住宅(Housing)在 IELTS 的曝光率被嚴重低估:Speaking Part 1 開場幾乎一定會問 Do you live in a house or a flat? What do you like about your neighbourhood?;Task 2 則反覆考 housing affordability、urbanisation、gentrification。
但考生常卡在兩極:Speaking 答 I live in a house. It is big and nice.——三句話死;Task 2 寫 Houses in the city are expensive 就沒下文——因為缺 affordability crisis, housing stock, social housing 這些主題字。
搭配 Band 6 → 7 詞彙升級 與 Academic Collocations 使用效果最佳。
這個主題的核心張力
住宅題的難度在於規模差異:Speaking 在講「你家」——具體、生活;Task 2 在講「住宅市場」——抽象、制度。詞彙必須能雙向切換。
五大子類詞彙
1. 住宅類型(Types of Housing)
| 中文 | 英文 | Band 7+ 例句 | |--------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 獨棟 | detached house | A detached house with a garden remains the aspirational standard for many families. | | 連棟 | terraced house | Rows of terraced houses still define large stretches of Victorian Manchester. | | 公寓 | apartment / flat | High-rise apartments now account for the majority of new urban builds. | | 套房 | studio flat | Studio flats suit young professionals who prioritise location over space. | | 透天 | townhouse | The three-storey townhouse is a common compromise between house and flat. |
2. 周邊環境(Neighbourhood & Location)
| 中文 | 英文 | Band 7+ 例句 | |--------------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 市中心 | city centre | Living in the city centre is convenient but increasingly unaffordable. | | 郊區 | suburbs | The suburbs offer more space at the cost of longer commutes. | | 鄉村 | rural areas | Rural areas have seen a steady outflow of young people for three decades. | | 生活機能 | local amenities | Good local amenities raise property values more reliably than cosmetic upgrades. | | 治安 | safety / low crime rates | Low crime rates are cited as the top draw of the neighbourhood. |
3. 居住品質(Quality of Living)
| 中文 | 英文 | Band 7+ 例句 | |--------------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 空間寬敞 | spacious | The flat is surprisingly spacious for its price. | | 採光良好 | well-lit / bright | A well-lit living room dramatically improves day-to-day mood. | | 通風 | well-ventilated | Older properties are often poorly ventilated, encouraging damp. | | 隔音 | soundproofing | Adequate soundproofing is almost absent in budget-grade apartments. | | 能源效率 | energy-efficient | Energy-efficient homes command a growing premium in the resale market. |
4. 社會議題(Social Issues)
| 中文 | 英文 | Band 7+ 例句 | |------------------|------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 房價負擔 | housing affordability | Housing affordability has collapsed in most major Asian cities since 2010. | | 無殼蝸牛 | first-time buyers | First-time buyers are effectively locked out of the London market. | | 無家可歸 | homelessness | Rising homelessness reflects systemic failure rather than individual misfortune. | | 縉紳化 | gentrification | Gentrification displaces long-standing residents even as it renovates the streets. | | 人口外移 | population exodus | The population exodus from rural townships has hollowed out local services. |
5. 政策工具(Policy Tools)
| 中文 | 英文 | Band 7+ 例句 | |------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 社會住宅 | social housing | Vienna's social housing programme shelters over 60% of its residents. | | 租金管制 | rent control | Rent control caps short-term pain but deters long-term investment in supply. | | 都市更新 | urban regeneration | Urban regeneration projects often privilege developers over existing residents. | | 房屋供給 | housing stock | Expanding the housing stock is the only durable answer to affordability. | | 城市規劃 | urban planning | Sound urban planning balances density, green space, and transport. |
高頻搭配詞束
| 中文 | Collocation | 示範 | |------------------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 爬上房地產階梯 | get on the property ladder | For under-30s, getting on the property ladder now requires family support. | | 付訂金 | put down a deposit | The average deposit now exceeds five times the median annual salary. | | 房租飆漲 | rents soar / skyrocket | Rents have soared faster than wages for the past fifteen years. | | 都市擴張 | urban sprawl | Urban sprawl consumes farmland at an alarming rate. | | 簽租約 | sign a tenancy agreement | Young tenants increasingly sign six-month rather than annual agreements. | | 負擔房貸 | afford a mortgage | Fewer households can afford a mortgage on a single income today. |
避免這些被用到爛的字
| 過度使用 ❌ | Band 7+ 替換 ✓ | |------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | big house | spacious property / generously sized home / a family-sized residence | | expensive | unaffordable / prohibitively priced / beyond the reach of ordinary buyers | | good area | desirable neighbourhood / sought-after district / well-connected locality | | small flat | compact studio / one-bedroom apartment / modest urban unit |
提醒:expensive 一篇 essay 出現 3 次就夠——第 4 次起請改 prohibitively priced 或 unaffordable。
150 字示範段
題目脈絡:Some argue governments should build more social housing to tackle the affordability crisis.
The housing affordability crisis gripping most major cities cannot be solved by market forces alone, and I strongly support expanded public investment in social housing as part of the response. When first-time buyers face deposits equivalent to five years of median earnings, getting on the property ladder ceases to be a realistic ambition for an entire generation. Vienna's long-running programme demonstrates that well-maintained public housing stock can coexist with private ownership and, crucially, anchors rent control in the wider market. Critics argue that public building distorts pricing, yet urban sprawl, gentrification, and rising homelessness suggest the unregulated status quo is already deeply distorted. Coupled with intelligent urban planning — denser transit-oriented development rather than yet more suburbs — a substantial social housing programme would restore the link between ordinary wages and a decent home.
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