单选题
Business and government leaders consider the inflation rate to be an important indicator. Inflation is a period of【C1】______spending that causes rapid rises in prices. When your money buys fewer goods so that you get【C2】______for the same amount of money as before, inflation is the problem. There is a general rise【C3】______the price of goods and services. Your money buys less. Sometime people【C4】______inflation as a time when "a dollar is not worth a dollar any more. Inflation is a problem for all consumers. People who live on a【C5】______income are hurt the【C6】______. Retired people, for instance, cannot【C7】______on an increase in income as prices rise. Elderly people face serious problems in【C8】______their incomes to meet their needs in【C9】______of inflation. Retirement income【C10】______any fixed income usually does not rise as fast as prices. Many retired people must cut their spending to【C11】______up with rising prices. In many cases they must stop buying some necessary items, such as food and clothing. 【C12】______for working people whose incomes are going up, inflation can be a problem. The【C13】______of living goes up, too. People who work must have even more money to keep up their standard of living. Just buying the things they need costs more. When incomes do not keep【C14】______with rising prices, the standard of living goes down. People may be earning the same amount of money, but they are not living as well【C15】______they are not able to buy as many goods and services. Government units gather information about prices in our economy and publish it as price indexes【C16】______which the rate of change can be determined. A price index measures changes in prices using the price for a【C17】______year as the base. The base price is set【C18】______100, and the other prices are reported as a【C19】______of the base price. A price index makes it possible to compare current prices of typical consumer goods, for example, with prices of the same goods in【C20】______years.