Seeking an energy holy trinity Jan 10th 2007 From Economist.com 1 NEELIE KROES， the European Union’s competition commissioner， did not mince her words when reporting on Europe’s energy markets on Wednesday January 10th. Europe’s energy firms have failed to invest in networks and so customers are suffering. Those “vertically integrated” energy companies such as Electricité de France or Germany’s E.ON， widely dubbed as “national champions”， are effectively behaving like local monopolies. Shy of competition， eager for artificially high prices， they are helping to block the efficient generation， transmission and distribution of energy on the continent. 2 Energy prices vary wildly across Europe. Ms Kroes wants to see cheaper energy， and intends to push suppliers to divest their distribution network and to get them to invest more in transportation systems so that more energy—in the form of gas， or electricity， for example—can flow easily over borders. It is remarkably hard， for example， for gas-poor Germany to import from the neighbouring， gas-rich Netherlands. Companies that dominate national markets have， so far， had little interest in improving the interconnections which would mean lower prices for consumers across the continent. 3 Ms Kroes， of course， will struggle to get her way. The European Commission， which on the same day presented its recommendation for improving EU energy policy， also wants to see the unbundling of ownership， the legal separation of energy suppliers and transporters， something that the integrated energy companies and interested governments， notably in France and Germany， are bound to oppose ferociously. 4 Complicating the matter is an argument over the security of energy supply in Europe. Much has been made of the risk for western Europe of depending too heavily on Russian exports of gas. Russia under Vladimir Putin is prone to using energy exports as a blunt tool of foreign policy， especially when trying to bully countries in its hinterland. Last year Russia interrupted gas deliveries to Ukraine， affecting supplies in central and western Europe too. This week it blocked oil exports passing via Belarus to Europe， though that spat was soon resolved. 5 The risk is that concerns about security of supply may be used spuriously by those in Europe who oppose the sort of liberalisation encouraged by Ms Kroes. The likes of E.ON and EDF may claim that only protected national champions are able to secure supply， by striking long-term deals with powerful foreign suppliers. The Commission disagrees. Such deals are too often politically motivated and far from transparent. Protection has been tried for long enough and evidently has not worked for the internal market， nor have these companies secured the best deals for consumers from the Russians. 6 In contrast， the Commission‘s new policy proposes， ideally， a break-up of these companies into suppliers and distributors. Properly independent managers of Europe‘s energy networks would have a strong incentive to build interconnecting pipelines and power lines across borders. For the gas market another means of ensuring competition and security would be finding a more diverse range of suppliers， for example by building more terminals for the import of liquified natural gas. It would also be likely to mean lower prices， if the example of liberalised Britain over the past ten years is anything to go by. 7 Whether any of this is likely to happen soon， however， is another matter. The Commission is also calling for European governments to agree on a common effort to reduce carbon emissions by at least 20% by 2020 . If America is willing to play ball， the Commission proposes to reduce emissions by as much as 30%. Achieving either target would mean promoting cleaner cars， a more effective emissions-trading system for Europe， wider use of public transport and a sharp increase in the use of renewable sources of energy， like wind and solar power. All that is laudable enough， but will also require political horse-trading as governments—Europe’s leaders are due to meet in March to discuss the various energy proposals—try to avoid commitments that may hurt domestic energy companies or make European firms less competitive than rivals in America， Asia and elsewhere. Questions 1-5 Do the following statements reflect the views of the writer in the reading passage? In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet write YES if the statement reflects the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage 1. Europe’s energy companies have funded the construction of the distribution network. 2. There has been a wide range of energy prices within Europe. 