The Story of Oil

From ancient seas to gasoline · 液体黄金的前世今生

Oil – a liquid that drives our cars, heats our homes and provides much of our electricity. It's found in every imaginable product. It's often referred to as "liquid gold". In its refined state, it's called petroleum, which literally means "rock oil".

The long journey of oil, from the source below the earth's outer crust to the fuel tank of a car, begins in prehistoric times when the earth was covered in water. Small marine life died and fell to the sea bottom, slowly accumulating on the muddy seabed.

There was no oxygen in many of the accumulating layers, so the material did not break down completely. This allowed much of the decaying material to change into carbon and hydrogen atoms. This process repeated itself many times over many millions of years. More dead and dying materials accumulated on top of the previous layers, forming new layers in the rock.

After millions of years, the rich seas began to recede. As the earth dried, additional land-based organic material decayed, and went through the same process.

All that was needed then was the addition of heat, which came about as the result of pressure exerted on the material by each new layer.

Heat and pressure increased over thousands of years as the weight of the layers built up. This changed the material into a gooey substance called kerogen, which later changed into a crude oil.

This crude oil began to trickle away from the source rock to varying depths below the surface, until it became trapped in reservoirs where it lay dormant for millions of years.

In the 20th century, humans began drilling deep into the earth to find this crude oil. It is now shipped to refineries where the gooey material is transformed into the valuable commodity it is today.

Gasoline is still the crown jewel. In fact, half of every barrel of crude oil is turned into gasoline. The remainder is further refined and ends up in many consumer products, completing a process that began long before humans roamed the earth.

The Story of Oil — From ancient seas to gasoline · 从远古海洋到油箱的漫长旅程

Oil – a liquid that drives our cars, heats our homes and p(1)__________rovides much of our electricity. It's found in every imaginable product. It's often referred to as "liquid gold". In its refined state, it's called petroleum, which l(2)__________iterally means "rock oil".

The long journey of oil, from the source below the earth's outer crust to the fuel tank of a car, begins in p(3)__________rehistoric times when the earth was covered in water. Small marine life died and fell to the sea bottom, slowly accumulating on the muddy seabed.

There was no o(4)__________xygen in many of the accumulating layers, so the material did not break down completely. This allowed much of the decaying material to change into carbon and hydrogen atoms. This process repeated itself many times over many millions of years. More dead and dying materials accumulated on top of the previous layers, forming new layers in the rock.

After millions of years, the rich seas began to r(5)__________ecede. As the earth dried, additional land-based organic material decayed, and went through the same process.

All that was needed then was the addition of heat, which came about as the result of p(6)__________ressure exerted on the material by each new layer.

Heat and pressure increased over thousands of years as the weight of the layers built up. This changed the material into a gooey substance called kerogen, which later changed into a c(7)__________rude oil.

This crude oil began to trickle away from the source rock to varying depths below the surface, until it became t(8)__________rapped in reservoirs where it lay dormant for millions of years.

In the 20th century, humans began drilling deep into the earth to find this crude oil. It is now shipped to refineries where the gooey material is t(9)__________ransformed into the valuable commodity it is today.

Gasoline is still the crown jewel. In fact, half of every barrel of crude oil is turned into gasoline. The remainder is further refined and ends up in many consumer products, completing a process that began long before humans r(10)__________oamed the earth.

📌 重点单词 · Key Vocabulary

🔗 重点词组 · Key Phrases

💡 语法小贴士 · Grammar Tips

🛢️ 文化拓展 · Liquid Gold: A Gift from Ancient Seas

石油被称为 "liquid gold"（液体黄金），是因为它像黄金一样珍贵，又是现代工业的血液。从汽油、柴油、航空煤油，到塑料、化肥、合成纤维、药品，我们日常生活中的几乎每一种产品都与石油有关。文中 "It's found in every imaginable product" 说的正是这一点。

文章详细讲述了石油的形成过程：远古海洋中的微小生物死亡后沉入海底，在缺氧环境中缓慢堆积；随着海洋退去、岩层加厚，高温高压把有机物变成油母质（kerogen），再演变为原油；原油被封存在地下储集层中沉睡数百万年，直到人类钻井才重见天日。这个过程横跨数亿年，因此石油是典型的不可再生资源（non-renewable resource），用一点少一点。

正因为石油"completing a process that began long before humans roamed the earth"，我们更应懂得珍惜：节约能源、提高炼化效率、发展风能太阳能等新能源，是人类面对"液体黄金"终将枯竭这一现实（realistic）的必然选择。一桶原油只有一半能变成汽油，其余部分还能提炼出润滑油、沥青和化工原料——物尽其用，才是对这份远古馈赠最好的回报。