The more likely outcome remains a long, gentle deflation in real rents and house prices in London in relation to earnings and inflation, peppered by the occasional mini-boom, rather than a sudden spiral down. Lots of places outside the capital could still see real gains, although not of the order of the past couple of decades. Maybe, just maybe, this means we return to buying a home as a place to live in, rather than as an investment.

思考题：

According to the author, rents and house prices in London would__.

A.crash in a very short period of time

B.be a bargain compared to other places

C.deflate slowly over the long term

D.compel all investors to leave the market

词汇突破：

1. deflation 下降

2.in relation to 相对于

3. earnings 收入

4. inflation 通货膨胀

5. pepper 不断加入

He peppered his speech with jokes.

他在演讲中插入了许多笑话。

6.mini-boom 小幅上涨

7.spiral down 螺旋下降

8.gains 这里指上涨

9.order 幅度

句子解析：

句：

The more likely outcome remains a long, gentle deflation in real rents and house prices in London //in relation to earnings and inflation, peppered by the occasional mini-boom,// rather than a sudden spiral down.

参考译文：更可能的结果仍然是，伦敦的实际租金和房价会相对于收入和通胀在较长时间内温和下降，中间将偶现小幅上涨，而不是突然螺旋式地下降。

第二句：

Lots of places outside the capital could still see real gains, although not of the order of the past couple of decades.

参考译文：伦敦之外的很多地方仍然可以看到真正的上涨，尽管不会有过去几十年的幅度。

第三句：

Maybe, just maybe, this means we return to buying a home as a place to live in, rather than as an investment.

参考译文：也许，只是也许，这意味着我们回归为了居住而买房，而不是为了投资。

思考题解析：

A. crash in a very short period of time

(在短期内崩盘)

没有谈到，排除!

A选项错误。

B. be a bargain compared to other places

(与其他地方相比很划算)

没有这样的比较!

伦敦没涨的厉害了，其他地方在涨，但不意味着就比其他地方划算。

B选项错误。

C. deflate slowly over the long term

(在长时间内慢慢下降)

对应句!正确!

C选项正确。

D. compel all investors to leave the market

(迫使所有投资者离市)

哪怕最后一句说了可能“房住不炒”也不意味着就会让所有投资者离开市场。

D选项错误。

文章来源背景和来源：

London rents are falling fast – and that's good news for tenants

伦敦租金快速下降，这对于租户来说是个

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jul/15/london-rents-falling-tenants-coronavirus-lockdown

背景：受今年疫情的影响，伦敦的租房价格下降明显，仅二月份，伦敦二区的租房询问价格就下滑了8%，而在城中心区下降幅度更大，达到了18%(但中心区为国际市场价，与工薪阶层的关系不大)。近四分之一的伦敦居民都租房自住，近40%的个人收入都流向私人租赁市场，所以房租的任何下调都会受到大众舆论的欢迎。但若希望疫情下工作方式的变化会带来房价断崖似的下滑或影响全英的房产市场，就不免过于乐观。一方面，伦敦的购房需求存量很大，有许多购房者都在等着登上有产者阶梯。另一方面，英国除伦敦以外的地区房产价格普遍坚挺，甚至有些地方仍在上涨。但是，也许投资购房的需求会慢慢减退，让市场重新成为刚需一族的主场。