2023年考研外語專家預(yù)測(cè)試卷10

考研外語專家預(yù)測(cè)試卷10

一、UseofEnglish

1、Thefirsttwostagesinthedevelopmentofcivilizedman

wereprobablytheinventionofprimitiveweaponsandthe

discoveryoffire,althoughnobodyknowsexactlywhenpeople

acquiredtheuseof(1).

The(2)oflanguageisalsoobscure.Nodoubtitbeganvery

gradually.Animalshaveafewcriesthatserve(3)signals,

(4)eventhehighestapeshavenotbeenfoundableto

pronouncewords(5)withthemostintensiveprofessional

instruction.Thesuperiorbrainofmanisapparently(6)_____

forthemasteringofspeech.Whenmanbecamesufficiently

intelligent,wemustsupposethathe(7)thenumberof

criesfordifferentpurposes.Itwasagreatclay(8)he

discoveredthatspeedcouldbeusedfornarrative.Thereare

thosewhothinkthat(9)picturelanguageprecededoral

language.Aman(10)apictureonthewal1ofhiscaveto

show(11)directionhehadgone,or(12)preyhehoped

tocatch.Probablypicturelanguageandorallanguagedeveloped

sidebyside.Iaminclinedtothinkthatlanguage(13)

themostimportantsinglefactorinthedevelopmentofman.

Twoimportantstagescamenot(14)beforethedawnof

writtenhistory.Thefirstwasthedomesticationofanimals;

thesecondwasagriculture.Agriculturewas(15)inhuman

progresstowhichsubsequentlytherewasnothingcomparable

(16)ourownmachineage.Agriculturemadepossible

(17)immenseincreaseinthenumberofthehumanspecies

intheregionswhereitcouldbesuccessfullypractised.

(18)were,atfirst,onlythoseinwhichnaturefertilized

thesoil(19)eachharvest.Agriculturemetwithviolent

resistancefromthepastoralnomads,buttheagriculturalway

oflifeprevailedintheend(20)thephysicalcomforts

itprovided.

A.thelatter

B.thelater

C.thesecond

D.thelatest

2、(2)

A.source

B.resource

C.invention

D.origin

3、(3)

A.like

B.with

C.as

D.by

4、⑷

A.and

B.but

C.moreover

D.for

5、⑸

A.evenif

B.even

C.eventhough

D.evenas

6、(6)

A.anecessity

B.necessities

C.necessarily

D.necessity

7、⑺

A.shouldgraduallyincrease

B.graduallyincrease

C.graduallyincreased

D.hasgraduallyincreased

8、(8)

A.that

B.atwhich

C.which

D.when

9、(9)

A.withtherespect

B.onthisrespect

C.inthisrespect

D.atthisrespect

10、(10)

A.coulddraw

B.shoulddraw

C.mustdraw

D.wasdrawing

IK(11)

A.atwhich

B.inwhich

C.onwhich

D.withwhich

12、(12)

A.ofwhich

B.that

C.which

D.what

13、(13)

A.is

B.was

C.hasbeen

D.isbeing

14、(14)

A.toolong

B.suchlong

C.aslong

D.sincelong

15、(15)

A.astage

B.awalk

C.adevelopment

D.away

16、(16)

A.until

B.with

C.for

D.to

17、(17)

A.the

B.an

C.that

D.a

18、(18)

A.Those

B.These

C.There

D.They

19、(19)

A.after

B.with

C.before

D.at

20、(20)

A.since

B.for

6

C.because

D.becauseof

二、ReadingComprehension

1>PartA

Directions:Readthefollowingfourtexts.Answerthequestions

beloweachtextbychoosingA,B,CorD.(40points)

WhyisEnglishsodifficult?Itisoftenthoughtthatthenumber

ofwordsintheEnglishlanguageisamajorreason,butthis

isnottherealanswer.Certainly,thereareoverhalfmillion

wordsintheOxfordEnglishDictionary,butonlyabout10,000

areingeneraleverydayuse.Amuchstrongerreasonistherich

varietyofsourcesfromwhichEnglishcomes—sourcesthatare

duetothedifferentpeoplewhohaveconqueredorsettledin

partsoftheBritishIslesoverthepast1,300years-andknowing

moreaboutthewayEnglishhasevolvedoverthisperiodmakes

itsdifficultieseasiertounderstand.

