Maestro

by hugo rangel
English 2 partial 3
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The eBay Capital of the World
[A] The online auction site, eBay, has become a major part of U.S. retailing, and it conducted 6.35 billion dollars in trades during 2006. The company was founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, and the very first item sold on the site was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. The founder,Pierre Omidyar, surprised at the sale, called the customer to make sure he understood that the pointer was broken. “I collect broken laser pointers,” an astonished Omidyar was told. The idea occurred to him that there might be a market for all kinds of products and that the Internet offered the perfect medium to connect buyers and sellers. Thus, eBay was born.

[B] Lumberton, New Jersey, in thenortheastern part of the United States, is the eBay capital of the world. The small town of 12,000 people in southern New Jersey has become an unofficial center for eBay business with 46,000 items listed on the site originating in Lumberton’s zip code area. A full one quarter of Lumberton’s residents are registered eBay members. Experts are not sure why this is the case. One theory is thatthere are many young and small families living in the region, and these types of families are the most common consumers of online goods and services. Whatever the reason, Lumberton is quickly getting a name as the place to move to if you want to become an eBay entrepreneur!

1. The main idea of the article is:
A. to detail the history of eBay and its founding in 1995 in California.
B. toexplain briefly the history of eBay and tell about an important city for eBay’s business.
C. to discuss the importance of online shopping for young and small families in the USA.
D. to analyze the business plan of eBay in comparison to other online auction sites.

2. According to paragraph A, eBay was founded:
A. in 1995 in New Jersey.
B. by Pierre Omidyar in Lumberton, New Jersey.
C. by a youngfamily in California in 1975.
D. by Pierre Omidyar in California in 1995.

3. According to the passage, Lumberton, New Jersey:
A. is the unofficial capital of eBay business.
B. is where Pierre Omidyar comes from.
C. is near San Jose, California.
D. was founded in 1995.

6. Pierre Omidyar called the first person who bought something on eBay because he wanted to make sure the customer:
A.would pay the bill soon.
B. knew how eBay worked.
C. understood that the product was broken.
D. didn’t forget his sign-in password information.

7. Based on the passage, which of the following is probably true?
A. Most residents of Lumberton, New Jersey are comfortable using the Internet.
B. Most residents of Lumberton, New Jersey spend a lot of money on other auction sites.
C. Mostresidents of Lumberton, New Jersey waste a lot of time surfing the net.
D. Most residents of Lumberton, New Jersey should spend more time with their families.

8. According the passage, the first item sold on eBay:
A. broke as soon as it was shipped to the customer.
B. was returned soon after purchase because it was broken.
C. was a laser pointer that the customer had to break in order to buy.
D.was a broken laser pointer that the customer wanted to add to his collection.

9. According to the passage, one theory about why Lumberton has so many eBay members is that the city has many:
A. young families who are probably not comfortable with computers.
B. small families that have extra money to spend on shopping.
C. young, small families who are probably comfortable with computers.
D.rich families that spend many hours buying things from all kinds of websites.

10. Based on the above passage, eBay is probably:
A. the only online auction site in the world today.
B. the biggest and most well-known online auction site in New Jersey.
C. the biggest and most well-known online auction site in the world.
D. the smallest and least well-known online auction site in the USA....