I ①Council homes are being sold off far more quickly than new social homes are being built, a new report has warned. ②The research into the government’s right-to-buy scheme, by the Local Government Association, finds that this has been the case since 2012: at no point has the social housebuilding rate matched, or come close to matching, the rate at which homes are being sold.
II ①Right to buy was given a boost by the Conservatives after the 2010 election in an attempt to sell even more homes. ②In 2013, the then chancellor, George Osborne, announced the maximum discount available for those renting a council home in London would rise to £100,000.
III ①But right to buy needs to be viewed for its long-term effects, and not just with regard to how it helped those families who bought their council homes in the 1980s and 90s. ②Today, 40% of the homes sold under the scheme are rented privately at far higher rents than local authorities would ever charge. ③Right to buy has become right to buy to let.
IV ①Across the country, home ownership is in crisis, with renting exorbitantly expensive and young people especially – even those in professional jobs – being priced out of the market. ②Their earnings disappear into the pockets of private landlords, while the finances of local government are given a kicking.
V ①The folly of right to buy echoes the mess that is Britain’s rail system. ②In the mid-90s, John Major believed that breaking up British Rail would create competition, and that competition would ensure greater services and be far more efficient than control by the state. ③Instead, the cost of train travel has become exorbitant, the service appalling almost everywhere you attempt to travel, and the state is constantly required to intervene – either because a franchise has collapsed, in the case of the east coast mainline, or because the rail service has become chaotic, witness recent weeks in the north and the south-east.
VI ①The long-term effects of privatising both rail and housing, aside from ensuring we live in a country of crumbling infrastructure (in contrast to mainland Europe), is one of diminished social and personal opportunities. ②Many people are unable to see friends and family as often as they』d like due to the cost of rail travel. ③Others are delaying having children, or wondering if they can afford them at all, since they cannot afford to buy a home and landlords can be hostile to children. ④Those with children are in no better position: well over 100,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, usually due to eviction.
VII ①Right to buy is devastating our housing system, just as rail privatisation has devastated our transport infrastructure. ②Privatisation rarely works: we need new ideas, and far more public ownership of housing, infrastructure and utilities, if we wish to provide for our citizens.
1. council home （英國市、鎮、郡等）地方當局營造的簡易住宅
2. right-to-buy scheme 租賃者置業權計劃
3. boost /buːst/ v. 推動，促進
4. maximum /'mæksɪməm/ adj. 最高的，最多的
5. *exorbitantly /ig'zɔ:bitəntli/ adv. 過高地，過度地
6. landlord / 'læn(d)lɔːd/ n. 房東
7. folly /'fɒlɪ/ n. 愚蠢，荒唐
8. echo /'ekəʊ/ v. 迴響，重複
9. *exorbitant /ɪg'zɔːbɪt(ə)nt/ adj. （要價等）過高的
10. appalling /ə'pɔːlɪŋ/ adj. 令人震驚的，駭人聽聞的，極其低劣的
11. intervene /ɪntə'viːn/ v. 幹涉，插手
12. franchise /'fræn(t)ʃaɪz/ n. 特許經營權
13. chaotic /keɪ'ɒtɪk/ adj. 混亂的，無秩序的
14. privatise /'praivə,taiz/ v. 私有化
15. aside from 除…以外
16. crumbling /'krʌmbliŋ/ adj. 破碎的
17. diminish /dɪ'mɪnɪʃ/ v. 減少
18. hostile /'hɒstaɪl/ adj. 懷有敵意的
19. accommodation /əkɒmə'deɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 住處
20. eviction /ɪ'vɪkʃ(ə)n/ n. 驅逐
21. devastate /'devəsteɪt/ v. 毀滅
22. utility /juːˈtɪlɪtɪ/ n. 公共設施
（注:標*號為超綱詞）
I ①Council homes are being sold off far more quickly than new social homes are being built, a new report has warned. ②The research into the government’s right-to-buy scheme, by the Local Government Association, finds that this has been the case since 2012: at no point has the social housebuilding rate matched, or come close to matching, the rate at which homes are being sold.
翻譯：一份新報告警示稱，政府救濟房的銷售速度遠遠快於社會新住房的建設速度。地方政府協會對政府租賃者置業權計劃的研究發現，自2012年以來，情況便一直如此：社會住房建設率從未達到或接近於住房出售率。
點評：I段以報告引出現象，切入主題。①、②句採用倒敘方式，先介紹調查結果，再具體介紹調查內容，起到先聲奪人，引發關注的效果。warn（警示）一詞體現現象的嚴重性，奠定全文的論述基調。
II ①Right to buy was given a boost by the Conservatives after the 2010 election in an attempt to sell even more homes. ②In 2013, the then chancellor, George Osborne, announced the maximum discount available for those renting a council home in London would rise to £100,000.
