On April 24th, another natural disaster—the oil spill(泄露) in the Gulf of Mexico, happened．Millions of dollars have been used to help stop the spill and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
But governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tons of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
However, we should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research, in the past, was stopped by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效高☆考♂资♀源€网的）,we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
小题1:What is the passage mainly talking about?
A．Oil spills pollution．
B．What oil pollution is．
C．Oil tanker accidents．
D．How to reduce oil pollution.小题2:How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A．By giving a description．
B．By making an argument．
C．By giving an example．
D．By comparing．小题3:Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A．We should build safer tankers in the near future．
B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use．
C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines．
D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea．小题4:Where can you read this article?
A．In a story book．
B．In a science magazine．
C．In a novel．
D．In a travel guide．
