-
Unit Seven
ON HUMAN
NATURE Frank and Lydia Hammer
我对人类的了解越多，
对他们的期望就越低。
和以前相比，
我现在常常以
较宽松的标准
把一个人叫做好人。
——塞缪尔·约翰逊博士
论人性
弗兰克，莉迪亚·汉默尔
1
Human
nature
is
the
basis
of
character,
the
temperament
and
disposition;
it
is
that
indestructible matrix upon which the
character is built, and whose shape it must take
and keep
throughout life. This we call
a person's nature.
1
< br>人性是性格、气质和性情的基础，性格正是基于这种牢不可破的基质之上的，它必须以这
< br>种基质的形式存在，并将它保留终生，这种基质，我们称之为一个人的本性。
2 The basic nature of human beings does
not and cannot change. It is only the surface that
is
capable of alteration, improvement
and refinement; we can alter only people's
customs, manners,
dress and habits. A
study of history reveals that the people who
walked this
earth
in
antiquity
were
moved
by
the
same
fundamental
forces,
were
swayed
by
the
same
passions,
and
had
the
same
aspirations
as
the
men
and
women
of
today.
The
pursuit
of
happiness still engrosses mankind the
world over.
2
人类的本
性不会也不能改变，只有一些表面特征才会变化、改善和进一步提升；我们可以
改变人们
的风格、举止、
衣着和习惯。一项历史研究表明，曾经行走在地球上的古人们和今
天的男男女女们受着同样的基本力量驱使，
被同样的激情左右并有着同
样的抱负，
时至今日，
对幸福的追求仍然是全世界人类全身心投
入的事业。
3 Moreover no one
wishes his nature to change. One may covet the
position of President or King,
but
would
not
change
places
with
them
unless,
it
meant
the
continuance
of
his
own
identify.
Each man sees
himself as unique, and so far as he is concerned
the hub of the universe, different
from
any other individual. Apologies are in order when
Mr. Smith is mistaken for Mr. Jones.
3
此外，没有人希望改变自己的本性，有人可能会觊觎总统或国王的
职位，但不会和他们交
换位置，除非那意味着他自己身份的继续。每个人都把自己看成是
独特个体，而且，就他而
言，他就是宇宙的中心，
有别于其他任
何人。
如果有人把史密斯先生误认作琼斯先生，
这人
就该道歉。
4 Every man
unfolds a distinct character over which
circumstances and education have only the
most
limited
control.
No
two
people
will
ever
draw
the
same
conclusions
from
the
same
experiences, but each must interpret
events and fit them into the mosaic of his own
life's pattern.
Human nature is ever
true itself, not to systems of faith or education.
Each holds to the structure
of the mold
into which the soul was cast at the time of its
individualization. The qualities born in
one
remain
as
potentials
whether
they
have
a
chance
to
develop
or
not.
Under
pressure,
or
change of interest, they can partially
or wholly disappear from view, tor considerable
periods of
time; but nothing can
permanently modify them, nothing can obliterate
them.
4
每个人都表现出一种与
众不同的性格，而环境和教育对性格的影响都极其有限。两个人从
相同的经历中也不会得
出相同的结论，
但是两个人会各自分析这些事件并将它们融合到自己
丰富的生活模式中去。
人性总是忠于它本身，
而不受信仰或
教育体制左右。
一个人的个性和
他独特的天性在出生时就已经形
成了，
而且不会改变。
一个人与生俱来的品质，
无论是否有
机会发展，
都保持为潜力。
在遭受压力或兴趣变化的情况下，
他们会部分或全部地消失相当
一段时间，但是没有什么能永久地改变他们，也没有什么能把他们抹去。
5 The constancy of human nature is
proverbial, as no one believes that a man can
fundamentally
change his nature. This
is why it is so difficult for one who has
acquired
an unsavory
reputation to re
-
establish
himself in public confidence. People know
from
experience that an
individual who in one year displays knavish
characteristics
-
seldom
in the next becomes
any different. Nor does a thief become a
trustworthy employee, or a miser a
philanthropist. Nor does a man change
and become a liar, coward or traitor at fifty or
sixty; if he
is
one
then,
he
has
been
one ever
since
his
character was
formed.
