How many years will it be before the world runs out of oil？ The question is far from an academic exercise. This year oil hit a near record high of $40 a barrel, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group downgraded its reserves by 4.5 billion barrels.
While consumers pay for perceived shortages at the pump, scientists and economists struggle to reach consensus over "proven oil reserves," or how much oil you can realistically mine before recovery costs outstrip profits. Economist Leonardo Maugeri fired up the debate that accused the "oil doomsters" of crying wolf.
Oil pessimists estimate that maximum oil production around the globe will peak in 2008 as demand rises from developing economies such as China. "If you squeezed all the oil in Iraq into a single bottle, you could fill four glasses, with the world consuming one glass of oil each year," says a physicist. "We've consumed nine bottles since oil was discovered, and we have another 9 or 10 in the refrigerator. How many more are there？ Some say five or six, but we say three."
Others believe, like Maugeri, that the number of glasses is virtually limitless. John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, argues that peak oil-production estimates are so far off that. "Ever since oil was first harvested in the 1800s, people have said we'd run out of the stuff," Felmy says. In the 1880s a Standard Oil executive sold off shares in the company out of fear that its reserves were close to drying up. Some scientists said in the 1970s that we'd hit peak oil in 2003. It didn't happen.
If there is an end to the debate, advanced oil-recovery technologies will most likely find it. A new seismic survey technique, for instance, sends sound waves of varying frequencies thousands of meters belowground. Microphones arrayed aboveground record the reflected signals, and computer software models a 3-D portrait of possible oil hot spots. The surveys have now added a fourth dimension, creating a time-lapse simulation of fluid movements.
Companies are also finding sophisticated ways to mine more oil from existing wells. Flexible, coiled-tube drills that carve out horizontal side paths are a marked improvement over conventional, rigid drills that move only straight down. Using such technology, companies hope to soon harvest 50 to 60 percent of oil from existing wells, up from today's 35 percent.
Biotechnology, too is keeping the black gold flowing. University of Albert scientists are searching for microorganisms that could dilute viscous, hard-to-recover oil and make it flow more freely.
"Technology can help push peak oil production further and further out," says an expert. But only time will tell when oil production will peak.
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true？
A．How long the oil age will last is simply an academic question.
B．The oil price this year set a new record.
C．Shell Group reduced its reserves to 4.5 billion barrels this year.
D．Economists disagree with one another on how much oil you can realistically mine.
时间：2023-09-26 09:51:21
-
When a packet is sent from Host 1 to Server 1, in how many different frames will the packet be encapsulated as it is sent across the internetwork?（）
A . 0
B . 1
C . 2
D . 3
E . 4
-
35.intx=10； 36.do{ 37.x--； 38.}while（x<10）； How many times will line 37 be executed？（）
A . ten times
B . zero times
C . one to me times
D . more than ten time
-
CREATE TABLE customer (cid BIGINT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, info XML) How many names will be returned for this XQuery?（）https://assets.asklib.com/images/image2/2018080214495585870.jpg
A . 0
B . 1
C . 2
D . 3
-
If your vessel bums 8 tons of fuel per hour at 15 knots, how many tons per hour will it burn at 18 knots?（）
A . 1382 tons
B . 1561 tons
C . 1600 tons
D . 1637 to
-
InAmerica, how many Valentine cards will be bought in a year?
-
How many whales does Japan kill a year and what does it say is the purpose?
-
Will Mars become the new _____ (住处) of human beings? It seems many people are fascinated by the idea of settlement on Mars.
-
Todd will be receiving a $10,000 bonus one year from now. The process of determining how much that bonus is worth today is called:
-
—How many poor countries will there be in our province by 2010?—There will be only a few, if _______.
-
How many times will the loop body be executed?int k=0;while(k=1)k++;
-
How many ways can be used to signal the stressed syllables?There are three ways to signal the stressed syllables: lengthen it, say it louder with clear vowel and raise the pitch.
-
For those who have worked for a cumulative period of 20years,how many days of annual leave shall be taken？
A.5
B.10
C.20
D.15
-
How many days will the auto show be open？
A．3.
B．5.
C．7.
D．10.
-
According to the article.the California energy commission has received 200 project applications in one month. If that rate continues,approximately how many applications will they receive his entire year？
A．2,400
B．1,200
C．200
D．3600
此题为多项选择题。
-
Planning so far ahead （) no sense since so many things will be changed by next year.
A、made
B、makes
C、will make
D、is making
-
How many years did it take to complete the connection of recordings？
A．26 years.
B．33 years.
C．44 years.
D．57 years.
-
There are so many （) descriptions in this report and it will have to be rewritten.
-
It is impossible to predict what type of holidays people will be taking in 100 years’ time. It is possible, __________, that space travel will be a realistic option in the future. _________, it would
A、for example ... If so
B、in fact ... If so
C、as a result ... Of course
D、for example ... Firstly
-
听力原文： I would like to begin by welcoming everybody from the many different countries who have been kind enough to join us today. You are very welcome to the UK and I hope that you find your trip worthwhile- we are certainly grateful for your contribution to this debate. I consider the question of how we harness the potential of technological change—alongside the related question of science, to be the fundamental economic and social challenge of our future. What we do with information technology and how we use it will determine our success industrially and as a society for years to come.
