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Such walking rigs are one way that Concho Resources, the company which owns the well, seeks to extract more oil, more efficiently. Concho is not alone. The shale industry has made America the world's top producer of crude oil. But as the world becomes more dependent on American oil, American oil is becoming more dependent on the Permian Basin, which spans about 75,000 square miles across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. On the surface, the natural landscape is all but barren. But underground lies layer upon layer of shale rich with oil and gas. A geological millefeuille. The region accounted for 30% of America's oil production in July, up from 23% two years earlier.
The Permian and other American shale basins had already been drilled for decades using conventional wells. Then after the financial crisis of 2007-08 low interest rates helped companies deploy new techniques on well after well: they drilled horizontally, then pummeled shale with sand and water，a process known as hydraulic fracturing，or fracking, until the rock relinquished its oil and gas.
Because about 80% of a shale well's production occurs within two years of fracking， firms kept buying oil rights and drilling. In 2014 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), fed up with giddy American production, declined to curb its own output.Having soared to $115 in June 2014, the price of Brent crude oil plunged to $29 a barrel in January 2016. Since 2015 Texas alone has seen 71 bankruptcies of exploration-and-production firms, says Haynes and Boone, a law firm.
As a result，investors' appetite for growth for growth's sake has waned.Shale companies now claim to have changed how they operate. Take Pioneer Natural Resources. In 2015 David Einhorn, a prominent short-seller, unkindly labelled Pioneer a “mother-fracker” for its profligate ways. Today Timothy Dove, the firm's chief executive，tempers his bullishness about the Permian with more attention to costs. Pioneer is selling assets so it can center its business entirely in the Permian, where Mr. Dove says he can drill most economically. Executives are being paid for returns as well as rising output.
Companies such as Pioneer and Concho are also revising techniques in the field.Fracking recovers only about 8-10% of oil in shale.“If you can actually go from 10% to 12%，that's a 20% increase in the amount of oil you're recovering，” says Mr. Dove. So firms are drilling several wells on a single site, to reduce drilling time and costs, and then blasting wells with more water and sand, to extract more oil. Concho is continuously testing optimal ways to frack, for instance by targeting one section of a well, then a section of another nearby, then returning to the first well for more fracking.
However, investment discipline remains patchy. According to analysis by Sanford C.Bernstein, a research firm, which examined the most recent quarterly results of American exploration and production companies, nine of the biggest dozen firms, including Concho and Pioneer, had cashflow from operations that exceeded capital spending (and Pioneer, just barely). Among the dozen smallest companies reviewed, only three earned more than they spent.
Even with high oil prices, now at around $80, the industry faces new pressures.Pipelines from the Permian are jammed with crude. New ones will open late next year, yet other problems will persist. Oil service firms slashed their rates after the most recent crash, but those prices are creeping up. Mr. Trump's tariffs on imported steel will make equipment more expensive. The cost of hiring and housing workers is soaring.
單選題第1題Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 1 and 2?
A.West Texas is the most productive oilfield of America.
B.The drill bit will first reach about a mile and a half in depth, and then drill for another two miles in depth.
C.America is the world's top producer of crude oil because of its walking rigs.
D.On the surface, the Permian Basin is barren, but underneath it is rich in oil and gas.
