阅读理解100-27

阿邱

As dusk falls, kerosene stoves ignite in the poorer kitchens of Delhi. Sengeni, who lives on an alley wedged between the Nizamuddin railway tracks and a tributary known as ganda nallah (or dirty ditch), is looking forward to a dish of rice. He is entitled to a quota of 11 litres of cheap kerosene every fortnight, which he buys for about nine rupees (23 cents) a litre, compared with a free-market rate of about 25 rupees. The price hasn't changed for months, he says, despite the surge in oil prices.

In India, as in many countries, the government dares not allow the rising price of crude to be felt in the common man's pockets. Only a third of the 48 developing countries studied in an IMF review let the market set fuel prices. The governments of Yemen and Indonesia, for example, spent more holding down the price of fuel than they spent on health and education combined. Attempts to raise energy prices—as in Yemen in 2005, Nigeria in 2000 or Indonesia in 1998—have a sorry record of prompting riots and revolutions.

India's government subsidises kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) directly. It keeps other fuels, such as diesel, artificially cheap by the simple expedient of stopping state oil companies from raising their prices. These firms keep themselves afloat with “oil bonds”, which the government guarantees but does not enter on its books. In October, for example, the government announced it would issue bonds worth 235 billion rupees this fiscal year, which will compensate oil-market companies for about 43% of their losses. All told, India's fuel subsidies might cost as much as $17.5 billion this year, according to Lombard Street Research, a British firm of economists. That amounts to as much as 2% of the country's GDP.

Cheap kerosene fires the poor man's stove in India's cities and lights his home in the country's villages. More prosperous city folk cook instead with more refined gases. Thus a kerosene subsidy can at least claim to be progressive as well as expensive. This is more than can be said for India's cheap LPG. According to Bharat Ramaswami of the Indian Statistical Institute, the richer half of India's urban population captures about three-quarters of this subsidy. Unfortunately, about half of India's subsidised kerosene never makes it to household stoves, he says. It is diverted to the black market, where it is either sold at a higher price or used to adulterate diesel, which sells for about 30 rupees per litre.

This then poses an acute dilemma for the government. The subsidies are costly. Yet more expensive kerosene would hurt the poor (not to mention the government's own electoral prospects). And if it kept kerosene cheap while letting diesel rise in price, it would only increase the scope for arbitrage between the two.

Not all fuel in India is subsidised. By the Nizamuddin rail tracks, a gaggle of children warm themselves on a chilly night by burning scraps of wood. One thick-skinned show-off waves his foot in the flames for a foolhardy second. India's fragile government, on the other hand, is in no mood to play with fire.

1. The word “sorry” (Line 5, Paragraph 2) probably means_____
[A] apologizing.

[B] negative.

[C] feeling bad.

[D] unsatisfactory.
2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of India’s subsidies on fuel?
[A] The subsidies mainly go to the state oil companies.
[B] The subsidy policy is executed by companies that maintain low prices.

[C] Diesel is subsidized through “oil bonds”.
[D] Half of the subsidized fuel is sold to the black market.

3．The dilemma for the government is caused by_____

[A] the costly subsidies.

[B] the fixed kerosene price.

[C] the price gap between the kerosene and diesel.

[D] the rise in diesel price.

4. India’s government is in no mood to play with fire because_____
[A] it subsidizes kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) directly.
[B] not all of the fuel is subsidized in India because the rich population does not need it.
[C] it is facing a difficult dilemma whether to continue fuel subsidy or not.
[D] it is too costly to subsidize all the fuel.

5. Towards the fuel subsidization in India, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____

[A] supportive.

[B] positive.

[C] neutral.

[D] negative.

