Exercises

The last time the American economy received as much attention as it is now getting was in the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression that followed it. There are some similarities in comparing that catastrophic event of long ago to the troubles with the economy today. American and world stock markets have fallen to record lows. Unemployment continues to rise. Many people do not have the money to pay their bills. There has been an increase in the cost of food and other basic living items. However, in today's economy, people have advantages that they did not have in the 1930s when there were no unemployment benefits. Nor were there the vast array of social and governmental agencies that offer help to needy families. There was no state Medicaid. There was no Social Security. Certainly, there was no giant bailout of the banking industry as there is today.

1. The main theme of the paragraph is a. a comparison of the economy in two different eras. b. the Great Depression. c. the cost of food and shelter. d. the great number of social and governmental agencies. 2. In the opinion of the writer of the above paragraph, a. things are tougher now than in the 1930s. b. food costs are higher than ever before. c. we are in the midst of another Great Depression. d. society is more prepared to deal with economic downturns today than it was during the Great Depression.

Having a pet is a big responsibility because animals do not often respond the way people do. Therefore, pet owners are often surprised by the behavior of their pets. Dogs are a good example of a common household pet which requires a sense of responsibility on the part of the dog's owner. A responsible dog owner should be prepared to walk the animal at least twice a day. The larger breed and more active dogs require about forty minutes of exercise each day. Failing to exercise your dog can lead to bad indoor behaviour because, like humans, animals get bored. When dogs are bored, they look for things to do, such as chewing, or barking, or pestering family members to play. Ignoring your dog by not exercising it and confusing it with a variety of erratic commands can even make your pet dog very spoiled and possibly aggressive. The best method of turning your dog into a friend you can live with is to hold to a regular schedule of feeding, exercise, play, and quiet time. These rules are the same ones that apply to human children.

According to the article above, a. dogs learn more quickly than adults. b. irresponsible dog owners are lazy individuals. c. a neglected dog is a troublesome dog that causes problems in the household. d. walking a dog eliminates all dog problems. According to the article above, a. bored dogs can exhibit a variety of unpleasant behaviors, including chewing, excessive barking, and even aggression. b. regular exercise and feeding of your pet is a panacea for all your ills. c. poor dog behavior is caused by friendly dog owners. d. memorizing proper animal commands is key to good dog behavior. The meaning of the word "erratic" in the passage above most closely means a. inconsistent. b. angry. c. bold. d. congruent.

It is clear from most sources that the Indians, at the time of early settler contact, had their villages on both sides of the Upper Delaware River. We are lucky to have a great deal of archaeological evidence from local Indian sites due to the hurried excavations during 1967 and 1968. The reason for the hurried excavations was that a plan was afoot to inundate the entire area in the creation of a huge dam project. Many of the dig sites and discoveries during this period can be attributed to the efforts of environmentalists, archaeologists, scientists, and just plain folks. Had the dam actually been constructed, the entire natural history museum, and a large part of the Native American heritage of Eastern Pennsylvania, would have been lost forever.

This excerpt from a local history of Eastern Pennsylvania is about a. the abandonment of a dam project. b. the disintegration of the Native American population. c. the building of dams and other water projects. d. the preservation of a historic site. The word "inundate" in the second paragraph most nearly means the same as a. intubate. b. plow. c. regulate. d. flood. The chief point of the writer of the passage above is that a. building a dam would provide jobs. b. deciding against building a dam preserved an important historical site. c. building a dam would preserve Indian culture. d. Indians were able to stop a dam project.

According to the passage, the reason for the hurried archeological excavations in 1967 and 1968 was that a. archeologists needed to dig quickly because after the area was flooded by the dam's waters, historical research would be impossible. b. 1967 and 1968 were the best years for archeology. c. the government ordered the sites to be excavated during those years. d. a team of archeologists petitioned the government to dig during those years.

