Answer:
1. average;
2. 144.7 percent higher in May 2017 than the average of 1982-1984
Explanation:
Given the reference base period for the CPI is 1982-1984. And then, considering that in May 2017, the CPI was 244.7.
Then completing the following statement goes thus:
The Cost Price Index, often shortened as CPI, in May 2017 tells us that the AVERAGE of the prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed basket of consumer goods and services was "144.7 percent higher in May 2017 than the average of 1982-1984."