上外完型填空.docx

1、上外完型填空上 外 英 语 专 业 考 研 试 题TEXT 1NEXT week Henri Proglio will become the boss of EDF Group, the state-controlled French firm which is the worlds biggest 1 utility and operator of nuclear reactors. With its proud corporate culture, its 2 to long-term planning and its powerful unions (the Confdration Gn

2、rale du Travail jointly runs the firm, in effect), EDF is sometimes described as a miniature 3 of France itself. Last year it began a 4 campaign to build nuclear plants around the world. But to the dismay of advocates of a nuclear renaissance, the cost and complexity of embarking on several big proj

3、ects at once is weighing on the firm, despite its size and government backing.EDF has long exported its nuclear-energy expertise, but earned only advisory fees for its efforts. It helped build Chinas nuclear fleet, for example, for a few million euros. Now, as growth at home slows, it wants to make

4、bigger 5 by building and 6 nuclear plants of its own abroad. After all, it is one of very few utilities that can 7 to build several reactors by itself, without sharing the risk with partners or governments. And in an industry which atrophied after accidents at Three Mile Island in America and Cherno

5、byl in 8 is now Ukraine, it has relatively extensive recent experience of building and operating modern nuclear plants.Even for EDF, however, the costs are 9 . In 2008 it bought British Energy, a utility which owns eight nuclear plants, for 12.5 billion ($22.5 billion). Earlier this month, after a l

6、ong wait for regulatory 10 , it concluded a 11 to buy half of the nuclear assets of Constellation Energy, an American utility, for $4.5 billion. On top of these acquisitions it plans to build 11 new reactors (four in Britain, four in America, two in China and one in France). It also wants to build f

7、our plants in Italy and is 12 to build several in the United Arab Emirates, as part of a consortium in both places. These investments will stretch the firms balance-sheet. Debt now stands at 37 billion ($53 billion) and could rise to 65 billion by 2017-18, according to a report from HSBC, a bank. To

8、 help 13 its debt, the firm plans to make disposals worth 5 billion by the end of 2010.EDF is also facing operational troubles. France has had to import large quantities of electricity this year because almost a third of its nuclear plants went out of 14 at some point, either because of strikes or f

9、or 15 . Frances grid operator recently warned that the country could even suffer power 16 this winter. One 17 cause, says Sofia Savvantidou of Citigroup, an investment bank, is many years of underinvestment. As well as spending more on everyday maintenance, EDF will need to invest to extend the life

10、 of its French reactors from 40 to 60 years. A few years ago it thought the cost would be 18 , but now it reckons it will need to spend 400m on each plant. According to one adviser, the problems with EDFs fleet this year show there has been “too much attention given to financing international 19 and

11、 not enough to the basics of running the plants at home.” Some government officials want EDF to restrict itself mainly to Europe. Such a change of strategy would doubtless please the firms unions, which fear that expanding abroad will encourage it to 20 more like a listed company and less like a gov

12、ernment bureaucracy. Mr Proglio appears to agree with EDFs 21 . He told Frances parliament this month that he was unsure whether EDF should expand to America by completing the deal with Constellation. “He doesnt want EDF to 22 too many hares at the same time,” says a person close to the government.

13、Yet Mr Proglio seems to have grandiose ideas of his own. EDFs next-generation reactor, called the EPR, is designed by Areva, another state-controlled French firm. Areva is in difficulty because the first EPR, under construction in Finland, is well behind 23 and far over budget. This week Mr Proglio

14、said that EDF should take control of the bit of Areva that builds reactors. The idea is a radical one, and Areva will certainly resist itbut it indicates the uncertainty surrounding EDFs strategy. The rising cost of building new nuclear plants is another worry. Higher prices for cement and steel, th

15、e complexity of building new designs for the first time and onerous safety requirements are all adding to EDFs bills and threatening profits. “Every morning we get a new safety request,” complains one executive. The 24 of the nuclear supply-chain over recent decades (there is only one supplier in th

16、e world for some components) and the sudden rush by multiple governments to spur construction are also 25 of inflation. EDF has kept costs under control better than Areva, but it may still struggle to stick to the 4 billion budget it has set for the EPR it is building at Flamanville on Frances north

17、ern coast (pictured). Whereas EDFs existing fleet of plants produces power at an average cost of around 30 per megawatt hour (MWh), says Ms Savvantidou, the cost of energy from its new plants will be around 55-60/MWh, and could rise as high as 70 if projects run over budget. EDF 26 sells power for a

18、bout 39/MWh on average, according to Citigroup. French regulators will 27 to ensure that EDF can make a profit from the new plants it builds at home. Electricity prices are expected to go up over time as fixed tariffs are phased out. But reaching average price levels of 60/MWh or more will be politi

19、cally difficult and will take a long time, says Ms Savvantidou. Indeed, Mr Proglios predecessor, Pierre Gadonneix, caused a 28 when he said prices would have to rise by 20%. Abroad, in less regulated markets, EDF will face even greater uncertainty about future returns. It has called on the British g

20、overnment to support new nuclear plants to speed their construction.One way to keep costs down could be for EDF to encourage competition among reactor suppliers by 29 its reflexive use of the EPR. Mr Proglio is said to favour offering foreign utilities other designs, for instance from Westinghouse,

21、a unit of Toshiba of Japan. Some customers, especially in America, may want smaller, cheaper reactors than the EPR, which is very big and thus expensive. But EDF would cause a political furore by ending its allegiance to home-grown French technology. It would also 30 its efforts to increase efficien

22、cy and cut costs by building the same design many times over.Few minority investors foresaw EDFs huge programme of investment when the French government sold 15% of the firm in a public offering in 2005. They fear the firm will pay out sharply lower dividends in future. Shareholders had hoped for le

23、ss political interference, but the level of state involvement has hardly changed and may increase with the arrival of Mr Proglio, a friend of Frances president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr Proglio has already caused controversy by insisting that he remain chairman of his old firm, Veolia, despite his demand

24、ing new job. He is also thought to want Veolia and EDF to deepen their ties beyond an existing joint venturean idea in which most analysts see little merit. EDF may yet become the dominant global supplier of nuclear energy, but for the moment the company is looking very French. Daunting wither appro

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32、rful and competing forces in the relationship between China and America. President Barack Obama hopes his first visit to China, which began on Sunday November 15th, will 2 the two countries to work more closely on 3 problems, from climate change to the economy. His hosts appear to agree, but misgivings are still abundant.Mr Obama began his trip in Shanghai, Chinas 4 capital. Part of his 5 was to reassure city leaders that America would be an enthusiastic 6 in the World Expo which is 7 to be held there next year. The American governmentas is its 8 for such eventswill not