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  3. For a large number of young adults in Britain, homeownership has become increasingly difficult to achieve, viewed as a distant g

For a large number of young adults in Britain, homeownership has become increasingly difficult to achieve, viewed as a distant g

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问题     For a large number of young adults in Britain, homeownership has become increasingly difficult to achieve, viewed as a distant goal attainable only later in life, if at all.
    That is a significant shift for Britain. For years owners occupy a higher percentage of homes in Britain than in the United States, France or Germany. One reason homeownership is so attractive in Britain is because property values dropped less drastically than in the United States, in part because of a shortage in housing. Prices in some large cities, including London, have even increased recently. People still perceive a home to be a better and safer investment than a pension fund, said Andrew Hull, research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research. "Homeownership is also culturally entrenched," he said. "Owning a home is the main way of showing you made it. "
    The big shift toward homeownership came in the 1980s when Mrs. Thatcher issued right-to-buy policy, which allowed many in rented government housing to buy their homes. About two million homes were sold, earning the government tens of billions of pounds. At the same time, the rental market became increasingly unattractive. Unlike Germany and other Continental European countries, Britain’ s private rental market is highly fragmented, with many landlords and laws that generally favor the property owner. Most leases are for six months only, with landlords rarely agreeing to commit to longer terms; this makes renting highly insecure.
    But as the pain of government-imposed austerity sinks in, disposable income has shrunk and loan requirements have toughened, forcing more and more Britons into renting rather than buying. Over the last 10 years the number of people who owned homes here dropped to 67 percent from 70 percent. Meanwhile, the number of people in private rented housing rose to 16 percent from 10 percent over the same period, according to the Office for National Statistics. Rising demand has pushed up rents by an average of 4. 4 percent over the last year, according to LSL Property Services. In London rents increased 7.8 percent.
    "A growing number of young would-be buyers are preparing for lifelong renting—by necessity rather than choice," said Jonathan Moore, director of easyroommate. co. uk, a property Web site. Charlotte Ashton, 30, has lived in rented accommodations ever since she left her parent’ s home to attend university. She said she was saving for a down payment to buy her own home. "I do believe in the fundamentals of owning bricks and mortar as security for the future, more than leaving my money in the banks at a low interest rate," said Ms. Ashton, who works in public relations. "But now it seems unless you have a very well paid job and are willing to save every penny, it’ s unfeasible to buy without the help of the bank of Mum and Dad. "
    Some economists are concerned that as more people are forced to wait to buy a home, it could open up a widening of the wealth gap that already exists between homeowners and non homeowners, endangering the retirement prospects for a swelling group of young adults they call "generation rent. " It could also have implications for the cohesion of neighborhoods, Alison Blackwell, a research director at the National Center for Social Research and author of the Halifax report said. Renters tend to be less involved in local communities because they are forced to move more often. And the economy as a whole may suffer because renters tend to curb spending to save for a deposit.
Which of the following statements about Generation Rent is true?
选项 A、They consider renting as a lifelong plan rather than a temporary choice.
B、They are in face of economic downturn and a risk of early retirement.
C、They despise the idea of asking parents for money to buy house.
D、They still believe in the blessing of house just like their previous generation.
答案D
解析 本题考查对文中出现的“租房一代”的观点的理解。文中第五段第一句话就引用专家的话告诉读者，“很多年轻人都准备终身租房——但这并不是他们自愿的选择而是无奈之选”。因此[A]说他们将租房看成一种终身计划而不是权宜之计是不正确的，他们并不是计划这么做，而是无奈只能这样做。[B]利用文章最后一段中出现的endangering the retirementprospects设置干扰项，这里提到租房的人越来越多会拉大拥有房产者和无房产者之间的财富差距，并且会危及“租房一代”将来退休之后的境遇。之所以这么讲是因为“租房一代”将本应该用来买养老保险的钱用来存款买房以及支付高额房租，他们获得高额退休金的前景因此而暗淡。并不是说这些人会提前退休，这是对原文关键短语的曲解。[C]选项关于英国年轻人是否愿意做啃老族的观点，要参见文章第五段阿什顿女士发表的一番言论。她说如果没有高额的薪水，也不会拼命地存钱的话，那么年轻人根本就不可能不依靠父母的力量单独买房。她作为“租房一代”的代表，言语间并没有透露出对啃老族的鄙视，相反她认为啃老也是无奈之选。因此[C]是对人物观点的错误诠释。[D]正确，文中多次提到，虽然沦为“租房一代”，但是这一代人还是很希望购房的，第五段中阿什顿女士也说，她相信房屋能给人带来安全感，可见在房子的问题上，年轻人和老一辈并没有多少区别。
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