考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2002年part3
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, consultancy 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%.
11. The main reason for the latest rise of oil price is ________.
[A] global inflation. [B] reduction in supply.
[C] fast growth in economy. [D] Iraq's suspension of exports.
12. It can be inferred from the text that the retail price of petrol will go up dramatically if ______.
[A] price of crude rises. [B] commodity prices rise.
[C] consumption rises. [D] oil taxes rise.
13. The estimates in Economic Outlook show that in rich countries ________.
[A] heavy industry becomes more energy-intensive.
[B] income loss mainly results from fluctuating crude oil prices.
[C] manufacturing industry has been seriously squeezed.
[D] oil price changes have no significant impact on GDP.
14. We can draw a conclusion from the text that ________.
[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.
15. From the text we can see that the writer seems ________.
[A] optimistic. [B] sensitive. [C] gloomy [D] scared.
Unit 9 （2002） Part 3
重点词汇：
1. decline（n.v.下降；衰落v.谢绝）←de向下+cline倾斜；同根词：incline（v.倾斜；倾向于n.斜坡）←in（=to）+cline。People decline invitations when they are “indisposed” physically, and I wish they would do likewise when they fell indisposed emotionally.人们在身体“不适”时谢绝邀请，我希望他们在觉得情绪上不适时也能同样做。We perceive when love begins and when it declines by our embarrassment when alone together.我们由仅余两人时的局促不安察觉爱情于何时发生，何时减退。
2. OPEC（石油输出国组织）即Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries。
3. scary（引起惊慌的）即scar（e）+y，scare（n.v.惊恐），-y形容词后缀。More powerful creation may scare many people away, but more intrepid people will be captivated by it.更加强有力的作品可能吓退许多人，但比较勇敢的人们会被它吸引住。
4. quadruple （四倍的；使成四倍；四倍）即quadru+ple，quadru-前缀“四”（=quarter），ple词根“折叠”，complicated所含的词根plic也是“折叠”的意思（参2002年Text 2）。
5. triple （三倍的；使成三倍；三倍）即tri+ple，tri-前缀“三”，如triangle（三角形）←tri+angle角。
6. inflation（膨胀；通货膨胀；自夸）即in+flat+ion，in-（=into），flat词根“吹”，-ion名词后缀，故“往里面吹”→膨胀。Inflation: When nobody has enough money because everybody has too much.通货膨胀：由于人人钱太多而谁的钱都不够的时候。inflation — the period when the standard of living continues to rise until the people can't afford it 通货膨胀——生活水平持续上升直到人们负担不起的时期。
7. gloom （v.n.阴暗；忧愁），形容词为gloomy （阴暗的；阴沉的），那首据说有杀人魔力的歌曲就叫Gloomy Sunday。Love is the flame of life, without it, everything in life becomes gloomy.爱是生命的火焰，没有它，生命中的一切都变得暗淡无光。