Whatdowemeanbyan“English"word?ManywordsareEnglish

inthesensethattheycanbetracedbacktothe

Anglo-Saxons-GermanictribeswhichsettledinEnglandfrom

aroundthefifthcenturyA.D.Theygaveusmanycommonwords

likebook,house,catanddog.EarlierstillweretheCeltic

peoplewhosespeechsurvivesinScottishandIrishGaelic,in

Welsh,andinthelocallanguagesoftwoextremitiesofthe

BritishIsles,ManxandCornish.ThereispracticallynoCeltic

influenceinEnglish.ThisisbecausetheCeltswereforcedback

intothefringesoftheBritishIslesbytheAnglo-Saxon

invaders,andtherewaslittleculturalinteraction.

ThenextimportantinfluenceonthemainvocabularyofEnglish

cameintheninthandtenthcenturieswhenmuchoftheeastside

ofEnglandwasinthehandsofDanishinvaders,andEnglandas

awholehadaDanishkingCnut(Canute)foratime.TheDanes

hadmuchmorecontactwiththeAnglo-SaxonsthandidtheCelts,

andtheirshortperiodofoccupationhasleftitsmarkinthe

numberofScandinavianwordstakenintoourlanguage.Manyof

thesearestillinuse,suchastakeandlaw,namesofparts

ofthebodysuchaslegandskull.ManymoreScandinavianwords

arepreservedinsomedialectsoftheeastsideofEngland,in

place-namesandinstreet-names.

ThelasttimethatEnglandwassuccessfullyinvadedwasin1052

whenWilliamofNormandydefeatedtheEnglishkingHaroldat

theBattleofHastings.ThearrivaloftheNormansbroughta

furtherdecisiveinfluenceonthelanguage—French.French,

togetherwithItalian,Spanish,PortugueseandRomanianis

knownasaRomancelanguage,andhasitsrootsinLatin.For

severalcenturies,Frenchwasthelanguageofthearistocracy

inEnglandandalargenumberofFrenchwordscameintothe

language.Manyofthesewordsaretodowithgovernment,like

justice,councilandtax,andmanyareabstracttermslike

liberty,charityandconflict.

Mostofthewordstakenintothelanguageovertheyearswere

adoptedeitherbecausetherewasabasicneedforthemandthey

wereusefulorbecausetheywerepreferablemsomewaytothe

wordsalreadyinuse.Oftentheoldworddisappearedaltogether.

Inmanycases,however,thenewwordandtheoldcontinuedin

usesidebysideonaroughlyequalfooting.Thishadproduced

pairsofwordswhicharebothinusetoday,likeshutandclose

orbuyandpurchase,inwhichthesecondwordofeachpairis

Frenchinorigin.

InthefirstyearsaftertheNormanConquestmanynewwordswere

usedonlybytherulingclassandprofessionalsassociatedwith

them,suchasscribesandclerks.Thelanguageofthecommon

peopleremainedlargelyunaffected.Itwasthespreadof

literacyandthedevelopmentofprintingthatbroughtthe

Frenchwordsintomoregeneraluse.Oftentheseweretechnical

words,orwordswithanofficialring,suchascommenceand

purchase.Theresultwasamixtureoftypesofwords.Formany

meaningswenowhaveachoiceofformalandinformalwords,the

formalonesoftenbeingusedonlyinveryspecificsituations.

WhyisEnglishdifficultaccordingtothetext?

A.Englishcomesfromagreatvarietyofsources.

B.ThereareoverhalfamillionwordsinEnglishvocabulary.

C.ThenumberofthewordsintheEnglishlanguageisthemain

reason.

D.ManyEnglishwordscanbetracedbacktotheAnglo-Saxons

tribes.

2、

WhichofthefollowingwordsisFrenchinorigin?

A.House.

B.Skull,

C.Law.

D.Tax.

3、

WhichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrueaccordingtothe

text?.

A.FrenchhasitsrootsinLatin.

B.ThereisnoCelticinfluenceinEnglish.

C.TheCeltshadmuchcontactwiththeAnglo-Saxon.

D.ManyScandinavianwordsweretakenintoEnglish.

WhyaremanyforeignwordsadoptedintotheEnglishlanguage?

A.Englandwasinvadedagainandagaininhistory.

B.TheEnglishlanguagehasaverylargevocabulary.

C.Thelanguageofthecommonpeopleremainedunchanged.

D.Theywerepreferabletothewordsalreadyinuse.

