VOA标准英语2012--Affordable Housing Growing Scarce in US

 

Affordable¹ Housing Growing Scarce in US

Paola Nunez, is a childcare worker in Washington. Until recently, she lived with her mother. But she decided² it was time to move out and get her own apartment. She quickly learned there are few housing options for someone living on her modest salary.

“They had an ad; they were renting it by rooms," said Nunez. "And each room was going for $800. Eight bedrooms, that’s ridiculous. I mean you have to share everything with someone else. You have no privacy really.”

Nunez is not alone. Her salary is just above the median income of $25,000 in the city. Kara Fitzgerald is with Jubilee³ Housing, a private organization that provides affordable housing to low income residents in Washington.

“Rent is considered affordable in the U.S. when it is 30 percent of a household’s income," said Fitzgerald. "Two out of every five households in Washington, D.C. pay more than that.”

Another group, the National Low Income Housing Coalition⁴, reports that for every 100 households in Washington living on $25,000 a year, there are only 40 affordable housing units.

Nunez got an apartment through Jubilee Housing, which subsidizes her rent.

Housing advocates say the lack of affordable housing is a nationwide crisis. Sheila Crowley is president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“The demand for rental⁵ housing has gone up, and without a significant increase in the supply," said Crowley. "And so rents are going up across the country and that means the poorest people are further squeezed by the foreclosure crisis.”

Crowley says the most vulnerable end up on the streets. Others live with family members or in substandard housing. Paola Nunez looked at several apartments before finding a place to live.

“The ones that I was somewhat able to afford, they were places that I would not want to live in," she said. "The conditions were terrible.”

The National Low Income Housing Coalition suggests changing the tax code for home mortgage interest deductions⁶ to finance low income housing. Again Sheila Crowley:

“When you do that, you save $30 billion a year," she said. "And if you put $30 billion a year into building and operating housing for low income people, you would solve the housing problem in the United States."

Nunez is thankful for the assistance she receives and says affordable housing should be more of a priority for the nation. 

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

6 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。