B
Frankfurt: Renault SA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said the future of electric cars depends on a rebound (反弹) in oil prices that may boost sales of the battery –powered vehicles he’s spending 4 billion euros ($ 5.9 billion) to develop.
“If oil is less than $ 70, we are going to have a problem,” Ghosn said in an interview at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Renault pledged to sell 100,000 electric cars by 2016 in Israel and Denmark, the first two countries to hire the Paris-based company’s US partner Better Place to roll out nationwide networks of battery-charging swapping stations.
Ghosn is pitting (绞尽脑汁)electric cars from Renault and Japanese affiliate Nissan Motor Co against a new generation of smaller, cheaper gasoline electric hybrids from rivals including Toyota Motor Corp. The French company’s Fluence sedan, on show for the first time in Frankfurt, will become the world’s first mass-market electric car if the agreement with Better Place pays off.
“The outlook for investors in electric cars is extremely dangerous, but if oil prices take off again, there may be a significant commercial opportunity and big rewards,” said Peter Schmidt, managing director of Warwick, England-based consulting firm Automotive Industry Data.
The price of oil, which stood at $70.75 a barrel（桶） by this morning in Europe, will rise to $75 tomorrow, based on the median（中间数）of 35 estimates ranging from $40 to $110. It’s likely to fluctuate （波动）between $80 and $92 through 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The higher oil prices are, the better it will be for electric cars.
B. Sales of electric cars depend on the new design.
C. The agreement with Better Place pays off.
D. The quality of battery-powered autos can not be guaranteed.
60. The sentence “But if it’s at $ 200, the economic equation’s very easy, and if it’s more than $ 200, even easier.” can be put at the end of _________.
A. paragraph one              B. paragraph two           
C. paragraph three             D. paragraph four
61. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Fluctuation of oil prices              B. Bad future for electric cars
C. Oil price holds key for electric autos   D. A promising CEO
62. The estimated oil price in 2013 might be between________________.
A.$35—$75           B.$40—$110    C. $70.75—$75    D.$80—$92

_____ the government recovers the vehicle purchase tax and the oil prices go up continuously, the sales of the vehicle in China are still increasing every year.

152. The residents approve of the measure ______ so far in our city, _____ to bring a sharp rise in oil prices.

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.
Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.
【小题1】 An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.

Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.

Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.

Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.

1. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

A. cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year

B. give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds

C. decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices

D. aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year

2.With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.

A. we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way

B. it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank

C. it is not wise to change food crops into gas

D. biofuels should be developed on a large scale

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.

B. A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.

C. A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.

D. It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.

4.In the passage, the author calls on us to______.

A. slow down but not to stop economy

B. act now so as to relieve the global food shortage

C. achieve economic growth and political stability

D. develop tree crops, grasses and wood products