5、

WhathadbroughtFrenchwordsintomoregeneraluse?

A.Thesewordswereoftentechnicalwords.

B.Manycommonpeoplewereabletoreadandwrite.

C.Theformalwordsarenotonlyusedinspecificsituations.

D.ThearrivaloftheNormansexertedtheinfluenceonEnglish.

6、Itisimpossibletofindoutexactlyhowmanyvolunteers

areatworktodayintheUnitedStates.Thirty-sevenmillion

orsoareknowntobelongtoorganizationslikethePinkLadies,

Travelers,Aid,orBigBrothers;butthosewhoworkaloneor

insmallinformalgroupscannotbecounted.Thetotalnumber

ofmenandwomenwhogivetheirtimetohelpothersappearsto

bebetweenfiftyandsixty-eightmillion.

Volunteersstartcommunityprojectstoosmalltoattractthe

attentionoforganizedagencies,orworkatjobsforwhichno

fundsareavailable.Ahandfulofcityfolkwillturnanempty

lotintoaplaygroundforthechildrenoftheirneighborhood;

othersdecidetorepairandpaintafewdilapidatedhousesin

theirstreet.Somewhereelsewomencookanddelivertwohot

mealsadaytoelderlypeoplelivingalone,andtoosickortoo

tiredtopreparetheirownfood.Anothergroupcallslonelyold

peopleonceadaytochatalittleandfindoutiftheyareall

right.SomecollegestudentsteachEnglish,mathematics,or

drawingtotheinmatesofalocaljail.Youngmenandwomenspend

partoftheirweekendscollectingemptycansandbottlesfor

therecyclingcenteroftheircommunity,andsomechildrenpick

upthetrashleftonthebeachbythecrowdofasummerholiday.

Anywhereonelooks,thearmyofvolunteersishardatwork一not

OnlyintheUnitedStates,butalsoinmanyothercountries

wherevolunteerismisspreading.

Fifteenyearsago,thetypicalvolunteerwasamarriedwoman

betweentwenty-fiveandforty-five,whohadchildreninschool

andtimeonherhands.Shewasratherwelleducated,witha

high-schooloracollegedegree,andshedidn'tneedtoearn

asalary.Shewasthereforefreetodevotehertimeandtalents

tothosewhoseemedtoneedthem.Somewomenvolunteeredout

ofboredom,becausetheyneededtofindanoccupationoutside

theirhouse.Butthegreatmajoritywerepromptedonlybythe

desiretorelievesomedistress,tobeuseful.Therehavealways

beensuchwomenreadytogiveofthemselvesunselfishlyand

quietly.AtthebeginningoftheAmericanCivilWar,around1846,

aschoolteachernamedClaraBartonundertooktodeliverto

woundedsoldiersallsortsofsupplies-food,clothes,tobacco,

andevenmedicine—thattheycouldnotgeteasily.Shepaidfor

theseoutofherownmoneyatfirst,andlaterfromthefunds

thatshecouldcollectfromothergenerouspeople.Shealso

venturedonthebattlefields,duringorafterbattles,tohelp

thewoundedandthedying.Afterthewar,thegovernmentasked

hertohelpsearchformissingsoldiers.Shehelpedlaterin

otherwarsinEuropeandattractedanumberofwomenwilling

toshareherwork.Thegroupgrewandeventuallybecamethe

AmericanRedCross,whichnowcountsabout1,140,000volunteers,

withabudgetofeighty-twomilliondollars,allfromvoluntary

contributions.

Anotherpioneerofthesameperiod,DorotheaDix,foughtto

improvethelivingconditionsinthehospitalsforthementally

iii,whichwerenotwellrunatthetime.Hereffortsfinally

causedstategovernmentstotakefinancialresponsibilityfor

theseinstitutions.Manyorganizationshavebeenlaunchedby

adeterminedgroupofvolunteers,fromtheBoyScoutsandGirl

ScoutsofAmericatotheSierraClub,devotedtotheprotection

ofnature,andtotheGrayPanthers,whofightdiscrimination

againsttheelderlyandtrytokeepthemactive,happy,and

politicallyimportantbyencouragingthemtovote.

Accordingtothepassage,allthefollowingstatementsare

trueEXCEPT.

