租車生活？夠酷！

Planning to lease a car because you don’t think you can afford to buy? Think again. Leasing can end up being just as expensive as buying—and you don’t even get to keep the car. Most people who are thinking about leasing are attracted to this option because they believe it will cost them less money. And they’re right—it is cheaper， but only in the short term. For example， if you were to lease a brand-new Subaru Forester with ￥4，000 down， you might pay ￥300 per month for the car. If you were to buy the same car with ￥3，000 down， you would pay closer to ￥400 per month. Over a three-year lease， that’s ￥3，600—a big savings. But after your lease is over， you have to give the car back. If you want to keep driving， you’ll either have to put another down-payment on another lease， or， if you have the option to buy the car， you’ll have to pay thousands of dollars to purchase the vehicle—dollars that won’t be spread out in more manageable monthly payments.

Many people want to lease because they can drive a more upmarket car than they might otherwise be able to afford. For example， if your monthly budget allowed you to spend ￥300 on a car， you might be able to lease a brand new Ford Explorer. For the same price， you might have to buy an Explorer that was two or three years old with 50，000 miles， or buy a new but considerably less expensive make and model. A lease， therefore， allows you to drive the latest models of more expensive cars. But when your lease is over， you will have to return that Explorer. Whatever car you can afford to buy， you get to keep it， and it will always have a resell or trade-in value if you want to later upgrade to a newer car.

Furthermore， people who lease cars are often shocked and appalled by how much they must pay when the lease is over. Most leases limit you to a certain number of miles， and if you go over that allotment， you must pay for each mile. As a result， at the end of a lease， you may end up paying thousands of dollars in mileage fees. For example， if your lease covers you for 25，000 miles over three years， but you drive 40，000， that’s an extra 15，000 miles. At ￥.11 per mile， that’s ￥1，650 you’ll have to pay. And you still won’t have a car.

In addition， when you lease， you still have to pay for regular maintenance and repairs to the vehicle. Since you must return the car when your lease expires， you are paying to repair someone else’s car. If you own the car， however， you would know that every dollar you spend maintaining or repairing the car is an investment in a real piece of property—your property， not someone else’s.

By now， the benefits of buying over leasing should be clear. But if you’re still not convinced， remember this fundamental fact: If you lease， when your lease is up， and after you’ve made all of your monthly payments， paid for extra mileage， and paid for repairs， you must give the car back. It isn’t yours to keep， no matter how much the lease cost you. Whatever make or model you can afford to buy， it is yours to keep after you make the payments. There’s no giving it back， and that makes all the difference.

Reading Comprehension:

1. According to the passage， which of the following statements is true?

A. People believe leasing will cost them less money.

B. Most Americans lease rather than buy cars.

C. Most car leases allow for unlimited mileage.

D. Leasing a car is never as expensive as buying.

2. Which of the following sentences best summarizes the main idea of this passage?

A. Leasing a car is a bad idea.

B. The benefits of buying a car outweigh the benefits of leasing a car.

C. Leasing allows people to drive more expensive cars than they might otherwise be able to afford.

D. People are often shocked at how much money they end up paying when a car lease is over.

3. The author makes his or her point by.

A. making an argument using chronological order

B. arguing the benefits of buying from the most to least important

C. comparing and contrasting leasing and buying

D. stating opinions

4. This writer bases his or her argument primarily on.

A. facts derived from the author’s personal observations

B. opinions that others have reported to the author

C. facts with logic and statistics supporting them

D. opinions derived from the author’s personal observations

5. In another version of this passage， the first sentence of the third paragraph did not use the words “shocked and appalled” to describe the reaction of car leasers to how much money they must pay when the lease is over. Instead， the sentence read:“Furthermore， people who lease cars are usually unaware of how much they must pay when the lease is over.” Why do you think the writer changed the sentence to include“shocked and appalled”?

A. Someone he or she interviewed for the story used these words.

B. These words make the author sound smarter.

C. These words have a positive connotation that help the author make his or her case.

D. These words have a powerful negative connotation that add to the author’s arguments about the downfalls of leasing.

6. From the context， it can be determined that the word“upmarket” in the third paragraph means.

A. safer B. bigger C. expensive D. dependable

7. Why did the author choose the second-person point of view for this passage?

A. The second-person point of view puts readers into the action of the writing.

B. The second-person point of view makes readers imagine themselves in the situation.

C. The second-person point of view makes readers pay more attention.

D. All of the above.

8. When this author says that“most people want to lease because they can then drive a more upmarket car”， he or she is.

A. making a generalization that requires evidence before it can be confirmed

B. making an obvious generalization that needs no evidence

C. reaching an unreasonable conclusion based on evidence provided

D. reaching a reasonable conclusion based on evidence provided

Keys:

1. A2. B3. C4. C5. D6. C7. D8. A

編輯/孫櫟櫟