2016考研英语阅读题源经济学人文章：Building blocks

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2016考研英语阅读题源经济学人文章：Building blocks

　　New homes

　　新家

　　Building blocks

　　添砖加瓦

　　The government makes a lame attempt to boosthouse-building

　　政府促进房地产建设的步伐跌跌撞撞

　　AS GEORGE OSBORNE prepared to deliver hisautumn statement, on December 2nd, Danny Alexander, his Liberal Democrat deputy at theTreasury, announced a slew of investments in infrastructure. These included a much-needed15 billion (24 billion) for roads, as well as 2.3 billion for flood defences. Mr Alexander tried tomake much of the coalition's plans on housing, too, trumpeting 13,000 new homes to be builtat Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire, which would then be designated as a garden city. Thegovernment will need to do much more, however, to solve Britain's housing problem.

　　随着乔治·奥斯本准备发表其秋日宣言，12月2日，来自自由民主党的英国财政部第一副大臣丹尼·亚历山大宣布了拉动基础建设的投资计划。其中包括道路急需的150亿英镑(折合240亿美元)以及防洪的23亿英镑。亚历山大试图推动更多联邦计划在房屋上，吹嘘将在牛津郡的比斯特镇修建13000栋新房并将其建成花园城市。然而，要解决英国的房屋问题，政府仍需要做出更多努力。

　　On average, 140,000 homes have been built in each of the past four years, far fewer than the240,000 new houses needed annually. With supply constrained, house prices continue to rise,by 19% in London over the past year. There is an estimated deficit of as many as 1m houses.

　　过去四年中，平均每年新建140,000座房屋，远远少于每年240，000座房屋生物的需求。由于供应有限，今年房屋价格仍然持续上涨了19%。据估计，英国房屋缺口高达100万。

　　Bicester is in the arc north and west of London's green belt that is ideal territory for morehouse-building: it is good for commuters to the capital and other hubs of employment such asOxford and Cambridge. It is the arc where, after the second world war, the government builtseveral garden cities—new towns that combined employment with a pleasant place to live.Bicester has good transport links and plenty of brownfield land (most of the new homes will beon land now owned by the defence ministry). It also has an MP who supports moreconstruction.

　　比斯特位于伦敦绿化地带的北部和西部的弧形地区，是修建更多住宅区的理想地点：有利于上班族前往首都以及其他诸如牛津和剑桥之类的工作中心。自二战之后，政府在这片弧形区域修建了一些花园城市——适合工作和居住的新型城镇。比斯特拥有良好的交通网和大量肥沃的土地(这块领域中大多数新住宅区现在属于国防部)。还有一位国会议员支持更多的建筑项目。

　　Yet the Bicester houses are “not even a drop in the ocean,” says Paul Cheshire of the LondonSchool of Economics. The politicians are just going through the motions, he says. “This ispolitical window dressing.” And that is assuming the homes even get built. Construction at theother recent attempt to fashion a new garden city—in Ebbsfleet, south-east of London—hasbarely begun.

　　然而，伦敦经济学院的保罗·切希尔表示，比斯特镇的房屋量过少，甚至都算不上是“沧海一粟”。政治家们不过是做做样子而已，“这是政治粉饰太平的一种方式”。即使建造了房屋也不过如此。而在伦敦东南的艾贝斯费特镇建立新式花园城市的计划甚至还未起步。

　　Locals in Bicester are not pleased, either, raising familiar concerns about crowded schools, badtraffic and stretched health care. “We don't even have a proper hospital,” says Claire, ahairdresser. “How are we going to support 13,000 more homes?”

　　比斯特的当地人对此并不高兴，大多越来越担忧学校拥挤、交通堵塞和看病时间会延长。发型师克莱尔说，“我们甚至都没有足够大的医院，怎么支撑13000多户人家的正常运转呢?”

　　Meanwhile, Mr Alexander suggested another solution to the lack of housing: the firstgovernment involvement in house-building in a generation. He announced a pilot schemenear Cambridge to build 10,000 new homes, warning developers, “If you don't build, we will.”

　　与此同时，亚历山大针对房屋匮乏提出了另一个解决方案：第一代政府只干涉一代人的房屋建设。他宣布了在剑桥郡附近修建10,000套新房屋的试行计划，并警告开发商们，“如果你们不修，那就让我们来。”

　　The answer is simpler, says Mr Cheshire: the government should amend planning regulationsto allow construction on the green belt. “Nothing short of radical” solutions will solve theproblem, he says. But the benefits of such changes take a long time to filter through. Thedrawbacks for NIMBYs are apparent immediately, especially just ahead of an election.

　　切希尔表示，答案可以更简单些：政府应修订计划规定，允许在绿化地带修建房屋，“强制”执行即可解决这个问题。但是这类变革的益处要过很久才能显示出来。 邻避症候群((NIMBY=not in my back yard，指反对建筑有害设施的运动或人)的阻挠显而易见，尤其是大选迫在眉睫的情况下。

　　1.attempt to 尝试，企图

　　These feelings are likely to make people attempt tooverthrow the system.

　　这些情绪有可能促使人们想要推翻现行的体制。

　　The action seemed a clumsy attempt to topple theJanata Dal government.

　　这一试图推翻人民党政府的行动似乎缺乏策略。

　　2.as well as 既…又…;除…之外

　　Ethiopia'sart springs from her early Christian as well as her Muslim heritage.

　　埃塞俄比亚的艺术起源于其早期的基督教和伊斯兰教文化遗产。

　　He was suffering from shock as well as the after-effects of drugs.

　　他在受着毒品毒副作用影响的同时还出现了休克。

　　3.continue to 继续;不断地

　　The President could continue to bash Democrats as being soft on crime.

　　总统可能会继续抨击民主党人对待犯罪活动心慈手软。

　　The finance minister will continue to mastermind Poland's economic reform.

　　财政部长将继续策划波兰的经济改革。

　　4.health care 医疗保健;卫生保健

　　The cable-TV and health-care industries are both being mauled by government.

　　有线电视和保健业正在遭受政府的严厉批评。

　　What is alternative health care? What can it do for you?

　　什么是另类医疗?它能为你做些什么?

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