Big
criminals
are
first
little
criminals, just
as giant oaks are first little acorns.
5
人性的恒定性是众所周知的，因为没有人相信一个人能够从根
本上改变他的本性。这就是
为什么一个恶名远扬的人很难重建公众对他的信心。
人们凭经验知道某一年中表现出无赖性
格的人不太可能在第二年有任何改
观。
小偷也不会变成值得信赖的员工。
吝啬鬼也不可能变
成慈善家。
而且，
一个人不会在五六十岁的时
候变成谎话精、
懦夫或叛徒，
如果那时候他是，
那么早在他性格形成的时候他就已经是了。
大罪犯最初都是小罪犯，
正如大橡树最初都是小
橡果。
6 Although man is potentially perfect
he is far from being actually so. If he were
actually perfect
there
would
be
nothing
for
preachers
and
humanitarians
to
do;
no
use
for
churches,
schools,
courts and prisons.
Therefore while it is impossible to change human
nature, it can be studied,
controlled
and
directed,
and
this
should
be
the
supreme
function
of
our
religious,
educational
and
social institutions.
6
尽管人类有完美的潜质，但事实上他远远没有达到完美。如果事实上他已经是完美的，那
么那些神父、
教师和人道主义者便会无事可做；
那些
教堂、
学校、
法庭和监狱便会无所用处。
因此虽然人性是不可能改变的，
但是人们可以研究它、
控制它
和引导它。
而且这应该是我们
的宗教机构、教育机构和社会机构
的最高职能。
7 Man is perfect as a
seed is perfect, germinally. The spirit is
perfect, but when it inhabits human
structures, it participates in the
imperfections of the later; and during its
association with matter
takes
on
the
mortal
weakness,
desires
and
limitations.
But
the
spirit,
the
inner
man,
remains
untouched
and
undefiled
by
evil.
Only
the
outer
man
-
the
personality
and
the
physical
body
-
becomes imperfect, due to ignorance,
wrong thinking and violation of the law of being.
The outer
man, too, was originally
perfect, but man has so desecrated and abused it
that today it is a far cry
from the
original model.
7
人类在胚胎期是完美的，就好比一粒种子，在幼芽期是完美的一样。精神是完美的，但它
栖居到人类肉体结构中后，
便参与其中，
表现出后者的不完美。
在它与物质的联系过程中呈
现出凡人的弱点、
< br>欲望和局限。
但是精神，
也就是人的内在，
却仍能免遭邪恶的染指和玷污。
只有外在的人——个性和躯体，
由于无知、
思想错误和违反自然规律而变得不完美。
外在的
人，原本也是完美的，但是由于人类如此的亵渎和滥用，今天，它已经与原型相去
甚远。
8
Man's
majesty
and
nobility
are
taken
for
granted,
although
his
faults
and
weaknesses
are
constantly paraded before our eyes.
Only when behavior deviates from the normal does
it attract
attention. The good
neighbor, the conscientious citizen, the kind
father and faithful husband pass
unnoticed.
But
the
murderer,
robber
or
wife
beater
is
singled
out
for
ublicity,
because
such
conduct is unusual.
< br>8
人们想当然地认为人类是伟大和高尚的，尽管他的过错和弱点不断地暴露在我们
面前。只
有当人类行为偏离常规时才会引起人们的注意。
人们对
好邻居、
良民、
慈父和贞夫视而不见，
但杀人犯、抢劫犯或殴打妻子的人却成为公众瞩目的焦点。因为这些行为非同寻常。
9 Man's inherent goodness, moreover, is
revealed by his countless acts of heroism,
unselfishness
and sacrifice. Daily one
reads of men saving others at the peril of
their
own lives. One plunges
into the surf and rescues a swimmer from drowning;
another
dashes into a
burning house and carries a stranger to safety;
others snatch a child from
the
wheels
of
death;
many
give
their
blood
so
that
others
may
live.
Countless
unnamed
and
unrecorded men have given their lives
for their fellowmen, not only on the battlefront
but on the
home
-
front as well.