阿邱

文章剖析：
这篇文章主要讲述了印度政府的燃料补助政策。第一段以印度一个普通穷人接受的煤油补助来引出主题；第二段讲述印度政府怕影响普通人生活不允许原油价格上涨；第三段讲述印度政府对燃料的补助政策；第四段讲述补助政策为一些人所利用，燃料被运到黑市；第五段讲述印度政府面临两难境地。
词汇注释：
adulterate v. 参杂                      arbitrage n. 套现
foolhardy adj. 愚勇的, 有勇无谋的

难句突破：
(1)        He is entitled to a quota of 11 litres of cheap kerosene every fortnight, which he buys for about nine rupees (23 cents) a litre, compared with a free-market rate of about 25 rupees.
[主体句式] He is entitled to…
[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。which引导的是定语从句，修饰前面的kerosene，compared with…是做前面nine rupees的定语。
[句子译文] 每两周他能按配额领取11升的低价煤油，每升价格为9卢布（折合23美分），而自由市场的价格为25卢布。
(2) It is diverted to the black market, where it is either sold at a higher price or used to adulterate diesel, which sells for about 30 rupees per litre.
[主体句式] It is diverted to the black market.
[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。Where 引导的 非限定性定语从句修饰前面的black market， 后面which引导的非限定性定语从句用来修饰diesel。
[句子译文] 这些都转到了黑市上，在那里或以高价卖出、或用于掺杂柴油，而柴油价格是每升30卢布。
题目分析：
1. The word “sorry” (Line 5, Paragraph 2) probably means_____        1. “sorry” （第二段第六行）最有可能的意思是_____
[A] apologizing.        [A] 道歉的。
[B] negative.        [B] 负面的。
[C] feeling bad.        [C] 感觉不好的。
[D] unsatisfactory.        [D] 不满意的。
[答案] B
[难度系数] ☆☆☆
[分析] 猜词题。该词所在原文是“Attempts to raise energy prices—as in Yemen in 2005, Nigeria in 2000 or Indonesia in 1998—have a sorry record of prompting riots and revolutions”，通过分析上下文可见这个词在这里不带有任何的个人感情，而是一种拟人化的用法。该句的翻译是“也门2005年、尼加拉瓜2000年、印尼1998年试图提高能源价格，可最终都以暴乱和革命收场”。可见A、C、D三个选项都不符合题意，只有B选项符合。
2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of India’s subsidies on fuel?        2. 关于印度燃料补助，下列哪个陈述是正确的?
[A] The subsidies mainly go to the state oil company.        [A] 享受补助主要都是国有的石油公司。
[B] The subsidy policy is executed by companies that maintain low prices.          [B] 实施这项补助政策的是那些保持低价格的公司。
[C] Diesel is subsidized through “oil bonds”.        [C] 柴油通过“石油债券”进行补助。
[D] Half of the subsidized fuel is sold to the black market.          [D] 补助的燃料有一半都卖到了黑市。
[答案] C
[难度系数] ☆☆☆
[分析] 细节题。选项A，从第四段可以看出，普通人都可以享受燃料补助，包括穷人和富人，因此该选项不正确。选项B，实施补助的行动方不是公司，而是政府，因此很明显该选项错误。选项C的相关内容在文章第三段由所提及。选项D，第四段提到补助的煤油一半卖到了黑市。因此，选项C符合题意。
3．The dilemma for the government is caused by_____        3．政府面临的两难境界是由于_____引起的。
[A] the costly subsidies.        [A] 昂贵的补助
[B] the fixed kerosene price.        [B] 固定的煤油价格
[C] the price gap between the kerosene and diesel.        [C] 煤油和柴油之间的价格差
[D] the rise in diesel price.        [D] 柴油价格的上涨
[答案]C
[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆
[分析] 推理题。第五段提到政府面临的两难是，补助耗费大量资金，但如果不补助煤油价格上涨会让穷人受不了。而且如果煤油很便宜，但是柴油很贵，那么就会增加两者的套利幅度。可以分析一下，政府保证煤油补贴，而人们将煤油送到黑市交易套利；但是如果提高煤油价格，穷人利益又受到损害。因此，归根结底，这个两难境界是由于煤油和柴油之间的差价导致。
4. India’s government is in no mood to play with fire because_____        5. 印度政府没有心思玩火是因为_____
[A] it subsidises kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) directly.        [A] 它直接补助没有和液化石油气。
[B] not all of the fuel is subsidised in India because the rich population does not need it.        [B] 在印度并不是所有的燃料都可以获得补助，因为富裕的人们不需要任何补助。
[C] it is facing a difficult dilemma whether to continue fuel subsidy or not.        [C] 它目前面临着一个进退两难的局面，即是否应该继续实施目前的燃料补助政策。
[D] it is too costly to subsidize all the fuel.        [D] 对所有的能源进行补助是非常昂贵的。
[答案]C
[难度系数] ☆☆
[分析] 推理题。文章最后一段提到有人在玩火，紧接着就提出印度却没有心思玩火，原因在倒数第二段提到，印度政府面临着一个进退两难的困境，因此是否应该继续实施燃料补助的政策是一个很大的问题。因此，答案为C。D选项看上去正确，但实际上却与题干无关。B选项也不正确，因为文章第四段提到富人们不仅需要这种补助，他们还利用补助政策为自己谋黑利。A选项显然是与题干无关的。
5．Towards the fuel subsidization strategy in India, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____        5．作者对于印度的燃料补助政策的态度可以说是_____
[A] supportive.        [A] 支持的。
[B] positive.        [B] 肯定的。
[C] neutral.        [C] 中立的。
[D] negative.        [D] 否定的。
[答案]D
[难度系数] ☆
[分析] 态度题。在这篇文章中，作者多次提到了印度这种燃料补助政策存在着许多问题，比如大部分的补助流入黑市用于套利，而国家也是进入了两难境地。因此，作者对于印度的燃料补助政策其态度可以说是否定的。答案为D选项。