參考答案：D
答案解析：本題定位至第1、2段。第1段第一句的大意為：這是位于得克薩斯州西部帕米亞盆地的一個炎熱的早晨，這里是美國產(chǎn)量最高的油田。由此可知，位于得克薩斯州西部的帕米亞盆地為產(chǎn)量最高的油田，而不是得克薩斯西部，因此A項錯誤。第1段第三句話的意思是：當(dāng)鉆頭的深度達(dá)到約1.5英里（約為帝國大廈高度的六倍）時，它將再向側(cè)邊鉆兩英里。由此可知，B項“鉆頭先鉆大約一英里半深，然后再鉆兩英里的深度”表述錯誤。第2段第三句話的大意為：頁巖工業(yè)使美國成為世界上最大的原油生產(chǎn)國。由此可知，C項“移動油井使美國成為世界上最大的原油生產(chǎn)國”錯誤。第2段第五、六句話的意思是：表面看來，自然景觀幾近貧瘠，但是地下卻有一層又一層富含石油和天然氣的頁巖。其表述與D項一致，答案為D。
單選題第2題The word “curb” underlined in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.restrain
B.augment
C.boost
D.diminish
參考答案：A
答案解析：本題可定位至第4段。第4段第二句話的意思為：2014年，石油輸出國組織對美國令人眩暈的產(chǎn)量非常惱火，因此不再限制自己的產(chǎn)量。curb 詞在該句中的意思為“抑制、控制”，A項符合題意。B項意為“增加、擴(kuò)充”，C項意為“促進(jìn)、提高”，D項意為“削弱、減少”，均不符合題意。答案為A。
單選題第3題Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Investors have more and more interest in growth for growth^ sake.
B.The label of “mother-fracker” for Pioneer is given by David Einhorn for its wasteful ways.
C.Mr. Dove is no longer aggressively confident and optimistic about the Permian, but pays more attention to costs.
D.Executives not only get returned because of rising output, but also get paid because of profit.
參考答案：A
答案解析：本題由選項可定位至第5段。第一句話的意思是：投資者為增長而增長的興趣已經(jīng)減弱。文中wane的意思為“減少、減弱”，由此可知，A項與原文不符。第三句話的大意為：2015年，著 名的賣空者David Einhorn因為先鋒公司鋪張浪費，很不友好地稱其為“mother-fracker”。文中profligate的意思為“恣意揮霍的、極其浪費的”，由此可知，B項與原文相符。第四句話的意思是：如今，該公司的首 席執(zhí)行官Timothy Dove對帕米亞不再盲目樂觀，而更加關(guān)注成本。由此可知，C項與原文相符。第5段最后一句話的意思是：高管們不僅因為產(chǎn)量增加而獲得回報，還因為贏利而獲得了高薪。由此可知，D項與原文相符。答案為A。
單選題第4題Why do companies revise techniques in drilling field according to Paragraph 6?
A.To reduce drilling time.
B.To reduce costs.
C.To extract more oil.
D.All of the above.
參考答案：D
答案解析：由題干可定位至第6段。第四句話的大意為：為了減少鉆井時間和成本，公司在同一地點鉆幾口井，然后使用更多的水和沙子爆裂油井，以提取更多的石油。由此可知，A、B、C三項在文中均有提及，因此D為正確選項。
單選題第5題The word “patchy” underlined in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to______.
A.strict
B.incomplete
C.elaborate
D.intricate
參考答案：B
答案解析：本題可定位至第7段。第一句的意思為：然而，投資紀(jì)律仍不完善。patchy在該句中意為“不完整、不完善”，B項符合題意。A項“嚴(yán)格的”、C項“詳盡的、精心設(shè)計的”、D項“錯綜復(fù)雜的”均與題意不符。答案為B。
單選題第6題Which of the following statements is TRUE ?
A.Most shale companies are continuously testing the best ways to frack.
B.OPEC was angry because of giddy American production in 2014.
C.About 80% of a shale well's production occurs within three years of fracking.
D.Since 2015, 71 exploration-and-production firms have gone bankrupt in America.
參考答案：B
答案解析：本題要結(jié)合全文來理解。第6段最后一句話的大意為：康喬公司一直在測試壓裂的最 佳方法，比如先對油井的一部分進(jìn)行壓裂，然后再對附近的另一部分進(jìn)行壓裂，然后再回到第一口井進(jìn)行壓裂。由此可知，測試壓裂的最 佳方法的是康喬公司，而不是大部分頁巖公司，因此A項錯誤。第4段第二句話提到：2014年石油輸出國組織對美國令人眩暈的產(chǎn)量非常惱火。文中fed up表示“非常生氣、惱火”，因此B項正確。第4段第一句話的大意為：頁巖油井約80%的產(chǎn)量需要兩年的水力壓裂，因此石油公司一直在購買采油權(quán)、一直在鉆井。由此可知，因此C項“頁巖油井約80%的產(chǎn)量需要三年的水力壓裂”錯誤。第4段最后一句話提到：自2015年以來，僅得克薩斯州就有71家勘探和生產(chǎn)公司破產(chǎn)。D項表述錯誤，并非美國有71家公司破產(chǎn)，而是得克薩斯州。答案為B。
單選題第7題What can be inferred from the analysis of quarterly results of American exploration and production companies by Sanford C.Bernstein?
