题文
Cities with high levels of homeownership—in the range of 75%, like Detroit and St. Louis—had on average considerably lower levels of economic activity and much lower wages and incomes. Far too many people in financial problems are trapped in homes they can’t sell, unable to move on to new centers of opportunity.The cities and regions with the lowest levels of homeownership—in the range of 55% to 60% like Los Angeles and New York—had healthier economies and higher incomes. They also had higher levels of happiness and well-being.
I was shocked to read these interesting points that Richard Florida made in his recent article. Let me try to understand. The people in Detroit and St. Louis are less happy than the people in New York, and Los Angeles. And, the reason is because of homeownership rates?
First, to compare them to New York City (the economic capital of the world), Los Angeles (the entertainment capital of the world) seems unfair. Most people in almost any other city in the world might be less happy!
Next, let’s try a different way of determining whether renters are happier than homeowners. Why don’t we ask them? Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey 2010 reported:
75% of current renters believe owning a home makes more sense.
67% plan to buy a home at some point in the future.
When they asked current renters for the major reason to buy a house, these were their answers (they could pick several answers):
78% said it was a good place to raise children.
75% said because they would feel safe.
70% said because you have control of your own space.
If you believe renters are happier, you would also have to believe the majority enjoy living in a less safe environment, which wouldn’t be a good place to raise children and would be a place where they have less control of their space.
小题1:Which of the following is a fact?
A．People in Los Angeles earn high incomes because of its low homeownership rate.
B．New York’s low homeownership rate increases people’s happiness levels.
C．Detroit’s high level of homeownership causes its economic problems.
D．St. Louis has a higher level of homeownership than Los Angeles.
小题2:In his article, Richard Florida tried to express that _________.
A．people in Los Angeles are happier than those in St. Louis
B．renting a house is better than owning a house
C．Detroit’s economy is healthier than New York’s economy
D．New York and Los Angeles are happiest cities
小题3:The writer believes that New York City and Los Angeles _________.
A．pay employees highest wages in America
B．benefit from low levels of homeownership
C．are leading cities across the globe
D．are best American cities to live in
小题4:From Fannie Mae’s survey report, we can know that _________.
A．paying rent makes more sense
B．most homeowners plan to sell their houses
C．most renters prefer to become homeowners
D．parents need to buy a house for their children
题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:C
小题4:C
解析
文章先是引用Richard Florida 文章里面的话，说明租房子的人比拥有房子的人快乐，但是作者通过Fannie Mae的报告对其进行反驳，说明人们还是愿意自己拥有房子的。
小题1:细节题：从第一段的句子：Cities with high levels of homeownership—in the range of 75%, like Detroit and St. Louis 和第二段的句子：The cities and regions with the lowest levels of homeownership—in the range of 55% to 60% like Los Angeles 可知在圣路易斯比洛杉矶私房屋主多，选D
小题2:推理题：从第三段的句子：The people in Detroit and St. Louis are less happy than the people in New York, and Los Angeles. And, the reason is because of homeownership rates? 可知Richard Florida 在他的文章中想表达的是租房子的人比拥有房子的人更快乐，选B
小题3:细节题：从第四段的句子：First, to compare them to New York City (the economic capital of the world), Los Angeles (the entertainment capital of the world) seems unfair. Most people in almost any other city in the world might be less happy!可知作者认为纽约和洛杉矶是两个主要的城市，选C。
小题4:细节题：从第五段下面的调查结果：75% of current renters believe owning a home makes more sense. 67% plan to buy a home at some point in the future.可知大部分租房子的人还是愿意自己拥有房子的，选C。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Cities with high lev.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
