高中英语 ChallengingⅢ Knowing About Houses 背景知识拓展 重庆大学版必修1 .doc

challenging yourself knowing about houses3“to buy or to rent”， that is a question about living for most young people who just graduated from university or who have worked for one or two years in big cities. many people see it as a torturing choice and feel weak in face of it.owning your home was once part of the american dream. but that dream has faded because of the economic recession in the united states. millions of americans have been unable to pay the mortgage on their houses and have had to leave them. without a home of their own， many people are now renting， but this also can be difficult financially.until recently， brenda ganaway lived in a home of her own in alexandria， virginia， a suburb close to washington， d.c. but then the economic crisis hit and she was unable to keep paying the mortgage on her house. “we were behind on a few payments and we couldnt get a loan anywhere， so they just immediately foreclosed it and told us we had a certain amount of days to leave，” she explained.there are millions of people like brenda ganaway in america now. raphael bostic is the assistant secretary at the u.s. department of housing and urban development， or hud. he says the number of americans who own their homes is steadily dropping. “the homeownership rate in the united states used to be somewhere close to 70 percent. weve fallen off by several million households now，” he said. “and so the rate is down considerably. and a lot of those have now gone into the rental market.”renting does have some advantages over home ownership. if a renter wants to move， for example， he does not have to worry about finding a buyer for the house.yazgul odekova manages a rental property in alexandria. she says the major reason people rent is that it is usually less expensive than owning a home.“买或租”生活对多数刚刚从大学毕业或已经在大城市工作了一两年的年轻人来说是一个住房问题。很多人把它看作是一个折磨人的选择而且在面对这一选择时无所适从。拥有自己的家曾经是美国梦的一部分。但是，这个梦想已经由于美国的经济衰退渐渐淡去。数百万的美国人已经无力支付他们的房子的抵押贷款，不得不从住所里搬出来。现在很多人都租房子住，但他们发现租房子住给他们带来很大的财政困难。直到最近，brenda ganaway住在亚历山德里亚，弗吉尼亚州，临近华盛顿特区的郊区。但经济危机的重创使她无法继续支付她房子的抵押贷款。 “我们有几个滞后未付的费用，我们无法获得任何贷款，所以他们就立即封了我们的，并告诉我们，要我们有一定的时间内搬出去，”她解释说。现在，在美国有上百万像brenda ganaway 一样的人。拉斐尔博斯蒂克是在美国住房和城市发展部，或hud的助理秘书。他说拥有自己的居所的美国人的数量正在稳步下降。 “美国的住房拥有率之前接近70。我们已经降至只有数百万人拥有自己的住所，“他说。 “这样一来，住房拥有率大幅下降。而且很多房子现在已经进入了租赁市场。“租房子住确实比拥有自己的房子有其一定的优势。例如，如果承租人要搬家，他不必担心为房子寻找买家。yazgul odekova在亚历山德里亚管理出租物业。她说，人们租房住的主要原因是，它通常比拥有一个自己的住所更便宜。人们租房有不同的原因。第“people rent for different reasons. number one is affordability，” she said. “it is cheaper to rent and it is risk-free.”renting is cheaper for many reasons， says arun shu. he is an international businessman who rents a home near washington. he says there are many costs to owning a house besides paying the monthly mortgage. “if you decide to buy a house， a lot of expenses are involved. not only payment if you take a mortgage， but also you have to pay property tax， maintenance and upkeep of the house，” he said. “you probably will want to spend some money on renovating the house， remodeling parts of the house if you buy a used house.”but even renting can be difficult in todays market， especially in big cities. danilo pelletiere is an official at the national low income housing coalition. he says there just are not enough homes to rent and poor people are the most affected. “in the united states there has been a focus both at the local level and a national level on home ownership. that affected renters， low-income people and the like and a result you have shortage of three million units of affordable housing for lowest income people，” he said.even if a house is available， mr. pelletiere says， being able to pay for it is another problem. to afford the rent， he says， many poor people work more than one job. “today you need multiple minimum wage jobs to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment，” he added. “we calculated about $18 an hour.”even if a person can afford the rent there are other obstacles. yazgul odekova， the property manager in alexandria， says most people just do not meet the necessary qualifications， such as being able to prove they can afford the rental payments. “right now from every 10 application we turned down nine. it is not just because people are dishonest. sometimes people have big medical bills，sometimes people have bankruptcy， because suddenly they became sick and dont have health insurance. sometimes peoples income is very low，一个就是经济承受能力，“她说。 “租房便宜，且无风险。”阿伦说，租房便宜的原因是多方面的。他是一个国际商人，他租了一个离华盛顿不远的房子。他说，拥有自己的房子花费太高，另外还要支付每月的按揭成本。 “如果你决定买房子，将会涉及很多费用。如果你采取抵押贷款，不只要支付贷款，你也必须交物业税，维修和保养房子，“他说。 “如果你买一个二手房,你可能会想花些钱修房子，重塑的房子某个部分。”但是，即便是租房在今天的市场也很难，特别是在大城市。danilo pelletiere是全国低收入住房联盟的一名官员。他说，根本就没有足够的住房供租用，贫困人口受到的影响最大。 “在美国，无论是在地方一级和国家一级，自置居所一直是焦点话题。受影响的租户，低收入的人等像这样的就有300万对于最低收入人群的负担得起的住房短缺，“他说。即使有足够的房子，pelletiere先生说，能够支付它是另外一个问题。他说，要负担租金，许多穷人要做多份工作。 “今天，你需要做多份最低工资的工作才能买得起一套两居室的公寓，”他补充说。 “我们按约为每小时18美元来计算。”即使一个人能够负担得起租金，还有其他的障碍。亚历山德里亚的物业经理，yazgul odekova说，大多数人还不符合必要的资格，如能证明他们能够负担得起租金。 “现在每10个申请人中我们拒绝9个。这不仅是因为人们是不诚实的。有时，人们有很大的医疗费用，有时人们会破产，因为他们突然生病，没有医疗保险。有时候，人民的收入是非常低的，有时人与人之间的关系是不稳定的，“odekova说。sometimes it is unstable relationship between people，” odekova said.huds raphael bostic says the u.s. government has programs to help low-income families pay the rent. “we provide direct subsidy where we try to make sure that families are n