ReadthefollowingpassageandmarktheletterA,B, C,orD onyouranswersheettoindicatethecorrectanswertoeachofthe questions.

TheadventoftheInternetmaybeoneofthemostimportanttechnological developmentsinrecentyears.Neverbeforehavesomanypeoplehadaccessto somanydifferentsourcesofinformation.ForalloftheInternet’sadvantages, however,peoplearecurrentlybecomingawareofsomeofitsdrawbacksand are looking for creative solutions. Among the current problems,which include agenerallackofreliabilityandnumeroussecurityconcerns,themostcrucialis speed.

Firstofall,theInternethasgrownveryquickly.In1990,onlyafewacademics hadeverheardoftheInternet.In1996,over50millionpeopleusedit.Every year,thenumberofpeoplewithaccesstotheInternetdoubles.Therapid growthhasbeenaproblem.ThecomputersystemswhichruntheInternethave notbeenabletokeepupwiththedemand.Also,sometimes,arequestfor informationmustpassthroughmanyroutingcomputersbeforetheinformation canbeobtained.ArequestforinformationmadeinParismighthavetogo throughcomputersinNewYork,LosAngelesandTokyoinordertoobtainthe requiredinformation.Consequently,theserviceisoftenslowand unpredictable.ServicealsotendstobeworsewhentheInternetisbusiest-duringthebusinessdayoftheWesternHemisphere-whichisalsowhen companies need its service themost.

Somepeoplearetryingtoharnessthepowerofnetworkedcomputersinsuch awayastoavoidthisproblem.In1995,agroupofAmericanuniversities bandedtogethertoformwhathascometobeknownasInternetII.InternetII

isasmaller,morespecializedsystemintendedforacademicuse.Sinceitis morespecialized,fewerusersareallowedaccess.Consequently,thetime required to receive information has decreased.

BusinessesarebeginningtoexploreapossibleanaloguetotheInternetII. Manybusinessesarecreatingtheirown“Intranets”.Thesearesystemsthatcan onlybeusedbythemembersofthesamecompany.Intheory,fewerusers shouldtranslateintoafastersystem.Intranetsareveryusefulforlargenational andinternationalcompanieswhosebranchesneedtoshareinformation. AnotherbenefitofanIntranetisanincreasedamountofsecurity.Sinceonly companyemployeeshaveaccesstotheinformationontheIntranet,their informationisprotectedfromcompetitors.Whilethereislittledoubtthatthe Internetwilleventuallybeafastandreliableservice,industryandtheacademic communityhavetakentheirownstepstowardmakingmorepracticalglobal networks.

The “pounds” in the second paragraph are probably_______.