8. doom（n.厄运v.注定）。
9. suspend （v.悬挂；延缓）即sus+pend，sus-前缀“在下面”，pend词根“挂”，故“暂且挂在下面不管”→搁置；名词形式为suspension←sus+pens挂+ion。The best of men cannot suspend their fate.最好的人也无法推迟死亡。
10. consequence （后果；重要性）←con+sequ（=follow）+ence。conservation? （保护；保存；守恒）即con+serv（e）+ation，con-前缀“全部”，serve词根“保持”（=keep），-ation名词后缀；动词为conserve←con+serve。A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.不具备某种变革手段的国家也不具备保存自己的手段。
11. energy-intensive 能源密集型。
12. consumption（消费量，消耗）即consum（e）+ption，consume（v.消费，消耗），-ption名词后缀，m后加p便于发音，如assume（假定；承担；呈现）→assumption、presume（v.假设）→presumption。Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.引人注目地挥霍贵重财物是有闲绅士取得名声的手段。
13. consultancy（顾问工作；咨询业）←consult+ancy名词后缀；consult（v.商量；查询；会诊）←比consul（领事）在最后多字母t，
14. GDP（国民生产总值）即Gross Domestic Product。
15. OECD（经济合作与发展组织）即Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development。
16. estimate（v.n.估计，估价）。True modesty does not consist in an ignorance of our merits, but in a due estimate of it.真正的谦虚不在于对自己的长处一无所知，而在于对它们的恰当评价。
17. excess（。过量a.额外的）即ex+cess，ex-前缀“出”，cess词根“走”，故“走到范围之外的”→过量的；动词形式为exceed（超过）←ex+ceed走。The best things carried to excess are wrong.最好的东西超过限度也会变坏。He is poor whose expenses exceed his income.开支超过收入的人就是穷人。
18. sizable（相当大的）←siz（e）+able；size（大小，尺寸）。You can tell the size of a man by the size of the things that make him mad.根据使一个人发怒的事情的大小，可以判断这个人的气量。
19. significant （有意义的；重要的）即signify（y变形为i）表示+cant形容词后缀，“值得表示的”→有意义的；signify即sign+ify，sign标记，-ify动词后缀，“作标记”→表示。
难句解析：
① Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short time.
该句是一个含有插入成分的单句。主语是Strengthening economic growth，谓语是could push，插入成分是一个时间状语。
本句阅读的重点是要首先抓住主句的基本结构。
②In 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.
该句是一个复杂句，由两个单句构成，中间用so来表示前后的因果关系。
本句阅读的重点是一些短语和词组。account for占…的部分；muted原意是“沉默的，被弄哑的”，在文章里的意思是“不太显着的”；pump price油品零售价格。
③Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption.
该句是一个简单句，只是主语复杂一点，其谓语部分是have reduced oil consumption
本句阅读的重点在主语，注意它里面有三个并列成分：Energy conservation，a shift to other fuels，第三个是a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries。
④The 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.
本句的主句是The OECD estimates… that，本句复杂的地方在其宾语部分，里面有一个条件状语if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998，而主句是后面的部分，其中的主语this指代的是if条件句。
本句阅读的重点在于抓住句子的主干。
⑤One 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.
本句的主句是One more reason is that…比较复杂的是其以that引导的表语从句，它的主语是it，指代的是the rise in oil prices。
