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  3. The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a

The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a

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问题 The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent article by choosing from the list A-G. Some of the paragraphs have been placed for you. (10 points)

A. "It is always better to buy a house; paying rent is like pouring money down the drain." For years, such advice has encouraged people to borrow heavily to get on the property ladder as soon as possible. But is it still sound advice? House prices are currently at record levels in relation to rents in many parts of the world and it now often makes more financial sense—especially for first-time buyers—to rent instead.
B. "If I don’t buy now, I’ll never get on the property ladder" is a common cry from first-time buyers. If house prices continue to outpace wages, that is true. But it now looks unlikely. When prices get out of line with what first-timers can afford, as they are today, they always eventually fall in real terms. The myth that buying is always better than renting grew out of the high inflation era of the 1970s and 1950s. First-time buyers then always ended up better off than renters, because inflation eroded the real value of mortgages even while it pushed up rents. Mortgage-interest tax relief was also worth more when inflation, and hence nominal interest rates, was high. With inflation now tamed, home ownership is far less attractive.
C. Homebuyers tend to underestimate their costs. Once maintenance costs, insurance and property taxes are added to mortgage payments, total annual outgoings now easily exceed the cost of renting an equivalent property, even after taking account of tax breaks. Ah, but capital gains will more than make up for that, it is popularly argued. Over the past seven years, average house prices in America have risen by 65%, those in Britain, Spain, Australia and Ireland have more than doubled. But it is unrealistic to expect such gains to continue. Making the (optimistic) assumption that house prices instead rise in line with inflation, and including buying and selling costs, then over a period of seven years,—the average time American owners stay in one house—our calculations show that you would generally be better off renting.
D. Be warned, if you make such a bold claim at a dinner party, you will immediately be set upon. Paying rent is throwing money away, it will be argued. Much better to spend the money on a mortgage, and by so doing build up equity. The snag is that the typical first-time buyer keeps a house for less than five years, and during that time most mortgage payments go on interest, not on repaying the loan. And if prices fall, it could wipe out your equity.
E. In any case, a renter can accumulate wealth by putting the money saved each year from the lower cost of renting into shares. These have, historically, yielded a higher return than housing. Putting all your money into a house also breaks the basic rule of prudent investing: diversify. And yes, it is true that a mortgage leverages the gains on your initial deposit on a house, but it also amplifies your losses if house prices fall.
F. The divergence between rents and house prices is, of course, evidence of a housing bubble. Someday prices will fall relative to rents and wages. After they do, it will make sense to buy a home. Until they do, the smart money is on renting.
G. "I want to have a place to call home" is a popular retort. Renting provides less long-term security and you cannot paint all the walls orange if you want to. Home ownership is an excellent personal goal, but it may not always make financial sense. The pride of "owning" your own home may quickly fade if you are saddled with a mortgage that costs much more than renting. Also, renting does have some advantages. Renters find it easier to move for job or family reasons.

Order: A is the 1st paragraph and F is the last.

选项
答案G
解析 E段指出了购房不利，根据文章的框架结构，紧接着的这一段应当是购房者的反驳。剩下的B、G两段都引用了购房者的原话，都可以与G段衔接。不过，通过仔细阅读比较，我们不难发现，G段的衔接相对更好些。这一段作者引用购房者关于"家"的感性认识，对E段的租房划算观点进行回击，说明购房的必要性，G段的大致意思是："我想要一个叫做家的地方"，这是一种流行的反驳语。租房不能给人以长期的安全感，你不能将所有的墙壁涂成你想要的桔红色。对于这种观点作者反击说：家庭所有权是一个很好的个人目标，但它并不总是有什么经济意义(make financial sense)。如果你承受比租房高得多的按揭付款，那么"拥有"你自己家的自豪感可能就会迅速烟消云散(quickly fade)。此外，租房确实具有其优点(advantages)，它使租房人便于行动，无论是从工作角度考虑还是出于家庭的原因都如此。
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