研究生英语综合教程上 unit 910 reading focus 精校文字版.docx

研究生英语综合教程上 unit 910 reading focus 精校文字版.docx

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研究生英语综合教程上unit910readingfocus精校文字版

研究生英语综合教程上unit9-10readingfocus精校文字版

THEHOUSINGCRISISGOESSUBURBAN

1SeventyyearsafterPresidentFranklinD.RooseveltdeclaredthattheDepressionhadleftone-thirdoftheAmericanpeople"ill-housed,ill-clothedandill-nourished,"2Americansarewell-clothedandincreasinglyovernourished.Butthescarcityofaffordablehousingisadeepeningnationalcrisis,andnotjustforinner-cityfamiliesonwelfare.Theproblemhasclimbedtheincomeladderandmovedtothesuburbs,whereserviceworkerscramtheirfamiliesintoovercrowdedapartments,collegegraduateshavetocrashwiththeirparents,andfirefighters,policeofficersandteacherscan'taffordtoliveinthecommunitiestheyserve.

2Homeownershipisnearanall-timehigh,butthegapisgrowingbetweentheOwnsandtheOwn-Nots—aswellastheOwnsandtheOwn-80-Miles-From-Work.One-thirdofAmericansnowspendatleast30%oftheirincomeonhousing,thefederaldefinitionofan"unaffordable"burden,andhalftheworkingpoorspendatleast50%oftheirincomeonrent,a"critical"burden.TherealestateboomofthepastdecadehasproducedwindfallsforAmericanswhoownedbeforeitbegan,butaffordablehousingisnowaseriousproblemformorelow-andmoderate-incomeAmericansthantaxes,SocialSecurity4orgasprices.

3Americausedtocarealotaboutaffordablehousing.Rooseveltsignedhousinglegislationin1934and1937,providingmortgages,governmentapartmentsandconstructionjobsforworkersdownontheirluck.In1949,Congress.setanofficialgoaljjf"adecenthomeandasuitablelivingenvironmentforeveryAmericanfamily,"andin1974,PresidentRichardM.Nixonbeganofferingsubsidizedrentvoucherstomillionsoflow-incometenantsinprivatehousing.Forhalfacentury,mosthousingdebatesinWashingtonrevolvedaroundhowmuchtoexpandfederalassistance.

4Butforthepasttwodecades,theonlynewfederalhousinginitiativehasbeenHOPEVI5,aClintonadministrationprogramthathasdemolished80,000unitsoftheworstpublichousingandbuiltmixed-incomedevelopmentsintheirplace.Theprogramhaseliminatedmostofthehigh-risehellholesthatgavepublichousingabadnameandhasrevivedsomeurbanneighborhoods.Butithasrazedmoresubsidizedapartmentsthanithasreplaced.

5Overall,thenumberofhouseholdsreceivingfederalaidhasflatlinedsincetheearly1990s,despiteanexpandingpopulationandaballooningbudget.CongresshasrejectedmostofPresidentBush'sproposedcuts,buttherehasbeenvirtuallynodiscussionofincreases;affordable-housingadvocatesspendmostoftheirtimefightingtopreservethestatusquo.

6Andit'satoughstatusquo.Today,foreveryoneofthe4.5millionlow-incomefamiliesthatreceivefederalhousingassistance,therearethreeeligiblefamilieswithoutit.FairfaxCountyhas12,000familiesonawaitinglistfor4,000assistedapartments."It'sgoldenwhenyougetone—nobodywantstogiveitup,"saysConradEgan,chairmanoftheFairfaxhousingauthority.Itsoundsodd,butthevictimsoftoday'shousingcrisisarenotpeoplelivingin"theprojects",butpeoplewhoaren'teventhatlucky.

7Someliberals6dreamofextendingsubsidiestoalleligiblelow-incomefamilies,butthat$100billion-a-yearsolutionwasunrealisticevenbeforethebudgetdeficitballoonedagain.Soevensomehousingadvocatesnowsupporttimelimitsonmostfederalrentaid.Thetimelimitsincludedinwelfarereform10yearsagowerecontroversial,butstudiessuggestthey'vehelpedmotivaterecipientstogetoffthedole.Andunlikewelfare,housingaidisnotafederalentitlement,sotakingitawayfromonefamilyafterafewyearswouldprovideabreakforanequallydeservingfamily.

8"It'sano-brainer,"saysDavidSmith,anaffordable-housingadvocateinBoston."Youcan'tsustaintheinternalcontradictionofnolimits."

9Therootoftheproblemisthestrikingmismatchbetweenthedemandforandthesupplyofaffordablehousing—or,moreaccurately,affordablehousingnearjobs.Fifteenmillionfamiliesnowspendatleasthalftheirincomeonhousing,accordingtoHarvard'sJoint_CenterfOTHousingStudies:

manyskimponhealthcare,childcareandfoodtodoso.Othersreducetheirrentsbyovercrowding,whichstudieslinktohighercrimerates,pooreracademicperformanceandpoorerhealth;LosAngelesalonehas620.000homeswithmorethanonepersonperroom.Otherworkersareenduringincreasinglylongcommutesfromlessexpensivecommunities,aphenomenonknown

as"drivingtoqualify".

