2021年考博英語閱讀理解模擬題（五）

Asdusk falls, kerosene stoves ignite in the poorer kitchens of Delhi. Sengeni, who lives on an alley wedgedbetween 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 aquota of 11 litres of cheap kerosene every fortnight, which he buys for aboutnine rupees (23 cents) a litre, compared with a free-market rate of about 25rupees. The price hasn't changed for months, he says, despite the surge inoil prices.

InIndia, as inmany countries, the government dares not allow the rising price of crude to befelt in the common man's pockets. Only a third of the 48 developing countriesstudied in an IMF review let the market set fuelprices. The governments ofYemenandIndonesia,for example, spent more holding down the price of fuel than they spent onhealth and education combined. Attempts to raise energy prices—as inYemenin 2005,Nigeriain 2000 orIndonesiain 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 fromraising 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 billionrupees this fiscal year, which will compensate oil-market companies for about43% of their losses. All told,India'sfuel subsidies might cost as much as $17.5 billion this year, according toLombard Street Research, a British firm of economists. That amounts to as muchas 2% of the country's GDP.

Cheapkerosene fires the poor man's stove inIndia's cities and lights his homein the country's villages. More prosperous city folk cook instead with morerefined gases. Thus a kerosene subsidy can at least claim to be progressive aswell as expensive. This is more than can be said forIndia's cheap LPG.According to Bharat Ramaswami of the Indian Statistical Institute, the richerhalf ofIndia'surban population captures about three-quarters of this subsidy. Unfortunately,about half ofIndia'ssubsidised kerosene never makes it to household stoves, he says. It isdiverted to the black market, where it is either sold at a higher price or usedto adulterate diesel, which sells for about 30 rupees per litre.

Thisthen poses an acute dilemma for the government. The subsidies are costly. Yetmore expensive kerosene would hurt the poor (not to mention the government'sown electoral prospects). And if it kept kerosene cheap while letting dieselrise in price, it would only increase the scope for arbitrage betweenthe two.

Not all fuel inIndiais subsidised. By the Nizamuddin rail tracks, a gaggle of children warmthemselves on a chilly night by burning scraps of wood. One thick-skinnedshow-off waves his foot in the flames for a foolhardy second.India's fragilegovernment, 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.

[答案]

1. B

2. C

3. C

4. C

5. D

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