9
人
类固有的优点还体现在不计其数的英雄主义行为、充满无私和牺牲精神的举动上，每天
我
们都会读到人们冒着生命危险挽救他人生命的事迹：
有人跃入水中拯救溺水的泳者；
有人
冲进火场将陌生人带出险境；
有人从死
亡的车轮下救出孩子；
许多人献出鲜血使他人生命得
以延续。数
不胜数的不知姓名、不被记载的人们，不仅在战场上，而且还在战争的大后方，
为了他们
的同胞献出了生命。
10Human nature
does not and cannot change but unfolds its
inherent pattern. Man has a nature
and
its laws can be known. We can only endeavor to
understand man as he is.
10<
/p>
人性不会也不能改变，
它只展现它固有的模式。
< br>它有天性而且这种天性的规律是可知的。
我们只能尽力去了解人类的真实面貌。<
/p>
Unit
Eight
It's almost a common
sense that wearing a seat belt can keep passengers
from being injured or
being killed in a
car accident. But recent research done by John
Adams shows more complicated
statistics. More car accidents are
caused by the reckless drivers who wear seat
belts.
THE
HIDDEN DANGER OF SEAT BELTS
David
Bjerklie
安全带可以避免乘客在车祸中受伤或死亡，这几乎是常识。但是，
约翰．
亚当斯最近所
做的研究得出了更加复杂的统计数据。
当司机系着安全带时，
他们开车无所顾忌，
更多车祸<
/p>
因此而发生。
座椅安全带的隐患
大卫·布杰克里
1 Seat
belts still decrease our risk of dying in an
accident, but the statistics are not all black and
white. In fact, according to one
researcher, seat belts may actually cause people
to drive more
recklessly.
1
座椅安全带固然能降低我们在车祸中死亡的危险，
但从统计数据看，
情况并不是那么绝对。
事实上，据一
位研究者说，安全带可能会使人们在驾车时更加肆无忌惮。
2
If there's one thing we know about our risky
world, it's that seat belts save lives. And they
do,
of
course.
But
reality,
as
usual,
is
messier
and
more
complicated
than
that.
John
Adams,
risk
expert and emeritus
professor of geography at University College
London, was an early skeptic of
the
seat belt safety mantra. Adams first began to look
at the numbers more than 25 years ago.
What he found was that contrary to
conventional wisdom, mandating the use of seat
belts in 18
countries resulted in
either no change or actually a net increase in
road accident deaths.
2
对于这个有危险的世界，
如果有一件事我们还算了解，
那就是座椅安全带可以救命。
当然，
它确实可以救命。但实
际情况通常要更混乱、
更复杂。伦敦大学学院的风险专家、
地理
学荣
誉教授约翰·
亚当斯早就质疑安全带能保证驾车安全的信条
。
亚当斯最早开始查看统计数字
是早在
25
年前的事了。
他的发现与人们的普遍看法恰恰相反——在<
/p>
18
个强制使用安全带的
国家，要么交通
事故死亡率根本没有变化，要么实际上反而导致了死亡率的净增长。
3 How can that be? Adams'
interpretation of the data rests on the notion of
risk compensation,
the
idea
that
individuals
tend
to
adjust
their
behavior
in
response
to
what
they
perceive;
as
changes in the level of risk. Imagine,
explains Adams, a driver negotiating a curve in
the road.
Let's make him a young male.
He is going to be influenced by his perceptions of
both the risks
and rewards of driving a
car. The considerations could include getting to
work or meeting a mend
for dinner on
time, impressing a companion with his driving
skills, bolstering his image of himself
as an accomplished driver. They could
also include his concern for his own safety and
desire to
live to a ripe old age, his
feelings of responsibility for a toddler with him
in a car seat, the cost of
banging up
his shiny new car or losing his license.
3
怎么会这样
?
