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  3. New figures on business confidence suggest that the one place where the service sector boom is on the ebb is in the consumer sec

New figures on business confidence suggest that the one place where the service sector boom is on the ebb is in the consumer sec

admin2022-06-13  53
问题     New figures on business confidence suggest that the one place where the service sector boom is on the ebb is in the consumer sector—hotels and restaurants, gyms and hairdressers. The twin pressures of rising inflation and slowing pay rises are squeezing household incomes. The ratio of personal debt to household income, which fell steadily in the years after the financial crisis, has now again begun to rise. Last week, new figures were published showing February brought the highest increase in credit card debt in 11 years.
    The British economy’s failure to get rid of an addiction to growth fueled by an expanding consumer debt bubble is bad for consumers, and bad for the economy as a whole. It is no substitute for business investment, which the OECD has forecast will fall sharply in future years in a post-Brexit climate of uncertainty. It makes recession more likely, and, when it comes, deeper and longer. The human costs of getting into problematic debt are no less profound; people are a third more likely to develop mental health issues if they find themselves struggling with debt.
    Historically, financial regulators have lacked both the power and the will to ensure that unhealthy levels of consumer debt are held in check. Customers who get into persistent debt tend, after all, to be very profitable for credit card and loan companies. Rather than help people struggling with repayments, it is in their interests to offer products that encourage consumers to use credit cards as an expensive form of long-term borrowing. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimates there are 2 million people carrying persistent debt on their credit card, defined as paying more in fees and charges over an 18-month period than the amount they borrowed in the first place.
    The FCA is now consulting on a new set of rules for credit card companies. But this is too little, too late. The rules are vague and leave far too much room for the companies, which are unlikely to change their behavior without tougher action. There is too little emphasis on preventing consumers from getting into persistent debt in the first place—for example, by forcing companies to increase the very low minimum monthly payments they require from customers. It’s in the same vein as action the FCA has taken on excessive overdraft charges, leaving it up to banks to set their own maximum cap on charges, rather than enforcing a cap of its own making. None of this, however, will reduce the root causes of problematic debt.
What does the underlined phrase "on the ebb" in the first paragraph mean?
选项 A、On the rise.
B、In a row.
C、On the decline.
D、On the balance.
答案C
解析 词义题。根据题干可定位至第一段第一句。根据第二句The twin pressures of rising inflation and slowing pay rises are squeezing household incomes. “通胀加剧和加薪放缓的双重压力正在压缩家庭收入。”可知，家庭收入较少，大家消费减少，从而可能引起消费服务业不景气，因此on the ebb为负面含义，与C项相一致。故本题答案为C项。
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