2016年公共英语二级阅读翻译指导

买房前须知

Buying a house is an exciting but scary step. Home ownership means making an investment in your future, but it also means committing to stay put, at least for a while. Before you make that commitment, you should ensure you are making an informed decision, and not one based on how beautiful the home is or your desire to be on your own.

买房子是令人兴奋却又让人慌乱的一步。房屋所有权意味着对你的未来做了一次投资，此外也表示将承诺扎根于此，至少也会是一段时间。在你做出承诺前，你应该明了你正在做一项明智的决定，而不是因为房子是多么漂亮或是你渴望能独立。

1. Your Financial Situation

你的财务状况

Just because you qualify for a loan does not necessarily mean you should take a loan. On the other hand, if you don't think you can qualify for a loan, you might be mistaken. When you consider buying a home, sit down with a professional--a loan counselor at your bank or a representative from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, for instance--and discuss your options. Have tax and income documents ready, as well as a list of your expenses and a copy of your credit report.

仅仅因为你够资格去贷款也不意味着你应该贷款。换句话说，如果你认为自己没有资格申请贷款，那你可能误解了。当你在考虑买房时，和专业人士一起坐着谈谈你的选择——比方说银行的贷款咨询顾问或是美国住房和城市发展部的办事员。准备好税收和收入的文件证明，以及开销清单和一份信用报告。

According to CNN Money, you should try to find a home that is two and a half times your yearly salary. So, if you have a yearly salary of $40,000, you should not choose a house that costs more than $120,000. However, if you have large loan payments or other expenses, you may not want to, or be qualified to, go that high. Ask the professional to help you get a good picture of your earnings, expenses and how they would change if you bought a home.

根据CNN财经频道，你找的房子房价应该是你年薪的2.5倍。所以，如果你年薪40,000美元，你不应该选成本超过120,000美元的房子。然而， 如果你有大额贷款或其它开销，你可能不会想或是没有资格去申请那么多的贷款。咨询专业人士，让他们帮你明了你的收入、支出，以及如果你想买房收支应该做哪些调整。

2. Home's History

房屋概况

A beautiful home on several acres of green yard might look appealing, but that pretty picture could be hiding problems that will cost you thousands of dollars and hours of lost sleep in the long run. According to the American Association of Realtors, you should find out as much as you can about the home before you buy.

带有几亩绿地庭院的漂亮房子可能看起来很有吸引力，但这美丽的画面背后可能隐藏着诸多问题，从长远来看，这些问题将花费你上千美元，以及引发不少失眠。据美国房地产经纪人协会的建议，在你买房前，你应该找出尽可能多的关于这个房子的情况。

Even issues that have been repaired can give you insight into what problems you might be facing a few years down the road. Get a home inspection and carefully go over the results with your inspector. If anything in the home makes you suspicious, don't hesitate to order another inspection from a different company.

即使问题已经解决，在接下来的几年时间里你可以对将来要面临的问题做到心中有数。对房子做检查，认认真真地和检查人员审视检查结果。如果你对房子有任何疑虑，毫不犹豫地请另一家公司再做一次检查。

3. Neighborhood

街坊邻里

A wonderful home isn't much good if it is in a terrible neighborhood, so find out as much as you can about the neighborhood before you buy. Talk to potential neighbors about any issues the area has been facing, and check to see if there is a neighborhood association or club. Scan newspaper police blotters to see if there is a large amount of crime in the area, and interview principals and teachers at the area schools, if you have children. You might also seek out PTA members or parents of children at those schools to learn more about the climate inside them.

如果处在一个糟糕的街坊邻里环境中，有好房子也未必是好事。所以在买之前，尽可能找出关于街坊邻里的信息，越多越好。跟将来的邻居谈谈小区正在面临的问题，看看有没有邻里协会或俱乐部。看看报纸上警情通报，了解在该地区是否发生过很多罪案。如果你有孩子，拜访一下该地区的学校校长和教师。你也可以寻找家庭教师协会成员或是在这些学校里学习的孩子们的父母，以此更多地了解学校里的氛围。

The aesthetic appearance of the neighborhood is also important. You probably would not want to move into a home where yours is the only house on the street that is not falling down.

外观的美感同样重要。你也不想搬到在整一条街上就只有你家的房子不摇摇欲坠的地方吧。

4. What Comes with the Home

随屋之物

It is customary for home owners to leave some major appliances, like the refrigerator and dishwasher, when they leave the home, but if you see anything else that you like, check if it is for sale. Some sellers won't mind throwing their furniture or decorations in with the home since they are moving anyway.

按照惯例，当业主卖房时，他们会留下一些主要的家用电器，如冰箱、洗碗机，然而如果你看到房子里还有你喜欢的，问一问它们是不是可以出手。一些卖家不介意把家具或装饰留着，反正他们都要搬了。

Make sure you and the seller understand exactly what is coming with the home before you sign the contract, and list the items on the contract if it makes you feel more comfortable. Also, confirm the land boundaries and whether outdoor structures, like portable sheds and above-ground pools, will be included before you sign on the dotted line.