亚当斯用风险补偿的概念来解释这些数据资料，这个概念就是：人们往往会
根据他们意识到的风险程度的改变来相应地调整自己的行为。
亚当斯解释
说，
假设一位司机
驾车途中要过一个窄弯道，
< br>这名司机是个男青年，
那么他会受到自己对以下两方面认知的影
< br>响：
驾车的风险和驾车的回报。
他所考虑的东西可能包括
：
能够准时上班或准时赶赴朋友的
饭局、
让同伴对他的驾车技术留下深刻印象、
使自己作为熟练驾车手的形象更加巩固。
他还
可能考虑到自身的安全问题、
长命百岁的
愿望、
对车上年幼乘客的责任感、
撞毁自己的漂亮
新车或驾驶证被没收的代价。
Nor will
these possible concerns exist in a vacuum. He will
be taking into account the weather
and
the condition of the road, the amount of traffic
and the capabilities of the car he is driving.
But crucially, says Adams, this driver
will also be adjusting his behavior in response to
what he
perceives are changes in risks.
If he is wearing a seat belt and his car has front
and side air bags
and
anti
-
skid brakes to boot, he
may in turn drive a bit more daringly.
这些可能的担心也不是孤立存在的。
他还要考虑到天气和路况、
交通拥挤的程度和所驾车子
的性能。但亚当斯说，关键的是这个
司机还将根据他对风险变化的判断来调整自己的行为。
如果他系上了安全带，
而他的车子带有前、
侧气囊和防滑刹车系统，
他驾
起车来可能会更大
胆。
4 The
point, stresses Adams, is that drivers who feel
safe may actually increase the risk that they
pose to other drivers, bicyclists,
pedestrians and their own passengers (while an
average of 80%
of drivers buckle up,
only 68% of their rear
-
seat
passengers do). And risk compensation is hardly
confined to the act of driving a car.
Think of a trapeze artist,
suggests Adams, or a rock climber
or motorcyclist. Add some safety
equipment to the equation
-
a
net, rope or helmet
respectively
-
and
the person may try maneuvers that he or she would
otherwise consider foolish. In the case
of seat belts, instead of a simple,
straightforward reduction in deaths, the end
result is actually a
more
complicated
redistribution
of
risk
and
fatalities. For
the
sake
of
argument,
offers Adams,
imagine how it might
affect the behavior of drivers if a sharp stake
were mounted in the middle
of
the
steering
wheel?
Or
if
the
bumper
were
packed
with
explosives.
Perverse,
yes,
but
it
certainly provides a vivid example of
how a perception of risk could modify
behavior.
4
亚当斯强调说
，问题就在于自我感觉安全的司机们实际上对其他司机、骑自行车者、行人
和自己车上的
乘客来说是更大的危险
(
平均
80
％的司机系安全带，
而同车后座的乘客只有
68
％
系安全带
)
。风险补偿绝不仅限于驾车行为。亚当斯说，类似的还有表演高空秋千的艺人、
攀岩
者或摩托车手。
如果在他们的安全等式上增添某种安全装置——比如说分别给他们一张<
/p>
救生网、
一根保险绳或一个头盔——这个人可能就会试着做些平时
认为很愚蠢的技巧性表演。
因此，
安全带并非简单、
直截了当地减少死亡人数，
而是对风险和死亡事故进行了更加复杂
的再分配。
为了说明其中的道理，
亚当斯提出人
们可以想象一下，
如果在方向盘中间安一个
尖头的木桩，
司机开车时会受到怎样的影响
?
或者在保险杠
上装满炸药呢
?
这简直是丧心病狂，
是
的，不过这确实提供了一个生动的例子，来说明人们如何根据对风险的判断来调整行为。
5 In everyday life, risk is a moving
target, not a set number as statistics might
suggest.
In addition to
external factors, each individual has his or her
own internal comfort level with
risk
-
taking.
Some are daring while others are cautious by
nature. And still others are fatalists who may
believe that a higher power devises
mortality schedules that fix a predetermined time
when our
number
is
up.
Consequently,
any
single
measurement
assigned
to
the
risk
of
driving
a
car
is
bound to
be only the roughest sort of benchmark.
5
日常生活中，风险是不断移动的靶
子，而并不像统计数据那样是个固定数字。除了外部因
素外，
每
个人对于冒险都有自己内在的安全尺度。
有些人天生大胆而有些人天生谨慎，
还有
些人是宿命论者，
他们会认为，
有一种更强大的力量设计了死亡时间表，
预先确定了我们的
< br>死期。因此，对驾车风险做任何单一的测算所得到的肯定只是最粗略的基准数据。
Adams cites, as an example the
statistical fact that a young man is 100 times
more likely to be
involved in a severe
crash than is a middle
-
aged
woman. Similarly, someone driving at 3:00 a.m.
