Lesson 6

Answers to the Questions

V. 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. D

VI.

1．Two thirds of American homes are owned by their occupants. The lowest mortgage rates in three decades keep the number rising.

2．The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines“affordable housing”as a home which costs less than 30% of a family's income in either rent or a monthly mortgage.

3．Some people blame the housing problem in part for other social ills—everything from children doing badly at school to traffic-jammed roads. Julia Stasch at the MacArthur Foundation claims that America will waste money on other social programmes unless the housing problem is addressed.

4．People who own houses nearby fight the construction of high-rise, high-density apartment blocks. Many neighbour-hoods have zoning laws to prevent this.

5．Many neighbourhoods are suspicious of affordable housing because they associate affordable housing with racial minorities, drugs, gangs and violence which, they believe, will pose a threat to their residents.

Outline

I. Overall housing situation in America (Paragraphs 1-3)

(1) Two-thirds with own housing and rising number of home owners

(2) Housing problems for the poorer people

a. High house price

b. High housing cost

II. Need to solve the poorer people's housing problem (Para-graphs 4-5)

(1) The significance of solving the problem

(2) The growth of the problem into a political issue

III. Difficulties in solving the housing problem (Paragraphs 6-10)

(1) Zoning laws'restrictions on construction of cheap housing

(2) Many neighbourhoods'suspicion of affordable housing

(3) Government's unwillingness to step in

(4) Middle class voters'opposition to building and renovation of cheap housing in their communities