Text3
Depletion is a natural phenomenon that characterizes the development of all non-renewable resources and oil in particular. Narrowly speaking, depletion refers to the decline of production associated with a particular field, reservoir, or well. If it were not for changes in prices, costs, and technology, depletion of the world’s resources would resemble the simple decline curve of a single well.
Estimates of oil resources by field are routinely made by geologists and engineers, but the estimates are a “best guess” given the available data and are revised as more knowledge becomes available. There is no time frame or probability associated with estimates of total resources in place. In contrast, proved reserves of crude oil are the estimated quantities that are demonstrated with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.
Each year, production is taken from proved reserves, reducing both proved reserves and the total resource. Innovative production techniques such as well recompletions, secondary and tertiary enhanced recovery techniques, and expanded production of unconventional resources have reduced net depletion rates at the well and field levels. Advanced exploration and drilling techniques have reduced the cost of finding new pools, reduced the risk of dry holes and their costs, and allowed new pools to be developed and produced more quickly. More rapid production of resources from a field increases the return on capital because earnings are realized sooner, and therefore, discounted less.
Higher returns make some fields that are too expensive to develop under “normal” circumstances economically feasible, because reduced costs allow firms to make profits where they could not before. On the other hand, more rapid development and production of a field by definition increases the rate of depletion. While the rate of depletion increases with technological progress, the adverse effects of depletion are diminished, and higher levels of production can be maintained for longer periods of time. As depletion leads producers to abandon older fields and develop new ones, the process of developing domestic oil resources leads producers to find and develop the larger, more economical fields first. Later fields tend to be less desirable because they are farther away from existing infrastructure or smaller in size. Thus, as time progresses more effort is required to produce the same level of the resource from the same exploration area.
While the frontier for new resources is diminishing, increased innovation has, thus far, served to offset depletion at least partially, keeping production stronger than it would have been in the absence of the innovations. But eventually, as field sizes decrease, the ultimate recovery from discovered fields will shrink. Thus, despite technological improvements, ultimate recovery from the average field of the future will be smaller than from the average field today.
[詞匯提示]
① depletion n. 耗盡，枯竭；大量減少 ② recoverable a. 可開采的
31. The text is primarily intended to
[A] sketch a plan to delay exhaustion of existing resources.
[B] warn of the consequence of overexploiting oil reserves.
[C] introduce more efficient techniques for oil exploration.
[D] analyse economic factors in oil production and depletion.
32. According to the text, proved oil reserves
[A] are determined by geological principles.
[B] require advanced techniques for recovery.
[C] can parallel natural resources in diminution.
[D] exist until their depletion is verified by experts.
33. The author implies that an oil well is removed from production when
[A] the capital for running it has been recovered.
[B] the cost of its operation exceeds the return.
[C] new wells are superior to it in capacity.
[D] its supply of oil is entirely interrupted.
34. Technological innovations offset natural depletion because they
[A] make it profitable to locate and exploit more resources.
[B] reduce the ratio of proved reserves to actual quantities.
[C] permit to explore more fields with larger reservoirs.
[D] minimize capital expenditures in fuel production.
35. Which of the following is most likely to result in an increase in proved reserves?
[A] Increased oil production by foreign sources.
[B] A significant soaring in the price of crude oil.
[C] A reduction in estimates of total oil resources.
[D] Federal regulations requiring cleaner engines.
Text4
While disease is present prior to social organization，communal life creates special hazards. While the organization of society can reduce the dangers of disease，trade and urbanization，with their consequent problems of sanitation and pollution，can also aggravate such dangers. Even in the mid-twentieth century，during the brief calm between the polio and AIDS epidemics，epidemic health risks associated with carcinogens(cancer-producing substances) from polluted air threatened the industrialized world.
To the economist，efforts to combat these risks are at least partially public goods. The benefits from public goods are indivisible among beneficiaries. A sole private purchaser of health care would give others in society a “free ride” with respect to the benefits obtained. To market theorists，such goods are lawful objects of governmental intervention in the market. While the theory of public goods helps explain aspects of public health law and assists in fitting it into modern economic theory，it omits a critical point. Ill health is not a mere byproduct of economic activity，but an inevitable occurrence of human existence. As a result，wherever there is human society，there will be public health. Every society has to face the risks of disease. And because it must，every society searches to make disease comprehensible within the context of the society’s own particular culture，religion，or science. In this sense，health care is public not only because its benefits are indivisible and threats to it arise from factors outside of the individual but also because communal life gives individuals the cultural context in which to understand it.
Governments typically have assumed an active role with respect to health care，acting as if their role were obligatory. How governments have fulfilled that duty has varied throughout time and across societies，according not only to the wealth and scientific sophistication of the culture but also to its fundamental values—because health is defined in part by a community’s belief system，public health measures will necessarily reflect cultural norms and values.