A.theexactnumberofvolunteersinAmericaisdifficultto

findout

B.therearethirty-sevenmillionvolunteersatworkinthe

UnitedStates

C.AmericanRedCrosscountsabout1,140,000volunteerswith

alargebudget

D.thetotalnumberofvolunteersinAmericarangesfromfifty

tosixty-eightmillion

7、

Themostprobablereasonforthepeopletobecomevolunteers

isthat.

A.theyvolunteeroutofboredom

B.theywanttobeusefulforothers

C.theycancollectmoneyfromthegenerous

D.theyfighttoimprovepeople(slivingconditions

Duringthewar,ClaraBartonappearedonbattlefieldsto

A.searchformissingsoldiers

B.attractmanyotherwomen

C.helpthewoundedandthedying

D.collectfundsfromthegenerous

9、

TheaimoftheBoyScoutsandGirlScoutsofAmericais.

A.toprotectthenature

B.toencourageoldpeople

C.tofightagainstdiscrimination

D.tohelpthementallyillpeople

10、

Thebesttitleforthepassagemaybe.

A.VolunteersintheUnitedStates

B.HowVolunteersWorkintheUnitedStates

C.TheGrowthofVolunteersintheUnitedStates

D.VolunteersfromtheBoyScoutsandGirlScouts

11、“Itshouldbepossibletomakeapreciousstonethatnot

onlylooksliketherealthing,butthatistherealthing",

saidachemistmanyyearsago."Theonlydifferenceshouldbe

thatonecrystalwouldbemadebyman,theotherbynature.”

Atfirstthisdidnotseemlikeaparticularlyhardtask.

Scientistsbegantotrymakingsyntheticdiamondstowardsthe

endoftheeighteenthcentury.Itwasatthistimethatakey

scientificfactwasdiscovered:diamondsareaform,ofcarbon,

whichisaverycommonelement.Graphite,theblackmineralthat

isusedfortheleadinyourpencil,ismadeofit,too.The

onlydifference,weknowtoday,isthatthecarbonatomshave

beenpackedtogetherinaslightlydifferentway.Thechemists

werefiredwithenthusiasm:Whynotchangeacheapandplentiful

substance,carbon,intoarareandexpensiveone,diamond?

Youhaveprobablyheardaboutthealchemistswhoforcenturies

triedtoturnplainleadorironintogold.Theyfailedbecause

goldiscompletelydifferentfromleadoriron.Transforming

carbonintodiamonds,however,isnotillogicalatall.This

changetakesplaceinnature,soitshouldbepossibletomake

ithappeninthelaboratory.

Itshouldbepossible,butforonehundredandfiftyyears

effortsfailed.Duringthisperiod,nonetheless,several

peoplebelievedthattheyhadsolvedthediamondriddle.One

ofthesewasaFrenchscientistwhoproducedcrystalsthat

seemedtobetherealthing.Aftertheman'sdeath,however,

acuriousrumourbegantogotherounds.Thestorytoldthat

oneofthescientist，sassistantshadsimplyputtinypieces

ofgenuinediamondsintothecarbonmixture.Hewasboredwith

thework,andhewantedtomaketheoldchemisthappy.

Thefirstrealsuccesscamemorethansixtyyearslaterinthe

laboratoriesoftheGeneralElectricCompany.Scientiststhere

hadbeenworkingforanumberofyearsonaprocessdesigned

toduplicatenature，swork.Farbelowtheearth;ssurface,

carbonissubjectedtoincrediblyheavypressureandextremely

hightemperature.Undertheseconditionsthecarbonturnsinto

diamonds.Foralongtimethelaboratoryattemptfailed,simply

becausenosuitablemachineryexisted.Whatwasneededwassome

sortofpressurechamberinwhichthecarboncouldbesubjected

tobetween800,000and1,800,000poundsofpressuretothe

squareinch,atatemperatureofbetween200°Fand2,200°F.

Buildingapressurechamberthatwouldnotbreakunderthese

conditionswasafantasticallydifficultfeat,buteventually

itwasdone.Thescientistseagerlysettoworkagain.Imagine

theirdisappointmentwhen,evenwiththisequipment,they

produceallsortsofcrystals,butnodiamonds.Theywondered

ifthefaultlayinthecarbontheywereusing,andsotheytried

anumberofdifficultforms.Theyfailedagainandagainbut

wentonworking.Theideawasthenbroughtforwardthatperhaps

thecarbonneededtobedissolvedinameltedmetal.Themetal

mightactasacatalyst,whichmeansthatithelpsachemical

reactiontotakeplacemoreeasily.

