单选题 In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?
Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when they're paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things, which stimulates the economy.
The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China, Japan and India. But doesn't the extra money in the pockets of those countries' consumers mean an equal loss in oil-producing countries, cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily, says economic researcher Sara Johnson. 'Many oil producers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw on their reserves to support government spending and subsidies (补贴) for their consumers.'
But not all oil producers have big reserves. In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy into free-fall.
Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil prices are overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oil-producing nations can't afford to import as much as they used to.
Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oil prices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the price drop account for a larger share of the global economy.
Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they're getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is still fresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming their gasoline subsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers is not as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.

单选题 What does the author mainly discuss in the passage? ______

A、 The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.
B、 Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.
C、 The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.
D、 The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】首段，并综合全文。本题实际询问文章的主题，是主旨题。第1段指出当前油价下跌，但经济增长却放缓的事实，最后一句为设问，低油价(lower oil prices)和经济增长(growth)的关系是否已变弱。下文内容实际上是从不同的角度(Some experts、两名经济学家Sara Johnson和Carl Weinberg、和消费者)回答该问题，故文章主题应该是围绕低油价对全球经济的影响而展开的，C项“廉价石油对全球经济增长的影响”正确。文章只是说油价下跌这个事实，并没分析其原因，故A项“油价暴跌背后的原因”不对。文章也没提到如何促进全球经济增长，B项“刺激全球经济的可行办法”严重便离文章重点。文中只有第2段和最后一段提到油价下跌对消费者的影响，属于文章的细节内容，不是文章的主旨，故D项“油价下跌对消费者消费的影响”不对。 [参考译文] 在过去，石油价格下跌会推动世界经济增长，但现在即使油价越跌越低，最近全球经济增长仍预计会放缓。这是否意味着油价下跌和经济增长之间的关系已经削弱? 有些专家说，仍有充分的理由相信石油价格低廉会促进世界经济升温。消费者在油泵上花钱少了，他们口袋里的钱就多了。他们就会把这笔钱花在其他方面，从而刺激经济。最大的受益者是那些主要依靠石油进口的国家，比如中国、日本和印度。但是，这些国家消费者口袋里由此盈余的钱是否等同于石油生产国的损失，从而抵消了这种获利?经济研究员莎拉·约翰逊表示未必是如此。“许多石油生产国在油价高涨时设立巨额储备基金，因此当价格下跌时，它们将利用储备金支持政府开支和给予本国消费者补贴。” 但并不是所有的石油生产国都有大量的储备。在委内瑞拉，崩溃的油价使其经济一落千丈。经济学家卡尔·温伯格认为，油价暴跌的负面影响压倒了廉价石油的积极影响。这意味着全球贸易总额急剧下降，部分原因是因为石油生产国负担不起以往那么多的进口。莎拉·约翰逊承认，现在油价下跌带来的全球经济利益可能比过去少。原因之一是，现在有更多的国家成为了石油生产大国，所以遭受价格下跌影响的国家占全球经济的份额更大．、消费者正谨慎地花他们从油泵上省下来的钱，至少美国的消费者是这样，因为他们对最近的经济大衰退记忆犹新。一些石油生产国正在削减汽油补贴和提高税收，因此全球消费者的净储蓄增长并不如石油价格暴跌带来的潜在收益。

单选题 Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy? ______

A、 Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.
B、 Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.
C、 Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.
D、 Consumers will spend their savings from cheap oil on other commodities.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干中的some experts定位至第2段。本题询问为什么有些专家相信廉价的石油会刺激全球经济发展。第2段第1句对应题干主体内容，而第2、3句是支持该观点的具体论据，第3句中的that money指的就是消费者从油费上省出来的钱，文中说消费者会把这笔钱用在别的事情上，从而刺激经济(stimulates the economy)，D项中的other commodities是对该句中的other things的具体化表述，故D项“消费者会把从廉价石油中节省下来的钱花到购买其他商品上”正确。文章没有提及商品的制造商，故A项“制造商会以更低的成本给消费者生产商品”无相应细节支持。B项“更低的石油价格以往总能促进全球经济增长”是事实，但文中有多次提到现在的情况有所不同了，且这也不是Some experts的观点。原文没有economic laws相关词眼，C项“石油价格或升或降，但是经济法不会受这种变化影响”无原文依据。