阿邱

参考译文：
黄昏到来时，煤油炉在德里穷人家中的厨房里点燃了。Sengeni住在Nizamuddin火车铁轨和ganda nallah（肮脏的河沟）支流中间形成的一个楔形小巷里，他正盼望一盘米饭。每两周他能按配额领取11升的低价煤油，每升价格为9卢布（折合23美分），而自由市场的价格为25卢布。他说，尽管汽油一直在涨价，但这个价格几个月都没变过。
就像其他国家一样，印度政府也不敢允许原油价格的上涨影响普通人的支出。根据国际货币基金组织的一次检查，48个发展中国家只有1/3允许市场决定石油价格。比如，也门和印尼这两个国家的政府用于控制石油价格的花费要比用于医疗和教育这两项费用迭加起来还要多。也门于2005年、尼加拉瓜于2000年、印尼于1998年试图提高能源价格，可最终都以暴乱和革命收场。
印度政府直接补贴煤油和液化石油气。政府还禁止国有石油公司提高价格，以保证其他燃料如柴油等价格低廉。这些公司自己带着“石油枷锁”，这是市政府保证的，但是没有写入正文。比如十月份，政府宣布将在该财年发行价值2350亿卢布的债券，以补偿石油市场公司43%的损失。据英国一家经济学家公司朗伯德街研究所的研究，今年印度燃料补助可能要达到1750万元，占到这个国家GDP的2%。
便宜的煤油在印度各个城市穷人家中的炉子中燃烧着，照亮了乡下的房子。而在较为富有的城市中，人们却用更好的煤气烧饭。因此，煤油补助至少可以说是进步的，也是昂贵的。而且相对于印度低廉的液化石油气来说，可以说的就更多了。印度统计学会的Bharat Ramaswami指出，印度城市人口富有的那一半人掠夺了3/4的补助。不幸的是，印度补助的煤油有一半都没有用到家庭炉子中。这些都转到了黑市上，在那里或以高价卖出、或用于掺杂柴油，而柴油价格是每升30卢布。
这让政府面临着一个两难境地。补助很昂贵，但是更贵的煤油会危害穷人（更别说政府自己的选举前景了）。如果保证煤油价格低廉而让柴油上涨，那么只会增加两者之间的套利交易机会。但在印度并不是所有的燃料都有补助。在Nizamuddin铁道旁，一群小孩在寒冷的黑夜点了木屑来取暖。一个厚皮肤出风头的人在火中用脚示意。而另一方面，印度岌岌可危的政府却根本没心思去玩火。