Homeownership has let us down. For generations, Americans believed that owning a home was an axiomatic good. Our political leaders hammered home the point. Herbert Hoover argued that homeownership could "change the very physical, mental and moral fiber of one's own children." Franklin Roosevelt held that a country of homeowners was "unconquerable." Homeownership could even, in the words of George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Jack Kemp, "save babies, save children, save families and save America." A house with a front lawn and a picket fence wasn't just a nice place to live or a risk-free investment; it was a way to transform a nation.
Houses owned by the people who lived in them, we believed, created social and financial stability — more-involved citizens, safer neighborhoods, kids who did better in school. No wonder leaders of all political stripes wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.
The dark side of homeownership is now all too apparent: foreclosures and walkaways, neighborhoods plagued by abandoned properties and plummeting home values, a nation in which families have $6 trillion less in housing wealth than they did just three years ago. Indeed, easy lending stimulated by the cult of homeownership may have triggered the financial crisis and led directly to its biggest bailout, that of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in July dropped 27% from the prior month, exacerbating fears of a double-dip
And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still
汉译英是骆驼祥子选段。
汉语百科知识与写作
25个选择题
1，四大名亭哪个是毛主席题字的。
2，徐志摩胡适属于哪一文学流派。
3，沉鱼指四大美女中的哪位。
4，古时盛酒的青铜器是什么。(选项有尊，爵，我貌似选错了)
5，南瓜灯又叫什么。
6, 7月4日是什么美国的什么节日。
7，罗密欧与朱丽叶是哪国人。
8，自由女神像在哪个州。
9，属于英国的是那座宫殿(选项有卢浮宫，克里姆林宫，白金汉宫)
10，属于17世纪英国玄学派的作家是哪位(选项有米尔顿，拜伦，济慈，约翰**，记不太清了)
11, 2011年气候变化会议在哪个国家召开。
应用文：现代社会要懂得推销自己。假设你是一名刚毕业的大学生，根据自己的情况写一封求职简历。(不得泄露真实信息，具体人名地名用叉叉叉代替)
大作文：以色列人种庄稼，收割时总会在靠近路旁的庄稼地的四个角留下一部分，感恩上帝，帮助他人，自己也从中获得欢乐和幸福。如果把生命比作一块土地，那么我们每一个人身上都应该留出一些“庄稼”。以“幸福的加法”为题写一篇议论文，不少于八百字。