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  3. Now that the economy is at last growing again, the burning issue in Britain is the cost of living. Prices have exceeded wages fo

Now that the economy is at last growing again, the burning issue in Britain is the cost of living. Prices have exceeded wages fo

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问题     Now that the economy is at last growing again, the burning issue in Britain is the cost of living. Prices have exceeded wages for the past six years. But the thing that is really out of control is the cost of housing. In the past year wages have risen by 1%; property prices are up by 8.4%. This is merely the latest in a long surge. If since 1971 the price of groceries had risen as steeply as the cost of housing, a chicken would cost ￡51 ($83).
    By subsidising mortgages, and thus boosting demand, the government is aggravating the problem. But that is not the main reason for rising prices. Driven by a baby-boom, immigration and longer lives, Britain’s population is growing by around 0.8% per year, faster than in most rich countries. Foreign wealth, in the meantime, is pouring into London.
    If supply were rising fast too, increasing demand would not matter; but it is not. Though some 221,000 additional households are formed in England annually, just 108,000 homes were built in the year to September 2013.
    The lack of housing is an economic drag. About three-quarters of English job growth last year was in London and its inland, but high prices make it hard for people to move there from less favoured spots. It also damages lives. New British homes are smaller than those anywhere else in Europe, household size is rising in London and slums are spreading as immigrants squash into shared houses (and, sometimes, garden sheds). Inequality is growing, because the higher property prices are, the greater the advantage that belongs to those whose parents own their homes.
    This is all the result of deliberate policymaking. Since the 1940s house-building in Britain has been regulated by a system designed to prevent urban sprawl, something it has achieved well. It is almost impossible to construct any new building anywhere without permission from the local council. In the places where people most want to live—suburbs at the edge of big cities—councils tend not to give it.
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
选项 A、There will be fewer poor people in London.
B、British houses are bigger than other places in Europe.
C、Economy may be stagnant because of housing problem.
D、Employment rate has increased by 75% everywhere in Britain.
答案C
解析 选项A对应第四段第四、五行：...in London and slums are spreading as immigrants squash into shared houses。其中“slum”意为“贫民窟”，对应该项的“poor people”；“spreading”意为“扩展”，说明贫困的人是越来越多，而不是越来越少，故该项错误。选项B对应第四段第三、四行：New British homes are smaller than those anywhere else in Europe，很明显，该项是错误的。选项C是第四段第一句话“The lack of housing is an economic drag”的同义改写，其中“the lack of housing”=“housing problem”；“economic drag”=“economy…stagnant"；故该项正确。选项D对应该段第二句：About three-quarters of English job growth last year was in London and its inland，原文提到的是“London and its inland(伦敦和内陆地区)”，而不是该项说的“everywhere”，故错误。
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