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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

admin2018-03-01  57
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.
Which of the following is true of Britain’s house-building policy?
选项 A、The policy has to some degree tackled the problem of rapid urbanization.
B、The policymaking led to many social problems in Britain.
C、The local councils are responsible for building houses.
D、Councils may give the permission to build houses in the suburban area.
答案A
解析 选项B是对最后一段第一句的曲解，文中并未提及“many social problems”．选项C对应最后一段中的“It is almost impossible to construct any new building anywhere without permission from the local council”，该句并未表明“地方会议会要负责住房建设”，只谈到了需要地方议会的许可。选项D误解了最后一句内容，即“In the places where people most want to live—suburbs at the edge of big cities—councils tend not to give it”，该句说“tend not to give it”．而选项D说“may give the permission”。选项A符合最后一段第二句的表达，即“Since the 1940s house—building in Britain has been regulated by a system designed to prevent urban sprawl, something it has achieved well”，意思是“自20世纪40年代起，英国住房建设就受到某种体制的约束，该体制是为了避免城市过度扩展”。
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