Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
The United States is facing a housing crisis: Affordable housing is inadequate, while luxury homes abound(充裕), and homelessness remains a persistent problem. Despite this, popular culture and the housing industry market happiness as living with both more space and more amenities(便利设施). Big houses are advertized as a reward for hard work and diligence, turning housing from a basic necessity into a luxury.
This is reflected in our homes. The average single-family home built in the United States before 1970 was less than 1,500 square feet in size. By 2016, the average size of a new, single-family home was 2,422 square feet. What's more, homes built in the 2000s were more likely than earlier models to have more of all types of spaces, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, recreation rooms and garages.
There are consequences of living big. As middle-class houses have grown larger, two things have happened. First, large houses take time to maintain, so cleaners and other low-wage service workers are required to keep these houses in order. Second, once-public spaces, where people from diverse backgrounds used to come together, have increasingly become privatized, leading to a reduction in the number of public facilities available to all, and a reduced quality of life for many. Take swimming pools. While in 1950, only 2,500U.S. families owned pools, by 1999 this number was 4 million. At the same time, public municipal pools were often closed, leaving low-income people nowhere to swim.
The trend for bigger housing thus poses ethical questions. Should Americans accept a system in which the middle and upper classes enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, using the low-wage labor of others? Are we willing to accept a system in which an increase in amenities purchased by the affluent means a reduction in amenities for the poor?
I believe neither is acceptable. We must change the way we think: living well does not need to mean having more private spaces; instead, it could mean having more public spaces. A better goal than building bigger houses for some is to create more publicly accessible spaces and amenities for all.
46. What are big houses promoted to be in the United States?
A) A luxury for the homeless.
B) A reward for industriousness.
C) An abundant source of comforts.
D) An absolute necessity for happiness.
47. What is one of the consequences of living big?
A) Many Americans’ quality of life has become lower.
B) People from diverse backgrounds no longer socialize.
C) People no longer have access to public swimming pools.
D) Many Americans’ private life has been negatively affected.
48. What questions arise from living big?
A) Questions related to moral principles.
B) Questions having to do with labor cost.
C) Questions about what lifestyle to promote.
D) Questions concerning housing development.
49. What kind of social system does the author think is unacceptable?
A) One in which the wealthy exploit the low-wage laborers building their houses.
B) One in which the rich purchase amenities at an increasingly unjustifiable price.
C) One in which the upper classes deprive the lower classes of affordable housing.
D) One in which the affluent enjoy a more comfortable life at the expense of the poor.
50. What does the author advocate for people to live well?
A) Finding ways to turn private spaces into public ones.
B) Building more houses affordable to those less affluent.
C) More public spaces created for everyone to enjoy.
D) All amenities made accessible to the rich and the poor alike.