在你签合同前，明了你和卖方完全达成统一都有什么是随同房子一起出售的，如果你觉得可以的话，在合同里把这些条目列举出来。此外，在签名处签上你的大名前，确认好房子边界以及是否包括室外结构，如便携式棚屋和室外水池。

5. "Annoying" Factors

“恼人”因素

Every home has its annoyances: the third step creaks, or the neighbor's cat likes to lounge on your porch. Even if you are moving to a brand-new home, there are bound to be some annoying factors about your new home and your new location. However, try your hardest before you buy your home to know the difference between small annoying issues and deal breakers.

每个房子都有它的烦恼：在楼梯上没迈出三步就咯吱咯吱响了，或是邻居家的猫喜欢在你家的门廊上懒洋洋地躺着。即使你搬到了崭新的房子里，新房子和新的定居点肯定会有一些恼人的地方。不过在买房前，要尽你最大努力了解哪些是恼人的小问题，哪些又是原则问题。

For instance, the American Association of Realtors notes that extra traffic and noise caused by a school might not be something you are willing to deal with. Further, consider how having a difficult-to-remodel home will affect you in five years. Visit the home you are planning to buy as many times as you can; stay overnight if possible. Look for anything that would bother you on a daily basis, and if you find something, look for another home.

例如，美国房地产经纪人协会指出，你可能没有心力去处理因学校而引起的额外交通量和噪声问题。再者，考虑一下在今后五年时间里，一栋很难改造的房子将会如何影响你。参观你打算要买的房子，能去多少次就去多少次;如果可以就在那过夜。找一找在日常生活中有哪些会影响到你。如果你发现了一些问题，那就再去看其它房子。

幸福之国的不幸

Hundreds of youth have torched cars and attacked police in four nights of riots in immigrant suburbs of Sweden's capital, shocking a country that dodged the worst of the financial crisis but failed to solve youth unemployment and resentment among asylum seekers.

Violence spread from the North to the South of the city on Wednesday as groups of youth pushed throughStockholm's suburbs casting stones, breaking windows and setting cars alight. Police in the southern Swedish city of Malmo said two cars had been set ablaze.

Local media said a police station office was set on fire in the southern suburb of R?gsved, where several people were also detained. No one was hurt and the fire was quickly put out.

The attackers have awaited nightfall before setting out, defying a call for calm from the country's prime minister and damaging stores, schools, a police station and an arts and crafts centre in the four days of violence.

"I think there is a feeling that we need to be in more places tonight," said Towe Hagg, spokeswoman forStockholm police. One police officer was injured in the latest attacks and five were arrested for attempted arson.

Selcuk Ceken, who works at a local youth activity centre in Hagsatra, said between 40 and 50 youths threw stones at police and smashed windows, then ran off in different directions. He noted the people were in their 20s and seemed well organized.

"It's difficult to say why they're doing this," he said. "Maybe it's anger at the law and order forces, maybe it's anger at their own personal situation, such as unemployment or having nowhere to live."

The riots appear to have been sparked by the police killing of a 69-year-old man wielding a machete in the suburb of Husby this month, which prompted accusations of police brutality. The riots then spread from Husby to other poor Stockholm suburbs.

"We see a society that is becoming increasingly divided and where the gaps, both socially and economically, are becoming larger," said Rami Al-khamisi, co-founder of Megafonen, a group that works for social change in the suburbs.

"And the people out here are being hit the hardest ... We have institutional racism."

The riots were less severe than those of the past two summers in Britain and France but provided a reminder that even in places less ravaged by the financial crisis than Greece or Spain, state belt-tightening is toughest on the poor, especially immigrants.

"The reason is very simple. Unemployment, the housing situation, disrespect from police," said Rouzbeh Djalaie, editor of the local Norra Sidan newspaper, which covers Husby. "It just takes something to start a riot, and that was the shooting."

IDENTITY CHECKS

Djalaie said youths were often stopped by police in the streets for unnecessary identity checks. During the riots, he said some police called local youths "apes."

The television pictures of blazing cars come as a jolt to a country proud of its reputation for social justice as well as its hospitality towards refugees from war and repression.

"I understand why many people who live in these suburbs and in Husby are worried, upset, angry and concerned," said Justice Minister Beatrice Ask. "Social exclusion is a very serious cause of many problems, we understand that."

After decades of practicing the "Swedish model" of generous welfare benefits, Stockholm has been reducing the role of the state since the 1990s, spurring the fastest growth in inequality of any advanced OECD economy.

While average living standards are still among the highest in Europe, successive governments have failed to substantially reduce long-term youth unemployment and poverty, which have affected immigrant communities worst.

Some 15 percent of the population are foreign-born, and unemployment among these stands at 16 percent, compared with 6 percent for native Swedes, according to OECD data.