Evolution in Internet Marketing Marketing executives in television work with a relatively stable advertising medium. In many ways, the television ads aired today are similar to those aired two decades ago. Most television ads still feature actors, still run 30 or 60 seconds, and still show a product. However, the differing dynamics of the Internet pose unique challenges to advertisers, forcing them to adapt their practices and techniques on a regular basis. In the early days of Internet marketing, online advertisers employed banner and pop-up ads to attract customers. These techniques reached large audiences, generated many sales leads, and came at a low cost. However, a small number of Internet users began to consider these advertising techniques intrusive and annoying. Yet because marketing strategies relying heavily on banners and pop-ups produced results, companies invested growing amounts of money into purchasing these ad types in hopes of capturing market share in the burgeoning online economy. As consumers became more sophisticated, frustration with these online advertising techniques grew. Independent programmers began to develop tools that blocked banner and pop-up ads. The popularity of these tools exploded when the search engine Google, at the time an increasingly popular website fighting to solidify its place on the Internet with giants Microsoft and Yahoo, offered free software enabling users to block pop-up ads. The backlash against banner ads grew as new web browsers provided users the ability to block imagebased ads such as banner ads. Although banner and pop-up ads still exist, they are far less prominent than during the early days of the Internet. A major development in online marketing came with the introduction of pay-per-click ads. Unlike banner or pop-up ads, which originally required companies to pay every time a website visitor saw an ad, pay-per-click ads allowed companies to pay only when an interested potential customer clicked on an ad. More importantly, however, these ads circumvented the pop-up and banner blockers. As a result of these advantages and the incredible growth in the use of search engines, which provide excellent venues for pay-per-click advertising, companies began turning to pay-per-click marketing in droves. However, as with the banner and pop-up ads that preceded them, payper-click ads came with their drawbacks. When companies began pouring billions of dollars into this emerging medium, online advertising specialists started to notice the presence of what would

later be called click fraud: representatives of a company with no interest in the product advertised by a competitor click on the competitor's ads simply to increase the marketing cost of the competitor. Click fraud grew so rapidly that marketers sought to diversify their online positions away from pay-per-click marketing through new mediums. Although pay-per-click advertising remains a common and effective advertising tool, marketers adapted yet again to the changing dynamics of the Internet by adopting new techniques such as pay-perperformance advertising, search engine optimization, and affiliate marketing. As the pace of the Internet's evolution increases, it seems all the more likely that advertising successfully on the Internet will require a strategy that shuns constancy and embraces change. The author implies what about the future of pay-per-performance advertising? 1. Although it improves on pay-per-click advertising, it is still vulnerable to click fraud 2. It will one day become extinct as Internet users discover drawbacks with it 3. Internet users will develop free software to block its effectiveness 4. It will eventually become less popular with advertisers as the Internet evolves and drawbacks emerge 5. It will not face drawbacks due to its differing approach to online marketing

Correct Answer 4

Explanation The central theme of the passage is that the Internet is evolving rapidly and current advertising mediums will eventually be replaced (albeit not completely) by new mediums. Just after mentioning payper-performance advertising, the author concludes by saying "As the pace of the Internets evolution increases, it seems all the more likely that advertising successfully on the Internet will require a strategy that shuns constancy and embraces change." 1. There is no mention of click-fraud applying to pay-perperformance advertising. Since click-fraud does not apply to all online advertising methods and no description of pay-perperformance advertising is given, it is not possible to infer that click-fraud applies to pay-per-performance advertising. 2. The passage never asserts that Internet ad strategies become "extinct." Rather it asserts that they dwindle in popularity as Internet users adapt and the ad strategies become less effective. 3. Developing software to block ads referred to the problem with pop-up and banner advertisements. The article never implied that this problem existed with all Internet advertising strategies. 4. Since the main point of the article is that the Internet evolves and online advertising strategies change, it is reasonable to conclude that pay-per-performance advertising will have a similar fate as the other advertising strategies mentioned in the passage: declining popularity over time. 5. Nothing in the passage supports the idea that an online advertising strategy will remain popular indefinitely even as the Internet evolves rapidlythis contradicts the main point of the passage.

Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage? 1. Although pay-per-click advertising remains a wide-spread and effective online advertising medium, its popularity is likely to diminish as the Internet evolves. 2. Internet advertising is not well received by Internet users, causing independent programmers to subvert advertisers. 3. Unlike the television, the Internet has experienced dramatic changes in short periods of time. 4. Unlike the television, the Internet has evolved rapidly, forcing online marketers to develop new advertising strategies and mediums. 5. The pace of the Internets evolution is increasing and will only increase in the future.

Correct Answer 4

Explanation

A main idea runs throughout the entire passage. Consequently, an idea that appears in one paragraph only to disappear in another is not the main idea. In this passage, the first paragraph introduces the main theme and the remaining paragraphs develop it by providing examples. In many ways, the last sentence of the first paragraph serves as a thesis statement indicating the main thrust of the article ("the differing dynamics of the Internet pose unique challenges to advertisers, forcing them to adapt their practices and techniques on a regular basis.") 1. While the passage does make these statements about pay-perclick advertising, the passage only discusses pay-per-click advertising in one paragraph. This answer represents an example that the author uses to further the main point of the passage. But, it is not the main point itself. 2. Although the changing of Internet marketing strategies is a constant theme, nowhere does the article focus as its main point on the efforts of independent programmers. Instead, the passage focuses on the efforts of advertisers to adapt to changes. Moreover, this answer fails to make sense of the introduction and conclusion. 3. Although this statement is true, it is far too broad. The central theme of the passage (given in the sentence "forcing them to adapt their practices and techniques on a regular basis") is not reflected in this answer, which omits any reference to marketing and advertising strategies. 4. This statement encapsulates the authors point in each paragraph: the evolution of the Internet is forcing advertisers to change their strategies rapidly. The phrase "unlike the television" ties into the introductory point. 5. The article does not discuss at great length the speed at which the Internet is evolving. It simply notes that the Internet is evolving. Moreover, this answer omits any reference to advertising, which plays a central role in the piece.

