1 . Wholesale prices for gas and electricity are increasing suddenly across Europe,raising the possibility of increases in already-high utility (公共事业）bills and further pain for people who have taken a financial hit fromCOVID-19.
Governments are struggling to find ways to limit costs to consumers as scant natural gas reserves present yet another potential problem, exposing the continent to even more price increases and possible shortages if it’s a cold winter.
In the U.K., many people will see their gas and electricity bills rise next month after the nation’s energy regulator approved a 12% price increase for those without contracts that lock in rates. Officials in Italy have warned that prices will increase by 40% for the quarter that will be billed in October.
There are multiple causes for the price increases, energy analysts say, including tight supplies of natural gas used to generate electricity, higher costs for permits to release carbon dioxide as part of Europe’s fight against climate change, and less supply from wind in some cases.
Analysts at S&P Global Platts say electricity prices have risen due to strong demand from places like data centers and electric cars, but above all because of the rise in the price of natural gas used in generating plants. Utility companies’ exposure to natural gas prices has increased as high-emission coal plants have been retired, while utilities face higher costs for carbon allowances required by the European Union’s emissions trading system, which is aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
The tight gas market could bite even more sharply if there’s an unusually cold winter. That’s because European distributors did not refill reserves reduced during last winter as they typically had done in summer months. In March 2008, when the freeze named “the beast from the east” hit Europe, industrial users in the U.K got a notice that there was a risk of interruption, although it didn’t come to that.
Could Europe run out of gas? “The short answer is Yes, this is a real risk,” said James Huckstepp, an analyst at S&P Global Platts. “Storage stocks are at record lows and there isn’t currently any spare supply capacity that is exportable anywhere in the world.The longer answer is that it’s hard to predict how it will play out given that Europe has never run out of gas in two decades under the current distribution system.”
1. What does the underlined word “scant” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Total. | B．Additional. | C．Limited. | D．Regular. |
| A．The closure of some coal plants. |
| B．The great demand for electric cars. |
| C．The competition between utility companies. |
| D．The change in the emissions trading system. |
| A．More natural gas will be needed for industrial use. |
| B．European distributors don’t make good preparations. |
| C．It is not easy to fill reserves during the cold weather. |
| D．Utility companies work can be easily interrupted. |
| A．Europe is expected to seek help from other countries. |
| B．It is hard to control the gas price in Europe at present. |
| C．Europe might face a serious shortage of gas in the future. |
| D．There’s something wrong with Europe’s distribution system. |
1. 外教的名字是Sarah，来自美国，30岁，在你们学校已教了8年英语了；
2. Sarah非常友好，有耐心，而且幽默；
3. Sarah喜欢旅游、看书和唱歌。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Lily,
I’m glad to receive your email. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
1．缓解压力、提高学习状态的建议；
2．表达期望并送上祝福。
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．文章的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Wei Ming，
I'm sorry to hear about your situation.
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Yours,
Li Hua
1.季节的名称；
2.喜欢此季节的原因。
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My Favorite Season
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1. 简要介绍春节；
2. 你们家的过节安排。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：New Year Eve 除夕；Chinese lunar year 中国农历年
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6 . Sometimes people around you can change your life. The change may not be sudden or
One thing I've learned from Julia is how to balance
Last year I hated studying vocabulary, but I loved playing on my computer. Julia
Julia has always
| A．simple | B．slight | C．necessary | D．impressive |
| A．results | B．problems | C．ideas | D．decisions |
| A．taught | B．served | C．offered | D．bought |
| A．for | B．of | C．throughout | D．into |
| A．work | B．money | C．career | D．time |
| A．plan | B．get | C．move | D．stay |
| A．never | B．seldom | C．yet | D．still |
| A．excited | B．determined | C．careful | D．patient |
| A．important | B．easy | C．possible | D．interesting |
| A．shared | B．remembered | C．combined | D．separated |
| A．watch | B．play | C．raise | D．improve |
| A．permitted | B．invited | C．challenged | D．reminded |
| A．lessons | B．skills | C．words | D．stories |
| A．learned | B．read | C．used | D．spelled |
| A．allowed | B．warned | C．forced | D．encouraged |
| A．Therefore | B．Besides | C．However | D．Otherwise |
| A．Unless | B．If | C．Although | D．Since |
| A．realized | B．noticed | C．imagined | D．dreamed |
| A．turn away | B．make a difference | C．show off | D．make a mistake |
| A．ready | B．sorry | C．thankful | D．anxious |
Many people believe that they will be happy once they
Media is known to be the most
The best thing about the mass media is that it immediately provides us with the latest information about the things
Though mass media has many positive effects, there are some
1.询问Tom的生活和学习情况；
2.谈谈你的困难并请Tom帮忙；
3.告诉Tom你打算赛后去看他。
注意：1．词数：100词左右；
2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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