Thistimethecarbonwasmixedwithironbeforebeingplaced

inthepressurechamber.Thepressurewasbroughtupto

1,100,000poundstothesquareinchandthetemperatureto900°F.

Atlastthechamberwasopened.Anumberofshinycrystalslay

within.Thesecrystalsscratchedglass,andevendiamonds.

Lightwavespassedthroughtheminthesamewayastheydo

throughdiamonds.Carbondioxidewasgivenoffwhenthe

crystalswereburned.Theirdensitywasjust3.5gramspercubic

centimeter,asistrueofdiamonds.Thecrystalswereanalyzed

chemically.TheywerefinallystudiedunderX-rays,andthere

wasnolongerroomfordoubt.Thesejewelsofthelaboratory

werenotlikediamonds;theywerediamonds.Theyevenhadthe

sameatomicstructure.

ThemainideaofParagraph2isthat.

A.makingartificialdiamondsdidn'tseemverydifficultat

firstsight

B.scientistsbegantotrymakingsyntheticdiamondinthe

late1700s

C.scientistsdiscovereddiamondsareaform,ofcarbon,a

commonelement

D.thediscoveryofthediamonds，constituteimpelled

scientiststomakeasyntheticone

12、

Transformingcarbonintodiamondsinthelaboratoryis.

A.moreillogicalthanturningplainleadorironintogold

B.lesslogicalthanturningplainleadorironintogold

C.notsoillogicalasturningplainleadorironintogold

D.asillogicalasturningplainleadorironintogold

13、

WhichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrueaccordingtothe

text?

A.Buildingthespecialpressurechamberistoodifficultto

bedone.

B.Thedensityoftheartificialdiamondsisthesameasthe

trueones.

C.Carbonturnsintodiamondsunderveryheavypressureand

hightemperature.

D.Scientistshadbeenworkingformanyyearstoduplicate

naturaldiamonds.

14、

Inordertohelptoform,shinycrystalsofdiamondsthecarbon

needed.

A.toactasacatalyst

B.tobeindifferentforms

C.tohaveapressurechamber

D.tobedissolvedinameltedmetal

15、

Thesyntheticcrystalofdiamond

A.couldnotevencutglass

B.wasmadeatthetemperatureof900°F

C.gaveoffcarbondioxidewhenitwasunderX-rays

D.isnot1iketherealdiamondinatomicstructure

16、The150millionpeoplewholiveoutsidethecountryof

theirbirthmakeuplessthan2.5percentofworldpopulation,

buttheyhaveanimportancefarbeyondtheirnumbers.Some

internationalmigrantsarerefugeesorstudents,butthosewith

themostimpactareeconomicmigrants,drawntoplacessuchas

LosAngeles,wherethewagesmaybethreetimesgreaterthan

thoseinBombay.Thesemigrantstendtobeyoungandwilling

toworkforlowwages.Thoughtraditionallyunskilled,a

growingnumberarehighlyeducated.

Immigrationisnowthemajorcontributortodemographicchange

inmanydevelopedcountries.IntheU.S.,accordingtothe

latestU.S.CensusBureauprojection,thepopulationwillgrow

by129millionintheperiodfrom2000to2050,butif

immigrationstopsitwouldgoupbyjust54million.Western

Europe'spopulationis42percentgreaterthanthatoftheU.S.,

butitsprojectedimmigrationisonlyabouthalfthatofthe

U.S.;asaconsequence,theregionexpectedtolose28million

peopleoverthenext50years.Japan,whichhasclosetozero

netmigration,isprojectedtolose26millionby2050.(Deaths

willstartoutrunningbirthsinwestEuropeandJapanaround

themiddleofthisdecade.)

Duringfilepastsixyears,theU.S.received7percentofthe

world;sinternationalmigrants,comparedwith9percentby

Germany,thesecondmostpopulardestination.Onefourthofall

migrantstotheU.S.wenttoCalifornia;favoritecities,in

orderofthenumberofforeign-born,areLosAngeles,NewYork

City,SanFrancisco,MiamiandChicago.

Internationalmigrantsprimarilycomefromdeveloping

countries,withChinaat14percentandMexicoat8percent

beingthelargestsources.Afewdevelopingcountries,

Afghanistan,Bosnia,LiberiaandRwanda一havehadsignificant

influxesinrecentyears,butthesereflectmainlythemovement

ofrefugees.Mostdevelopingcountrieshadnegativenet

migration.

