VOA慢速英语2020--数百万租客面临被驱逐

Tiana Caldwell of Kansas City, Missouri is one of millions of Americans who face being moved out of their homes by the end of the year.

This kind of forced removal is a result of the economic problems and job losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. That information comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition¹, a national housing group.

Caldwell lost her job and was in treatment for cancer when she and her family were evicted³ in 2019.

"We were doing good, and then I got cancer...again. So, I was actively⁴ in treatment when we were being evicted...It was a bad experience."

Caldwell is now unemployed⁵ and has a hard time paying rent - money paid for the use of a property. She is organizing protests with KC Tenants⁷, a group that supports affordable⁸ housing in Kansas City, Missouri.

Facing eviction⁹

KC Tenants Director Tara Raghuvee told VOA that nearly 50 percent of renters in the state of Missouri are at risk of eviction because they cannot pay their rent.

"Tens of thousands of renters in the state of Missouri were paying over 50% of their income to rent before the pandemic, and now...hundreds of thousands are unemployed or have been unemployed through some period of this pandemic."

Federal assistance

Many Americans have been receiving financial assistance through state and federal unemployment payments. But the federal assistance of $600 a week ended in late July. Activists¹⁰ say that millions of people are in danger of not being able to pay their rent.

Housing rights supporters are calling for rent aid and an extension of eviction prevention measures. Gina Chiala heads the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom. The group provides legal advice about housing to poor workers in Kansas City, Missouri. Chiala said the federal government should find permanent ways to deal with housing problems for the poor.

Chiala and other housing activists want property owners to work with their tenants to negotiate lower payments when possible.

About 40 percent of the nation's rental¹¹ properties are owned by independent landlords. Many cannot take the losses from unpaid¹² rent.

Tracey Benson is president and founder¹³ of the National Association of Independent Landlords. The association provides help and support to its 200,000 members nationwide.

Benson said her organization is getting calls from concerned landlords all the time. She said they are worried about losing not only their rental properties but their own homes.

Kathy Phillips is an association member in North Carolina. She owns 10 rental properties that she depends on as her only way to make a living. One of her renters has been falling behind on rent payments.

"She's a single parent and I don't feel comfortable evicting¹⁴ a single parent in this climate..."

Phillips offered her at-risk renter a 50 percent reduction on her rent for three months. She does not expect her to repay the difference.

Phillips also said she believes the federal government needs to do more for both renters and landlords.

"I don't think there's a lot of answers until we have income for all these unemployed people," she said.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

evict² –v. to be forced to leave a place

affordable –adj. at a cost that is not too high or that can be paid

precede –v. to come before

tenant⁶ –n. a person, business or group that pays for the use of another person's property

landlord –n. a person who owns a property such as a house or building and rents it to other people

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

3 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

5 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

6 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

7 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

12 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

13 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

14 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网