The very loans that are supposed to help seniors stay in their homes are in many cases pushing them out.

Reverse mortgages, which allow homeowners 62 and older to borrow money against the value of their homes and not pay it back until they move out or die, have long been fraught with problems. But federal and state regulators are documenting new instances of abuse as smaller mortgage brokers, including former subprime lenders, flood the market after the recent exit of big banks and as defaults on the loans hit record rates.

Some lenders are aggressively pitching loans to seniors who cannot afford the fees associated with them, not to mention the property taxes and maintenance. Others are wooing seniors with promises that the loans are free money that can be used to finance long-coveted cruises, without clearly explaining the risks. Some widows are facing eviction after they say they were pressured to keep their name off the deed without being told that they could be left facing foreclosure after their husbands died.

Now, as the vast baby boomer generation heads for retirement and more seniors grapple with dwindling savings, the newly minted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on new rules that could mean better disclosure for consumers and stricter supervision of lenders. More than 775,000 of such loans are outstanding, according to the federal government.

Concerns about the multibillion-dollar reverse mortgage market echo those raised in the lead-up to the financial crisis when consumers were marketed loans——often carrying hidden risks——that they could not afford.

“There are many of the same red flags, including explosive growth and the fact that these loans are often peddled aggressively without regard to suitability,”said Lori Swanson, the Minnesota attorney general, who is working on reforming the reverse mortgage market.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1题模仿2011年真题（二）Text 1第2题；第2题模仿2009年真题Text 2第4题；第3、4题模仿2010年真题Text 2第3、2题；第5题模仿2011年真题（二）Text 3第5题。

1. What can we learn about mortgage loans from the first two paragraphs?

A) The loans help seniors stay in their homes.

B) The loans are actually expelling seniors.

C) The reverse mortgage only welcomes seniors 62 and older.

D) Seniors can apply for reverse mortgage freely.

2. The problem of reverse mortgage refers to______.

A) some lenders are pleased to lend money to seniors

B) the borrowers cannot pay back the money as expected

C) federal and state regulators are documenting new instances of abuse

D) former subprime lenders go bankrupt

3. The word “foreclosure”(Line 5, Paragraph 3) most probably implies______.

A) the widows were pressured to lose their names

B) the seniors couldn't enjoy their cruises finally

C) the widows may be evicted from their houses

D) the widows had misunderstood the reverse mortgage

4. Which of the following is true about the new rules from CFPB?

A) The rules are good for lenders while adverse to borrowers.

B) The baby boomer phenomenon helps seniors to save money.

C) Consumers can better understand reverse mortgage.

D) The rules will be stricter for consumers.

5. The “red flags”of reverse mortgage don't include______.

A) explosive growth

B) never considering suitability

C) leading to financial crisis

D) the reform of reverse mortgage market





篇章剖析


本文主要讲述了反向抵押贷款带来的消极影响。第一、二段简单介绍了施行反向抵押贷款的本意及出现的重重问题；第三段具体列举了反向抵押贷款存在的问题；第四段指出当前消极影响日益严重，为此相关机构采取了一些措施来进行缓解；第五、六段更进一步说明反向抵押贷款的危害，并引用权威人士的话指出该借贷方式存在问题，需要改革。





词汇注释


mortgage /ˈmɔːgɪdʒ/ n. 抵押

fraught /frɔːt/ adj. 充满（令人不快之事）的；担心的，忧虑的

subprime lender 次贷方，次级抵押贷款的贷款方

default /dɪˈfɔːlt/ n. 不还债；违约；缺席

pitch /pɪtʃ/ v. 投掷；倾斜；搭帐篷

woo /wuː/ v. 争取…的支持；追求；恳求

long-coveted /ˌlɒŋ-ˈkʌvətɪd/ adj. 觊觎已久的，长期垂涎的

eviction /ɪˈvɪkʃn/ n. 逐出，赶出；收回

grapple /ˈɡræpl/ v. 努力克服；抓住；与…格斗

dwindle /ˈdwɪndl/ v. 减少；变小

outstanding /aʊtˈstændɪŋ/ adj. 未偿付的；显著的；未解决的

peddle /ˈpedl/ v. 叫卖；兜售；散播





难句突破


Now, as the vast baby boomer generation heads for retirement and more seniors grapple with dwindling savings, the newly minted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on new rules that could mean better disclosure for consumers and stricter supervision of lenders.