3. Gas-poor Germany has to pay a price higher than average to import gas from its neighbour. 4. E.ON and EDF may oppose the liberalisation due to their concerns about the security of energy supply. 5. The European Commission proposes to reduce carbon emissions by 30% if the U.S. is willing to cut its Questions 6-10 Look at the box of countries below. Choose One or Two countries to complete the following sentences. Write your answers in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet. Countries A. Belarus B. Britain C. France D. Germany E. Russia F. Ukraine G. The U.S. 6. It’s dangerous for western Europe to depend too much on gas imports from …… 7. A liberalised policy of energy supply was enforced over ten years in … 8. Last year energy supplies in central and western Europe was affected owing to the interruption of gas deliveries to … 9. The governments in …… are bound to oppose the separation of energy suppliers and transporters? 10. Oil exports passing via … to Europe was blocked this week. Questions 11-14 Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the reading passage above for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 11-14. 11. The EC disagrees with energy firms to strike long-term deals with foreign suppliers because such deals are usually far from … 12. The EC proposes to split those “national champions” into … 13. A more diverse range of suppliers would guarantee …in the European gas market. 14. The realization of carbon emissions reduction would require the promotion of cleaner cars， a better emissions-trading system， wider use of public transport and more use of … of energy. Key and Explanations: 1. No See para.1: Europe’s energy firms have failed to invest in networks… 2. Yes See para.2: Energy prices vary wildly across Europe. 3. Not Given See para.2: It is remarkably hard， for example， for gas-poor Germany to import from the neighbouring， gas-rich Netherlands. 4. No See para.5: The risk is that concerns about security of supply may be used spuriously by those in Europe who oppose the sort of liberalisation encouraged by Ms Kroes. The likes of E.ON and EDF may claim that… 5. Yes See para.7: If America is willing to play ball， the Commission proposes to reduce emissions by as much as 30%. 6. E See para.4: Much has been made of the risk for western Europe of depending too heavily on Russian exports of gas. 7. B See para.6: It would also be likely to mean lower prices， if the example of liberalised Britain over the past ten years is anything to go by. 8. F See para.4: Last year Russia interrupted gas deliveries to Ukraine， affecting supplies in central and western Europe too. 9. C， D See para.3: …the legal separation of energy suppliers and transporters， something that the integrated energy companies and interested governments， notably in France and Germany， are bound to oppose ferociously. 10. A See para.4: This week it blocked oil exports passing via Belarus to Europe， though that spat was soon resolved. 11. transparent See para.5: by striking long-term deals with powerful foreign suppliers. The Commission disagrees. Such deals are too often politically motivated and far from transparent. 12. suppliers and distributors See the sentences in para.1 or Germany’s E.ON， widely dubbed as “national champions”…) and para.6 13. competition and security See para.6: For the gas market another means of ensuring competition and security would be finding a more diverse range of suppliers… 14. renewable sources See para.7: Achieving either target would mean promoting cleaner cars， a more effective emissions-trading system for Europe， wider use of public transport and a sharp increase in the use of renewable sources of energy… 09雅思阅读实战训练(十五) 的延伸阅读——雅思阅读备考技巧与方法，两全其美网校城编辑与你总结分析
雅思阅读的题型一直是考生比较关注的问题，分析认为主要有以下两个原因： 1. 有相对简单和相对费时的题型; 2.每个考生都有自己擅长的和较害怕的题型。具体来说：对于词汇不足的考生可能最害怕段落标题匹配题及摘要归纳填空题;对于词汇量较大的考生来说，是非无判断题，段落标题匹配题和摘要归纳填空题可能是比较简单的。选择题和其它匹配题是相对来说比较费时的，所以大部分考生都很害怕这类题型。 那么，面对上面所提到的这些情况，考生应该在题型方面怎样备考呢? 首先，专家认为考生必须从心理上准备迎接所有的题型，在备考中要尽可能喜欢所有题型。有的考生会一次次地祈祷：“希望这次考试不要有选择题或段落细节信息定位题!”这样做，其实是无形中给自己制造了负面的影响。考试题型不是我们所能预料和控制的，一旦有了上述心理，很有可能一看到题型就慌了，一开始就没有一个好的状态。还有一部份考生喜欢跟着考题回忆和机经走，看到上次考了什么题就在备考中只关注那些题型。考题回忆和机经可以看看，但只能做参考，考生千万不要被它们所左右。否则就是自己给自己制造障碍。 其次，考生必须对各类题型的题型特点和答题注意事项了如指掌。雅思阅读考试时间之短，文章之学术性，题量之大，题型之多等特点决定了考生势必会感觉时间不够。考生要在有限的时间内答完所有的题并尽可能地保证较高的正确率确实不是一件容易的事情。考生除了要有一定的词汇量和阅读速度之外，常见的雅思阅读技巧和解题策略是必须的。而解题策略很多时候是建立在考生熟悉题型特点的基础之上的。比如说，考生拿到一篇文章绝不是从第1题接到13题，而是应该分析各组题型的特点和难易，由易到难。同样，考生也可以根据3篇各自的题型来初步判断哪一篇的题型可能对自己比较有利，那篇可能较难，以便能灵活地采取合适的策略。 最后，专家建议考生在考前进行练习时，不要光做套题，而应该偶尔穿插一些专题的练习，重点练习自己没什么把握的题型。注意练习时时间的掌控是很重要的，不要给自己30分钟完成6道是非无，那样不能达到训练的目的，不能保证良好的效果。 |
