Business and
government leaders also consider the inflation rate to be an important general
indicator. Inflation is a period of increased spending that causes rapid rises
in prices. {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}your money buys fewer
goods so that you get {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}for the same
amount of money as before, inflation is the problem. There is a general rise
{{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}the price of goods and services.
Your money buys less. Sometimes people describe inflation as a time when "a
dollar is not worth a dollar anymore". Inflation is a problem
for all consumers. People who live on a fixed income are hurt the {{U}}
{{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}. Retired people, for instance, cannot count
on an increase in income as prices rise. Elderly people who do not work face
serious problems in stretching their incomes to {{U}} {{U}} 20
{{/U}} {{/U}}their needs in time of inflation. Retirement income {{U}}
{{U}} 21 {{/U}} {{/U}}any fixed income usually does not rise as fast
as prices. Many retired people must cut their spending to {{U}} {{U}}
22 {{/U}} {{/U}}rising prices. In many cases they must stop {{U}}
{{U}} 23 {{/U}} {{/U}}some necessary items, such as food and
clothing. Even {{U}} {{U}} 24 {{/U}} {{/U}}working people whose
incomes are going up, inflation can be a problem. The {{U}} {{U}}
25 {{/U}} {{/U}}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 {{U}} {{U}} 26 {{/U}}
{{/U}}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 because 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
{{U}} {{U}} 27 {{/U}} {{/U}}the rate of change can be
determined. A price index measures changes in prices using the price for a
{{U}} {{U}} 28 {{/U}} {{/U}}year as the base. The base price is
set at 100, and the other prices are reported as a {{U}} {{U}} 29
{{/U}} {{/U}}of the base price. A price index makes {{U}} {{U}}
30 {{/U}} {{/U}}possible to compare current prices of typical consumer
goods, for example, with prices of the same goods in previous years.
【答案解析】[解析] 根据语法逻辑，本句是状语部分前置，正常语序是“Inflation can be a problem even for working people whose incomes are going up”。“for”指“对于……来说”。本句话的意思是“甚至对于那些有工作，工资在上涨的人来说，通货膨胀也是一个问题”。
【答案解析】[解析] 根据语法原则选“it”，“it”在这里是形式宾语，代替不定式“to compare current prices of typical consumer goods with prices of the same goods in previous years”。本句话的意思是“消费指数能够将某种商品的目前价格与往年的价格做比较”。