英伦广角 2011-06-19 飞涨的账单

 Scotland today, everywhere else tomorrow. No one expects Scottish Power to be alone among the big energy suppliers to increase their prices before winter comes. All say they keep their prices under constant review, but British Gas has warned that wholesale¹ prices this winter will be 25% higher than last year, and end-user prices are yet to reflect this.

 

"You know, it's a huge rise, you know, in comparison² to the rise in wages. We lack that rise in wages. Yes, it's enormous³, so you know, impacts⁴ a lot of people very seriously."

 

"How can I afford that on my salary because my work never increase, they never increase our salaries, and yet we're expected to pay all this money for gas and electricity."

 

If all the energy suppliers increase their prices in line with Scottish Power, it will add 180 pounds to average household bills this year. That follows the latest wave of price increases that ended in March, adding 63 pounds to annual bills. Wholesale energy costs have grown. Scottish Power says it's absorbing most of the 30% increase in the price it pays for its gas and electricity, but this is a multi-billion-pound industry with ever increasing profits. 

 

"Scottish Power made in 2010 1.3 billion pounds, and if you look at Southern Electric, they made 2.1 billion pounds of English made. So that's just two companies. It's enough for all. And they would have made, some of them made even more. It ends up so * , so there is lots of money there."

 

The gauntlet has already been thrown down to the energy firms. The watchdog Ofgem says they are failing customers and has made recommendations⁵ on how they should change their ways. Next month, they will decide if they have shown a real willingness to do so or if the competition watchdog needs to intervene⁶.

1 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

2 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

3 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。

4 impacts   

影响，作用( impact的名词复数 )； 碰撞； 冲击； 撞击

参考例句：

• In particular, what alternatives and environmental impacts must be discussed? 特别是，必须讨论哪些替代方案以及哪些环境影响。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。

5 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 intervene   

vi.干涉，干预，干扰，阻挠

参考例句：

• When riot broke out,the police were obliged to intervene.发生暴乱时，警察有责任干预。
• You don't intervene between those two drunks.你不要在那两个酒鬼之间进行调解。