ING. ANA LUISA PARI T.

INGLES TECNICO III

CLASS 2
NAME:

DATE:

PART A
Read the theory presented in Part A, then mark the Regular Past Tense Verbs in the text from part B.

Regular Past Tense Verbs

The chart below includes examples of regular verbs and their past tense form

Examples of Regular Verbs in Sentences

A great way to understand how past tense verbs are used is to see them in sentences.
 He graciously accepted the award on her behalf.
 I think Sara added too much sugar to the recipe.
 Moe admired Mr. Jones for his intellect.
 Corinne admitted that it was all her fault.
 Her parents advised against staying out too late.

PART B
Read the text

Why oil prices are crashing and what it means

Oil prices have suffered their biggest fall since the day in 1991 when American forces launched air strikes on
Iraqi troops following their invasion of Kuwait.
Monday's crash spooked markets that were already freaking out about the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on the global economy and demand for oil. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down
22%, last trading at $35.45 per barrel. US oil is trading at $33.15 per barrel, a decline of nearly 20%.
1
Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter, launched a price war over the weekend. The move followed the
implosion of an alliance between the OPEC cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
The kingdom and Russia came together to form the so-called OPEC+ alliance in 2016 after oil prices plunged to
$30 a barrel. Since then, the two leading exporters have orchestrated supply cuts of 2.1 million barrels per
day. Saudi Arabia wanted to increase that number to 3.6 million barrels through 2020 to take account of weaker
consumption.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin, worried about ceding too much ground to American oil producers, refused
to go along with the plan and his energy minister, Alexander Novak on Friday signaled a fierce battle to come for
market share when he said countries could produce as much as they please from April 1.
Simmering differences over how best to manage global oil markets spilled into the open at a meeting between
OPEC and Russia in Vienna on Friday. After Russia said it was ditching the alliance, Saudi Arabia warned it would
live to regret the decision, sources who attended the meeting told CNN Business.
Moscow had become tired of cutting production to stabilize prices and felt that the policy of supply restraint
gave more room for US shale companies to grow. Mikhail Leontiev, a spokesperson for Russian state oil
company Rosneft, described the OPEC+ deal as "masochism."
"By yielding our own markets, we remove cheap Arab and Russian oil to clear a place for expensive US shale oil
and ensure the effectiveness of its production," he told Russian state media on Sunday.
America has become the number one oil producer in the world and is expected to pump about 13 million barrels
a day in the first quarter of this year.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia decided to fight for greater market share by slashing the prices its preferred
customers pay by between $4-$7 a barrel. The kingdom is also reportedly planning to lift production to over 10
million barrels a day.
The coronavirus has undermined energy demand worldwide, but especially in China, which is now the number
one importer of crude oil, guzzling roughly 10 million barrels a day.
Factories have been idled and thousands of flights canceled around the world as the coronavirus outbreak that
began in Wuhan, China, has become a global pandemic.
The International Energy Agency said Monday that it expects demand will contract this year for the first time
since the recession in 2009 that followed the global financial crisis.
A price war in the face of collapsing demand is not a recipe for oil stability.
It is difficult to see any winners: the major oil producing countries will lose money regardless of the market
share they can claw back. Russia claims to be the most insulated to lower prices because its annual budget is
based on an average price of roughly $40 a barrel. US sanctions have forced it to become more efficient.
The Gulf countries produce oil at the lowest cost — estimated at $2-$6 a barrel in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the
United Arab Emirates — but due to high government spending and generous subsidies for citizens, they need a
price in the range of $70 a barrel or higher to balance their budgets.
Oil dependent states that have suffered from years of conflict, uprisings or sanctions will pay the heaviest price.
Iraq, Iran, Libya and Venezuela all belong in that category. But the United States won't escape either. The shale
oil boom has brought with it an economic windfall for some states, and low prices will hurt oil companies.

PART C
Select the words from the text
Vocabulary (American English)
1. …………..

2. ……………

3. …………….

4. …………….

2
Vocabulary (Technical English)
1. Barrel

2. Brent

3. Crude

4. opec

5. ……………..

PART D
Answer the questions based on the text
1. Why are oil prices crashing? Choose the best reason.

2. Why did Saudi launch a price war?

3. What does coronavirus have to do with all of this?

4. Which countries will be hurt the most?