These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.     Questions below refer to the following paragraphs.     (1) The newspaper industry has survived the arrival of a number of different news mediums over the years, but none has presented more of a threat than the Internet. (2) In the early twentieth century, newspapers... Show more

These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.    

Questions below refer to the following paragraphs.   

 (1) The newspaper industry has survived the arrival of a number of different news mediums over the years, but none has presented more of a threat than the Internet. (2) In the early twentieth century, newspapers were virtually the only means of keeping up with current events. (3) A new invention called radio offered a faster way to deliver the news, but newspapers remained as popular as ever. (4) The advent of television certainly had an impact on the newspaper industry, but readership still remained relatively high. (5) Even as cable television and 24-hour news networks became commonplace, the newspaper still remained popular with consumers. (6) Despite overcoming so much previous adversity, however, the rise of the Internet has become a very serious threat to the health of the newspaper industry.    
 (7) At the time of its inception, the Internet was not an immediate threat to newspapers. (8) As use of the Internet became more widespread and various news agencies established online presences, people increasingly turned to the Web for their news. (9) The immediacy of Internet-based news was so great that no other medium, not even television, could compete. (10) This was particularly bad news for the newspaper industry, as the stories it printed were often considered old news by the time their papers hit the streets.    
 (11) Adapting to the demands of Information Age has been difficult for newspapers. (12) While television news networks have maintained their audiences through a shift toward entertainment, newspapers have struggled to find ways to stay competitive. (13) Many newspapers have started their own Web sites, but that solution is flawed at best. (14) Most readers who visit a newspaper’s Web site are probably not going to purchase the hard copy.    
 (15) Due to their inability to compete with Internet news sources, many newspapers are now faced with dwindling readership and reduced profits. (16) The future of the newspaper industry hangs in the balance and if some solution is not found soon, that future may be very bleak indeed.    

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