2014年云南成人学位英语模拟试题及答案四
Passage Four
Vienna—In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop oil deliveries, the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not increase production to make up the shortfall, ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna.
The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again on July 3 to discuss the Iraq temporary stop. The organization’s president, Charkid Khelil of Algeria, said after the meeting that stocks were high and prices were stable, so quota (配额) increases were not necessary.
The E.U. Commission has expressed concern about Iraq’s output stop. A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures to keep or lower the oil price.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister Ali-Nuaimi had earlier said there would not be any shortfall of oil in the market. The organization had already taken steps to fill the gap, he said. OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of the Iraq stop to export was not known, so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet. If the market was destabilized (动摇), a suitable response would be made.
Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the oil-for-food programme by only a month, instead of the normal six-month renewal (延期).
Just before the Vienna meeting, oil prices had gone up, with a barrel of OPEC crude oil selling for 27.05 dollars last Friday. North sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening.
OPEC wanted the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas.
31. Iraq made the decision to stop oil deliveries because .
A. the U.N. Security Council has decided to shorten the time for the oil-for-food programme
B. oil price is too low in the international market
C. many oil wells were destroyed during the war in the late 1980s
D. it couldn’t get enough money to develop its economy
32. The attitude the E.U. Commission took towards Iraq’s output stop was .
A. active
B. concerned
C. cold
D. surprising
33. “The organization” in Paragraph 2 refers to .
A. OPEC
B. the E.U. Commission
C. APEC
D. WTO
34. The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on July 3 so that .
A. they can persuade Iraq to continue oil production
B. they can have a discussion about the effects of Iraq’s temporary stop
C. they can have a talk with the U.N. Security Council
D. they can make up their minds to increase oil production
35. OPEC wanted the oil price to__________ immediately after Iraq’s crude oil output stop.
A. rise
B. fall
C. stay rather stable
D. fluctuate without limitation
责编：cll