Youth unemployment in Husby, at 6 percent, is twice the overall average across the capital.

The left-leaning tabloid Aftonbladet said the riots represented a "gigantic failure" of government policies, which had underpinned the rise of ghettos in the suburbs.

As unemployment has grown, the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party has risen to third in polls ahead of a general election due next year, reflecting many voters' worries that immigrants may be partly to blame.

ASYLUM NUMBERS RISING

While many of the immigrant Nordic neighbors closely tied to Sweden by language or culture, the debate has tended to focus on poor asylum seekers from distant war zones.

Out of a total 103,000 immigrants last year, 43,900 were asylum seekers, almost 50 percent up from 2011. Nearly half of these were refugees from fighting in Syria, Afghanistan or Somalia, and will get at least temporary residency.

Among 44 industrialized countries, Sweden ranks fourth in the absolute number of asylum seekers, and second relative to its population, according to U.N. figures.

Policing in Stockholm has already been the focus of controversy this year, with allegations that police were picking out darker-skinned immigrants for identity checks in subway trains.

据外国媒体5月23日报道，瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩移民区连续四天晚上爆发了骚乱，数以百计的年轻人焚烧汽车、袭击警察。骚乱震惊了瑞典。

22日，暴力行动由北向城市南部蔓延，成群年轻人穿越市郊，投掷石头，打碎窗户，点燃汽车。瑞典南部城市马尔默的警察透露，有两辆汽车被点燃。

当地媒体报道称，斯德哥尔摩南郊拉格斯维德的警察局起火，有几个人被拘留。不过，火势很快被扑灭，也没有人员伤亡。

攻击者无视瑞典首相呼吁冷静，在夜幕降临后出动。在四天的暴力行动中，一些商店和学校遭到破坏、一个警察局和一所工艺美术中心也被殃及。

斯德哥尔摩警察局女发言人特维·黑格说，“我感觉，今天晚上我们需要在更多的地方。”在最近的袭击中，一名警官受伤，5人涉嫌纵火未遂被捕。

在哈格塞特拉青年活动中心工作的塞尔丘克·切肯说，四五十名青年向警察投掷石头，砸碎窗户，然后四散而逃。他注意到，那些人20多岁，似乎组织有序。他还说，“很难说他们为什么这么做。也许是怨恨法治部门，也许因为不满个人处境，例如失业或没有住处。”

本月，警察杀死一名在赫斯比郊区手持砍刀的69岁男子，引发对警察暴行的职责。骚乱似乎源自此事，并从赫斯比蔓延到斯德哥尔摩其他贫穷郊区。

社会组织Megafonen创始人拉米·哈米斯说，“我们看到社会日益分化，社会和经济差距越来越大。这里的人正在受到最严重的打击。我们存在制度上的种族歧视。”

此次骚乱虽然没有过去两年夏季英国和法国骚乱那么严重，但是提醒世人即使在遭受金融危机打击比希腊或西班牙小的国家，对穷人，尤其是移民来说，紧缩政策也极其难熬。

“原因非常简单：失业、住房情况、警察无礼。”当地报纸编辑鲁兹贝赫说，“引发骚乱只需要干点事情，那就是开枪。”

身份检查

鲁兹贝赫说，警察经常在街上拦住年轻人，进行无必要的身份检查。在骚乱期间，有些警察称当地年轻人“大猩猩”。

汽车燃烧的'电视画面震惊了这个以社会公正、善待难民著称的国家。司法大臣比阿特丽斯·阿斯克说，“我理解住在这些郊区和赫斯比的许多人担忧、不安、愤怒和关切的原因。社会排斥引发许多问题，我们理解。”

实行以福利著称的“瑞典模式”几十年之后，自上世纪90年代以来，斯德哥尔摩一直在削减政府角色，不平等迅速增加，甚于何发达的经合组织成员。

虽然平均生活标准依然在欧洲高居榜首，多届政府未能有效减少青年长期失业和贫困问题，移民社区最受影响。

经合组织的数据显示，瑞典约15%的人口出生在国外，这些人的失业率高达16%，而瑞典本地人失业率为6%。

赫斯比青年失业率为6%，是斯德哥尔摩平均失业率的两倍。

《瑞典晚报》(Aftonbladet)称，骚乱体现了政府政策的“巨大失败”。

随着失业率的增长，反移民的瑞典民主党在明年大选前的民调中已跃居第三位，反映了许多选民的担心，而移民可能是部分原因。

难民增加

许多移民来自在语言典关系密切的北欧邻国，穷苦的战争难民成为争论焦点。

瑞典去年移民总数为10.3万，其中4.39万人是难民，比2011年几乎增加了50%。这些人中将近一半是来自叙利亚、阿富汗或索马里战区的难民，至少将得到临时居住权。

联合国数据显示，在44个工业化国家中，在入境难民的绝对数量上，瑞典排名第四。

今年，斯德哥尔摩警察，有人指控称警方在地铁上对肤色较黑的移民进行身份检查。