主体句式：As…, the CFPB is working on new rules…

本句是一个复杂句，as 引导原因状语从句，其后主句的主干为the CFPB is working on new rules，并用that引导的定语从句修饰new rules。其中，that在定语从句中充当主语。

结构分析：目前，随着大量婴儿潮时代出生的人步入退休阶段，更多的老年人正在努力解决积蓄减少这一困境。新成立的消费者金融保护局开始着手制定新的政策，这一举措可能意味着消费者会拥有更好的知情权，借贷方面临更为严格的监管。





题目分析


1. B 细节题。第一段开门见山地指出，在许多情况下，贷款（即指下文的反向抵押贷款）使得老人居无定所，因此A选项不正确。C、D两项中，“only”和“freely”措辞太绝对，与文章内容不符，故排除。只有B项符合题意。

2. B 细节题。题目要求找出反向抵押贷款所遇到的问题，故可将本题答案初步定位至文章的二、三段。根据还贷拖欠情况屡创新高和贷款方把钱贷给那些无法支付相关费用的老人可知，反向抵押贷款最大的问题是借贷者无法按预期还贷，B项正确。A、C、D项虽然说法上无太大错误，但明显答非所问，故正确答案为B。

3. C 语义题。对生单词应根据其在句子中的成分和上下文语境来进行推理。由生词所处句子的句意可知，该问题是孤寡妇人在丈夫死后所要面对的。根据上文推理可知，该问题是指房产问题，那么她们需要面对的应该是房产所有权的丧失。只有C选项符合题意，A、B、D项均与原文不符。

4. C 推理题。第四段指出，随着大量婴儿潮时代出生的人步入退休阶段，更多的老年人正在努力解决积蓄减少这一困境，新成立的消费者金融保护局开始着手制定新的政策，这一举措可能意味着消费者会拥有更好的知情权，借贷方面临更为严格的监管。由此可知A、B、D项均理解有误，只有C选项符合题意。

5. D 语义题。“red flags”不仅可以表示“红旗”，还可以指“危险信号”，由上下文可知，此处即为“危险信号”。根据最后两段可知，A、B、C选项中的爆炸性增长、未考虑是否合适和引发经济危机，都是反向抵押贷款给市场带来的危险信号，均不符合题意。只有D项不属于危险信号，符合题意。





参考译文


那种原本可以确保老年人居有定所的贷款，在很多情况下，却使得他们居无定所。

反向抵押贷款允许62岁及62岁以上的屋主以房子作抵押从银行贷款，直到他们搬离或者逝世后再偿还。这种方式一直问题重重。然而，随着一些业务规模较小的抵押代理人，包括之前的一些次贷方，在大银行近期退出后涌入市场，并且还贷拖欠情况屡创新高，联邦政府和各州调控机构正在记载新的滥用案例。

一些贷款方竟然大胆地把钱贷给那些无力支付贷款相关费用，更不用提支付财产税和维护费的老年人。另一些人则在争取老年客户时并未清晰地解释其中的风险，只向他们承诺：贷款是免费的，可以用来支付他们梦寐以求的出游。一些孤寡妇人称，当初她们是被迫让自己的名字不出现在契约上的，但却并未被告知，如果她们的丈夫离世，她们将丧失抵押品赎回权，现在她们却面临着被强行驱逐出自己的房子的困境。

目前，随着大量婴儿潮时代出生的人步入退休阶段，更多的老年人正在努力解决积蓄减少这一困境。新成立的消费者金融保护局开始着手制定新的政策，这一举措可能意味着消费者会拥有更好的知情权，借贷方面临更为严格的监管。据联邦政府透露，有超过77.5万此类贷款尚未偿还。

对于这个价值数十亿美元的反向抵押贷款市场的担忧让人们联想起在经济危机的前奏时期人们产生的担忧，那时消费者们根本无力偿还贷款，而且这些贷款常常带有潜在的风险。

“有很多这样的危险信号，包括爆炸性增长，包括积极地兜售这些借贷却并未考虑过是否合适。”明尼苏达州的首席检察官洛里·斯旺森这样说。他正致力于反向抵押贷款市场的改革。





Unit 2


The American economy has been shedding jobs for nearly two years, but now comes a sign that the gloom could eventually lift. The Bureau of Labour Statistics released new data on payroll employment on Friday December 4th, and across the board the numbers came in better than had been expected.

Some 11,000 jobs were lost in November, the smallest total since the recession began late in 2007. And despite the continued job losses, the overall unemployment rate fell from 10.2% to 10.0%. So, too, did broader measures of unemployment which include marginally attached workers and those who work only part time (for economic reasons).

The payroll report will leave markets and policymakers happy, for a day at least. Most forecasters had expected that 100,000 jobs, or more, would have been lost, and most thought that the unemployment rate would hold steady or rise. A private employment report for November, which is published just before the official payroll report, showed that nearly 170,000 workers lost their jobs.