Part B   Rate Jump: A Rude Awakeningfor Home Buyers

 

Vocabulary Preparation:

 

rude awakening a situation in which you suddenly realize something unpleasant 猛然的醒悟；猛然意识到大事不妙

go off to make a noise 拉响（警报）

mortgage n. a legalarrangement by which you borrow money from a bank or similar organization inorder to buy a house, and pay back the money over a period of years 抵押

make an offer to offer a particular amount of money for something出价

condo  n. of thedwelling units in a condominium 分户出售公寓大厦；公寓

literally adv. in aliteral sense照字面意义地；逐字地

overnight / 5EJvE5naIt/ adv. happening in ashort time or with great speed 突然；一夜之间

take aback to surprise greatly 使吃惊；使吓一跳

median-priced of average price中等价格

slumping  adj. fallingheavily or suddenly; declining markedly 暴跌的；低迷的

significant  adj. fairly large in amount or quantity 相当数量的；相当大的

in alllikelihood with considerable certainty; withoutmuch doubt 很可能；多半

severe  adj. strict and extreme 极为严格的；严苛的

spike  n. a sudden large increase in the numberor rate of something 剧增；骤升

delinquent  adj. pastdue; not paid at the scheduled time 逾期未付的；拖欠债务的

 

Notes:

 

Minneapolis / 7mInI5ApElIs / is the largest city in the U.S. state ofMinnesota. It was a leading lumbering center in the 19th century and today is aport of entry and major industrial hub. 明尼阿波利斯市（美国明尼苏达州最大城市）

Mark Zandi is an economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com, a widely-cited source of economic analysis. 马克·赞迪（美国经济学家）

Dallas/ 5dAlEs / is the third largest city in the stateof Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. 达拉斯（美国得克萨斯州东北部城市）

A fixed rate mortgage (FRM) is a mortgage loan where the interestrate on the note remains the same through the term of the loan, as opposed toloans where the interest rate may adjust or "float." 固定利率抵押贷款

Sub-prime loan is a type of loan thatis offered at a rate above prime to individuals who do not qualify for primerate loans. Quite often, sub-prime borrowers are often turned away fromtraditional lenders due their low credit ratings or other factors that suggestthat they have a reasonable chance of defaulting on the debt repayment. 次级房贷

EMC MortgageCompany is an entirely owned subordinate company ofThe Bear Stearns Companies Inc. It broadly deals with mortgage banking and hasits headquarter located at Lewisville, Texas. EMC公司（美国贝尔斯登的子公司）

 

Exercise:Listen to the news report and choose the best answer to the followingquestions.

 

1．What has struck the house buyers a heavy blow?

A. Inflation rate is much higher than last year.

B. Interest rate dropped overnight this week.

C. Houses are more expensive with the rise in consumer priceindex.

D. There is a sudden increase in mortgage rates.

 

2.    What can we learn from Steve Miller’s story?

       A. Consumers are not prepared for the change in mortgage.

       B. Many house buyers are not able to afford the house anymore.

C. Consumers will stop buying houses.

       D. House prices will fall.

 

3.    What happened to the 30-year fixed-ratemortgages?

A.    They increasedby one percent last week.

B.   They rose sixpoints in the past five weeks.

C.   They jumped downmore than half a point this week.

D.   They went up toabout 6.75 this week.

 

4．  What doesthe spike in mortgage rates mean to the market, according to economist MarkZandi?

A.   There will befewer house buyers in the coming years.

B.   House prices willfall in some big cities in the country.

C.   It will take alonger time for the economy to recover.

D.   House prices willstop declining by the end of next year.

 

5.    Which of the following is the reason thatled to the spike in rates?

A.   Higher interestrates overseas.

B.   The sub-primeloans.

C.   The high consumerprices.

D.   The highinflation rate.