10Thiscreatesallkindsoflousyoutcomes—childrenwhodon'tgettoseetheirparents,workerswhocan'tmakeendsmeetwhengaspricessoar,exurbansprawl,roadscloggedwithlong-distancecommutersemittinggreenhousegases."Idon'tthinkwe'recreatingstrongcommunitiesbyforcingpeopleintotheircarsfourhoursaday,"saysCathyHudgins.chairwomanofthehousingcommitteefortheFairfaxCountyBoardofSupervisors.Affordablehousingalsohelpsmakecommunitiescompetitive;it'snotclearhowFairfaxcankeepcreatingjobsifworkerscan'taffordtolivethere.

11Thebestthinglocalofficialscandotopromoteaffordablehousingistogetoutoftheway—stoprequiringone-acrelotsandtwo-cargarages,andstopblockinglow-incomeandhigh-densityprojects.

12Washingtonpoliticians,ontheotherhand,havethefederalbudgetattheirdisposal.ButCongresshasn'tsupportednewconstructionsincetheLow-IncomeHousingTaxCreditof1986,whichcreatesnearly100,000unitsofaffordablehousingayear,enoughtoreplacehalftheunitsthataretorndownorconvertedtomarketrents.Bushproposedahome-ownershiptaxcreditduringhis2000and2004campaigns,butitturnedouttobetheraretaxcuthedidn'tpursue.AbillpendinginCongresswoulddivertapercentageofprofitsfromfederallycharteredinstitutionssuchasFannieMaetoanationalaffordable-housingtrustfund8,butitseemsstalled.Theonlyaffordabilityideaswithanytractionatthenationallevelarenotreallyhousingideas;forexample,onewaytomakehousingmoreaffordabletoworkerswouldbetoraisetheirincomes—throughhigherminimumwages,lowerpayrolltaxesoranexpandedEarnedIncomeTaxCredit.

13Thereisoneclearsolutiontotheaffordable-housingcrisis:

arealestatecrash.It'stheonehousingissuethatattractsmediaattention—becauseitwouldhurttheOwns.Butwhileaneasingofpricescouldbedevastatingforlower-incomeOwnswithriskymortgages,itprobablywouldn'tbringhomeownershipwithinreachformanyOwn-Nots.Priceshavetoofartofall;in2000,two-thirdsofthehomesalesinFairfaxwerefor$250,000orless,butlastyear,fewerthanone-twentiethwere.Andevenamodestpriceslumpcouldtriggeraconstructionslowdownthatwouldmakeshortagesofaffordablehousingformoderate-incomefamiliesevenworse.

14Eventually,politiciansmayrediscoverhousing—notasanurbanpovertyissue,butasamiddle-classquality-of-lifeissue,likegaspricesorhealthcare.HomeownershipisoftendescribedastheAmericandream,butthesedaysmanyworkerswouldsettleforadecentrentalthatwon'tbankrupttheirfamilies.

ACADEMYINTIMESOFCRISIS

1TodaytheacademyholdsahighlyprivilegedplaceinAmericansocietybecauseofaaboutthelong-standingnationalconsensusaboutthevalueofeducation.Oneofmypredecessors,PresidentHaroldDodds,saidinhisinauguraladdressin1933that"Nocountryspendsmoneyforeducation,publicorprivate,solavishlyasdoestheUnitedStates.Americanshaveanalmostchildlikefaithinwhatformaleducationcandoforthem."ThatfaithisbasedonaconvictionthatthevitalityoftheUnitedStates,itscreativeanddiverseculturallife,itsisnationalsecurityandtherobustnessofitsdemocraticinstitutionsowemuchtothequalityofinstitutionsofhighereducation.

2Oursociety’sconfidenceinitsinstitutionsofhighereducationisexpressedthroughthegenerousinvestmentsofthefederalandstategovernmentinbasicandappliedresearch,investmentthatwiselycouplesupportforresearchwithsupportforgraduateeducation.Itisalsoexpressesthroughfederalandstateinvestmentsthatsubsidizethecostofhighereducationforthosewhocannotaffordtopay,investmentsbyprivatefoundationsandcharitieswhoseecollegesanduniversitiesasthebestroutesforachievingtheirstrategicgoals,andinvestmentsbyindividualsandbytheprivatesector,whoseeuniversitiesastheincubatorsoffuturehealthandprosperity.Inreturnforthisbroadsupport,societyrightfullyexpectscertainthingsfromus.Itexpectsthegenerationofnewideasandthediscoveryofnewknowledge,theexplorationofcomplexissuesinanopenandcollegialmannerandthepreparationofthenextgenerationofcitizensandleaders.Intimesoftrouble,itisespeciallyimportantthatweliveuptotheseexpectations.

3Themedievalimageoftheuniversityasanivorytower,withscholarsturnedinwardinsolitarycontemplation,immunizedfromthecaresoftheday,isanimagethathasbeensupersededbythemodernuniversityconstructednotofivory,butofahighlyporousmaterial,onethatallowsfreediffusioninbothdirections.Theacademyisoftheworld,notapartfromit.Itsideals,craftedovermanygenerations,aremeanttosuffusethenationalconsciousness.Itsscholarsandteachersaremeanttomoveinandoutoftheacademyinpursuitofopportunitiestousetheirexpertiseinpublicservice,inpursuitofcreativeworkthatwillgiveusilluminationandinsightandinpursuitofwaystoturnlaboratorydiscoveriesintousefulthings.Ourstudentsengagetheworldwithastrongsenseofcivicresponsibility,andwhentheygraduate