It is a blazing morning in the Permian basin, in west Texas, America’s most
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Such walking rigs are one way that Concho Resources, the company which owns the well, seeks to extract more oil, more efficiently. Concho is not alone. The shale industry has made America the world’s top producer of crude oil. But as the world becomes more dependent on American oil, American oil is becoming more dependent on the Permian Basin, which spans about 75,000 square miles across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. On the surface, the natural landscape is all but barren. But underground lies layer upon layer of shale rich with oil and gas. A geological millefeuille. The region accounted for 30% of America’s oil production in July, up from 23% two years earlier.
The Permian and other American shale basins had already been drilled for decades using conventional wells. Then after the financial crisis of 2007-08 low interest rates helped companies deploy new techniques on well after well: they drilled horizontally, then pummeled shale with sand and water,a process known as hydraulic fracturing,or fracking, until the rock relinquished its oil and gas.
Because about 80% of a shale well’s production occurs within two years of fracking, firms kept buying oil rights and drilling. In 2014 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), fed up with giddy American production, declined to curb its own output.Having soared to $115 in June 2014, the price of Brent crude oil plunged to $29 a barrel in January 2016. Since 2015 Texas alone has seen 71 bankruptcies of exploration-and-production firms, says Haynes and Boone, a law firm.
As a result，investors’ appetite for growth for growth’s sake has waned.Shale companies now claim to have changed how they operate. Take Pioneer Natural Resources. In 2015 David Einhorn, a prominent short-seller, unkindly labelled Pioneer a “mother-fracker” for its profligate ways. Today Timothy Dove, the firm’s chief executive,tempers his bullishness about the Permian with more attention to costs. Pioneer is selling assets so it can center its business entirely in the Permian, where Mr. Dove says he can drill most economically. Executives are being paid for returns as well as rising output.
Companies such as Pioneer and Concho are also revising techniques in the field.Fracking recovers only about 8-10% of oil in shale. “If you can actually go from 10% to 12%，that’s a 20% increase in the amount of oil you’re recovering,” says Mr. Dove. So firms are drilling several wells on a single site, to reduce drilling time and costs, and then blasting wells with more water and sand, to extract more oil. Concho is continuously testing optimal ways to frack, for instance by targeting one section of a well, then a section of another nearby, then returning to the first well for more fracking.
However, investment discipline remains patchy. According to analysis by Sanford C.Bernstein, a research firm, which examined the most recent quarterly results of American exploration and production companies, nine of the biggest dozen firms, including Concho and Pioneer, had cashflow from operations that exceeded capital spending (and Pioneer, just barely). Among the dozen smallest companies reviewed, only three earned more than they spent.
Even with high oil prices, now at around $80, the industry faces new pressures.Pipelines from the Permian are jammed with crude. New ones will open late next year, yet other problems will persist. Oil service firms slashed their rates after the most recent crash, but those prices are creeping up. Mr. Trump’s tariffs on imported steel will make equipment more expensive. The cost of hiring and housing workers is soaring.
单选题第1题Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 1 and 2?
A.West Texas is the most productive oilfield of America.
B.The drill bit will first reach about a mile and a half in depth, and then drill for another two miles in depth.
C.America is the world’s top producer of crude oil because of its walking rigs.
D.On the surface, the Permian Basin is barren, but underneath it is rich in oil and gas.
参考答案：D
答案解析：本题定位至第1、2段。第1段第一句的大意为：这是位于得克萨斯州西部帕米亚盆地的一个炎热的早晨，这里是美国产量最高的油田。由此可知，位于得克萨斯州西部的帕米亚盆地为产量最高的油田，而不是得克萨斯西部，因此A项错误。第1段第三句话的意思是：当钻头的深度达到约1.5英里（约为帝国大厦高度的六倍）时，它将再向侧边钻两英里。由此可知，B项“钻头先钻大约一英里半深，然后再钻两英里的深度”表述错误。第2段第三句话的大意为：页岩工业使美国成为世界上最大的原油生产国。由此可知，C项“移动油井使美国成为世界上最大的原油生产国”错误。第2段第五、六句话的意思是：表面看来，自然景观几近贫瘠，但是地下却有一层又一层富含石油和天然气的页岩。其表述与D项一致，答案为D。
单选题第2题The word “curb” underlined in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to （）.
A.restrain
B.augment
C.boost
D.diminish
参考答案：A
答案解析：本题可定位至第4段。第4段第二句话的意思为：2014年，石油输出国组织对美国令人眩晕的产量非常恼火，因此不再限制自己的产量。curb一词在该句中的意思为“抑制、控制”，A项符合题意。B项意为“增加、扩充”，C项意为“促进、提高”，D项意为“削弱、减少”，均不符合题意。答案为A。
单选题第3题Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Investors have more and more interest in growth for growth sake.
B.The label of “mother-fracker” for Pioneer is given by David Einhorn for its wasteful ways.
C.Mr. Dove is no longer aggressively confident and optimistic about the Permian, but pays more attention to costs.
D.Executives not only get returned because of rising output, but also get paid because of profit.