本句阅读的重点在于了解一些短语的意思：lose sleep over因…而失眠；occur against the background of…发生在…的背景之下
试题解析：
11. 【正确答案】[B]
本题的答题依据是第一段的第二句话，“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.”看懂了这句话，这道题就很容易了。
12. 【正确答案】[D]
本题的关键信息在第三段的第三句话“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.”意思是说：在欧洲，汽油的零售价中税占到五分之四，因此税的增加会导致汽油价格的（成比例）猛涨，而原油价格的变化带来的影响不会很大。
13. 【正确答案】 [D]
本题的答题依据是第四段中的下面这句话“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.”这是一道比较容易的题。
14. 【正确答案】 [A]
本题的答题依据是全文的最后一段，强调这次油价上涨与20世纪70年代的上涨不同，也就是没有70年代的那一次那么可怕。
15. 【正确答案】[A]
本题是一道比较容易的题。答题依据贯穿全文，尤其是第三段和最后一段的第一句话，强调人们不必担心此次油价上涨，因为这一次的情况与20世纪70年代不同。
全文翻译：
过去经济衰落的日子会不会重来？自从石油输出国组织在3月决定减少原油供应，原油的价格便从去年12月的不到10美元一桶上升到约26美元一桶。这次近3倍的涨价令人想起了1973年和1979～1980年两次可怕的石油恐慌，当时的油价分别涨了4倍和近3倍。前两次的油价暴涨都导致了两位数的通货膨胀和全球性的经济衰退。那么这次警告人们厄运来临的头版新闻都到哪里去了呢？
本周伊拉克暂停石油出口，这使油价又一次上扬。强劲的经济增长势头，随着北半球冬季的到来，有可能在短期内使石油价格涨得更高。
然而，我们有充分的理由预期这次油价暴涨给经济带来的影响不会像20世纪70年代那么严重。与70年代相比，现在多数国家的原油价格占汽油价格的份额要小很多。在欧洲，税金在汽油零售价的比例高达4/5，因此，即使原油价格发生很大的波动，汽油价格所受的影响也不会像过去那么显着。
发达国家对石油的依赖性也不如从前，因此对油价的波动也就不会那么敏感。能源储备、燃料替代以及能源密集型重工业的重要性的降低，都减少了石油消耗量。软件、咨询及移动通讯消耗的石油，比钢铁、汽车行业少得多。发达国家国民生产总值中每一个美元所消耗的石油量比1973年少了近一半。国际经合组织在最近一期的《经济展望》中估计，如果油价持续一年维持在22美元左右，与1998年的13美元一桶相比，这也只会使发达国家的石油进口在支出上增加GDP的0.25％～0.5％。这还不到1974年或1980年收入减少部分的1/4。另一方面，进口石油的新兴国家由于转向了重工业，消耗能量更大，因此可能会受到石油危机的强烈影响。
另外一个不应因油价上升而失眠的原因是，与20世纪70年代不同，这次油价上升不是发生在普遍的物价暴涨及全球需求过旺背景之下。世界上很多地区才刚刚走出经济衰落。《经济学家》的商品价格指数与一年前相比总的来说也没有什么变化。1973年的商品价格跃升了70％，而1979年也上升了近30％。
考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2002年part3的延伸阅读——复习英语要讲究技巧
一，重视单词。
从第一天开始复习到考试的前一天，考试大纲词汇就应不离手，因为这是一切的基础。考试大纲是命题专家出题的依据、基础，所以考生一定要重视。背单词时，可以总结同义词、一词多义以及包含“高级”短语的句子，然后跟同桌的研友们对话，或者“厚颜无耻”地主动向他们“炫耀”，同时也坚持参加英语辩论活动，把自己最新积累的词句一一“亮”出，这样考生会感觉记得特别牢固。
二，日积月累。
作为一门语言，充满了繁琐与细节的，想一口吃成大胖子是不太现实的，必须耐心地积累“量变”以求“质变”。学习英语的时间安排也是有规律可循的，如果你一天安排3个小时学英语，那么与其一鼓作气学3个小时倒不如改成上下午各1.5小时。持续学习、及时复习才能收到较为理想的效果。可以参照着名的“艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线”来合理安排时间，最大限度地降低遗忘率，以获得较好的学习效果。
三，研读真题。
历年考研英语全真试题是了解考研水平的最快途径，也是熟悉命题规律的唯一途径。所以要在老师的指导下分阶段复习考研英语真题。找一个安静的环境，先用一周的时间做一套真题，做完后，对自己的错题先看一下怎么错的，错在哪里，能不能解决。剩下的时间要分析题型，也就是看这些题目是属于细节题、推理题，还是主旨大意题……当复习完十年的真题，建议考生放20天左右的时间，重新再做真题，分析自己的做题思路，考前一个月适当做些高质量的模拟题练练手。另外，希望考生真题至少看三遍。第一遍先做，做完之后归纳总结错题的原因。第二遍主要精读文章解决单词句子翻译。第三遍前两遍的内容都要看。
四，增加课外阅读。
课外阅读在考研英语复习中占有重要地位，对提高成绩有很大作用，建议大家订一份《英语世界》杂志，阅读上面的文章，也会有不少收获。如果有条件，看看自己学校图书馆是否有这本书，有的话坚持看，肯定会有收获的！
希望以上的介绍对2013的考研同学有所帮助，另外，大家在学习英语学习方法时，要从自身实际出发，选择真正适合自己的复习方法。 | 
