Communities throughout New England have been attempting to regulate short-term rentals since sites like Airbnb took off in the 2010s. Now with record-high home prices and historically low inventory, there’s an increased urgency in such regulation, particularly among those who worry that developers will come in and buy up swaths of housing to flip for a fortune on the short-term rental market.
In New Hampshire, where the rental vacancy rate has dropped below 1 percent, housing advocates fear unchecked short-term rentals will put further pressure on an already strained market. The State Legislature recently voted against a bill that would’ve made it illegal for towns to create legislation restricting short-term rentals.
“We are at a crisis level on the supply of rental housing,” said Nick Taylor, executive director of the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast. Without enough affordable housing in southern New Hampshire towns, “employers are having a hard time attracting employees, and workers are having a hard time finding a place to live,” Taylor said.
However, short-term rentals also provide housing for tourists, pointed out Ryan Castle, CEO of a local association of realtor. “A lot of workers are servicing the tourist industry, and the tourism industry is serviced by those people coming in short term,” Castle said, “and so it’s a cyclical effect.”
Short-term rentals themselves are not the crux of the issue, said Keren Horn, an expert on affordable housing policy. “I think individuals being able to rent out their second home is a good thing. If it’s their vacation home anyway, and it’s just empty, why can’t you make money off it?” Horn said. Issues arise, however, when developers attempt to create large-scale short-term rental facilities—de facto hotels—to bypass taxes and regulations. “I think the question is, shouldn’t a developer who’s really building a hotel, but disguising it as not a hotel, be treated and taxed and regulated like a hotel?” Horn said.
At the end of 2018, governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts signed a bill to rein in those potential investor-buyers. The bill requires every rental host to register with the state mandates they carry insurance, and opens the potential for local taxes on top of a new state levy. Boston took things even further, requiring renters to register with the city’s Inspectional Services Department.
Horn said similar registration requirements could benefit struggling cities and towns, but “if we want to make a change in the housing market, the main one is we have to build a lot more.”
1. Which of the following is true of New England?
2. The bill mentioned in Paragraph 2 was intended to ________.
3. Compared with Castle, Taylor is more likely to support ________.
4. What does Horn emphasize in Paragraph 5?
5. Horn holds that imposing registration requirements is ________.
问题1选项
A.Its housing supply is at a very low level.
B.Its communities are in need of funding.
C.Its rental vacancy rate is going up slowly.
D.Its home prices are under strict control.
问题2选项
A.curb short-term rental speculation
B.ensure the supply of cheap housing
C.punish illegal dealings in housing
D.allow a free short-term rental market
问题3选项
A.further investment in local tourism
B.an increase in affordable housing
C.strict management of real estate agents
D.a favorable policy for short-term workers
问题4选项
A.The urgency to upgrade short-term rental facilities.
B.The efficient operation of the local housing market.
C.The necessity to stop developers from evading taxes.
D.The proper procedures for renting out spare houses.
问题5选项
A.an irrational decision
B.an unfeasible proposal
C.an unnecessary measure
D.an inadequate solution
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【整体分析】
来源：Boston.com网站于2022年6月15日刊登的文章“We are at a Crisis Level on the Supply of Rental Housing.” Experts Discuss the Impact of Short-term Rentals.（“我们在租赁住房供应方面处于危机水平。”专家们讨论了短租的影响。）
主题：本文主要讨论了新英格兰地区的社区对短期租赁的规范和限制的紧迫性，因为房屋空置率已经降至历史最低点，市场压力进一步加剧。一些人担心开发商会买下大片房屋，然后在短租市场上大赚一笔。文章指出，短租本身并不是问题的关键，但开发商试图建立大规模的短租设施绕过税收和法规时，问题就出现了。解决住房市场问题的关键是建造更多的房子。
结构：
【选项释义】
Which of the following is true of New England? 以下哪项是新英格兰的真实情况？
A. Its housing supply is at a very low level. A. 其住房供应处于非常低的水平。
B. Its communities are in need of funding. B. 其社区需要资金。
C. Its rental vacancy rate is going up slowly. C. 其出租房空置率正在缓慢上升。
