In 1999, the price of oil hovered around $ 16 a barrel. By 2008, it had【C1】______the $ 100 a barrel mark. The reasons for the surge【C2】______from the dramatic growth of the economies of China and India to widespread【C3】______in oil-producing regions, including Iraq and Nigeria"s delta region. Triple-digit oil prices have【C4】______the economic and political map of the world, 【C5】______some old notions of power. Oil-rich nations are enjoying historic gains and opportunities, 【C6】______major importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world"s population —【C7】______rising economic and social costs. Managing this new order is fast becoming a central【C8】______of global politics. Countries that need oil are clawing at each other to【C9】______scarce supplies, and are willing to deal with any government, 【C10】______how unpleasant, to do it. In many poor nations with oil, the profits are being, lost to corruption, 【C11】______these countries of their best hope for development. And oil is fueling enormous investment funds run by foreign governments, 【C12】______some in the west see as a new threat. Countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are well supplied with rising oil【C13】______a change reflected in newly aggressive foreign policies. But some unexpected countries are reaping benefits, 【C14】______costs, from higher prices. Consider Germany. 【C15】______it imports virtually all its oil, it has prospered from extensive trade with a booming Russia and the Middle East. German exports to Russia【C16】______128 percent from 2001 to 2006. In the United States, as already high gas prices rose【C17】______higher in the spring of 2008, the issue cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Senators McCain and Obama【C18】______for a federal gas tax holiday during the peak summer driving months. And driving habits began to【C19】______as sales of small cars jumped and mass transport systems【C20】______the country reported a sharp increase in riders. 【C7】
A. confine
B. conflict
C. conform
D. confront
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In 1999, the price of oil hovered around $ 16 a barrel. By 2008, it had【C1】______the $ 100 a barrel mark. The reasons for the surge【C2】______from the dramatic growth of the economies of China and India to widespread【C3】______in oil-producing regions, including Iraq and Nigeria"s delta region. Triple-digit oil prices have【C4】______the economic and political map of the world, 【C5】______some old notions of power. Oil-rich nations are enjoying historic gains and opportunities, 【C6】______major importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world"s population —【C7】______rising economic and social costs. Managing this new order is fast becoming a central【C8】______of global politics. Countries that need oil are clawing at each other to【C9】______scarce supplies, and are willing to deal with any government, 【C10】______how unpleasant, to do it. In many poor nations with oil, the profits are being, lost to corruption, 【C11】______these countries of their best hope for development. And oil is fueling enormous investment funds run by foreign governments, 【C12】______some in the west see as a new threat. Countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are well supplied with rising oil【C13】______a change reflected in newly aggressive foreign policies. But some unexpected countries are reaping benefits, 【C14】______costs, from higher prices. Consider Germany. 【C15】______it imports virtually all its oil, it has prospered from extensive trade with a booming Russia and the Middle East. German exports to Russia【C16】______128 percent from 2001 to 2006. In the United States, as already high gas prices rose【C17】______higher in the spring of 2008, the issue cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Senators McCain and Obama【C18】______for a federal gas tax holiday during the peak summer driving months. And driving habits began to【C19】______as sales of small cars jumped and mass transport systems【C20】______the country reported a sharp increase in riders. 【C5】
A. fighting
B. struggling
C. challenging
D. threatening
Concrete is probably used more widely than any other substance except water, yet it remains largely unappreciated. "Some people view the 20th century as the atomic age, the space age, the computer age — but an argument can be made that it was the concrete age, " says cement specialist Hendrik Van Oss. "It"s a miracle material." Indeed, more than a ton of concrete is produced each year for every man, woman and child on Earth. Yet concrete is generally ignored outside the engineering world, a victim of its own ubiquity and the industry"s conservative pace of development. Now, thanks to environmental pressures and entrepreneurial innovation, a new generation of concretes is emerging. This high-tech assortment of concrete confections promises to be stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly than ever before. Concrete is also a climate-change villain. It is made by mixing water with an aggregate, such as sand or gravel, and cement. Cement is usually made by heating limestone and clay to over 2, 500 degrees F. The resulting chemical reaction, along with fuel burned to heat the kiln, produces between 7% and 10% of global carbon-dioxide emissions. "When we have to repeatedly regenerate these materials because they"re not durable, we release more emissions, " says Victor Li who has created a kind of concrete suffused by synthetic fibers that make it stronger, more durable, and able to bend like a metal. Li"s creation does not require reinforcement, a property shared by other concretes that use chemical additives. Using less water makes concrete stronger, but until the development of plasticizers, it also made concrete sticky, dry, and hard to handle, says Christian Meyer, a civil engineering professor at Columbia University. Making stronger concretes, says Li, allows less to be used, reducing waste and giving architects more freedom. "You can have such futuristic designs if you don"t have to put rebar in there, or structural beams, " says Van Oss. A more directly "green" concrete has been developed by the Australian company TecEco. They add magnesium to their cement, forming a porous concrete that actually scrubs carbon dioxide from the air. While experts agree that these new concretes will someday be widely used, the timetable is uncertain. Concrete companies are responsive to environmental concerns and are always looking to stretch the utility of their product, but the construction industry is slow to change. "When you start monkeying around with materials, the governing bodies, the building departments, are very cautious before they let you use an unproven material," Meyer says. In the next few decades, says Van Oss, building codes will change, opening the way for innovative materials. But while new concretes may be stronger and more durable, they are also more expensive — and whether the tendency of developers and the public to focus on short-term rather than long-term costs will also change is another matter. Which of the following is true about Li"s new "green" concrete
