سؤال قراءة ستيب محلول — فهم التفاصيل (تدريب 5474)

Passage A (1) Humans have used petroleum (or oil) for thousands of years in medicine and weapons of war. However, the use of this material did not truly surge until the Industrial Revolution where oil became valuable as both a fuel for illumination and a lubricant before it became a replacement for wood, coal, animal power, and other sources of energy. Liquid petroleum had some significant advantages over other energy sources of the times: it was concentrated, and it could be transported easily from one place to another. (2) As oil use boomed, its refined products (such as gasoline and diesel) came to be used to fuel automobiles, ships, and other vehicles, and a worldwide system of wells, ships, storage terminals, and pipelines grew. As a result of old and damaged equipment, human error, and bad luck, extracting oil from the ground and moving it to refineries and beyond occasionally releases oil into the environment. The largest spills have released tens of millions of gallons of oil and have resulted in fouled coastlines, polluted fisheries, dead and injured wildlife, and lost tourism revenue. The top nine most destructive oil spills are listed below. Passage B (1) The Amoco Cadiz, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) stocked with nearly 69 million gallons of light crude oil, ran aground on shallow rocks off the coast of Brittany, France, on the morning of March 16, 1978. The ship was navigating the rough seas of the English Channel when its rudder and hydraulic system were damaged by a large wave. Rescue tugs attempted to secure towlines to Cadiz, but sea conditions made the operation difficult. The first of the towlines broke only a few hours after being secured. By the time a second line could be attached, the Cadiz had been driven by winds and waves toward the Brittany coast, where the stem and midsection clipped shallow underwater rocks. The impact slashed holes in the hull and container tanks and released the oil. About 200 miles (321 km) of French coast was polluted by the oil slick, which killed millions of invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans, and an estimated 20.000 birds, and contaminated oyster beds in the region. In 1990 Amoco Corporation, the owners of the Cadiz agreed to pay $120 million to French claimants, along with an additional $35 million to Royal Dutch Shell, which had owned the lost oil.