翻譯：2010年大選後，保守黨為了售出更多房屋加強了置業權。2013年，當時的財政大臣喬治·奧斯本宣布，在倫敦租住政府救濟房可享受的最高折扣將提升至10萬英鎊。
點評：II段回顧置業權改革。①句說明改革目的：售出更多住房。②句說明具體措施：提升租賃折扣。
III ①But right to buy needs to be viewed for its long-term effects, and not just with regard to how it helped those families who bought their council homes in the 1980s and 90s. ②Today, 40% of the homes sold under the scheme are rented privately at far higher rents than local authorities would ever charge. ③Right to buy has become right to buy to let.
翻譯：但我們需要關注的是置業權的長期效應，而不僅僅是它如何在上世紀八九十年代幫助家庭購買政府救濟房。今天，在這項計劃下出售的房屋中，有四成是私人租住的，租金遠高於地方政府所收取的租金。置業權已經變成了「先置業再轉租權」。
點評：III段說明置業權的長期影響。①句以but形成轉折，將視野聚焦到置業權的長期效應。②句以today引出現狀。③句總結揭示現狀實質：置業權轉變為「置業轉租權」，即個人先以低價購買政府救濟房，再以高價轉租。
IV ①Across the country, home ownership is in crisis, with renting exorbitantly expensive and young people especially – even those in professional jobs – being priced out of the market. ②Their earnings disappear into the pockets of private landlords, while the finances of local government are given a kicking.
翻譯：全國各地的房屋所有權都陷入了危機，房租貴得離譜，尤其是對年輕人而言——甚至是那些從事專業工作的年輕人——高房價正將他們排擠出（購房）市場。他們的收入被吞進私人房東的口袋裡，與此同時，地方政府的財政也受到了衝擊。
點評：IV段介紹置業權在全國的影響。across the country將影響範圍擴展至全國。especially將視野聚焦年輕人，體現置業權給年輕人造成的經濟壓力。while補充說明置業權對地方財政造成的衝擊。
V ①The folly of right to buy echoes the mess that is Britain’s rail system. ②In the mid-90s, John Major believed that breaking up British Rail would create competition, and that competition would ensure greater services and be far more efficient than control by the state. ③Instead, the cost of train travel has become exorbitant, the service appalling almost everywhere you attempt to travel, and the state is constantly required to intervene – either because a franchise has collapsed, in the case of the east coast mainline, or because the rail service has become chaotic, witness recent weeks in the north and the south-east.
翻譯：置業權的愚蠢與英國鐵路系統的混亂如出一轍。九十年代中期，約翰·梅傑認為打破英國原先的鐵路系統將帶來競爭，而競爭將保障更多的服務，效率也遠遠高於國家控制。但恰恰相反，鐵路出行的成本變得異常高昂，幾乎所有地區的鐵路服務都極其低劣，國家也不得不持續幹預——或是由於特許經營失敗，比如東海岸幹線的情況；或是由於鐵路服務陷入混亂，比如最近幾周在北部和東南部所發生的情況。
點評：V段由置業權引出鐵路系統改革，揭示私有化的高昂成本。①句承上總結置業權的愚蠢，啟下引出鐵路系統的混亂。②句介紹鐵路私有化的初衷。③句以instead轉折指出鐵路私有化產生的問題。
VI ①The long-term effects of privatising both rail and housing, aside from ensuring we live in a country of crumbling infrastructure (in contrast to mainland Europe), is one of diminished social and personal opportunities. ②Many people are unable to see friends and family as often as they』d like due to the cost of rail travel. ③Others are delaying having children, or wondering if they can afford them at all, since they cannot afford to buy a home and landlords can be hostile to children. ④Those with children are in no better position: well over 100,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, usually due to eviction.
翻譯：鐵路和住房私有化的長期影響，除了讓我們生活在一個基礎設施日益破敗的國家中（與歐洲大陸相反），還包括社會和個人機遇的減少。由於（高昂的）鐵路出行成本，許多人無法如自己所願經常與朋友和家人見面。還有一些人正在推遲生育，或懷疑自己到底是不是有能力要孩子，因為他們買不起房子，房東也可能不喜歡小孩。那些有孩子的人處境也沒有好到哪裡：超過10萬名兒童正居住在臨時處所，通常是因為受到驅逐。
點評：VI段說明鐵路和住房私有化的長期影響。①句總述影響，其中以歐洲大陸作比較對象，凸顯英國形勢的嚴峻。②-④句以many…others…those的形式，援引不同群體的現狀例證①句。
VII ①Right to buy is devastating our housing system, just as rail privatisation has devastated our transport infrastructure. ②Privatisation rarely works: we need new ideas, and far more public ownership of housing, infrastructure and utilities, if we wish to provide for our citizens.
翻譯：如同鐵路私有化摧毀了我們的交通基礎設施一樣，置業權正在摧毀我們的住房體系。私有化很少能奏效：如果我們希望供養我們的公民，我們需要有新的想法、更多的公共住房、基礎設施和公共設施。
點評：VII段總結全文，提出建議。①句總結鐵路和住房私有化的消極影響。②句先否定私有化的作用，再以引號引出建議。