Inthepastfewyears,everyEuropeancountrywithconsiderable

immigrationhashadareactionagainstforeignworkers,

accordingtosocialscientistChristopherJencksofHarvard

University.SomeAsiancountrieshithardbyrecessioninthe

late1990striedtorepatriatemigrantworkers.Thusfarthe

U.S.showsnosignsofreinstitutingtheextremelyrestrictive

immigrationlawsofthepast,amajorreasonbeingthe

dependenceofmanyindustriesonasupplyofforeignlabor.

Indeed,theAFL-CIO,onceanopponentofhighimmigration

quotas,hasreversedpositionandisnowattemptingtoorganize

immigrant.Thischangeinattitude,amongotherreasons,leads

Jenckstoconcludethatasubstantialreversalofthecurrent

liberalpoliciesisunlikely.

WhichofthefollowingstatementsdoesNOTexactlydescribe

theeconomicmigrants?

A.Theytendtobeyoung,

B.Manyofthemarehighlyeducated.

C.Theyarewillingtoworkforlowwages.

D.Theyconstitute2.5%oftheworldpopulation.

17、

Accordingtothepassage,theU.S.immigrantsintheperiod

from2000to2050willprobablyincrease

A.129million

B.54million

C.75million

D.28million

18、

Accordingtothepassage,mostdevelopingcountries

A.receivemigrants

B.accommodaterefugees

C.havemoreimmigrantsthanemigrants

D.havemoreemigrantsthanimmigrants

19、

WhatdidsomeAsiancountriesdointhelate1990s?

A.Theytriedtoattractmoremigrantworkers.

B.Theywantedtodependmoreonforeignworkers.

C.Theymanagedtoorganizeimmigrants.

D.Theyattemptedtosendbackforeignworkers.

20、

TheAFL-CIOlikestoorganizeimmigrantsnowbecause

A.itisanopponentofhighimmigrantquotas

B.itdependsonforeignlaborfordevelopment

C.ithasareactionagainstforeignworkers

D.itshowsnosignofreinstitutingimmigrationlaws

21、PartB(10points)

Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder.For

Questions41-45,youarerequiredtoreorganizethese

paragraphsintoacoherentarticlebychoosingfromthelist

A-G.Someoftheparagraphshavebeenplacedforyou.(10points)

A.”Itisalwaysbettertobuyahouse;payingrentislike

pouringmoneydownthedrain."Foryears,suchadvicehas

encouragedpeopletoborrowheavilytogetontheproperty

ladderassoonaspossible.Butisitstillsoundadvice?House

pricesarecurrentlyatrecordlevelsinrelationtorentsin

manypartsoftheworldanditnowoftenmakesmorefinancial

sense—especiallyforfirst-timebuyers—torentinstead.

B.”IfIdon'tbuynow,I'11nevergetonthepropertyladder”

isacommoncryfromfirst-timebuyers.Ifhousepricescontinue

tooutpacewages,thatistrue.Butitnowlooksunlikely.When

pricesgetoutoflinewithwhatfirst-timerscanafford,as

theyaretoday,theyalwayseventuallyfallinrealterms.The

myththatbuyingisalwaysbetterthanrentinggrewoutofthe

highinflationeraofthe1970sand1950s.First-timebuyers

thenalwaysendedupbetteroffthanrenters,becauseinflation

erodedtherealvalueofmortgagesevenwhileitpusheduprents.

Mortgage-interesttaxreliefwasalsoworthmorewheninflation,

andhencenominalinterestrates,washigh.Withinflationnow

tamed,homeownershipisfarlessattractive.

C.Homebuyerstendtounderestimatetheircosts.Once

maintenancecosts,insuranceandpropertytaxesareaddedto

mortgagepayments,totalannualoutgoingsnoweasilyexceedthe

costofrentinganequivalentproperty,evenaftertaking

accountoftaxbreaks.Ah,butcapitalgainswillmorethanmake

upforthat,itispopularlyargued.Overthepastsevenyears,

averagehousepricesinAmericahaverisenby65%,thosein

Britain,Spain,AustraliaandIrelandhavemorethandoubled.

Butitisunrealistictoexpectsuchgainstocontinue.Making

the(optimistic)assumptionthathousepricesinsteadrisein

1inewithinf