The dependence on oil is a menace because oil reserves will disappear and because at this time we have no other invention to replace it.

dependence 是名词，由动词 depend（依赖）加上名词后缀 -ence 构成。depend 本身由前缀 de-（表示"向下"）和 pend（来自拉丁语 pendere，意为"悬挂"）组成，字面意思是"悬挂于...之下"，引申为"依赖"。 dependence 表示"依赖、依靠"的状态或性质，指需要某事物才能正常运作或生存。