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Ben Bernanke testifying on Capital Hill said today there are signs the three year slump in the housing market may be hitting bottom. But any recovery will come too late for some housing developments in California that have been foreclosed. The banks have decided it’s cheaper just to scrap the projects, literally. Bryan Rooney is Victorville, California.

This is the new look of the housing collapse: Homes that were unfinished or unsold knocked down and hauled to a recycling dump. This was to be a development of at least 300 houses selling for about $300,000. 16 were either finished or under construction when the builder went bankrupt.

Man: I think it is a shock. I mean less than two years ago, when a builder was selling a home, people camped out in tents. We have stories where people were in tents and lining to buy a home. And this is just unbelievable. They are actually tearing them down.

During the housing boom, this was a hot spot where developments, some still under construction, sprouted all over the desert. At the peak of the market, the median resale price of a home in this area was just shy of $325,000. Since then, it has dropped 65%, now, at $115,000.

参考译文
本.伯南克今天在国会山表示，有迹象表明，已经经历三年萧条期的房产市场可能已经触底。但是对于加州已经被取消抵押品赎回权的房产业来说，恢复期还要很晚才到来。银行界认为，实事求是的说，还是放弃那些计划比较划算。

关于房市崩溃的新消息：未建成和未售出的房屋已经被推倒并拖到垃圾回收站。这里原本是个至少有300座房屋的住宅区，每座售价在300000＄的，其中16处在建房者破产时或未建成或仍在建中。

男子：我感到很震惊，我的意思是，不到两年前，售房者卖房时，人们在帐篷里露营。我们听说，人们住在帐篷里排队买房子，这难以置信，他们事实上把自己给害苦了。

在房产繁荣期，这是个热点，这个住宅区的一些房屋还在建中，房屋在这个不毛之地崛起。在购买高峰期，一处房屋的转售均价将近325000＄。从那时起，已经降了65%，现在是115000＄。

词汇释义

1.testify vt.证明, 证实， 声明, 确言, 宣称

例句：
One who is called on to testify before a court.
证人被传到法庭上作证的人

2.slump n. 暴跌,意气消沉 v. 猛然掉落

例句：
The slump on Wall Street set up a chain reaction in stock markets around the world.
华尔街金融滑坡引起世界股票市场的连锁反应。

3.haul n. 用力拖拉,努力的结果 v. 拖,改变方向

例句：
They hauled the boat up the beach.
他们把船拖上岸。

4.recycling n. 回收利用

例句：
Recycled materials are mostly of limited use.
再生材料大多用途有限.

5.sprout n. 芽,萌芽 v. 使发芽,长芽

例句：
These potatoes have begun to sprout.
这些马铃薯开始发芽了。

难句讲解

1.Ben Bernanke testifying on Capital Hill said today there are signs the three year slump in the housing market may be hitting bottom.

【参考译文】本.伯南克今天在国会山表示，有迹象表明，已经经历三年萧条期的房产市场可能已经触底。

【结构解析】signs后省略了“that”，“the three year ... bottom”是 signs的同位语。

2.This is the new look of the housing collapse: Homes that were unfinished or unsold knocked down and hauled to a recycling dump.

【参考译文】关于房市崩溃的新消息：未建成和未售出的房屋已经被推倒并拖到垃圾回收站。

【结构解析】“knocked down”前省略了"are"，冒号后的句子主干是“homes...(are) knocked down and hauled...”。