单选题 10.From 1973 to 1986, growth in the United States economy was over 33 percent, while the percent growth in United States energy consumption was zero. The number of barrels of oil being saved per day by energy-efficiency improvements made since 1973 is now 13 million.
If the information above is correct, which of the following conclusions can properly be drawn on the basis of it?

A、 It is more difficult to find new sources of oil than to institute new energy-conservation measures.
B、 Oil imports cannot be reduced unless energy consumption does not grow at all.
C、 A reduction in the consumption of gasoline was the reason overall energy consumption remained steady.
D、 It is possible for an economy to grow without consuming additional energy.
E、 The development of nontraditional energy sources will make it possible for the United States economy to grow even faster.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】Argument Construction
Situation From 1973 to 1986, the United States economy grew over 33 percent while energy consumption did not grow. Energy improvements have made dramatic savings in annual oil consumption since 1973.
Reasoning If the given information in the passage is true, which of the five statements provided must be true based on that information? To find that statement, look for the one that has the closest relevance to the information given. Certainly, all five statements refer to topics at least loosely associated with the topics discussed in the given information. But four of them introduce extraneous information, while just one relies solely on the given information, simply making explicit something implicit in that information.
A Nothing in the given information even implicitly depends on contrasting the relative difficulty of finding new oil with the difficulty of instituting new energy-conservation measures.
B Nothing in the given information refers, even implicitly, to oil imports, so this statement does not follow logically from the given information.
C This is new information that, if true, would help explain why there was zero percent growth in energy consumption in the period under discussion. But this new information could easily be false even if the given information is true. For instance, gasoline consumption could have held steady but the consumption of petroleum diesel or heating oil could have been reduced significantly.
D Correct. This statement must be true if the given information is accurate. If something of a given kind has occurred, then it must be possible for that kind of thing to occur. The given information cites an example of an economy that had 33 percent economic growth along with zero percent growth in energy consumption.
E The given information may be entirely accurate even if this claim is false. Even if this claim is true, the given information does not address, even implicitly, the development of nontraditional sources.
The correct answer is D.