单选题 What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil price go down? ______

A、 They suspend import of necessities from overseas.
B、 They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.
C、 They use their money reserves to back up consumption.
D、 They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干中的oil-exporting countries定位至第3段最后一句。本题询问石油价格下跌时许多石油出口国会发生什么。题干中的oil-exporting countries指“石油出口国”，文中的oil-producing countries和oil producers均与此对应。第3段最后一句说石油生产围在油价下跌时，会启用储备基金(draw on their reserves to support...)，C项中的use和back up分别是该句draw on和support的同义表达，分别表示“利用”和“支持”之义，可见C项“它们利用资金储备来支持消费”是对该处的同义改写。原文在第5段末提到石油生产国的进口问题，但只说进口量没有以前多了(can't afford to import as much as they used to)，并没有具体提到是否中止对必需品的进口，故A项“它们中止从海外进口必需品”错误。石油生产国应对石油价格下跌的举措也没有涉及石油生产量的减少，B项“它们急剧减少生产以提高石油价格”属于随意捏造。文章只在第4段提到委内瑞拉受石油影响经济一落千丈(free-fall)，并没有说许多石油出口国阻止经济下滑，D项“它们尽力阻止经济迅速下滑”偷换概念。

单选题 How does Carl Weinberg View the current oil price plunge? ______

A、 It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.
B、 Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.
C、 It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.
D、 Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据题干中的专有名词Carl Weinberg定位至第5段第1句。本题询问Carl Weinberg如何看待现在油价暴跌的现象。第5段第1句正是他的观点，该部分主干为the negative effects of...are overwhelming the positive effects of...，大意就是弊大于利。B项中的more than cancel out“更多地抵消”与该句中的overwhelming“压倒”语义相近，可见B项“它的消极影响更多地抵消了其积极作用”正确。 A项“它是经济史上绝无仅有的现象”过于绝对，通常过于绝对的选项不为答案，预读时可排除，而且文章开篇也提到过去石油价格下跌会推动经济增长，说明当前的石油价格下跌并非绝无仅有，可排除A项。C项“它仍然有机会引领全球经济走向繁荣”和D项“它对全球经济的影响违背现有的经济法”均属于随意捏造，原文无相关内容支持。

单选题 Why haven't falling oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before? ______

A、 People are not spending all the money they save on gas.
B、 The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.
C、 Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.
D、 People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干中的falling oil prices和they did before定位至最后两段。题干所述内容“石油价格下跌没有像以前那样促进全球经济发展”与倒数第2段首句Sara Johnson的观点一致(benefit from...today is likely lower than it was in the past)。之后讲述了几个原因。其一是第6段末说的，石油输出国的数量变多了，从而使得受到油价下跌消极影响的国家增多(the nations suffering from...account for a larger share)。第二个原因是最后一段首句提到的，消费者对从油费中省下来的钱花得比较谨慎(acting cautiously with the savings)，意即他们不会随意花完这些钱。第三个原因是全文最后一句，石油生产国减少汽油补助和加税(trimming their gasoline subsidies and raising taxes)。各选项中，A项“人们没有把从油费上省下来的钱全花完”与第二个原因对应，故为答案。注意其中they save on gas是作定语从句，修饰money，与原文的the savings they're getting at the gas pump对应。其他三项都不属于上述提到的三个原因。最后一段提到消费者对最近的经济大衰退记忆犹新，但并不代表马上又会有一次经济衰退，B项“全球经济有可能经历又一次经济衰退”属于过度推断。第6段最后一句中的the nations suffering from the price drop指的是big oil producers“石油生产大国”，即石油出口国，而C项“石油进口国占全球经济的更大部分”中的Oil importers与原文正好相反，属于偷换概念。D项“全球民众部害怕石油价格进一步暴跌”完全没有在文中提到。