句的变成石油没 说；C正确；D完全没重现原文的重要信息，错。第5题：The word “adjacent” in the passage is closest in meaning toA：nearbyB： existingC：specialD：deep题目解析adjacent相邻的，临近的，答案A，原句说水或者蒸汽可以从什么样的井弄下去，把油 压出来。根据物理学的U型管原理，

26、从注水的U型管一端向管内吹起，另外一端的液面就会 上升，同理，从临近的油井压入水或者蒸汽，石油就会被压出来，所以答案是A，B存在C 特殊D深都不对。第6题：Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about gushers?A： They make bringing the oil to the surface easier.B：They signal the presence of huge oil reserves.C：They waste more oil than they collect.D：They are u

27、nlikely to occur nowadays.题目解析以gusher做关键词定位至本段倒数第四句，说gusher在过去是非常普遍的，意思就是 现在不普遍了，答案D，而且前半句还说仔细控制了，仔细控制的结果就是不再发生了，也 能选出D答案。第7题：Which of the following strategies for oil exploration is described in paragraph 4?A： Drilling under the ocean s surfaceB： Limiting drilling to accessible locationsC： Using hi

28、ghly sophisticated drilling equipmentD： Constructing technologically advanced drilling platforms题目解析第四段第一句就说了 hostile environment，紧接着就用大量文字写了 offshore石油钻 探，第五段也一直在说在那些不能钻石油的地方钻探，所以A的under the ocean s surface 最靠谱；B说反了； C的equipment和D的platform都没说。第8题：What does the development of the Alaskan oil field m

29、entioned in paragraph 4 demonstrate?A： More oil is extracted from the sea than from land.B： Drilling for oil requires major financial investments.C： The global demand for oil has increased over the years.D： The North Slope of Alaska has substantial amounts of oil.题目解析第二句和第三句说到了阿拉斯加的石油开采是一个例子，great e

30、xpense and difficulty involved in new oil discoveries说明使用开采花钱又需要技术，正确答案B，需要大量 投资；其他选项都没说。第9题:The word “sloping” in the passage is closest in meaning toA： shiftingB： incliningC： formingD： rolling题目解析slope坡，sloping倾斜的，斜坡的。sloping所在的句子是对前面海洋大陆架的一个解 释，大路边缘逐渐倾斜的海下地区，所以inclining倾斜的正确；A变换的C形成的D滚动 的都不对。第10题

31、：According to paragraph 5, the decision to drill for oil depends on all of the following factors EXCEPTA： permission to access the area where oil has been foundB： the availability of sufficient quantities of oil in a poolC： the location of the market in relation to the drilling siteD：the political s

32、ituation in the region where drilling would occur题目解析排除法，A对应第三句，因为有drilling is forbidden，正确，不选；B对应倒数第二 句，pool，正确，不选；C项对应第二句，location of the market，正确，不选；D没说， 错，选。第11题：The word “foul” in the passage is closest in meaning toA：reachB：floodC： polluteD： alter题目解析foul弄脏，污染，污秽的，所以pollute正确。原句说海上钻井平台有可能漏油，产

33、生 海面浮油，并且怎么样海滩，之前都说了一大堆不好的事儿，所以pollute正确，A到达B 冲刷D改变感情色彩都不对。第12题：In paragraph 6, the author s primary purpose is toA： provide examples of how oil exploration can endanger the environmentB： describe accidents that have occurred when oil activities were in progressC：give an analysis of the effects of o

34、il spills on the environmentD：explain how technology and legislation help reduce oil spills题目解析问整个第六段，看第一句，说整个从石油开采一直到市场上的任何一环都有可能污染环 境，所以A是正确答案；只是说有可能污染环境，没说事故，B不对；原文只是给出事实， 没有任何分析，C错；D错因为没说减少污染。第13题：Look at the four squares that indicate wherehe following sentence couldbe added to the passage. Whe

35、re would the sentence best fit?Unless something acts to halt this migration, these natural resources will eventually reach the surface.题目解析四个过渡点，名词 surface，代词 this migration，代词 these natural resources 和 连词unless，代词these natural resources是不能用的，因为被反复提到的oil and gas 干扰；D的move和D的rise都可以对应this migration，而只有rise才能对的上surface， 所以选D不选B。第14题：Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete