BBC Learning English 15 Minute Programmes 15 分 钟 节 目 About this script Please note that this is not a word for word transcript of the programme as broadcast. In the recording and editing process, changes may have been made which may not be reflected here. 关 于 台 词 的 备 注 : 请 注 意 这 不 是 广 播 节 目 的 逐 字 稿 件 本 文 稿 可 能 没 有 体 现 录 制 编 辑 过 程 中 对 节 目 做 出 的 改 变 First-time Buyers 首 次 买 房 的 人 Hello and welcome to BBC Learning English. I'm Feifei. 大 家 好, 我 是 Oliver. 欢 迎 收 听 BBC 英 语 教 学 节 目 In today's programme, we are going to look at first-time buyers in the UK. 初 次 购 买 人? 菲 菲 这 是 什 么 意 思 呀? 他 们 都 是 些 什 么 样 的 人 呢? A first-time buyer is someone who is buying a property for the first time. 哦, 原 来 是 这 样 初 次 购 买 人 在 这 儿 指 的 是 那 些 第 一 次 进 入 市 场 购 买 房 产 的 人 Property 财 产, 不 动 产 在 今 天 的 节 目 里, 我 们 就 要 和 大 家 聊 一 聊 这 些 初 次 购 房 者 Yes, nowadays more and more young people are choosing to buy a place whereas before they tended to rent. Getting onto the property ladder is a very popular thing to do. What's the property ladder? Well, in Britain, when you buy a property for the first time, it is usually a small flat, simply because you can't afford a bigger place. As you get older and have better jobs and higher pay, and perhaps have a family, then you buy a bigger house and sell your small one; you can keep doing this till you retire, it's like climbing up a ladder. 嗯, 这 个 说 法 非 常 形 象 在 英 国, 人 们 很 难 负 担 得 起 大 房 子 昂 贵 得 房 价, 所 以 第 一 次 买 的 房 子 通 常 都 是 一 些 小 型 的 公 寓 房 随 着 年 龄 得 增 长, 找 到 理 想 的 工 作 特 别 是 随 着 收 入 的 提 高, 组 建 了 家 庭 以 后, 人 们 通 常 都 会 卖 掉 原 来 的 小 公 寓 房, 转 而 购 买 更 大 一 些 的 住 宅 如 果 你 愿 意 的 话, 你 可 以 一 直 这 样 从 小 到 大 的 换 下 去, 直 到 退 休 为 止 而 这 个 过 程 就 像 是 在 爬 梯 子 Yes indeed. If houses are too expensive to buy, then how do people do this? Kate Hamilton has been renting for twelve years and she wants to take the plunge to buy. I think that I might have to borrow to my absolute maximum, which might make it extremely difficult each month to meet the bills. It might mean that I have to
take on extra work and it also might mean that I have to take a longer mortgage than 25 years. Kate says she might have to borrow to her absolute maximum, which might make it extremely difficult for her to meet the bills. Absolute maximum 绝 对 最 大 值 Extremely difficult 相 当 的 困 难 To meet the bills here means to pay the bills. She might even need to take on extra work and take a longer mortgage than twenty-five years. Extra work 是 指 额 外 的 工 作 ; mortgage 是 抵 押 贷 款 为 此 Kate 不 仅 要 做 一 些 额 外 的 工 作, 而 且 还 得 把 还 贷 期 限 延 长 到 二 十 五 年 以 上 在 这 里 我 们 要 告 诉 大 家 的 是 在 英 国, 人 们 最 普 遍 的 还 贷 时 间 就 是 二 十 五 年 Kate is not the only one who's willing to take on extra work and have a longer mortgage. Here is Simon from BBC News. According to today's research, first time buyers feel like it s now or never. Around 60% of them would consider borrowing five times their salary. Four out of five are willing to take on extra long term mortgages and nearly 40% would sign up for riskier interest-only mortgages which rely on homes increasing in value to pay back the loan. First-time buyers feel like it's now or never. Now or never. 就 是 机 会 难 得, 时 不 再 来 的 意 思 About 60% of first-time buyers would consider borrowing five times their salary. Four out of five are willing to take on extra long term mortgages and nearly 40% would sign up for riskier interest-only mortgages. Salary 收 入, 工 资 这 里 指 的 是 年 薪 差 不 多 60% 的 初 次 购 房 者 将 考 虑 借 自 己 年 薪 五 倍 左 右 的 钱 而 五 分 之 四 的 人 愿 意 延 长 还 贷 期 限 更 有 将 近 四 成 的 人 选 择 风 险 更 高 的 仅 付 利 息 的 贷 款 方 式 Interest-only mortgage 是 一 种 房 产 抵 押 贷 款 的 方 式, 是 指 在 贷 款 初 期 仅 归 还 贷 款 利 息 而 不 归 还 贷 款 本 金 It seems that these people are prepared to take a lot of risks when buying a house. But our financial adviser suggests they should save more money first. Let's look at a few words: interest 利 息 Boiler. 锅 炉 Furniture 家 具
Utility bills. 日 常 家 庭 开 支 主 要 只 水 电 等 方 面 的 开 支 They haven't thought about what happens if interest rates do rise, what happens if the boiler does decide to blow up have they got enough money to buy furniture, have they got enough money to pay their utility bills? We've seen energy prices increase quite a lot recently. You're listening to BBC Learning English, today we are talking about first-time buyers in the UK. Some first-time buyers are very lucky to get help from their parents. Jo Hanks has been looking for a place, but without success. It's frustrating and I think it makes me quite angry that I can't afford to buy a decent property in a decent area for a decent price. I think that should be open to everybody who's buying or who wants to buy. Jo finds it very frustrating and she is angry that she can't afford to buy a decent property in a decent area for a decent price. Frustrating 郁 闷 ; decent 像 样 的 Jo 觉 得 找 房 子 让 她 非 常 郁 闷 因 为 她 不 能 在 一 个 她 喜 欢 的 理 想 的 地 区, 用 她 认 为 合 理 的 价 格 找 到 一 所 像 样 的 房 子 她 认 为 这 应 该 象 所 有 正 在 买 房 或 想 要 买 房 的 人 开 放 But luckily, Jo's mum has offered to help. I proposed it, and although she's rather reticent about it, it doesn't make any difference it's something I want to do. And if I was in the same situation I'd like to think that somebody would help me in the same way. 和 很 多 人 相 比,Jo 应 该 算 是 幸 运 的 了 因 为 她 妈 妈 打 算 帮 助 她 Propose 计 划 打 算 Jo is rather reticent about the offer. Reticent. 沉 默 寡 言, 在 这 里 的 意 思 是 有 意 回 避, 避 而 不 谈 reticent. There are a lot of first-time buyers who get help from their parents. BBC reporter Richard Scott tells us more. Today's report from Bradford & Bingley says more than 40% of the first- time buyers now get help from their parents. A quarter of those parents raid their savings, whilst 3% re-mortgage their home.
According to the Bradford and Bingley report, more than 40% of the first-time buyers now get help from their parents. 大 约 有 40% 的 初 次 购 房 者 从 父 母 那 里 得 到 帮 助, 而 在 这 些 提 供 帮 助 的 父 母 里 面 又 有 四 分 之 一 的 是 倾 其 所 有 地 帮 助 子 女 同 时 还 有 3% 的 父 母 是 通 过 把 自 己 地 住 房 重 新 抵 押 的 方 式 获 得 资 金 用 来 支 持 子 女 This housing expert does not think this is a good way of broadening home ownership. That means that those who have, continue to have, it doesn't help in broadening home ownership to all potential first time buyers. It's not a good idea that you can only become a first-time buyer because you have a rich parent. To broaden home ownership. 在 这 里 的 意 思 就 是 扩 大 有 房 一 族 的 数 量 It is certainly not fair for those first-time buyers who do not have rich parents. Absolutely, so what can they do now? Well Oliver, where there is a will, there is a way. First-time buyers now have mortgage buddies to share the huge cost. Mortgage buddies? 房 贷 伙 伴 儿, 这 可 是 我 第 一 次 听 到 这 个 词 儿 Let's listen to Natalie and Harry, two first-time buyers who became mortgage buddies. Well, I've been looking to get onto the property ladder for a while and I can't afford to do it on my own. So I've been looking at the internet and I met this young girl here and we're just looking at doing it ourselves. Yeah, it was quite nerve-wracking but we met up and got on really well. You know, he's a guy he can take out the bin and do all the manly stuff and he does painting and decorating so he can fix up the house, so it's worked out really well. So Harry has been looking to get onto the property ladder, but he can't afford to do it on his own, so he met this young lady and together they can buy a place. But Feifei, could you tell me how exactly does it work? Co-buying involves up to four people splitting the cost of a mortgage. Just like renting, each person is responsible for their own share.
联 合 购 房 最 多 可 以 有 四 个 人 共 同 分 担 房 贷 就 像 一 起 合 租 一 样, 个 人 负 担 相 应 的 部 分 不 过 这 只 是 两 者 之 间 的 相 似 部 分 So, unlike renting, everyone is actually investing in the property. But does it really work? For us, besides making two great friends out of the process, our daily life means that one, I've got more disposable income I'm paying less money now than I did when I rented. All the costs are split each way and between the 3 of us we're in a position that we can use this as a stepping stone to go our separate ways if we decide to, or alternatively rent the place out and become budding co-buying investors. Disposable income means the amount of money left every month after you've paid your mortgage and bills. 可 随 意 支 配 的 收 入 指 的 是 你 每 个 月 收 入 里 面 扣 除 必 要 的 贷 款 帐 单 和 生 活 开 支 后 剩 下 的 部 分 In their case, all the costs are split among the three of them. They are using this as a stepping stone to move up the property ladder. 三 个 人 平 均 分 担 所 有 的 开 支 在 他 们 看 来 这 更 像 是 一 个 帮 助 他 们 爬 上 购 房 梯 子 的 一 块 垫 脚 石 They can also rent the place out and make money that way. That doesn't sound like a bad idea. No, it isn't. But do be aware that there'll be risks. Here are some useful words and phrases that might help you when listen to the following clip. Obligation. 债 务 obligation. Liability. 责 任 Debt. 债 务 Credit history and credit rating. 信 用 记 录 和 信 用 等 级 Psychopath. 精 神 病 患 者 psychopath. Let's listen. I think the first major risk is obvious it's about borrowing money with somebody
that you don't know. Because if that person fails to meet their obligation on the share of the money, it's still your liability for the entire debt. Second, is that you may never know what the credit history is of the person that you're living with. And if you share accommodation with somebody who s got bad credit history, it could affect your own future credit rating. And I guess the final risk is the social risk are you living with psychopath that you don't yet know? Fefei: There's always going to be a risk no matter which way you choose. 没 错 儿, 总 的 说 吧, 如 果 你 是 初 次 购 房 者, 在 行 动 之 前 你 一 定 要 三 思 而 后 行! Well Oliver, I think I better go and get onto the property ladder, it's now or never! Good luck Feifei! Thank you Oliver! If you want to know more about British life, you can log onto our website www.bbcchina.com.cn. 谢 谢 收 听, 也 别 忘 了 登 陆 我 们 的 网 站 收 听 更 多 的 英 国 生 活 节 目 See you next time! Bye.