Those who criticize the United States government today for not providing health care to all citizens equate the provision of health care with insurance coverage for the costs of medical expenses. By this standard，seventeenth and eighteenth-century America lacked any significant conception of public health law. However，despite the general paucity (scarcity) of bureaucratic organization in preindustrial America，the vast extent of health regulation and provision stands out as remarkable. Of course，the public role in the protection and regulation of eighteenth-century health was carried out in ways quite different from those today. Organizations responsible for health regulation were less stable than modern bureaucracies，tending to appear in crises and fade away in periods of calm. The focus was on epidemics which were seen as unnatural and warranting a response，not to the many prevalent and chronic conditions which were accepted as part and parcel of daily life. Additionally，and not surprisingly，religious influence was significant，especially in the seventeenth century. Finally，in an era which lacked sharp divisions between private and governmental bodies，many public responsibilities were carried out by what we would now consider private associations. Nevertheless，the extent of public health regulation long before the dawn of the welfare state is remarkable and suggests that the founding generation’s assumptions about the relationship between government and health were more complex than commonly assumed.
36. The author’s primary purpose is to
［A］ comment on the government role in health-care provision.
［B］ argue about the social organization’s tasks concerning health care.
［C］ trace the historical development of the national health-care system.
［D］ discuss the societal duty to make provision against epidemic diseases.
37. The author mentions all of the following as causes of epidemic diseases EXCEPT
［A］ expanding international trade.
［B］ rapid general urbanization.
［C］ inadequate sanitation facilities.
［D］ poor preventive measures.
38. Health care is inherently a public concern for all of the following reasons EXCLUDING
［A］ the indivisibility of its benefits among its receivers.
［B］ the impact of societal factors on the individual’s health.
［C］ the government obligation to provide health care for its people.
［D］ the comprehension of disease within a particular cultural context.
39. Which of the following finds the LEAST support in the text?
［A］ Government involvement in health care is characterized by action.
［B］ Philosophical considerations weigh less in making health policies.
［C］ Health organizations took common diseases as an essential part of daily life.
［D］ Modern public health agencies provide comprehensive protection against most diseases.
40. Which of the following best expresses the main point of the last paragraph?
［A］ The government precautions against diseases have failed many critics.
［B］ The government should spare no efforts on preventing epidemic diseases.
［C］ History witnessed government contribution to the provision of health care.
［D］ Health problems prior to the welfare state arose largely for lack of funds.
Depletion is a natural phenomenon that characterizes the development of all non-renewable resources and oil in particular. Narrowly speaking, depletion refers to the decline of production associated with a particular field, reservoir, or well. If it were not for changes in prices, costs, and technology, depletion of the world’s resources would resemble the simple decline curve of a single well.
Estimates of oil resources by field are routinely made by geologists and engineers, but the estimates are a “best guess” given the available data and are revised as more knowledge becomes available. There is no time frame or probability associated with estimates of total resources in place. In contrast, proved reserves of crude oil are the estimated quantities that are demonstrated with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.
Each year, production is taken from proved reserves, reducing both proved reserves and the total resource. Innovative production techniques such as well recompletions, secondary and tertiary enhanced recovery techniques, and expanded production of unconventional resources have reduced net depletion rates at the well and field levels. Advanced exploration and drilling techniques have reduced the cost of finding new pools, reduced the risk of dry holes and their costs, and allowed new pools to be developed and produced more quickly. More rapid production of resources from a field increases the return on capital because earnings are realized sooner, and therefore, discounted less.
Higher returns make some fields that are too expensive to develop under “normal” circumstances economically feasible, because reduced costs allow firms to make profits where they could not before. On the other hand, more rapid development and production of a field by definition increases the rate of depletion. While the rate of depletion increases with technological progress, the adverse effects of depletion are diminished, and higher levels of production can be maintained for longer periods of time. As depletion leads producers to abandon older fields and develop new ones, the process of developing domestic oil resources leads producers to find and develop the larger, more economical fields first. Later fields tend to be less desirable because they are farther away from existing infrastructure or smaller in size. Thus, as time progresses more effort is required to produce the same level of the resource from the same exploration area.
While the frontier for new resources is diminishing, increased innovation has, thus far, served to offset depletion at least partially, keeping production stronger than it would have been in the absence of the innovations. But eventually, as field sizes decrease, the ultimate recovery from discovered fields will shrink. Thus, despite technological improvements, ultimate recovery from the average field of the future will be smaller than from the average field today.
[詞匯提示]
① depletion n. 耗盡，枯竭；大量減少 ② recoverable a. 可開采的
31. The text is primarily intended to
[A] sketch a plan to delay exhaustion of existing resources.
[B] warn of the consequence of overexploiting oil reserves.
[C] introduce more efficient techniques for oil exploration.
[D] analyse economic factors in oil production and depletion.
