You are going to read a magazine article about debt. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-C the one which fits each gap 16-21. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. DEBT AND POVERTY Debt means owing money. Many of us have owed money, when we have borrowed it from our friends, parents, or from a bank. Many people borrow large amounts of money as a mortgage, to buy a house. Debt is not necessarily a bad thing - borrowing money enables us to do things that we would not otherwise be able to afford at the time. When people borrow money they arrange a programme for repaying the money over a particular amount of time, plus interest that is added as a charge for borrowing the money. (16) _____ People may have taken on too much of a commitment, and be unable to afford the repayments that are due, or situa-tions may change such as the rate of interest rising, or their income falling. When individuals become deeply indebted, we draw a line under the debt. (17) _____ Their debts are written off by law and they are allowed to start again, although it will be hard for them to borrow money again in the future. Like individuals, countries may also take out loans to use for various purposes, such as large-scale projects or improvements to their infrastructure. However, when countries borrow money which they are then unable to repay there is no such thing as bankruptcy. Countries remain deeply indebted, diverting all of their resources to debt repayments to satisfy their lenders. A country will continue to become more and more damaged by unpayable debts. Public services suffer from a lack of investment and the poorest people go without their basic needs. On average, debt payments cost many poor countries almost twice what they spend on education and more than three times the amount spent on the population's healthcare. Poor people suffer because of a lack of government investment in their country, such as better roads which would help them travel to market. (18) _____ And when the prices of basic foods go up, it is the poorest people again who can no longer afford to feed their families. In 1982, when Mexico became the first country to admit it could not repay its debts, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank stepped in to help. (19) _____ In return they imposed a system known as 'structural adjustment' on these countries. The aim was literally to alter the structure of how money in each country was spent. These programmes consisted of strict measures designed to help a country repay its debts by earning more hard currency through increasing its exports and reducing its imports. (20) _____ Governments were forced to spend their money on debt repayments, rather than public services for the population. Farmers had to grow cash crops for export, rather than food to feed their fami-lies. The exported cash crops being sold were cheap, but imported processed goods were costly. The prices of goods went up, and people struggled to survive. In 1996 the World Bank and the IMF launched a new international debt relief scheme known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC). The initiative called for the reduction of external debt through write-offs by official donors. As of January 2012, 59 countries were receiving debt relief under HIPC. The HIPC, unfortunately, has not solved the problem. There are still many countries which are not receiving help, because they do not fulfil the HIPC criteria. (21) _____ A. That line is called bankruptcy. B. It is the poorest people who are unable to afford to start paying for schools when fees are introduced, so their children miss out. C. Some people claim debt cancellation would just allow corrupt leaders to have more money for themselves, rather than benefiting the poorest people. D. They lent money to help Mexico, and other struggling countries, repay their old loans. E. It is clear that more needs to be done to deal with the growing debt crisis. F. Problems arise when the amount of debt accumulated is unpayable. G. Structural Adjustment programmes, however, actually led to a decline in living standards and deepened poverty.