英伦广角 英国民众抗议新的住房法案

 

Protesters turned out in their thousands, desperate to get their voices heard, their plight¹ branded on flags, banners even family pets. If government plans get the go-ahead, council tenants³ with a joint⁴ house holding income of more than 30,000 pounds or 40,000 in London could be forced to pay full private market rates or face eviction⁵, John Adams who has lived in his property in London for 20 years is one of those affected⁶.

In my case I would have to ask my daughter to leave, because she * and where did she go, because you're working class people, surely you should be able to live comfortably without ever have to struggle.

We've been a council tenant² for 40 years all together, and it's just not fair, it's not fair, it's not just us, but to many many people as you can see here.

As part of the plans, a right to stay at a council house indefinitely will also be withdrawn⁷, with tenancies reviewed from time to time, and with the value of some council properties rising considerably⁸ in recent years, protestors say gentrification is forcing them out.

As you can see several thousands of people have turned out to protest here today, this government bill is all about changing from generation rent to generation buy, of course people here in London are worst affected because rents are going up so quickly.

Of course encouraging right to buy is nothing new, Margaret Thatcher⁹ amended¹⁰ a center piece of conservative policy in the 1990s, three decades on that means countless¹¹ states have a cross section of society side by side. Of course the exact details of this bill will be debated in due course, but the government insists rents will have to go up gradually.

The increase is about getting a fair balance between what somebody will pay if they are in the private entity¹² sector¹³ as well, and there are people in there, getting that balance but I'll be very clear once people move over that threshold, there will be a taper¹⁴, so they won't suddenly jump to market, there will be a taper, they will make it fair, so we make sure we do what we always say we will do, we insisted on and be determined¹⁵ about since 2010 which is be able to always pay to work.

Protestors want changes to the bill, or free to be scrapped¹⁶ all together, but the government insists there are tens of thousands of council tenants earning well over 50,000 pounds who need to start paying their way.

1 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

2 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

3 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

10 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

11 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

12 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 taper   

n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小

参考例句：

• You'd better taper off the amount of time given to rest.你最好逐渐地减少休息时间。
• Pulmonary arteries taper towards periphery.肺动脉向周围逐渐变细。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。