Tiny houses are a new lifestyle trend in America. 在美國，微型房屋是一種生活新趨勢。
←iOS用戶點擊左方圖示，即可收聽講解音檔
Over the last 40 years, the average size of an American home has grown by 50%. With bigger houses comes the opportunity for people to have more stuff, but many now find themselves burdened by too many things and too much debt. That’s where tiny houses come to the rescue. A so-called tiny house is a home that measures fewer than 40 square meters and includes all the features of a normal home or apartment. Most tiny houses are cleverly designed with features that make comfortable living spaces. Some are built on wheels, while others are small single houses that can be put on private property▼ or in a big backyard. It’s even possible to buy a complete tiny house, to build one from a kit▼, or to design your own tiny dream house from scratch. Various television shows, movies, and books have made the idea of tiny houses popular, and the trend is catching on. Many people find that by scaling down their living space, they can save money and live in a more eco-friendly way.
1. be burdened by / with sth 承受某事的負擔；被某事所困擾 burden vt. 使負擔；使煩惱 & n. 負擔 Jason has been burdened with ill health his whole life. 傑森終其一生都因為身體不好而感到心煩。 I don’t want to burden you with this matter; I can take care of it myself. 我不想拿這件事來煩你；我自己可以處理。 2. come to the / sb’s rescue 解救某人 rescue n. 解救，營救 We came to Matthew’s rescue when we learned he was in financial trouble. 我們得知馬修陷入財務困境時便前來營救他。 * financial a. 財務的；金融的 3. so-called a. 所謂的；號稱的 Zack’s so-called creative idea was in fact not new. 柴克所謂的創意點子其實一點也不新奇。 4. cleverly adv. 巧妙地；機靈地 The movie cleverly showed the daily life of a firefighter. 這部電影巧妙地呈現了消防員的日常生活。 5. from scratch 從頭開始，從零開始 Building a business from scratch can be quite challenging. 憑空開創一門事業會是很有挑戰性的一件事。 6. catch on 變得流行 The famous designer predicts that miniskirts will catch on next year. 那位名設計師預測迷你裙明年將流行起來。 7. scale down... / scale...down 縮減／縮小……（的規模） A shortage of money has forced the team to scale down the project. 由於缺乏資金，該小組被迫縮減企劃案的規模。 8. eco-friendly a. 環保的 We should use eco-friendly products to promote green living. 我們應該使用環保產品來提倡綠色生活。
▼ property n. 房（地）產 ▼ kit n. 配套元件（供購買者裝配成件）
while 的三種用法 1. 表「（然）而」，此時 while 為對等連接詞，引導的主要子句通常置於另一主要子句之後，其前加逗點，即等於 whereas 或 but。本文即屬此用法。 例 Leo and Peter are both my friends. The former is a teacher, while the latter is a soldier. 李歐和彼得都是我朋友。前者是老師，後者則是軍人。 2. 表「雖然」，此時 while 為副詞連接詞，等於 though 或 although，其所引導的副詞子句通常置於句首，其後加逗點，再接主要子句。 例While we have reduced prices by half, no one seems to be interested in our products. 雖然我們已經打對折，似乎還是沒人對我們的商品有興趣。 3. 表「當……時」，此時 while 為副詞連接詞，其所引導的副詞子句可置於主要子句之前或之後，通常用來表示持續的動作或狀態。 例 Please help out your mother around the house while I’m away on business. 我出差不在時請幫你媽媽做家事。 ★ 補充用法 whereas 相當於 while，用來連接兩個意思相對的句子，但不同於 while 的是，whereas 引導的子句可置於另一個子句之前或之後。 例 Richard got a hamburger for lunch, whereas I bought a sandwich. = Whereas Richard got a hamburger for lunch, I bought a sandwich. 理查買了漢堡當午餐，而我則買了三明治。