Sunday is more than 100 times more
likely to die than someone driving at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday.
Someone with a personality
disorder is 10 times more likely to die. And let's
say he's also drunk.
Tally up All these
factors and consider them independently says
Adams, and you could arrive at. a
statistical prediction that a
disturbed, drunken young man driving in the middle
of the night is 2.7
million times more
likely to be involved in a serious accident than
would a sober, middle
-
aged
woman driving to church seven hours
later.
亚当斯引用了这样的统计事实作例子：
青年男子发生严重撞车事故的概率比中年妇女高
100
< br>倍。同样，在星期天凌晨
3
点钟驾车的人比同一天上午<
/p>
10
点钟驾车的人死亡风险高出
100<
/p>
多倍，有人格障碍的人比一般人死亡风险高
10
< br>倍。亚当斯说，假如这个人还喝醉了，汇总
所有这些因素并分别加以考虑，
就会得到一个具有统计性的预测：
一位心理失常又喝醉酒的
青年男子在午夜驾车，
7
个小时后一位头脑清醒的
中年妇女驾车去教堂，前者发生严重交通
事故的概率比后者高
2
70
万倍。
6 The
bottom line is that risk doesn't exist in a vacuum
and that there are a host of factors that
come into play, including the rewards
of risk, whether they are financial, physical or
emotional. It
is this very human
context which risk exists. That is key, says
Adams, who titled one of his recent
blogs:
What
Kills
You
Matters
-
Not
Numbers.
Our
reaction
to
risk
very
much
depends
on
the
degree to
which it is voluntary (scuba diving), unavoidable
(public transit) or imposed (air quality),
the degree to which we feel we are in
control (driving) or at the mercy of others (plane
travel),
and the degree to which the
source of possible danger is benign
(
(nature) or malign, (murder and
terrorism). We make dozens of risk calculations
daily, but you
can book
odds
-
that most of them are
so automatic or visceral
-
that we barely notice them.
6
问题的要点就在于风险并不是孤立存在的，它会受到许多因素的影响，包括承担风险所
带
来的种种回报——无论是财产方面的、
身体方面的，
还是情感方面的。
这正是风险赖以存在
的真实的
人类社会。
亚当斯说，
这才是问题的关键，正如他把近期的一篇
博客题目定为
《关
键的是置人于死地的东西，而不是数字》
。我们对风险的反应多半取决于它在多大程度上是
自发的行为
(
如戴水肺潜水
)
、
是不可避免的
(
如公共交通
)
、还是强加给我们的
(
如空气质量
)
；
取决于我们认为在多大程度上是我们能控制的<
/p>
(
如驾驶
)
或是
由别人控制的
(
如乘飞机
)
；还取
决于这种潜在危险在多大程度上是出于好意
(
如医生的指令
)
、无意的
(
如自然因素
)
或恶意的
(
如谋杀和恐怖活动
)
。我们每天要做几十遍风险计算，但是可以确信的是，多数时候人们对
风险的计
算自然而然或者说是出自本能，以至于我们几乎注意不到我们在做计算。
Unit Nine
THE
HOUSING CRISIS GOES SUBURBAN
住房危机走向郊区
迈克尔·格伦沃尔德
在过去的五年里，
弗吉尼亚州费尔法
克斯县的住房价格增长速度是家庭收入增长速度的
12
倍．今天
，该县中等家庭不得不将其收入的
54
％用于购买位于该县的普
通住房；在
2000
年，这个数字是
2
6
％。形势如此严峻，以至于费尔法克斯县最近开始对年收入
9
0
，
000
美
元的家庭提供住房补贴；很快，这个数字可能提高到
110
，<
/p>
000
美元。
1
Seventy
years
after
President
Franklin
D.
