研究生英语阅读教程(提高级-第三版)课文及课后习题答案(3)

study by the Exxon Valdez spill. Despite the extensive cleanup attempts, less than 10% of the

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oil was recovered and a study conducted by NOAA determined that as of early 2007 more than

26 thousand U.S. gallons (98 m3) of oil remain in the sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline,

declining at a rate of less than 4% per year.

5. Joe Barton: At a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Rep. Joe

Barton (R-Tex.) apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the $20 billion “shakedown” the oil

company received from President Obama.

“I?m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday,” Barton said. “I apologize. I

do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or corporation does anything wrong,they

are subjected to such political pressur e.”

The White House immediately shot back with a statement from press secretary Robert Gibbs

calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to condemn Barton?s comments.

“What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern fo r big corporations that

caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have

been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate

these Americans is a …tragedy?, but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men

and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should

repudiate his comments.”

Barton?s apology may have come as a surprise to anyone unfamiliar with his positions on

energy and climate change. But Barton has a long history of making colorful (not to mention

energy industry-friendly) comments on these issues. Here are some samples.

Wind energy could alter wind patterns and aggravate global warming.

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“Wind is God?s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it?s

hotter to areas where it?s cooler. That?s what wind is. Wouldn?t it be ironic if in the interest of global

warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the

winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I?m not saying that?s going to happen,

Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some

sense. You stop something, you can?t transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It?s just something to

think about.”

Humans will simply “ a dapt” to climate change.

“I think that it?s inevitable that humanity will adapt to global warming. I also believe the

longer we postpone finding ways to do it successfully, the more expensive and unpalatable the

adjustment will become. Adaptation to shifts in temperature is not that difficult. What will be

difficult is the adaptation to rampant unemployment—enormous, spontaneous and avoidable

changes to our economy—if we adopt such a reckless policy as cap-and-tax or cap-and-trade.”

Global warming is a “ n et benefit” to mankind.

“CO2 is odorless, colorless, tasteless—it?s not a threat to human health in terms of being exposed

to it. We create it as we talk back and forth. So, and if you go beyond that, on a net basis, there?s ample

evidence that warming generically—however it is caused—is a net benefit to mankind.” . an economic bubble affecting many parts of the

6 The United States housing bubble:

United States housing market in over half of American states. Housing prices peaked in early

2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and may not yet have hit bottom as of 2011. On

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December 30, 2008 the Case-Shiller home price index reported its largest price drop in its history.

Increased foreclosure rates in 2006—2007 among U.S. homeowners led to a crisis in August 2008 for the subprime, Alt-A, collateralized debt obligation (CDO), mortgage, credit, hedge fund, and foreign bank markets. In October 2007, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury called the bursting housing bubble “the most significant risk to our economy”.

Any collapse of the U.S. Housing Bubble has a direct impact not only on home valuations, but the nation?s mortgage markets, home builders, real estate, home supply retail outlets, Wall Street hedge funds held by large institutional investors, and foreign banks, increasing the risk of

a nationwide recession. Concerns about the impact of the collapsing housing and credit markets on the larger U.S. economy caused President George W. Bush and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke to announce a limited bailout of the U.S. housing market for homeowners who were unable to pay their mortgage debts.

In 2008 alone, the United States government allocated over $900 billion to special loans and rescues related to the U.S. housing bubble, with over half going to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (both of which are government-sponsored enterprises) as well as the Federal Housing

Administration (which is a United States Government agency). On December 24, 2009 the

Treasury Department made an unprecedented announcement that it would be providing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unlimited financial support for the next three years despite acknowledging losses in excess of $400 billion so far. The Treasury has been criticized for encroaching on

spending powers that are enumerated for Congress alone by the U.S. constitution, and for

violating limits imposed by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

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. 1990 The Oil Pollution Act was passed by the 101st United States

7 Oil Pollution Act of :

Congress, and signed by President George H. W. Bush, to mi …… 此处隐藏：5608字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……