参考答案：A
答案解析：本题由选项可定位至第5段。第一句话的意思是：投资者为增长而增长的兴趣已经减弱。文中wane的意思为“减少、减弱”，由此可知，A项与原文不符。第三句话的大意为：2015年，著 名的卖空者David Einhorn因为先锋公司铺张浪费，很不友好地称其为“mother-fracker”。文中profligate的意思为“恣意挥霍的、极其浪费的”，由此可知，B项与原文相符。第四句话的意思是：如今，该公司的首席执行官Timothy Dove对帕米亚不再盲目乐观，而更加关注成本。由此可知，C项与原文相符。第5段最后一句话的意思是：高管们不仅因为产量增加而获得回报，还因为赢利而获得了高薪。由此可知，D项与原文相符。答案为A。
单选题第4题Why do companies revise techniques in drilling field according to Paragraph 6?
A.To reduce drilling time.
B.To reduce costs.
C.To extract more oil.
D.All of the above.
参考答案：D
答案解析：由题干可定位至第6段。第四句话的大意为：为了减少钻井时间和成本，公司在同一地点钻几口井，然后使用更多的水和沙子爆裂油井，以提取更多的石油。由此可知，A、B、C三项在文中均有提及，因此D为正确选项。
单选题第5题The word “patchy” underlined in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to（）.
A.strict
B.incomplete
C.elaborate
D.intricate
参考答案：B
答案解析：本题可定位至第7段。第一句的意思为：然而，投资纪律仍不完善。patchy在该句中意为“不完整、不完善”，B项符合题意。A项“严格的”、C项“详尽的、精心设计的”、D项“错综复杂的”均与题意不符。答案为B。
单选题第6题Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Most shale companies are continuously testing the best ways to frack.
B.OPEC was angry because of giddy American production in 2014.
C.About 80% of a shale well’s production occurs within three years of fracking.
D.Since 2015, 71 exploration-and-production firms have gone bankrupt in America.
参考答案：B
答案解析：本题要结合全文来理解。第6段最后一句话的大意为：康乔公司一直在测试压裂的最佳方法，比如先对油井的一部分进行压裂，然后再对附近的另一部分进行压裂，然后再回到第一口井进行压裂。由此可知，测试压裂的最佳方法的是康乔公司，而不是大部分页岩公司，因此A项错误。第4段第二句话提到：2014年石油输出国组织对美国令人眩晕的产量非常恼火。文中fed up表示“非常生气、恼火”，因此B项正确。第4段第一句话的大意为：页岩油井约80%的产量需要两年的水力压裂，因此石油公司一直在购买采油权、一直在钻井。由此可知，因此C项“页岩油井约80%的产量需要三年的水力压裂”错误。第4段最后一句话提到：自2015年以来，仅得克萨斯州就有71家勘探和生产公司破产。D项表述错误，并非美国有71家公司破产，而是得克萨斯州。答案为B。
单选题第7题What can be inferred from the analysis of quarterly results of American exploration and production companies by Sanford C.Bernstein?
A.Most companies had earned more than they spent.
B.Most big companies spent more than they earned.
C.Pioneer only earned more than it spent by a narrow margin.
D.Most small companies earned more than they spent.
参考答案：C
答案解析：本题可定位至第7段。第7段的大意为：根据研究公司Sanford C. Bernstein对美国勘探和生产公司最新季度业绩的分析，包括Concho和Pioneer在内的最大的十几家公司中有9家的现金流超过了资本支出（先锋公司勉强超过）；在接受调查的十几家规模最小的公司中，只有3家公司的收入高于其投入。由段意可知，十几家大公司中只有9家收入高于投入，十几家小公司中只有3家收入高于投入，因此A项“大部分公司收入高于投入”、B项“大部分大公司投入高于收入”、D项“大部分小公司收入高于投入”均错误。C项“先锋公司收入勉强高于投入”为正确选项。
单选题第8题Which of the following is NOT the new pressures of this industry?
A.Jammed pipelines in the Permian.
B.Expensive equipment.
C.High cost of hiring and housing workers.
D.High oil prices.
参考答案：D
答案解析：由最后一段可知，该行业也面临着新的压力，因此本题可定位至最后一段。由第二句话可知，来自帕米亚的输油管道被原油堵塞，因此A项与原文相符。由第五句话可知，特朗普对进口钢铁征收的关税使设备更加昂贵，因此B项与原文相符。由第六句话可知，雇佣和安置工人的成本正在飙升，因此C项与原文相符。第8段第一句话的意思是：尽管油价目前高达80美元左右，但石油行业仍面临着新的压力。由此可知，油价高并非石油业面临新压力的原因，因此答案为D。
单选题第9题The purpose of this passage is to（）.
A.introduce the drilling process.
B.satire America’s investment disciplines.
C.criticize Mr. Trump’s tariffs on imported steel.
D.talk about the situation of America’s shale industry.
参考答案：D
答案解析：本题要结合全文来理解。A项意为“介绍钻井过程”，仅在第一段中体现，并不能体现全文主旨，因此A项错误。B项意为“讽刺美国投资规则”，文中只提及投资规则不完善，而无讽刺之意，因此B项错误。C项意为“批判特朗普先生对钢材进口征税”，文中只提到对钢材进口征税使得设备价格更加高昂，并无批判之意，因此C项错误。D项意为“探讨美国页岩行业现状”，全文都围绕这一主题叙述，因此D项正确。
单选题第10题This passage is most probably taken from（）.
A.a government report.
B.an economic magazine.
C.an academic journal.
D.a legal document.
参考答案：B
答案解析：A项意为“政府报告”，B项意为“经济杂志”，C项意为“学术期刊”，D项意为“法律文件”。根据文章内容可知，该篇文章讲的是America’s shale industry,属于经济题材，故最有可能出自经济杂志，因此选择B项。
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