Oil prices dropped more than 7％ after Western nations released the biggest amount of oil from their emergency strategic stocks since 1991，in a warning shot aimed at OPEC, the oil producers' cartel．
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?
Israeli paintings－Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman will hold a personal show named “Flock of Sheep” from November 26 to December 20 at the China National Art Museum．On show are 550 colorful oil paintings of sheep heads．
His works have been on show in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and Tate Gallery in London over the past 30 years．
Time：9∶00 a. m.－4∶00 p. m., November 26-December 20．
Place：China National Art Museum,1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing．
Tel：6401-2252
Russia Ballet－The Kremlin Ballet from Russia will perform two immortal classical ballets－“Swiss Lake” and “The Nutcracker”－at the Beijing Beizhan Theatre．Set up in 1990, the theatre has a number of first-class ballet dancers with pride．Most of their performances are classical．
Time：7∶15 p. m., December 5 and 6(“Swan Lake”); 7∶15 p. m., December 7(“Nutcracker”)
Folk concert－The Central Conservatory of Music(音乐学院)will hold a folk concert in memory of the late musician Situ Huacheng．
On the programme are many popular folks such as “Moon Night on the Bamboo Tower” “Celebrating Harvest” “Deep and Lasting Friendship” “Golden Snake Dancers Wildly”, and “Children?s Holiday”．
Time：7∶30 p. m., November 25．
Place：Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhua Street．
Tel：6605-5812
(1)
If a child is very fond of dancing, his parent should take him to ________．
[ ]
A．
China National Art Museum
B．
Beizhan Theatre
C．
Beijing Concert Hall
D．
1 Wusi Street
(2)
Menashe Kadishman is well known for painting ________．
[ ]
A．
deer
B．
birds
C．
sheep
D．
flowers
(3)
Which of the following is TRUE?
[ ]
A．
The folk concert will last three days．
B．
The ballet “The Nutcracker” will be put on once．
C．
The Israeli paintings will be on show for a month．
D．
China National Art Museum lies in Xicheng District．
(4)
If you dial the telephone number 6605-3388 on Dec．8, you can ________．
[ ]
A．
go to the folk concert
B．
visit the Art Museum
C．
watch the ballet
D．
none of the above
阅读理解
Tuvalu, a tiny country in the Pacific Ocean, has asked for help as it fears it will be swallowed up by the sea．
Storms and huge waves are a constant threat and none of Tuvalu’s nine little islands is more than five meters above sea level．Salt water is already entering the country’s drinking water supply, as well as damaging plants(种植园) that produce fruit and vegetable．Withouturgent(紧急的) help, the country’s days are numbered．
But Tuvalu is not the first place to face sinking into the sea．Venice, a historic city in Italy best known for its canals, has sunk about 24 cm over the past 100 years．Experts say that it will have sunk another 20-50 cm by 2050．A century ago, St．Mark’ s Square, the lowest point in the city, flooded about nine times a year．Nowadays, it happens more than 100 times．
While Venice is slowly sinking into the mud on which it stands, Tuvalu’ s rising sea level is caused by global warming．
The average global temperature has increased by almost 0.5 centigrade degree over the past century．Scientists expect it to rise by an extra 1-3 degrees over the next 100 years．
Warmer weather makes glaciers (冰川) melt, adding more water to the ocean．The warmer temperatures also make water increase, so it takes up more space, causing the sea level to rise．
The sea level has risen about 10-25 cm in the last 100 years．
The main cause of global warming is human pollution．Through burning coal, oil and gas, people have been increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as CO2．This adds to the power of the greenhouse effect, making the planet even warmer．
Many scientists believe that, if the warming is not stopped, there will be huge climate changes．The sea level could rise by one meter this century．
Should this come true, millions of homes will be swallowed up by the sea and the world will be flooded with "climate refugees (难民) looking for somewhere to live．
(1)
What does the underlined sentence in the second paragraph mean?
