The sharp drop in world oil prices has led oil companies in the United States to dismiss thousands of workers. Some companies have also delay new oil drilling and exploration projects. The drop in oil prices has also affected small service companies and even stores that do business with oil companies in big producer states like Texas. But the drop in oil prices has not been bad for everyone. Oil platform workers are often called roughnecks. In Texas, many roughnecks have lost their jobs because of the drop in oil prices. The effect of falling prices has been worse in states like Alaska and North Dakota. That is because production costs are higher there than they are in the Eagle Ford area of south-central Texas. Adam Perdue is an economist at the University of Houston's Institute for Regional Forecasting. He has been studying the effect of falling oil prices in Texas. He says oil company exploration and production budgets are being cut between 10 and 50 percent, with most of them being cut by a third. He thinks the lower spending will affect the local economy. The economic slowdown will affect companies that manufacture pipes and other equipment for oil exploration and production. It will also have an effect on trucking companies that supply sand and chemicals, and other small businesses that serve the energy industry. But low oil prices are good for chemical companies. They use hydrocarbons found in oil to make fertilizer, plastic and other products. Adam Perdue says a new chemical plant project near Houston will provide jobs for many skilled workers "A lot of these roughnecks that are gonna lose their jobs out there in the field are gonna be able to come home and, and, and get a welding job or a construction job." he says. But some oil industry experts believe prices will rise again in about six months when the oversupply of oil is reduced. Which of the following has benefited from the drop in oil prices? A) Oil service companies B) Chemical companies C) Welding companies D) Construction companies
B
In Los Angeles, drivers spend sixty-one hours every year stuck in traffic.These drivers know all too well how bad the traffic can be."There're too many cars, and you can't move around a lot." Professor Cyrus Shahabi also knows about traffic jams.He lives more than 65 kilometers from his office at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.He is always late even with the help of a navigation system. He decided to develop a program called ClearPath for that.He says his program uses historical data to predict traffic conditions even before the driver leaves the house. "What's unique is that we use a lot of data that's currently become available including traffic data, weather data, and we analyze that so that we can predict what's going to happen in front of you when you leave home." Professor Shahabi says his system does more than just respond to current traffic conditions.With ClearPath, he says, a driver can decide what time he wants to leave, and ClearPath will give the fastest route.It looks at the entire road network, including surface streets as well as highways, before the driver hits the road.Professor Shahabi hopes to have ClearPath available nationwide and overseas once they can collect traffic data from other cities. "I always thought thatLos Angeles had the worst traffic, but now I know that Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, believe it or not, Singapore, Hong Kong certainly are examples that can immediately use this." Professor Shahabi hopes to share this new technology with companies that already have navigation systems, such as Google and Apple. What is unique about ClearPath? A) It can use a lot of information all over the world. B) It can ensure that you will never be late for work. C) It helps drivers see clearly what happens on the road. D) It helps drivers know the road conditions ahead of time.
D
Q: Nanjing and Hangzhou summer camps offered We are looking for hard-working and open-minded English teachers to join the Nanjing ( Jiangsu Province) and Hangzhou ( Zhejiang Province) summer camps ! Both of the summer camps will run from the beginning of July to the end of August. You will be expected to teach spoken English to Chinese students of different ages. We encourage you to bring your own culture to the classes to make things more interesting. The information of the Nanjing camp: * Working hours: 40 hours per week, 5 working days per week. * Salary: about 7, 000 RMB per month. * Accommodation: free (single room). The information of the Hangzhou camp: * Working hours: 5 hours per day ( = 50 min./class x 6 classes), one day rest per week. * Salary: 20,160 RMB in total (420 RMB per day = 70 RMB/class x 6 classes). * Accommodation: free (shared room). The requirements of the summer camps: * Native English speakers (US, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). * A university degree. * Teaching experience. Please send us your resume , copies of certificates and passport if you are interested in the camps. E-mail: teacher1324@ sina. com. cn For more information you can visit our website at http://www. English summer camps. com. cn. Look forward to hearing from you soon! What kind of people is the passage mainly written for? A) Chinese-English teachers. B) Foreign-English teachers. C) Chinese-speaking students. D) English-learning students.
A: B
*Question*
Shark on the bait !" shouted Andre Harman, pointing to a spot a few yards behind the outboard motors. His voice gave no indication of panic, but the crew suddenly became tense and fixed their eyes on the water. Slowly, smoothly, Andre drew in the bait.The shark followed. No one asked what kind of shark it was. Everything about it, from its color to its shape, tells that it was a great white shark. Andre lifted the bait aboard. Placing himself between the two motors, he dropped his right hand into the water just as the great head reached the first motor. "My goodness Andre!" I said. His hand seized the big nose, moving it away from the tube of the motor, guiding the shark's head up as it rose out of the water. Andre's hand held the nose, touching it gently. No one spoke. No one breathed. The moment seemed endless. In fact, it lasted less than five seconds before Andre pulled his hand back. Still nobody spoke. Then Andre smiled and said: "The first time was an accident. I was just trying to move the shark away from the motor. Sharks are attracted to motors by their electrical signals and have a habit of biting them to see if they are eatable. " Andre has worked with great white sharks for years. "My hand landed on its nose, and it sort of paused, so I kept it there, and when I did let go, the shark bit and bit as if it was searching for whatever it was that had attracted it." Nearly every encounter we had had with the great whites had been totally illogical. The more we learned, the more we realized how little was really known about them in the past years. Back then, it was generally accepted that great whites ate people by choice. Now we know that almost every attack on a human is an accident in which the shark mistakes a human for its normal food. Back then, we thought that once a great white smelt blood, it would lead to death. Now we know that nearly three-quarters of bite victims survive, perhaps because the shark recognizes that is has made a mistake and doesn't return for a second bite. Most bite victims survive in shark attacks because _ . A) they are taught how to fight off sharks B) sharks discover they are no threats C) they manage to swim to safety D) sharks stop attacking them
**Answer**
D