Roosevelt
declared
that
the
Depression
had
left
one
-
third
of
the
American
people
-
housed,
ill
-
clothed
and
ill
-
nourished,
Americans
are
well
-
clothed
and
increasingly
over
nourished.
But
the
scarcity
of
affordable
housing
is
a
deepening national crisis, and not just
for inner
-
city families on
welfare. The problem has climbed
the
income
ladder
and
moved
to
the
suburbs,
where
service
workers
cram
their
families
into
overcrowded
apartments,
college
graduates
have
to
crash
with
their
parents,
and
firefighters,
police
officers and teachers can't afford to live in the
communities they serve.
1
富兰克林·罗斯福总统曾经说经济大萧条造成
1
／
3
的美国人住房简陋、衣衫褴褛、营养
不良，然而
70
年后的今天，美国人却是穿着考究、营养日
益过剩。但是，廉价房稀缺是一
场日益加深的民族危机，
而不仅
仅是依靠福利为生的城市家庭的危机。
这个问题已经波及中
产阶
级，
并向郊区蔓延，
在那里服务工作者及其家属挤在过于狭小的
公寓里，
大学毕业生不
得不借宿在父母家，而消防队员、警察和
教师在他们所服务的社区也买不起房。
2 Home
ownership is near an
all
-
time high, but the gap
is growing between the Owns and the
Own
-
Nots
—
as
well
as
the
Owns
and
the
Own
-
80
-
Miles
-
From
-
Wor
k.
One
-
third
of
Americans
now
spend at least 30% of their income on housing, the
federal definition of an
burden, and
half the working poor spend at least 50% of their
income on rent, a
The
real
estate
boom
of
the
past
decade
has
produced
windfalls
for
Americans
who
owned
before
it
began,
but
affordable
housing
is
now
a
serious
problem
for
more
low
-
and
moderate
-
income
Americans than taxes, Social Security4 or gas
prices.
2
住房拥有率接近历
史最高位，但有房户和无房户之间的差距越来越大，有房户和房子离工
作单位
80
英里远的有房户之间的差距也越来越大。
现在
，
1
／
3
的美
国人花费至少
30
％的收
入用于住房，
联邦政府将这种情况定义为
“无力支付”的负担，而有一半的穷打工仔花费至
少
50
％的收入用于租房，这种情况被称为“极其
严重”的负担。在过去
10
年里，房地产迅
猛发展，
这使得在此之前就已经购置房产的美国人大赚特赚了一把，
但现在廉价房对中、
低
收入的美国人来说，是一个比税
收、社会保险、汽油价格更严重的问题。
3
America
used
to
care
a
lot
about
affordable
housing.
Roosevelt
signed
housing
legislation
in
1934 and 1937, providing mortgages,
government apartments and construction jobs for
workers
down on their luck. In 1949,
Congress .set an official goaljjf
environment for every American
family,
subsidized rent vouchers to
millions of low
-
income
tenants in private housing. For half a century,
most housing debates in Washington
revolved around how much to expand federal
assistance.
3
美国曾经
非常关注廉价房问题。
1934
年和
1
937
年，罗斯福签署了住房立法，提供抵押贷
款、政府公寓，
并为那些穷困潦倒的工人提供建筑工作。
1949
年，国会树立
了官方目标—
—
“让每一个美国家庭都能拥有一个体面的家和宜
居环境，
”
而到了
1974
年，
尼克松总统开
始对数以百万计的低收入租户在
私有住房方面提供租金补贴凭单。
半个世纪以来，
在华盛顿
发生的大多数住房方面的辩论都围绕着一个主题：
即应该在多大程度
上扩大联邦政府的资助。
4
But
for
the
past
two
decades,
the
only
new
federal
housing
initiative
has
been
HOPE
VI5,
a
Clinton
administration program that has demolished 80,000
units of the worst public housing and
built
mixed
-
income
developments
in
their
place.
The
program
has
eliminated
most
of
the
high
-
rise
hellholes
that
gave
public
housing
a
bad
name
and
has
revived
some
urban
neighborhoods. But it
has razed more subsidized apartments than it has
replaced.
