时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:2006年VOA标准英语(八月)


英语课

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
30 August 2006
 
watch Microhome report


The latest government reports indicate the U.S. housing market is cooling off. But builders say there's a mini-boom going on for a different kind of house.  VOA's Mil Arcega reports on new interest for a special category of "very small homes". 


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Large "McMansion" homes are languishing 1 on the housing market   
  
Large, million dollar homes were the rage at the height of the real estate boom.  But with many of the so-called "McMansions" languishing on the market, developers say the trend is towards smaller, more affordable 2 homes. 


Libby Crawley wanted to downsize from her 250-square-meter house but never thought she'd end up with something so small.


"When I first drove over and looked at it, I thought it was way too small.  There was no way I could fit into this house," she said.



Libby Crawley  
  
At only 65-square-meters, Crawley's microhome is about one-third the size of the average American home.  But Crawley says not only was the space more than adequate for her needs, there was also another surprise.


"Heating and air.  Actually my utility costs are probably less than $100 year 'round."


Although microhomes represent a tiny fraction of new home construction, builders say the category is one of the fastest growing trends in housing.  


 
Tim Russell
  
Tim Russell is the founder 3 of V2 World, which specializes in prefabricated building designs. "Although we have historically been lower than the median price of homes in America, over the last four years our prices have increased two and three-fold."


Russell's company can deliver a 67-square meter, energy efficient home, complete with furniture and appliances for under $150,000.  It's an attractive deal for price-conscious consumers who believe $230,000 is too much for an average house.


Designer Joe Herzog says the secret to success is making small homes feel large. "It's about efficiently 4 using space.  And it comes down to not only room spaces, but drawer sizes."


After more than a year in her new home, Libby Crawley admits it's not for everyone. "I think that a person would have to be someone who likes to live simply.  For me, it hasn't been a sacrifice in as far as the quality of my life."


The Small House Society, which promotes small housing solutions, says about a thousand new homes measuring less than 50 square meters have been built since the group was founded in 2002.



a. 衰弱下去的
  • He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
  • How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子,她还将为此烦恼多久呢?
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
n.创始者,缔造者
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
adv.高效率地,有能力地
  • The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
  • Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
学英语单词
airborne order
Al Khemis
aldrovandia affinis
alimonied
approved agenda
arthroedema
automatic humidity controller
blade scraper
Botad
brazen-face
brushless induction phase shifter
caledon house
centrica
cepheid variables
chicken flavor
cholineacetylase
circular type manic-depressive psychosis
clethrionomyss
complex harmonic current
compressor air intake (device)
conductibility
confirming bank
culture flask
diantimony trioxide
diphthongizing
Dissentin
dual system brake
ejaculated
establishmentarians
frequency-division data link
full-admission
gang fights
gardenengine
giampaolo
graph theoretic computer algorithm
halituous
heart musculature
hume cronyns
infernities
inverse electrical characteristic
iron(ferrum)deficiency
Ixeris chinensis
joint tripod head
Kearney
kostroma cattle
lanceolate
layer capacitance
local mendelian population
made broad their phylacteries
Manyas
maximum lapping depth
medial alligation
meeching
moctezumas
modulus of shearing
mottis
nansemond
Neolabrus
new program language 1
noise zoning
NPCs
nucleus abducens
o-face
ocampoes
occupational pension scheme
oestridae
off budget entity
oil type servomotor
olivander
oral hypoglycemic
oversold position
paruns
periodental ligament
pleophonic
prerogative order
proof of delivery service
prothenchyma of wood
protohymenial
Pruna
reactor poisoning
rolling blackouts
rotating platform electrode
second distance
serum intoxication
source processing
spectral radiosity
spillover of message
starting screw
statutory limitation
supporting idler
tabacosis
topochemical control
transmitting apparatus
trapezial
trisulphone
tropical myositis
turbine-type pump
unwatermarked
Upper Boddington
vegetizes
Werackebach's sign
yellow body of ovary