Read the short passage. The reading is followed by several questions about it. There are four possible answers (A-D) for each question. Choose the best answer and click the button next to it. When you have finished, click answers.

America Online is one of the big names on the internet, and unlike many other digital companies, it actually makes a profit. But the company which its rivals call the "Cyber-cockroach" was launched only in 1992. Before that it was a small firm called Control Video Corporation, and it made video games. Then Steve Case, a former Pizza Hut marketing executive arrived and took the company online. Innovative, fast moving, and user-friendly, America Online appeals to people who want to surf the internet, but who do not have a lot of experience. For the same reason "techies", people who think they are more expert with computers, look down on America Online and its users. Recently America Online (or AOL, as it calls itself) joined with Time Warner - a multi-million dollar movie and magazine company - to create a multimedia giant.

Now, AOL has begun to expand abroad. In many European countries, including the United Kingdom, it is hard to buy a computer magazine that does not have a free AOL introductory offer. The company also puts advertisements onto the television, and employs people to hand out its free introductory disks at places like train stations. As the internet gets faster AOL is changing. With many homes getting high-speed connections through fibre optic cables or the new ASDL technology, the "Cyber-cockroach" will have to show that, like real cockroaches, it can survive in almost any environment.

 

1. What is the passage about? a. A computer company b. A software company c. An internet company d. A video company	5. America Online is an unusual digital company because a. It used to make video games b. It is innovative c. It makes money d. It has joined with another company
2. Who does Steve Case work for? a. AOL b. Pizza Hut c. Control Video Corporation d. None of these	6. Which marketing idea is not mentioned? a. Advertisements on the interent b. Advertisements on TV c. Free disks in journals d. People giving disks away
3. How do "Techies" feel about America Online? a. They think it is a Cyber-Cockroach b. They think it is for experts c. They think it is a movie and magazine company d. They feel superior to its users	7. What does the article say about AOL's future .. a. It will do well b. It will do badly c. It will face challenges d. The article doesn't say
4. People who use America Online are probably a. Video game players b. "Techies" c. Movie fans d. People new to the internet	8. This passage is about .. a. Technology b. A history of the Internet c. Computer users d. A successful business

 

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