4
但在过去
20
年中，唯一的联邦住房新提案就是<
/p>
HOPE
VI
，也就是克林顿政府拆毁
80,000
单位的最差公共住房，
重
建混合收入寓所来取而代之。
该计划已经拆除了大部分高度危险的
房子，
它们曾使公共住房声名狼藉，
并已重建了一些城市的社
区。
但是它更多的是把享有补
贴的公寓房夷为平地而不是取而代
之。
5
Overall,
the
number
of
households
receiving
federal
aid
has
flatlined
since
the
early
1990s,
despite
an
expanding
population
and
a
ballooning
budget.
Congress
has
rejected
most
of
President
Bush's
proposed
cuts,
but
there
has
been
virtually
no
discussion
of
increases;
affordable
-
housing advocates spend most of
their time fighting to preserve the status
quo.
5
总的来说，
自
90
年代初以来，
接受联邦援助的家庭数已经降到最低，
尽管人口不断增加、
预算不断膨胀。
美国国会已经拒绝了美国总统布什提出的大部分的削减计
划，
但几乎没有讨
论过增加计划；廉价房的倡导者花费的大部分
时间都被用于努力争取保持现状。
6 And it's a
tough status quo. Today, for every one of the
4.5 million
low
-
income families that
receive federal housing assistance,
there are three eligible families without it.
Fairfax County has
12,000 families on a
waiting list for 4,000 assisted apartments.
—
nobody
wants
to
give
it
up,
says
Conrad
Egan,
chairman
of
the
Fairfax
housing
authority.
It
sounds odd, but the
victims of today's housing crisis are not people
living in
people who aren't even that
lucky.
6
而现状真是很艰难。
今天，有
450
万低收入家庭享受联邦住房救助，还有
3
倍于此的家庭
符合被救助资格，却拿不到救助
。费尔法克斯县有
12,000
户家庭在排队轮候
4,000
套救助
公寓。
“
这太宝贵了，一旦拥有，没有人愿意放弃。
”费尔法克斯住房委员会主席康拉德·艾
根这样说。这听起来奇怪，但如今住房危机的受害者不是那些已经享受“救助计划”的人，<
/p>
而是那些没那么幸运去享受这个计划的人。
7 Some liberals6 dream of extending
subsidies to all eligible
low
-
income families, but
that $$100
billion
-
a
-
year
solution
was
unrealistic
even
before
the
budget
deficit
ballooned
again.
So
even
some
housing
advocates
now
support
time
limits
on
most
federal
rent
aid.
The
time
limits
included in welfare reform 10 years ago
were controversial, but studies suggest they've
helped
motivate
recipients
to
get
off
the
dole.
And
unlike
welfare,
housing
aid
is
not
a
federal
entitlement,
so
taking
it
away
from
one
family
after
a
few years
would
provide
a
break
for
an
equally deserving family.
7
一些自由派人士梦想着对所有合格的低收入家庭都给予补贴，
但是这个每年要斥资上千亿
美元的解决办法很不现实，
即便是在预算赤字再度膨胀之前也不现实。
因此，
即
使一些曾经
主张住房政策的人，现在也支持对大多数联邦租房救济金实行时间限制。人们
对
10
年前福
利改革中所涉及的时限问
题有争议，
但研究表明，
这些时限有助于激励受助人摆脱对福利
的
依赖。
和福利不同的是，
住房救济金
不是联邦所赋予的权利，
因此几年后对一个家庭停止供
给意味着
给另一个同样需要救济的家庭一个喘息的机会。
8
a
no
-<
/p>
brainer,
says
David
Smith,
an
afforda
ble
-
housing
advocate
in
Boston.
can't
sustain the internal contradiction of
no limits.
8
“这是显而
易见的事，
”大卫·史密斯——波士顿的一位廉价房的倡导者说，
“你不能让内
在矛盾无限地延续。
”
9 The root of the problem is the
striking mismatch between the demand for and the
supply of
affordable housing
—
or, more accurately,
affordable housing near jobs. Fifteen million
families
now spend at least half their
income on housing, according to Harvard's
Joint_CenterfOTHousing
Studies: many
skimp on health care, child care and food to do
so. Others reduce their rents by
overcrowding, which studies link to
higher crime rates, poorer academic performance
and poorer