According to the passage, which of the following best describes the current status of pop-up ads? 1. Widely used 2. Less popular now than at earlier times 3. A frequent target of click fraud 4. Non-existent due to pop-up blockers 5. Increasingly popular due to search engines

Correct Answer: B The crucial sentence in the passage is: "Although banner and pop-up ads still exist, they are far less prominent than during the early days of the Internet." 1. There is no support for this in the passage. It is implicitly contradicted by the words "far less prominent." 2. This answer reflects the statement in the passage. 3. Pay-per-click advertising is a target of "click fraud," not banner ads, which suffered from blocking programs. 4. The passage states that pop-ups "still exist." 5. The passage states that pay-per-click advertisingnot popupsis more popular due to search engines.

According to the passage, which of the following best describes the practice of click fraud? 1. Clicking on the banner advertisements of rival companies 2. Using software to block advertisements 3. Utilizing search engine optimization to visit the pages of competitors 4. Fraudulently purchasing products online 5. Clicking on the pay-per-click ads of competitors

Correct Answer: E The pertinent sentence from the passage is: "pay-per-click ads came with their drawbacks. When companies began pouring billions of dollars into this emerging medium, online advertising specialists started to notice the presence of what would later be called click fraud: representatives of a company with no interest in the product a

competitor advertised clicked on the competitor's ads simply to increase the marketing cost of the competitor." 1. Click-fraud pertains to pay-per-click advertising, not banner advertising. 2. This answer describes pop-up blockers, not click fraud. 3. Click-fraud pertains to pay-per-click advertising, not search engine optimization. 4. There is no mention in the article of this practice. 5. This matches the description of click-fraud in the passage.

According to the passage, the largest point at which the television and Internet differ as an advertising medium is: 1. The type of individual each medium reaches 2. Whether the medium is interactive 3. The pace at which the medium evolves 4. The cost of advertising with each medium 5. Whether each medium contains drawbacks

Correct Answer: C The key sentences are at the beginning, where television and the Internet are compared: "In many ways, the television ads aired today are similar to those aired two decades ago. Most television ads still feature actors, still run 30 or 60 seconds, and still show a product. However, the differing dynamics of the Internet pose unique challenges to advertisers, forcing them to adapt their practices and techniques on a regular basis." 1. There is no mention of the type of individual. 2. Although there is a difference in whether the medium is interactive, this is never mentioned in the text. 3. This key difference is an important theme in the passage and is mentioned in the beginning. 4. The article never mentions cost. 5. There is no mention of drawbacks to television advertising.

The passage implies that which of the following attributes will be the most important for future success in online advertising: 1. Flexible creativity 2. Disciplined patience 3. Uniform approach 4. Ruthless tenacity 5. Eclectic approach

Correct Answer: A The main point of the article is that the Internet evolves and, as a result, online advertisers must adapt their strategies. The implication is that future success will require this same innovation and willingness to change tactics. 1. This phrase captures the necessity of innovation and willingness to change, which is the main point of the passage.

2. This phrase fails to capture the importance of change. The article never even intimates at patience and discipline. 3. The article states the many different approaches to Internet advertising that have occurred as a result of changes in industry dynamics. This phrase fails to capture the dynamic nature of online advertising. 4. This fails to capture the elements of change and innovation highlighted by the article. 5. Although the article does mention that numerous different strategies for online advertising are employed by online marketers, there is no sense that this approach is sporadic or eclectic. Instead, the emphasis is on flexibility and continuous creativity.

Which of the following words best describes the authors tone in the passage? 1. Critical 2. Analytical 3. Frustrated 4. Biased 5. Surprised

Correct Answer: B From the very beginning, the author is analyzing a situation and making a case for the rapid evolution of Internet marketing. 1. The author neither criticizes nor praises the evolution of the Internet. 2. The author seeks to analyze the evolution of the Internet and Internet marketing. 3. The author intimates that online marketers may be frustrated. However, the author does not show frustration. 4. Although the author compares the Internet and the television as advertising venues, there is no mention of one means being superiorthe two different mediums are simply different. 5. There is no mention of surprise in the article on the part of the authoralthough the author implies that some online marketers experienced surprise at some of the developments in Internet advertising.