If you leave a loaded weapon lying around, it is bound to go off sooner or later. Snow-covered northern Europe heard the gunshot loud and clear when Russia cut supplies to Ukraine this week as part of a row about money and power, the two eternal battlegrounds of global energy. From central Europe right across to France on the Atlantic seaboard, gas supplies fell by more than one-third. For years Europeans had been telling themselves that a cold-war enemy which had supplied them without fail could still be depended on now it was an ally. Suddenly, nobody was quite so sure.
　　Fearing the threat to its reputation as a supplier, Russia rapidly restored the gas and settled its differences with Ukraine. But it was an uncomfortable glimpse of the dangers for a continent that imports roughly half its gas and expects to be importing 80% of its gas by 2030 much of it from Russia. It was scarcely more welcome for America, which condemned Russia s tactics. And no wonder: it consumes one-quarter of the world’s oil, but produces only 3% of the stuff. Over the coming years, the world’s dependence on oil looks likely to concentrate on the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Russian oil had seemed a useful alternative.
　　Fear of the energy weapon has a long history. When producers had the upper hand in the oil embargo of 1973-74, Arab members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut supply, sowing turmoil and a global recession. When consumers had the upper hand in the early 1990s, the embargo cut the other way. After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, the world shut in 5m barrels a day (b/d) of production from the two countries in an attempt to force him out.
　　With oil costing $ 60 a barrel, five times more than the nominal price in 1999, and spot prices for natural gas in some European and American markets at or near record levels, power has swung back to the producers for the first time since the early 1980s. Nobody knows how long todays tight markets will last. "It took us a long time to get there and it will take us a long time to get back," says Robin West, chairman of PFC Energy in Washington. A clutch of alarmist books with titles such as "The Death of Oil" predict that so little oil is left in the ground that producers will always have pricing power. The question is how worried consumers should be. What are the threats to energy security and what should the world do about them? The answers suggest a need for planning and a certain amount of grim realism, but not for outright panic. [452 words]
　　1. Which of the following is compared to "a loaded weapon going off"?
　　A. Northern Europe heard the gunshot loud and clear.
　　B. Gas supplies fell remarkably in Europe.
　　C. Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine.
　　D. Russia had a fierce row with Ukraine.
　　2. The Europeans ______
　　A. can still depend on Russia for the supply of gas
　　B. contended with their cold war enemy, Russia, for a long time
　　C. are glad to have Russia as their ally to supply them gas
　　D. worry about the possible unreliability of gas Supply from Russia
　　3. According to the text, America ______.
　　A. poses a threat to Russia’s reputation as an oil supplier
　　B. wakes up to the dangers Russia’s oil tactics may bring
　　C. is less vulnerable economically than European continent
　　D. has shifted its dependence on oil from the middle east to Russia
　　4. An oil embargo ______.
　　A. leads to the decrease of oil supply
　　B. leads to the decrease of oil demand
　　C. signals an imminent global recession
　　D. may serve as a powerful weapon
　　5. In the face of the shortage of oil supply, the consumers should ______
　　A. be well prepared for the grim future
　　B. be more optimistic than ever before
　　C. be no less worried than the producers
　　D. be no more worried than the producers
　　全文翻译　
　　如果你把装满子弹的武器随处乱放，迟早会走火。大雪覆盖的北欧清楚地听到了响亮的枪声，本周俄罗斯中断了对乌克兰的石油供应，这是对金钱和权利争吵的结局，而金钱和权利是全球能源问题所涉及的两个永无休止的争论题目。横跨整个中欧直至法国的大西洋海岸线上各国的石油供应减少了三分之一还多。俄罗斯在冷战时期曾以敌人的姿态为欧洲人提供石油，且从未中断。这使得欧洲人多年来一直认为，这个敌人既然都变成_r盟友，当然可以继续依靠了。但突然之间，一切都不再是确数了。
　　由于担心其作为主要石油供应国的声名受损，俄罗斯还是尽快地恢复了石油供应并弥合了其与乌克兰之问的分歧。欧洲大陆用的石油大约一半靠进口，预计到2030年将有80％靠进口，而且主要靠从俄罗斯进口。看到所冒的风险，着实令人不安。此举在美国也并不受欢迎，美国还就此事批评了俄罗斯的战略举措。它的担心当然是有根据的：因为它消耗了世界上四分之一的原油，但只产出3％的相关产品。在随后的几年当中，世界原油的供应者看上去将会集中在中东各国，特别是沙特阿拉伯。与此同时，俄罗斯的原油也不失为一个好的选择。