Now that the economy is at last growing again, the burning issue in Britain is the cost of living. Prices have exceeded wages for the past six years. But the thing that is really out of control is the cost of housing. In the past year wages have risen by 1% ; property prices are up by 8.4%. This is merely the latest in a long surge. If since 1971 the price of groceries had risen as steeply as the cost of housing, a chicken would cost ￡ 51($ 83). By subsidising mortgages, and thus boosting demand, the government is aggravating the problem. But that is not the main reason for rising prices. Driven by a baby-boom, immigration and longer lives, Britain"s population is growing by around 0. 8% per year, faster than in most rich countries. Foreign wealth, in the meantime, is pouring into London. If supply were rising fast too, increasing demand would not matter; but it is not. Though some 221,000 additional households are formed in England annually, just 108,000 homes were built in the year to September 2013. The lack of housing is an economic drag. About three-quarters of English job growth last year was in London and its inland, but high prices make it hard for people to move there from less favoured spots. It also damages lives. New British homes are smaller than those anywhere else in Europe, household size is rising in London and slums are spreading as immigrants squash into shared houses(and, sometimes, garden sheds). Inequality is growing, because the higher property prices are, the greater the advantage that belongs to those whose parents own their homes. This is all the result of deliberate policymaking. Since the 1940s house-building in Britain has been regulated by a system designed to prevent urban sprawl, something it has achieved well. It is almost impossible to construct any new building anywhere without permission from the local council. In the places where people most want to live—suburbs at the edge of big cities—councils tend not to give it.

单选题 We know from the first paragraph that______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：选项[A]对应第一段最后一句：If since 1971 the price of groceries had risen as steeplyas the cost of housing，a chicken would cost￡51($83)．其中if…had risen…would…这样的结构提示我们这是虚拟语气，因此[A]项的表述是错误的。选项[B]“the urgent problem当务之急”对应第一句的“the burning issue燃眉之急”，而该项的the cost of housing与原文的the cost ofliving不符，属于偷换概念，故错误。选项[C]的数字8．4％对应原文第三行第四句：In the pastyear wages have risen by 1％；property prices are up by 8．4％．原文说的是“property prices房价”上涨了8．4％，而该项却说“prices of goods物价”上涨了8．4％，也属于偷换概念的错误。选项[D]同样对应原文第三行第四句，该句意为：在过去的一年，工资增长了1％，而房价上涨了8．4％。可见该项“房价比工资增长速度快得多”的表述是正确的，故选项[D]为答案。

单选题 The population in Britain is growing because all EXCEPT______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：根据题干population，Britain等词定位到第二段第三行。该句提到Britain’s popula—tion is growing(英国人口正在增长)，而题目所问的人口增长的原因出现在上句：Driven by ababy-boom，immigration and longer lives…；其中baby-boom(婴儿潮)对应选项[A]more babieswere born than any time in history(大量婴儿出生了)；immigration(移民)对应选项[C]a largenumber of foreigners have swarmed into the country(大量外国人涌进英国)；longer lives(更长的寿命)对应选项[B]people live longer than before due to several reasons(由于诸多因素，人们活得比以前长久)。故原文未提到的原因是[D]，故选项[D]为答案。

单选题 What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：选项[A]对应第四段第四行“…in London and slums are spreading as immigrantssquash into shared houses”。其中slum表示“贫民窟”，对应该项的poor people；spreading意为“扩展”，说明贫困的人是越来越多，而不是越来越少，故该项错误。选项[B]对应第四段第三行：New British homes are smaller than those anywhere else in Europe，很明显，该项是错误的。选项[C]是第四段第一句话“The lack of housing is an economic drag”的同义改写，其中the lack ofhousing=housing problem；economic drag=economy，stagnant；故该项正确。选项[D]对应该段第二句：About three—quarters of English job growth last year was in London and its inland，原文提到的是“London and its inland伦敦和内陆地区”，而不是该项说的“everywhere”，故错误。

单选题 House-building in Britain is difficult because of______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：根据housing-building一词定位到第五段第二句：Since the 1940s house—building inBritain has been regulated by a system designed to prevent urban sprawl…其中出现一个关键信息house—building has been regulated(住房建设受到管制)，接着文章又提到：It is almost impossibleto construct any new building anywhere without permission from the local council．其中出现一个关键词local council(地方议会，地方政府)，从而得出该题的答案为“政府管制”，即选项[A]gov—ernment regulation是正确的。

单选题 The best title of the text may be______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：主旨题最有可能出现的位置是文章首段、第二段或尾段，如果找不到，可以寻找各段首句，或者结合另外四个题目的题干信息推断。本篇文章首段提到一个关键句子，即：Butthe thing that is really out of control is the cost of housing．英语文章喜欢开篇点题，要特别注意文章的首段尾句、转折后的信息，以及第二段首句。本句体现出文章讨论的话题，因为后面几段基本都是在围绕英国的住房问题进行讨论，因此选项[B]为答案。