(88)
-
请就听到的问题作答______. A) It has been finished. B) It will be published this month. C) It contains many detective stories. D) It ranks the top of bestseller lists.
-
Have you ever noticed advertisements which say “Learn a foreign language in six weeks, or your money back! From the first day your pronunciation will be excellent.Just send...” and so on？ Of course, it never happens quite like that.The only language that is easy to learn is the mother tongue.Think how much practice that gets! Before the Second World War people usually learnt a foreign language in order to read the literature of the country.Now speaking a foreign language is what most people want.Every year many millions of people start learning one.
Some people try at home, with books and records or tapes; some use radio or television programmes; others go to evening classes.If they use the language only twice or three times a week, learning it will take a long time.A few people try to learn a language fast by studying for six or more hours a day.It is clearly easier to learn the language in the country
where it is spoken.However, most people cannot afford this, and for many it is not necessary.They need the language in order to do their work better.For example, scientists and doctors chiefly need to be able to read books and reports in the foreign language.Whether the language is learnt quickly or slowly, it is hard work.Machines and good books will help, but they cannot do the student's work for him.
36.The advertisements say it would be easy to().
A.speak your native language better
B.keep in mind any foreign language
C.learn a foreign language within several weeks
D.learn by heart a foreign language
37.Nowadays most people want to learn()according to the text.
A.about the country where a language is spoken
B.to speak a foreign language
C.to read essays in the foreign language
D.to write in the foreign language
38.Before the World War people usually learnt a foreign language in order to()
A.communicate with their foreign friends
B.read the foreign newspaper
C.read the literacy works of the country
D.work in that foreign country
39.If you only use the language twice or three times a week,().
A.it is easy to learn it well
B.it will take a long time to learn the foreign language
C.you will never learn the language well
D.perhaps you will learn harsh language
40.No matter how quickly or slowly you want to learn a foreign language, you need to ().
A.read books
B.read reports
C.visit the country
D.work hard
-
2、判断下列句中名词复数书写形式是否正确，若正确请填写T，若错误请填写正确写法。 While some of you will be at home next year, many of you will be continuing your education at colleges, universitys, and trade schools;getting jobs; or joining the armed services.
-
It is often difficult for a man to be quite sure what tax ought to be paid to the government because it depends on so many different things: whether the man is married; how many children he has; whether he supports any relations; how much he earns; how much interest he receives; how much he has spent on his house during the year, and so on and so forth.All this makes it difficult to decide exactly how much the tax is.
There was a certain artist who was always very careful to pay the proper amount.
One year, after posting his check as usual, he began to wonder if he had paid enough, and after a lot of work, with a pencil and paper, he decided that he had not.He believed that he owed the government something.
He was just writing another check to send to the tax-collector when the postman dropped a letter into the box at the front door.Opening it, the artist was surprised to find inside it a check for five pounds from the tax-collector.The official explained that too much had been paid, and that therefore the difference was now returned to the taxpayer.
21.It is mentioned in the passage that one has to pay tax according to().
A.how much education one has received
B.whether one is single or married
C.how old one's children are
22.The underlined word "proper" in the second paragraph means().
A.small
B.big
C.right
23.After a lot of work, the artist thought that he had paid the government()
A.less tax than he should have
B.more tax than he should have
C.as much tax as usual
24.What did the artist receive()
A.A check from the bank clerk.
B.A check from the tax-collector.
C.A gift from the tax-collector.
25.Why did that tax-collector send a letter to the artist()
A.To send him a new tax form.
B.To return the money over-paid.
C.To remind him of paying the tax.
-
It is often difficult for a man to be quite sure how much tax he ought to pay to the government because it depends on so many different things：whether the man is married;how many children he has;whether he supports any relations，how much interest he receives，how much he has spent on his house during the year，and so on. All this makes it difficult to decide exactly how much the tax is.There was an artist who was always very careful to pay the proper amount.
One year，after posting his check as usual，he began to wonder if he had paid enough，and after a lot of work，with a pencil and paper，he found that he had not. He thought that he owed the government something.
He was just writing another check to send it to the tax collector when the postman dropped a letter into the box at the front door. Opening it，the artist was surprised to find inside it a check for five pounds from the tax collector. The official explained that too much had been paid，and that therefore the difference was now returned to the taxpayer.
11. According to the passage，to decide the exact amount of tax to be paid is ____________.
A. simple
B. easy
C. difficult
D. interesting
12. It is mentioned in the passage that one has to pay tax according to ____________.
A. how much education one has received
B. whether one is single or married
C. how old one’s children are
D. where one lives
13. The word “proper” in the second paragraph means __________.
A. small
B. big
C. right
D. wrong
14. After a lot of work，the artist thought that he had paid the government ____________.
A. less tax than he should have
B. more tax than he should have
C. as much tax as usual
D. just enough tax
15. Why did the tax collector send a letter to the artist？
A. To send him a new tax form.
B. To return the money overpaid.
C. To remind him of paying the tax.
D. To explain the rules of tax paying.
