1. Name Mark5 Unit Test
Optional Reading Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
Online Advertising
I Susan Mathews was looking for a new bag, so she went online and began looking at the bags that were on offer.
She found one that she quite liked and put it in her shopping basket. Then the phone rang. She abandoned her
online search and forgot all about the handbag – at least for a few hours. Imagine her surprise when she visited an
online blog later that day and was greeted by an advert for the very same handbag that she had looked at earlier.
II Susan’s experience is an example of “personalised retargeting”. This is an advertising technique which sends
Internet users adverts for specific products that they have recently viewed. It is becoming increasingly common as
a growing number of companies are beginning to make use of this method of online advertising.
III Defenders of the new technique claim that there is nothing new about personalised retargeting. After all, they say,
companies have been tracking people online for years. The companies use this information to determine which
products an individual is more likely to buy.
IV However, there are many Internet users who are disturbed by this latest advance in online advertising. They dislike
being tracked from site to site as they browse the Web. As a result, they are demanding that tighter controls and
regulations be imposed on the digital advertising industry to protect their privacy.
V The future of personalised retargeting techniques is still uncertain. Some advertising professionals feel that it may
not be wise for companies to adopt this advertising technique. They believe that companies should not draw
potential customers’ attention to the fact that companies have detailed information about them. According to the
experts, while it is important to encourage consumers to purchase products they have viewed online, this has to be
done without making them feel that they are being watched.
1 Choose the correct answer. (2 x 3 = 6 points)
1. Personalised retargeting has enabled companies … .
a. to monitor users’ online activity
b. to send people adverts for products they have looked at online
c. to get detailed information about Internet users
d. to find out about Internet users’ hobbies and interests
2. Some advertising professionals are against the use of personalised retargeting because … .
a. it may make people feel uncomfortable
b. it gives people detailed information about a specific product
c. it encourages people to buy products online
d. people like to feel they are being watched
2 Decide if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). Find evidence in the text to justify your answers.
(2 x 3 = 6 points)
…… 1. Companies have been using personalised retargeting techniques for years.
.................................................................................................................................................
…… 2. Personalised retargeting techniques are here to stay.
.................................................................................................................................................
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2. 5 Unit Test
3 Complete the sentences. (3 x 3 = 9 points)
1. Susan Mathews was surprised ..........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................ .
2. In the past, companies have monitored people’s online activity in order to .....................................
........................................................................................................................................................ .
3. Some people believe that the digital advertising industry should be regulated so that .....................
........................................................................................................................................................ .
4 Find words or expressions in the text that mean: (4 x 1 = 4 points)
1. searching (paragraph I) ……………………
2. particular (paragraph II) ……………………
3. worried (paragraph IV) ……………………
4. not clear (paragraph V) ……………………
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