Page 22 - English Class 06

To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another, but when a

politician or an engineer refers to oil, he almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives
tanks, aeroplanes and war-ships, motor cars and diesel locomotives . This is the oil that has
changed the life of common man. To it, we owe the possibility of flying. It has changed the
methods of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oil comes out of the earth. Because it

burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways it is superior to coal. Many big ships now use
oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly, it is used for illumination. Many homes are still
illuminated with oil burning lamps.

What was the origin of the oil which drives our motorcars and aircraft? Scientists are in
no doubt about the formation of coal, but they do not seem so sure when asked about oil.
They think that the oil under the surface of the earth originated from living things in the sea.

For these creatures to become oil, it was necessary that they should be imprisoned between
layers of rocks for an enormous length of time. The statement that oil originated in the sea is
confirmed by a glance at a map showing chief oil fields of the world. Very few of them are

locomotives : railway engines
warfare : fighting

far distant from the oceans of today. The rocks in which oil is found are of the sea origin too.

Almost always the remains of shells and other proofs of sea life are found close to the oil.
There are four main areas of the world where deposits of oil appear. The first is that of

the Middle East and includes the region near the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf. Another is the area between North and South America and the third,
between Asia and Australia, includes the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

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