D. Its home prices are under strict control. D. 其房价受到严格控制。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词New England可以定位到文章第一段第二句“如今，在房价创历史新高、库存处于历史低位（historically low inventory）的情况下，出台此类调控措施的紧迫性加大”，说明新英格兰现在的住房库存处于很低的水平。因此A选项“其住房供应处于非常低的水平。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“其社区需要资金。”，C选项“其出租房空置率正在缓慢上升。”和D选项“其房价受到严格控制。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The bill mentioned in Paragraph 2 was intended to ________. 第2段中提到的法案是为了________。
A. curb short-term rental speculation A. 遏制短期租赁投机行为
B. ensure the supply of cheap housing B. 确保廉价住房的供应
C. punish illegal dealings in housing C. 惩罚住房业的非法交易
D. allow a free short-term rental market D. 允许自由的短期租赁市场
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词bill可以定位到文章第二段最后一句“该法案将使城镇制定限制短租的立法成为非法（made it illegal for towns to create legislation restricting short-term rentals）”说明该法案不希望限制短期租赁，即允许短期租赁。因此D选项“允许自由的短期租赁市场”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“遏制短期租赁投机行为”，B选项“确保廉价住房的供应”和C选项“惩罚住房业的非法交易”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Compared with Castle, Taylor is more likely to support ________. 与卡塞尔相比，泰勒更倾向于支持________。
A. further investment in local tourism A. 对当地旅游业的进一步投资
B. an increase in affordable housing B. 增加经济适用房
C. strict management of real estate agents C. 对房地产经纪人进行严格管理
D. a favorable policy for short-term workers D. 对短期工的有利政策
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Taylor可以定位到文章第三段最后一句“泰勒说，在新罕布什尔州南部城镇，如果没有足够的经济适用房（Without enough affordable housing），‘雇主很难吸引员工，工人也很难找到住的地方’”，说明泰勒认为经济适用房对雇主和工人都是有利的，需要增加经济适用房。因此B选项“增加经济适用房”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“对当地旅游业的进一步投资”，由short-term rentals also provide housing for tourists, pointed out Ryan Castle, CEO of a local association of realtor. “A lot of workers are servicing the tourist industry, and the tourism industry is serviced by those people coming in short term,” Castle said, “and so it’s a cyclical effect.”（当地房地产经纪人协会的首席执行官瑞安·卡塞尔指出，短租也为游客提供了住房。“很多工人都在为旅游业服务，而旅游业是由这些短期游客提供服务的，”卡塞尔说，“所以这是一种周期性效应。”）可知，支持投资旅游业的应该是卡塞尔，属于张冠李戴；
C选项“对房地产经纪人进行严格管理”和D选项“对短期工的有利政策”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What does Horn emphasize in Paragraph 5? 霍恩在第5段中强调了什么？
A. The urgency to upgrade short-term rental facilities. A. 提升短租设施的迫切性。
B. The efficient operation of the local housing market. B. 当地住房市场的有效运作。
C. The necessity to stop developers from evading taxes. C. 阻止开发商逃税的必要性。
D. The proper procedures for renting out spare houses. D. 出租闲置房屋的适当程序。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Horn可以定位到文章第五段最后一句“‘我认为问题是，一个实际上真正在建造酒店，但伪装成不是酒店的开发商，不应该像酒店一样受到对待、征税和监管吗（shouldn’t a developer who’s really building a hotel, but disguising it as not a hotel, be treated and taxed and regulated like a hotel）？’霍恩说”，说明霍恩认为有必要阻止开发商为了避税和避开监管而在建造酒店的过程中伪装成不是酒店。因此C选项“阻止开发商逃税的必要性。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“提升短租设施的迫切性。”，B选项“当地住房市场的有效运作。”和D选项“出租闲置房屋的适当程序。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Horn holds that imposing registration requirements is ________. 霍恩认为，强制执行登记要求是________。
A. an irrational decision A. 一个非理性的决定
B. an unfeasible proposal B. 一个不可行的建议
C. an unnecessary measure C. 一个不必要的措施
D. an inadequate solution D. 一个不充分的解决方案
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词imposing registration requirements可以定位到文章最后一段“霍恩说，类似的登记要求可能会使陷入困境的城镇受益（could benefit struggling cities and towns），但‘如果我们想改变住房市场，最主要的是我们必须建造更多的房子（the main one is we have to build a lot more）’”，说明霍恩认为登记要求不能真正解决问题，关键是要建造更多的房子，所以该解决方案是不充分的。因此D选项“一个不充分的解决方案”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“一个非理性的决定”，B选项“一个不可行的建议”和C选项“一个不必要的措施”，由Horn said similar registration requirements could benefit struggling cities and towns（霍恩说，类似的登记要求可能会使陷入困境的城镇受益）可知，霍恩认为登记要求还是有其作用的，不是完全反对，属于过度推断。
【重点词汇】
regulate /ˈrɛɡjəleɪt/ v. 管理；规范
urgency /ˈɜrdʒənsi/ n. 紧急性；迫切
developer /dɪˈvɛləpər/ n. 开发商
flip /flɪp/ v. 翻转；翻动
inventory /ˈɪnvəntɔri/ n. 存货；清单
swath /swɑθ/ n. 大片；宽阔区域
crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ n. 危机；紧急状态
vacancy /ˈveɪkənsi/ n. 空房；空缺
legislation /ˌlɛdʒɪsˈleɪʃən/ n. 法规；立法
workforce /ˈwɜrkfɔrs/ n. 劳动力
realtor /ˈriːəltər/ n. 房地产经纪人
disguise /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ v. 伪装；掩盖
levy /ˈlɛvi/ n. 征税；征收
short-term rentals 短期出租
affordable housing 经济适用房
cyclical effect 循环效应
【长难句分析】
1. Now with record-high home prices and historically low inventory, there’s an increased urgency in such regulation, particularly among those who worry that developers will come in and buy up swaths of housing to flip for a fortune on the short-term rental market.