32. According to the text, proved oil reserves
[A] are determined by geological principles.
[B] require advanced techniques for recovery.
[C] can parallel natural resources in diminution.
[D] exist until their depletion is verified by experts.
33. The author implies that an oil well is removed from production when
[A] the capital for running it has been recovered.
[B] the cost of its operation exceeds the return.
[C] new wells are superior to it in capacity.
[D] its supply of oil is entirely interrupted.
34. Technological innovations offset natural depletion because they
[A] make it profitable to locate and exploit more resources.
[B] reduce the ratio of proved reserves to actual quantities.
[C] permit to explore more fields with larger reservoirs.
[D] minimize capital expenditures in fuel production.
35. Which of the following is most likely to result in an increase in proved reserves?
[A] Increased oil production by foreign sources.
[B] A significant soaring in the price of crude oil.
[C] A reduction in estimates of total oil resources.
[D] Federal regulations requiring cleaner engines.
Text4
While disease is present prior to social organization，communal life creates special hazards. While the organization of society can reduce the dangers of disease，trade and urbanization，with their consequent problems of sanitation and pollution，can also aggravate such dangers. Even in the mid-twentieth century，during the brief calm between the polio and AIDS epidemics，epidemic health risks associated with carcinogens(cancer-producing substances) from polluted air threatened the industrialized world.
To the economist，efforts to combat these risks are at least partially public goods. The benefits from public goods are indivisible among beneficiaries. A sole private purchaser of health care would give others in society a “free ride” with respect to the benefits obtained. To market theorists，such goods are lawful objects of governmental intervention in the market. While the theory of public goods helps explain aspects of public health law and assists in fitting it into modern economic theory，it omits a critical point. Ill health is not a mere byproduct of economic activity，but an inevitable occurrence of human existence. As a result，wherever there is human society，there will be public health. Every society has to face the risks of disease. And because it must，every society searches to make disease comprehensible within the context of the society’s own particular culture，religion，or science. In this sense，health care is public not only because its benefits are indivisible and threats to it arise from factors outside of the individual but also because communal life gives individuals the cultural context in which to understand it.
Governments typically have assumed an active role with respect to health care，acting as if their role were obligatory. How governments have fulfilled that duty has varied throughout time and across societies，according not only to the wealth and scientific sophistication of the culture but also to its fundamental values—because health is defined in part by a community’s belief system，public health measures will necessarily reflect cultural norms and values.
Those who criticize the United States government today for not providing health care to all citizens equate the provision of health care with insurance coverage for the costs of medical expenses. By this standard，seventeenth and eighteenth-century America lacked any significant conception of public health law. However，despite the general paucity (scarcity) of bureaucratic organization in preindustrial America，the vast extent of health regulation and provision stands out as remarkable. Of course，the public role in the protection and regulation of eighteenth-century health was carried out in ways quite different from those today. Organizations responsible for health regulation were less stable than modern bureaucracies，tending to appear in crises and fade away in periods of calm. The focus was on epidemics which were seen as unnatural and warranting a response，not to the many prevalent and chronic conditions which were accepted as part and parcel of daily life. Additionally，and not surprisingly，religious influence was significant，especially in the seventeenth century. Finally，in an era which lacked sharp divisions between private and governmental bodies，many public responsibilities were carried out by what we would now consider private associations. Nevertheless，the extent of public health regulation long before the dawn of the welfare state is remarkable and suggests that the founding generation’s assumptions about the relationship between government and health were more complex than commonly assumed.
36. The author’s primary purpose is to
［A］ comment on the government role in health-care provision.
［B］ argue about the social organization’s tasks concerning health care.
［C］ trace the historical development of the national health-care system.
［D］ discuss the societal duty to make provision against epidemic diseases.
37. The author mentions all of the following as causes of epidemic diseases EXCEPT
［A］ expanding international trade.
［B］ rapid general urbanization.
［C］ inadequate sanitation facilities.
［D］ poor preventive measures.
38. Health care is inherently a public concern for all of the following reasons EXCLUDING
［A］ the indivisibility of its benefits among its receivers.
［B］ the impact of societal factors on the individual’s health.
［C］ the government obligation to provide health care for its people.
［D］ the comprehension of disease within a particular cultural context.
39. Which of the following finds the LEAST support in the text?
［A］ Government involvement in health care is characterized by action.
［B］ Philosophical considerations weigh less in making health policies.
［C］ Health organizations took common diseases as an essential part of daily life.
［D］ Modern public health agencies provide comprehensive protection against most diseases.
40. Which of the following best expresses the main point of the last paragraph?
［A］ The government precautions against diseases have failed many critics.
［B］ The government should spare no efforts on preventing epidemic diseases.
［C］ History witnessed government contribution to the provision of health care.
［D］ Health problems prior to the welfare state arose largely for lack of funds.