文章大意:本文是一篇议论文。文章介绍了美国汽油价格创下历史新高,随之通货膨胀也加剧,白宫将这些问题归咎于俄乌冲突,但作者并不这么认为,因为这些问题在俄乌冲突之前已经出现,解决问题的方法在于增加美国的石油产量。
If you have a car, you most likely have been feeling pain at the pump. At the time of writing, a gallon of gas in Lafayette County costs $3.94, with the national average even higher at $4.24. These are the most expensive gas prices in history. The White House has regarded this rise in prices as “Putin’s Price Hike”, but how much is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine really to blame?
The White House’s claim could be believable if gas prices had not already been way above normal before Russian soldiers ever set foot in Ukraine. In fact, Biden told the Federal Trade Commission to investigate high gas prices back in November 2021, long before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
For many Americans, gas prices are the limiting factor in how much food is on the dinner table, because nearly all goods need gas to be transported. Egg prices are up 13.1%, pork has risen 14.1% and chicken rose 10.3% over the past year. In February, as a result of the climbing gas prices and other factors, such as the supply chain crisis, the Consumer Price Index, which tracks average inflation (通胀), rose another 0.8%, which can have terrible impacts for low-income families. This was a trend before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and blaming it on Putin is shying away from the real problem of 40-year high inflation.
While Americans are struggling to pay for things that just a few years ago would be affordable, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had a tone-deaf solution. If you cannot afford gas, just get an electric vehicle. Easy, right? An electric car costs tens of thousands of dollars, and when people cannot even afford a tank of gas, they will surely not be able to afford a brand new car.
President Biden has said he “can’t do much” about high gas prices and inflation, but that is not true. We do not need to rely on Russian oil to keep prices low. The answer is for President Biden to increase United States oil production to offset any lost oil imports from Russia.
8. What can we learn about the gas prices?
A.They remained normal before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. |
B.They rose mainly because Russia decided to export less oil. |
C.They climbed to the highest in history for uncertain reasons. |
D.They went up suddenly because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. |
9. What does the author think of Pete Buttigieg’s suggestion?
A.Reasonable. | B.Senseless. | C.Practical. | D.Funny. |
10. Which can replace the underlined word “offset” in the last paragraph?
A.Give rise to. | B.Launch an attack on. |
C.Get rid of. | D.Make up for. |
11. Which serves as the best title for the passage?
A.Gas prices are Biden’s fault, not Putin’s |
B.High gas prices hit Americans really hard |
C.The truth behind an abnormal phenomenon |
D.Time to take measures to keep gas prices down |