2025-09-11 L6U3-Listening-Rent or Buy1

John and Linda have been arguing about whether to buy a house for a long time.
约翰和琳达已经为是否要买房子争论了很长时间。
They have been renting a small flat for several and the rent keeps going up.
他们已经租了一套小公寓好几年了，而且租金一直在上涨。
Last year John wasn’t sure about his job situation, so they agreed to delay the decision.
去年约翰对自己的工作状况没有把握，所以他们同意推迟这个决定。
They also invested some money in the stock market, and their investments are doing well.
他们还把一些钱投资到了股市，而且投资收益不错。
Linda really wants to have a place of her own.
琳达真的很想拥有属于自己的房子。
She is growing impatient and doesn’t want to wait any longer.
她越来越不耐烦，不想再等下去了。
She wants to sell some of their investments and put the money into a nice house.
她想卖掉一部分投资，把钱用来买一套好房子。
John is against buying now because he thinks prices are too high.
约翰反对现在买房，因为他认为房价太高了。
He is also worried about the high cost of living in the area.
他也担心这个地区的生活成本太高。
This is beginning to make the area less attractive to companies.
这正开始让该地区对公司失去吸引力。
Unless a company is innovative and successful, it can’t afford to do business in the area.
除非一家公司具有创新性并且成功，否则它负担不起在这个地区经营的成本。
Salary levels have risen so quickly that companies can no longer afford to attract good workers.
工资水平上涨得太快，以至于公司再也无法负担吸引优秀员工的费用。
Good workers won’t come unless they are paid enough to buy a house.
优秀员工不会来，除非他们得到足够买房子的薪水。
So many companies are relocating or moving overseas where costs are lower.
因此，许多公司正在搬迁或迁往成本更低的海外地区。
John is worried that once companies start to leave, housing prices will come down.
约翰担心，一旦公司开始搬离，房价就会下跌。
Only fools are buying now, paying prices that are probably 10 to 20 percent higher than they should be.
现在还在买房的都是傻瓜，他们支付的价格可能比合理水平高出10%到20%。
He wants to buy when prices have fallen to a more reasonable level.
他想等房价降到更合理的水平时再买。
Until then it doesn’t make sense to buy.
在那之前，买房是没有意义的。
He remembers what happened in other countries just a few years ago when prices climbed and then fell 50%.
他记得几年前其他国家发生过的事情：房价上涨后又下跌了50%。
Many people lost their homes because they owed more on their homes than their homes were worth.
许多人失去了自己的房子，因为他们欠下的房贷比房子本身的价值还高。
When they lost their jobs, they couldn’t pay their mortgage.
当他们失去工作时，就无法偿还房贷。
They couldn’t sell either, because the selling price was less than what they owe to the bank.
他们也无法卖掉房子，因为卖房的价格还抵不上欠银行的钱。
So they had to move out and the banks took possession.
所以他们不得不搬出去，银行则收回了房产。
Now prices are rising again so the same thing could happen again.
现在房价又在上涨了，因此同样的事情可能会再次发生。
A cycle of boom and bust which people tend to forget.
这种繁荣与萧条的循环，人们往往容易忘记。
Linda has a different view.
琳达有不同的看法。
She thinks he worries too much.
她认为他太过担心了。
She thinks if they buy now, prices will continue to rise.
她觉得如果他们现在买房，房价会继续上涨。
If they don’t buy now, they will miss the opportunity and regret later.
如果他们现在不买，就会错过机会，以后会后悔。
She isn’t worried by the possibility that prices may drop in the future.
她并不担心未来房价可能下跌的风险。