① When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned.
② Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure projects, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.
③ Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.
④ The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.
⑤ There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that. The communities minister, Don Foster, has hinted that George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt. Evidence shows that 60,000 extra new homes could be built over the next five years if the cap were lifted, increasing GDP by 0.6%.
⑥ Ministers should also look at creating greater certainty in the rental environment, which would have a significant impact on the ability of registered providers to fund new developments from revenues.
⑦ But it is not just down to the government. While these measures would be welcome in the short term, we must face up to the fact that the existing £ 4.5bn programme of grants to fund new affordable housing, set to expire in 2015, is unlikely to be extended beyond then. The Labour party has recently announced that it will retain a large part of the coalition’s spending plans if it returns to power. The housing sector needs to accept that we are very unlikely to ever return to the era of large-scale public grants. We need to adjust to this changing climate.
⑧ While the government’s commitment to long-term funding may have changed, the very pressing need for more affordable housing is real and is not going away.
1.1.The author believes that the housing sector ________.
A has attracted much attention
B involves certain political factors
C shoulders too much responsibility
D has lost its real value in economy
解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据题干关键词 the housing sector可直接定位至文章第二段，该段末句明确指出“也许最重要的原因是这个问题一直以来都受到政治因素的制约”，该句中 the issue实际指代的是上文所述“住房(规模)问题难以获得政府关注”，由此可推断，房地产行业涉及一些政治因素，[B]项正确。
2.2.It can be learned that affordable housing has ________.
A increased its home supply
B offered spending opportunities
C suffered government biases
D disappointed the government
解析：选C。
C推理判断题。根据题干关键词 affordable housing可直接定位至文中第三、四段。第三段指出可支付住房供不应求；第四段②句指出政府应该将历史偏见搁置一边以解决住房需求问题，由此可侧面推知，可支付住房曾经遭受过政府的偏见，[C]最贴近文意。
3.3.According to Paragraph 5, George Osborne may ________.
A allow greater government debt for housing
B stop local authorities from building homes
C prepare to reduce housing stock debt
D release a lifted GDP growth forecast
解析：选A。
A细节理解题。根据题干关键词Paragraph 5, George Osborne可直接定位至第五段②句,该句提到乔治·奥斯本可能会灵活放宽现在地方政府住房存量债务的借贷金额上限，让地方政府有更高的建房贷款限额，换句话说，地方政府可以借更多的钱以进行住房建设，[A]项正确。
4.4.It can be inferred that a stable rental environment would ________.
A lower the costs of registered providers
B lessen the impact of government interference
C contribute to funding new developments
D relieve the ministers of responsibilities
解析：选C。
C推理判断题。根据题干关键词 a stable rental environment 可直接定位至第六段。该段指出,稳定的租赁环境将对注册供应者借助营业收入来资助新建住房的能力有重大影响，换言之，稳定的租赁环境有助于增加新建住房项目的投资力度。[C]正确。
5.5.The author believes that after 2015, the government may ________ .
A implement more policies to support housing
B review the need for large-scale public grants
C renew the affordable housing grants programme
D stop generous funding to the housing sector
解析：选C。
C推理判断题。根据题干关键词after 2015, the government may可定位至第七段。段中②句指出目前的45亿英镑大规模拨款计划于2015年到期后将不再延期；④句也明确指出我们不可能回到政府提供大规模住房拨款的年代，由此可推知，2015年后政府无欲给房地产提供慷慨资助，[D]正确，与此同时排除[C]。
