A、The decline of the economy. B、The uncertainty of the job. C、The further investment. D、The difference in lifestyles. B

W: So, Tom, I just talked to my friend who has just married recently. He was wondering whether he should rent a house or buy one. What do you think?
M: It is a tough call but I personally prefer to rent.
W: Really? Why would you rather to rent?
M: Well, because there’re just no extra costs, you don’t have to pay for extra things like maintenance. When something gets broken you don’t have to pay to get it fixed. Besides, you don’t have to pay the property tax.
W: Yeah, but if you own a house, you’re not throwing money away. It’s a solid investment. You can actually make a profit on the house later on.
M: That’s true. But in this day and age, you really never know when you’re going to lose your job or if you’re going to have to move for job reasons. For that reason, I think that if you’re stuck with a mortgage and you lose your job, you won’t be able to pay for it. What’s worse, you may not be able to sell it.
W: That’s a good point actually, but you could always rent the house out, right?
M: Right! But I don’t think I could be bothered with the trouble of renting to somebody. You have to find someone to rent it and make sure that they pay the rent. And then you have to make sure that things are fixed. It’s too much of a headache for me.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
1. What can we learn about the woman’s friend?
2. Why does the man prefer renting a house to buying one?
3. What does the man use to refute the investment value of owning a house?
4. Why doesn’t the man want to rent a house out?