Passage 3
Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn‟t it? If you think so, you‟re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
“Energy independence” and its rhetorical companion “energy security” are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely though through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle of biofuel (生物燃料） available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don‟t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don‟t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.
What does the author say about energy independence for America?
文章第一段中间部分指出“...because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades”。 由此可知能源独立一直都是美国的梦想，这说明能源独立对美国很有吸引力， 故选A。
What does the author think of biofuels?
文章第四段第二句提到“...but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction”。 由此可知大部分的生物燃料会造成经济浪费与环境破坏，故选D。
Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?
根据文章第五段第二句“They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad”可知相比从国外进口石油， 美国人更看重环境质量。 这表明美国人希望保持自己国家环境是完好的， 故选B。
What does the author say about oil trade?
由文章倒数第二段第二句“It allows for economic efficiency...”可知作者认为石油贸易是有经济效益的， 故选C。
What is the author‟s purpose in writing the passage?
根据文章第三段第二句“But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere”以及接下来三段的第一句“The first reason is that...”“Second...”“Third...”可知文章讲的是美国能源依赖进口的原因， 故选A。