A.Most companies had earned more than they spent.
B.Most big companies spent more than they earned.
C.Pioneer only earned more than it spent by a narrow margin.
D.Most small companies earned more than they spent.
參考答案：C
答案解析：本題可定位至第7段。第7段的大意為：根據(jù)研宄公司Sanford C. Bernstein對美國勘探和生產(chǎn)公司最 新季度業(yè)績的分析，包括Concho和Pioneer在內(nèi)的最大的十幾家公司中有9家的現(xiàn)金流超過了資本支出（先鋒公司勉強(qiáng)超過）；在接受調(diào)查的十幾家規(guī)模最小的公司中，只有3家公司的收入高于其投入。由段意可知，十幾家大公司中只有9家收入高于投入，十幾家小公司中只有3家收入高于投入，因此A項“大部分公司收入高于投入”、B項“大部分大公司投入高于收入”、D項“大部分小公司收入高于投入”均錯誤。C項“先鋒公司收入勉強(qiáng)高于投入”為正確選項。
單選題第8題Which of the following is NOT the new pressures of this industry?
A.Jammed pipelines in the Permian.
B.Expensive equipment.
C.High cost of hiring and housing workers.
D.High oil prices.
參考答案：D
答案解析：由最后一段可知，該行業(yè)也面臨著新的壓力，因此本題可定位至最后一段。由第二句話可知，來自帕米亞的輸油管道被原油堵塞，因此A項與原文相符。由第五句話可知，特朗普對進(jìn)口鋼鐵征收的關(guān)稅使設(shè)備更加昂貴，因此B項與原文相符。由第六句話可知，雇傭和安置工人的成本正在飆升，因此C項與原文相符。第8段第一句話的意思是：盡管油價目前高達(dá)80美元左右，但石油行業(yè)仍面臨著新的壓力。由此可知，油價高并非石油業(yè)面臨新壓力的原因，因此答案為D。
單選題第9題The purpose of this passage is to______.
A.introduce the drilling process
B.satire America's investment disciplines
C.criticize Mr. Trump's tariffs on imported steel
D.talk about the situation of America's shale industry
參考答案：D
答案解析：本題要結(jié)合全文來理解。A項意為“介紹鉆井過程”，僅在第一段中體現(xiàn)，并不能體現(xiàn)全文主旨，因此A項錯誤。B項意為“諷刺美國投資規(guī)則”，文中只提及投資規(guī)則不完善，而無諷刺之意，因此B項錯誤。C項意為“批判特朗普先生對鋼材進(jìn)口征稅”，文中只提到對鋼材進(jìn)口征稅使得設(shè)備價格更加高昂，并無批判之意，因此C項錯誤。D項意為“探討美國頁巖行業(yè)現(xiàn)狀”，全文都圍繞這一主題敘述，因此D項正確。
單選題第10題This passage is most probably taken from_______.
A.a government report
B.an economic magazine
C.an academic journal
D.a legal document
參考答案：B
答案解析：A項意為“政府報告”，B項意為“經(jīng)濟(jì)雜志”，C項意為“學(xué)術(shù)期刊”，D項意為“法律文件”。根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容可知，該篇文章講的是America's shale industry,屬于經(jīng)濟(jì)題材，故最有可能出自經(jīng)濟(jì)雜志，因此選擇B項。
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2020翻譯三級綜合能力考試大綱
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