雅思口语交际类话题：住房（2）
Buying or Renting an Apartment买房还是租房
Christine: I heard you are going to get married at the end of this year. Have you bought an apartment?
克里斯廷：听说你们年底就要结婚了。买房了吗?
Raymond. No. House prices are too high. We can't afford it. We're going to rent one.
雷蒙德：没有。房价太贵了。我们买不起。我们打算租个房子。
Christine: You're right. People will not be able to afford housing if prices keep rising.
克里斯廷：是啊。如果房价一直涨，人们就买不起房子了。
Raymond: I hear that house prices have dropped a lot in some cities, which gives us some hope.
雷蒙德：我听说有些城市的房价降了不少，这也让我们看到了一些希望。
Christine: Yeah. I think housing to some extent should be under control by the related government department.
克里斯廷：是啊。我认为住房在某种程度上应该由相关的政府部门控制一下。
Raymond: Yes. Some people buy houses on speculation.
雷蒙德：是的。有些人买房是为了炒房。
Christine: Did you ever think of buying a second-hand house then?
克里斯廷：那你们有没有考虑过买一套二手房?
Raymond: Yes. It's a little cheaper but it'll cost more in down payments. We can't afford it either.
雷蒙德：考虑过。二手房稍便宜点儿，不过需要交的首付更多。我们还是负担不起。
Christine: People normally can't afford an apartment at an early age. Many young couples in developed countries also live in rented apartments.
克里斯廷：通常人们在年轻的时候都买不起房子。发达国家有好多年轻夫妇也是租房子住。
详细解说
1.“afford”常与“can”、“could”或“be able to”等表示能力的动词连用，并通常出现于含有否定意义的句子中。“can/could/be able to afford (to do) sth.”表示“买得起…，支付得起…
，负担得起…，承担得起…”。例如：We can't afford to go on vacation this year.(今年我们没有足够的钱去度假。)Few people are able to afford cars like that.(没有几个人能买得起
那样的车。)I can't afford to buy a house.(我买不起房子。)We can't afford to wait any longer or we'll miss the plane.(我们可等不起了，不然会误了飞机的。)We can't afford to
make any mistakes at this stage in the project.(工程到了这个阶段，我们可承受不起任何的错误。)
文化洗礼
美国住房的种类
常见的美国住房可分为以下几种：
1.A bungalow is a small house with one or two bedrooms and usually one bathroom.
平房，较小，有一个或两个卧室，通常还有一个浴室。
2.A mansion is a real big house with many bedrooms and several bathrooms.
宅第，面积较大，有许多间卧室和多个浴室。
3.A ranch house usually has three or four bedrooms. The "master bedroom" for the mother and father usually has its own bathroom.
牧场主住宅，通常有三到四个卧室。供父母住的“主卧”通常带有自己独立的浴室。
4.An apartment is usually one living space within a building. Many apartments can be in the same building, with shared yard, parking spaces, and garbage can.
公寓房，通常指大楼里的一个居住空间。同一栋楼里可以有很多套公寓房，庭院，停车场地和垃圾箱共用。
5.A town house is a two-floor house. The kitchen, living room and dining room are usually on the first floor and the bedrooms are on the second floor.
连体别墅，有两层，厨房、起居室、餐厅通常在一层，卧室在二层。