[ ]
A．
Without urgent help, the country will go hungry．
B．
Without urgent help, the country will be numbered．
C．
Without urgent help, the country’s people will be numbered．
D．
Without urgent help, the country will disappear．
(2)
By 2050 Venice will have sunk about ________ cm．
[ ]
A．
24
B．
20
C．
50
D．
44-74
(3)
The writer wrote this article to ________．
[ ]
A．
give us some advice
B．
give us some knowledge
C．
to warn us
D．
frighten us
(4)
What is the right cause and effect?
[ ]
A．
sea flood-temperature increase-human pollution
B．
human pollution-temperature increase-sea flood
C．
human pollution-sea flood-temperature increase
D．
temperature increase-human pollution-sea flood
阅读理解
Dubai boasts(夸口)that it has just built a “new global landmark”－the Dubai Tower, which stands 512.1 meters high now and has just become the tallest building in the world．
The Dubai Tower now surpassesTaiwan’s Taipei 101, which is 508 meters tall, and has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world．
The Dubai Tower, being built by South Korea’s Samsung Corporation and scheduled for completion next year, is one of a series of great projects taking shape in Dubai．The final projected height of the tower has remained a secret since the project was launched in January 2004; however, it is rumored that the tower will be more than 700 meters tall and have more than 160 storeys．
The Dubai Tower has become the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, leaving behind other tall buildings．
The Dubai Tower will house 30,000 apartments in addition to the world’s largest shopping mall．It is the centerpiece(重要工程)of the 20-billion-dollar venture．Another venture gradually emerging across the desert sands is Dubailand, a series of multi-billion-dollar projects claimed to be the Middle East’s very own Orlando．Dubai also paid 100 million dollars to buy the Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, one of the world’s superb cruise liners(游轮), which it plans to turn into a luxury floating hotel．
Faced with decreasing oil wealth, the Western-oriented emirate(酋长国)has raced to turn itself into a business and leisure hub and it aims to more than double the number of tourists to 15 million by 2015．
(1)
The underlined word “surpasses” in the second paragraph means ________．
[ ]
A．
is equal to
B．
matches
C．
is left behind by
D．
is higher than
(2)
Which building was the tallest in the world before the Dubai Tower began to be built?
[ ]
A．
Dubai land
B．
Orlando
C．
Taiwan’s Taipei 101
D．
The Twin Towers
(3)
Why has the Western-oriented emirate paid more attention to becoming a business and leisure center?
[ ]
A．
Because it wants to attract more tourists to its places of interest．
B．
Because it produces less oil than ever．
C．
Because it aims to race with other countries to show its wealth．
D．
Because it wants to set a new world record．
(4)
Which of the following statements about the Dubai Tower is TRUE according the passage?
[ ]
A．
The Dubai Tower is 508 meters tall and has more than 141 storeys．
B．
The final height of the Dubai Tower is over 700 meters tall．
C．
Samsung Corporation has completed building the Dubai Tower．
D．
The Dubai Tower has apartments and a shopping mall．
阅读理解
Careercast．com is out with its list of best and worst jobs of 2012．It's bad news for the writer of this story, but much brighter for the folks who program the code that keeps this website busy．
Using a method that looked at physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, career Website Careercast．com, ranked the top 200 jobs．They also ranked the jobs with the most stress．Not surprisingly, none of the most stressful jobs show up on the best jobs list．
At the top is software engineer and at the bottom is the lumberjack．Cutting trees failed to skate above the bottom 10 percent in all ranking categories, except income．“Unemployment for lumberjacks is very high, and the demand for their services is expected to continue to fall through 2016．And while working outside all day may seem like a great job perk(有额外津贴的工作), being a lumberjack not only is considered the worst job, but also one of the world's most dangerous,” according to Careercast．com．And, for that most dangerous job, a lumberjack earns a little more than ＄32,000 a year．That's about ＄56,000 less than the easy job of a software engineer, which has the average salary at ＄88,000 a year, according to Careercast．
Here's a complete look at the best and worst jobs．And, take a look at the most stressful jobs．You may be surprised．
Best Jobs Worst Jobs Most Stressful Jobs
Software Engineer Lumberjack Enlisted Soldier
Actuary Dairy Farmer Firefighter
Human Resources Manager Enlisted Military Soldier Airline Pilot