【结构分析】
【补充分析】
① with record-high home prices and historically low inventory是介词短语作原因状语，解释了紧迫性增加的原因，即房价飙升和房源短缺；
② who引导定语从句修饰those，说明了those所指代的人群的特征和担忧；
③ that引导宾语从句，作worry的宾语，说明了人们所担心的具体情况。
【参考译文】如今，在房价创历史新高、库存处于历史低位的情况下，出台此类调控措施的紧迫性加大，尤其是有些人担心，开发商会进入市场，买下大片房屋，然后在短租市场上大赚一笔。
2. In New Hampshire, where the rental vacancy rate has dropped below 1 percent, housing advocates fear unchecked short-term rentals will put further pressure on an already strained market.
【结构分析】
【补充分析】
① where引导定语从句修饰New Hampshire，表示新罕布什尔州是一个房屋空置率已降至1%以下的地区；
② unchecked short-term rentals will put further pressure on an already strained market是省略了that的宾语从句，作fear的宾语，表示住房倡导者担心的内容。
【参考译文】在新罕布什尔州，房屋空置率已降至1%以下，住房倡导者担心，不受限制的短期租赁将给本已紧张的市场带来进一步压力。
【全文翻译】
自2010年爱彼迎等网站兴起以来，新英格兰地区的社区一直在试图规范短租。如今，在房价创历史新高、库存处于历史低位的情况下，出台此类调控措施的紧迫性加大，尤其是有些人担心，开发商会进入市场，买下大片房屋，然后在短租市场上大赚一笔。
在新罕布什尔州，房屋空置率已降至1%以下，住房倡导者担心，不受限制的短期租赁将给本已紧张的市场带来进一步压力。州议会最近投票反对了一项法案，该法案将使城镇制定限制短租的立法成为非法。
大海岸劳动力住房联盟执行董事尼克·泰勒说：“我们在租赁住房供应方面处于危机水平。”泰勒说，在新罕布什尔州南部城镇，如果没有足够的经济适用房，“雇主很难吸引员工，工人也很难找到住的地方。”
然而，当地房地产经纪人协会的首席执行官瑞安·卡塞尔指出，短租也为游客提供了住房。“很多工人都在为旅游业服务，而旅游业是由这些短期游客提供服务的，”卡塞尔说，“所以这是一种周期性效应。”
短租本身并不是问题的关键，经济适用房政策专家凯伦·霍恩说。“我认为个人能够出租他们的第二套房子是一件好事。如果这是他们的度假屋，而且空无一人，你为什么不能从中赚钱呢？”霍恩说。然而，当开发商试图建立大规模的短租设施（实际上是酒店）来绕过税收和法规时，问题就出现了。“我认为问题是，一个实际上真正在建造酒店，但伪装成不是酒店的开发商，不应该像酒店一样受到对待、征税和监管吗？”霍恩说。
2018年底，马萨诸塞州州长查理·贝克签署了一项法案，限制这些潜在的投资者买家。该法案要求所有出租房屋的房主都必须向州政府登记，要求他们购买保险，并可能在新的州税基础上征收地方税。波士顿甚至更进一步，要求租房者在该市的检查服务部登记。
霍恩说，类似的登记要求可能会使陷入困境的城镇受益，但“如果我们想改变住房市场，最主要的是我们必须建造更多的房子。”
