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Below is a housing guide for students going to London.
University accommodation offices
Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords. Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organization. The advantage of using your university accommodation is that you can get support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students.
Property papers: Loot and Renting
Loot is an important source of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers.
Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www. renting.co.uk.
Accommodation agencies
The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters.
Notice boards
Around the universities you will find a number of notice boards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online notice boards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. However, advertisements from landlords can be problematic.
Word of mouth
Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. However, don’t suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friend it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source.
Family
Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice.
Comprehension
1. What is the advantage of using Loot?
A. It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting.
B. It gives you personal information about other co-renters.
C. Their website is designed mainly for students.
D. There are some good bargains.
2. A good agent can help you ____.
A. know more people
B. find cheap accommodation
C. get the right accommodation quickly
D. get free information about most accommodations
3. The information passed on by word of mouth is important because____.
A. it is better than that found through any other source
B. it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised
C. the final year students always offer better information
D. the landlords have little valuable information
4. For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
A. University accommodation offices.
B. Loot and Renting
C. Notice boards.
D. Family.
Vocabulary
accommodation n. 住所
landlord n. 房東
co-renter 合租人
individual n. 個人
access to 進入……的權利
potential adj. 潛在的
notice board 公告欄
pass on 傳遞
word of mouth 頭口相傳
Keys to the comprehension
1. D。細節理解題。關于Loot，選擇相應的部分，仔細閱讀，得知Loot的好處是：The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. 即價格方面好商量。故選擇D。
2. C。細節理解題。涉及到agent，在“Accommodation agencies”部分尋找答案。根據“A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. ”可知好的代理人，能聽取意見，并節省時間尋找合適的住宿。故選擇C。
3. B。推理判斷題。在“Word of mouth”部分尋找答案。口傳的信息很重要是因為“is never advertised ；It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. ”但是也有弊端，分析四個選項，只有B是正確的。
4. A。推理判斷題。根據第一部分“The advantage of using your university accommodation is that you can get support if you have a problem. ”，而其他的都沒有涉及到問題的解決這部分，所以選擇A。
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