Un saludo. La propiedad vertical-align:top de css te puede servir.
Código HTML:
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html lang="es-CO">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>tutorias.co</title>
<style type="text/css">
.section{
position : relative;
vertical-align: top;
}
.article{
border : 1px solid #555;
display : inline-block;
margin : .2em;
max-width : 40%;
vertical-align: top;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<section class="section">
<article class="article">banner</article>
<article class="article" style="margin-left:10px">espacio</article>
<article class="article">texto</article>
</section>
</body>
</html>