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A housing crisis in the UK is being exacerbated by a shortage of bricklayers. Britain needs to build more homes to enable young people to get on the housing ladder and to end the scourge of homelessness. Soaring rents and a lack of affordable housing have greatly increased rough sleeping. Successive governments over decades have failed to meet their housebuilding targets. The latest government's efforts are being hindered by a shortfall of qualified bricklayers and other skilled tradespeople. The UK needs an extra 25,000 bricklayers, 3,000 plumbers, 4,000 plasterers, 10,000 carpenters, and 3,000 new electricians to meet its pledge to build 1.5 million new homes.
The UK government has blamed the deficit in construction worker numbers on "years of underinvestment in skills". A housing ministry official said her department was doing its utmost to build 300,000 new homes a year. Another spokesperson added: "We will pull every lever to deliver on our commitment, which includes building a diverse workforce." However, Colin Brown, a housebuilding consultant, called the government's home construction pledge "unrealistic". He said training sufficient numbers of workers could take "a generation". He added that the current target of adding 5,000 new apprenticeships each year was "fanciful" and a "drop in the ocean".
Bricklayers in the UK are helping to solve a housing crisis. T / F
Young people are using ladders to get into housing. T / F
Only the current government has failed to meet housebuilding targets. T / F
The UK needs tens of thousands of new tradespeople to build homes. T / F
There hasn't been enough investment in skills in the UK for many years. T / F
An official said the government would do its best to build new homes. T / F
A housing expert said the government's promises were unrealistic. T / F
The UK government wants to build new homes near the ocean. T / F
文章主题：英国的住房危机因砖匠短缺而加剧。文章讨论了这一现象背后的原因，政府的应对措施以及可能的解决方案。
Exacerbate (加剧) - 用于描述某事变得更糟。例如：The situation was exacerbated by the lack of workers.（缺乏工人使情况更加严重。）
Housing ladder (住房阶梯) - 用来描述从租房到买房的过渡过程。例如：Many young people are finding it difficult to get on the housing ladder.（许多年轻人发现很难进入购房市场。）
Scourge (祸害) - 意指某种严重的社会问题或灾难。例如：The scourge of homelessness continues to affect the country.（无家可归的问题继续影响着这个国家。）
Rough sleeping (露宿街头) - 指的是那些无家可归的人在街头露宿。例如：Rough sleeping has greatly increased in recent years.（近年来，露宿街头的人数大大增加。）
Housebuilding targets (住房建设目标) - 指政府规定的建房数量目标。例如：Successive governments have failed to meet their housebuilding targets.（历届政府未能完成住房建设目标。）
Shortfall (不足，短缺) - 用来描述某种资源或能力的缺乏。例如：There is a shortfall of qualified workers in the construction industry.（建筑行业缺乏合格工人。）
Pledge (承诺) - 指做出公开的承诺或保证。例如：The government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes.（政府承诺建造150万套新房。）
Underinvestment (投资不足) - 指某领域未得到足够的投资。例如：Years of underinvestment in skills have led to the current shortage.（多年来对技能的投资不足导致了目前的短缺。）
Apprenticeship (学徒期) - 指在实际工作中学习的过程，通常是为某种职业培训。例如：The government aims to increase the number of apprenticeships.（政府旨在增加学徒名额。）
Passive voice (被动语态)：文章中频繁使用被动语态来描述政府的行动和结果。例如：The UK's housebuilding targets have been failed to be met.（英国的住房建设目标未能达成。）
Future intention (将来意图)：使用“will”来表达未来的承诺或计划。例如：The government will pull every lever to deliver on its commitment.（政府将采取一切手段履行承诺。）
Conditional sentences (条件句)：如果用“could”来表示潜在的结果。例如：Training sufficient workers could take a generation.（培养足够的工人可能需要一代人时间。）
Reported speech (间接引语)：新闻报道经常引用某人说的话。例如：A housing ministry official said her department was doing its utmost.（一位住房部官员表示，她的部门正在尽最大努力。）
Present continuous tense (现在进行时)：用于描述当前正在发生的情况或动作。The housing crisis is being exacerbated by a shortage of bricklayers.（住房危机正因砖匠短缺而加剧。）
Modal verbs (情态动词)：表示能力、可能性或义务。例如：We will pull every lever to deliver on our commitment.（我们将采取一切手段履行承诺。）
Comparative structures (比较结构)：用于比较两者之间的差异。Successive governments have failed to meet their housebuilding targets.（历届政府未能完成住房建设目标。）
"Do its utmost"：表示尽最大努力。例如：They are doing their utmost to solve the housing crisis.（他们正尽最大努力解决住房危机。）
"Pull every lever"：意味着采取一切可能的措施。例如：We will pull every lever to fix the problem.（我们将采取一切措施解决这个问题。）
"Drop in the ocean"：表示某事微不足道、无济于事。例如：Adding 5,000 new apprenticeships is just a drop in the ocean.（增加5,000个新学徒名额不过是杯水车薪。）