A. The new concrete will greatly reduce the cost of production and construction.
B. Traditional concrete is stronger, lighter and climate-friendly compared with new concrete.
C. Traditional concrete grants more freedom in design and construction compared with new concrete.
D. The new concrete requires no reinforcement in preparation.
In 1999, the price of oil hovered around $ 16 a barrel. By 2008, it had【C1】______the $ 100 a barrel mark. The reasons for the surge【C2】______from the dramatic growth of the economies of China and India to widespread【C3】______in oil-producing regions, including Iraq and Nigeria"s delta region. Triple-digit oil prices have【C4】______the economic and political map of the world, 【C5】______some old notions of power. Oil-rich nations are enjoying historic gains and opportunities, 【C6】______major importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world"s population —【C7】______rising economic and social costs. Managing this new order is fast becoming a central【C8】______of global politics. Countries that need oil are clawing at each other to【C9】______scarce supplies, and are willing to deal with any government, 【C10】______how unpleasant, to do it. In many poor nations with oil, the profits are being, lost to corruption, 【C11】______these countries of their best hope for development. And oil is fueling enormous investment funds run by foreign governments, 【C12】______some in the west see as a new threat. Countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are well supplied with rising oil【C13】______a change reflected in newly aggressive foreign policies. But some unexpected countries are reaping benefits, 【C14】______costs, from higher prices. Consider Germany. 【C15】______it imports virtually all its oil, it has prospered from extensive trade with a booming Russia and the Middle East. German exports to Russia【C16】______128 percent from 2001 to 2006. In the United States, as already high gas prices rose【C17】______higher in the spring of 2008, the issue cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Senators McCain and Obama【C18】______for a federal gas tax holiday during the peak summer driving months. And driving habits began to【C19】______as sales of small cars jumped and mass transport systems【C20】______the country reported a sharp increase in riders. 【C10】
A. no matter
B. what if
C. only if
D. in spite of
In 1999, the price of oil hovered around $ 16 a barrel. By 2008, it had【C1】______the $ 100 a barrel mark. The reasons for the surge【C2】______from the dramatic growth of the economies of China and India to widespread【C3】______in oil-producing regions, including Iraq and Nigeria"s delta region. Triple-digit oil prices have【C4】______the economic and political map of the world, 【C5】______some old notions of power. Oil-rich nations are enjoying historic gains and opportunities, 【C6】______major importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world"s population —【C7】______rising economic and social costs. Managing this new order is fast becoming a central【C8】______of global politics. Countries that need oil are clawing at each other to【C9】______scarce supplies, and are willing to deal with any government, 【C10】______how unpleasant, to do it. In many poor nations with oil, the profits are being, lost to corruption, 【C11】______these countries of their best hope for development. And oil is fueling enormous investment funds run by foreign governments, 【C12】______some in the west see as a new threat. Countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are well supplied with rising oil【C13】______a change reflected in newly aggressive foreign policies. But some unexpected countries are reaping benefits, 【C14】______costs, from higher prices. Consider Germany. 【C15】______it imports virtually all its oil, it has prospered from extensive trade with a booming Russia and the Middle East. German exports to Russia【C16】______128 percent from 2001 to 2006. In the United States, as already high gas prices rose【C17】______higher in the spring of 2008, the issue cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Senators McCain and Obama【C18】______for a federal gas tax holiday during the peak summer driving months. And driving habits began to【C19】______as sales of small cars jumped and mass transport systems【C20】______the country reported a sharp increase in riders. 【C9】
A. look for
B. lock up
C. send out
D. keep off