美语情景对话 第460期:Owning vs. Renting 租房还是买房

Todd: So, Akane, I was talking with my friend and he's just recently married and he was wondering should he rent a home or own a home. That's a tough call. What do you think?

托德：茜，我之前和我朋友聊天，他刚刚结婚，他在考虑是应该租房子住还是买个房子。这真是个棘手的问题。你怎么看？

Akane: It is a tough call but I personally prefer to rent.

茜：这的确是艰难的决定，不过我个人倾向于租房子住。

Todd: Really? So why would you rather rent?

托德：是吗？为什么你更喜欢租房子住？

Akane: Well, because there's just no extra costs. You don't have to pay for extra things like maintenance and just keeping up your home. When something gets broken you don't have to pay to get it fixed. Property tax is already included, things like that.

茜：因为这么做不会产生额外的花费。你不用支付用来维护房屋的维修费之类的额外费用。如果有东西坏了，你也不用花钱去修理。房租中已经包含了物业税之类的费用。

Todd: Yeah but if you own a home I mean first of all I think the biggest reason is you're not throwing money away, it's a solid investment. You can actually make a profit on the home later on.

托德：没错，不过如果你拥有自己的住房，我想最重要的理由是你没有浪费钱，那是稳健的投资。实际上以后你还可以用这个房子盈利。

Akane: That's True but with this day and age you really never know when you're going to lose your job or if you're going to have to move for job reasons and for that reason I think that if you're stuck with a mortgage and you lose your job then you won't be able to pay it and what if you can't sell it?

茜：这倒是不错，不过在当今这个时代你并不知道你什么时候会丢掉工作，也许你因为工作原因要搬家，鉴于此我认为，如果你房贷缠身可是你又失业了，那你就没法再支付贷款了，如果你不能卖掉房子，那要怎么办？

Todd: That's a good point actually but you could always rent the house out, right, so… One common thing that rich people all have is that they own property and they own real estate. So you could just rent it to someone else.

托德：这话很有道理，实际上你可以把房子租出去，所以……有钱人的共同点就是他们既有财产又有房产。所以你可以把房子租给别人。

Akane: Well that's a good idea but still I think that's a lot of work for somebody as busy as me and I'm not a rich person.

茜：这是个好主意，不过我仍然认为这对于像我这样忙碌的人来说工作量太大，而且我也不是有钱人。

Todd: That's how you get rich!

托德：这可是你成为有钱人的方法！

Akane: Right! Well, I don't think I could be bothered with the hassle of renting to somebody and first you have to find someone to rent it and then you have to make sure that they pay the rent and then you have to make sure that things are fixed. It's too much of a headache for me.

茜：是没错！不过我想我不喜欢被租房的这种麻烦事打扰，首先你要找到一个合租人，然后你要确保那个人会支付房租，而且还要确保解决各种问题。这对我来说就是会让我头疼的事。

Todd: That's a good point. You know, actually I think the main reason why I would ever want to own a home is because you could have a dog.

托德：有道理。你知道，实际上我认为我想拥有自己住房的主要原因是因为可以养狗。

Akane: Oh that's a great reason; I love dogs.

茜：这理由不错；我喜欢小狗。

Todd: When you rent a house often they won't allow you to have a pet.

托德：你租房的话他们是不允许是你养宠物的。

Akane: That's true. Well you can have a cat or fish and maybe a hamster.

茜：没错。不过你可以养猫、鱼或者是仓鼠。

Todd: True, but if you're a dog lover its not the same thing.

托德：没错，不过如果你是爱狗人士，那情况就不同了。

Akane: I guess so.

茜：我想也是。

译文属仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载

重点讲解：
1. throw away
错过，浪费（机会、优势或好处）；
eg. It would be a thousand pities to throw away such a chance of fun.
白白放过这个有趣的机会，那真是太可惜了。
eg. Since thou are not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.
把握不了一分钟，就会浪费一小时。
2. this day and age
如今；在当代；在今天这个时代；
eg. Even in this day and age the old attitudes persist.
即使在今天这个时代，这些陈旧的观念依然存在。
eg. His earnest character is very refreshing in this day and age.
他那认真的性格在当今这个年代使人耳目一新。
3. be stuck with
无法摆脱的；甩不掉的；
eg. Many people are now stuck with expensive fixed-rate mortgages.
许多人目前都有高额的定息按揭缠身。
eg. I know you think I'm stupid, but we're stuck with each other, aren't we?
我知道你认为我愚蠢，但我们俩谁都摆脱不了谁，不是吗？
4. what if
（用于疑问句句首，尤用于询问不希望看到的事发生时的结果）如果…怎么办；
eg. What if he doesn't agree?
如果他不同意该怎么办呢？
eg. What if he got a guilty conscience and brought it back?
要是他觉得内疚，把东西拿回来了怎么办？
5. rent out
出租；租给；
eg. He rented out his house while he worked abroad.
他在国外工作期间把自己的房子租了出去。
eg. He repaired the boat, and rented it out for $150.
他修好了那条船，然后把它以150美元的价格租了出去。