Oil prices dropped more than 7％ after Western nations released the biggest amount of oil from their emergency strategic stocks(战略储备油)since 1991, in a warning shot aimed at OPEC, the oil producers' cartel(同业联盟)．
The International Energy Agency(IEA)agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil in the coming month to offset ________ the daily production loss of 1.5 million barrels of high quality oil from Libya(利比亚)．
The US led the release, providing 50％ of the oil, with Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Italy providing most of the rest．The IEA said that it was in consultations(磋商)with China, the world's second-largest oil consumer but declined to say whether Beijing would join the effort．
Brent oil prices dropped 7.4％ to＄105.72 after the news was released, before settling at ＄106.12 in late afternoon trade in London on June 23．
The move is only the third time in the history of the IEA, established in 1974 as a counterbalance to OPEC after the Arab oil crisis： Western governments are concerned about the impact of high oil prices on the economic recovery．
"Greater tightness in the oil market threatens the fragile global economic recovery, " the IEA warned．
Steven Chu, US a energy secretary, said "we are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of oil due to supply decrease in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery．"
"As we move forward, we will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to take additional steps if necessary．" The US special oil reserve is currently at a record high level of 727million barrels．
Earlier this month, OPEC members failed to agree an official increase in production quotas despite a concerted effort by Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest producer and traditionally seen as the OPEC leader, to boost output．Iran opposed the increase．Iran's OPEC governor argued that there was no evidence of a supply shortage．
The IEA said in May that it would use all tools at its disposal to increase supply unless the cartel raised production．
(1)
The underlined word "offset” in the 2nd paragraph probably means " ________ ”·
[ ]
A．
come up
B．
knock off
C．
make up for
D．
set off
(2)
How many barrels of oil did the USA agree to provide from its emergency strategic stocks in the coming month?
[ ]
A．
60, 000, 000
B．
45, 000, 000
C．
30, 000, 000
D．
15, 000, 000
(3)
Which of the following countries is against raising oil production?
[ ]
A．
China．
B．
Iran．
C．
Libya．
D．
Saudi Arabia．
(4)
What is the main purpose of the IEA's plan of releasing 60 million barrels of oil in the coming month?
