Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
Going online is a favorite pastime for millions of American children. Almost 10 million (14 percent) of America's 69 million children are online. The Internet both entertains and educates children, however, there are some possible negative consequences for children who access kid-based Web sites. Advertising on kid-based Web sites has become both a rapidly growing market for consumer companies and a concern for parents. With a click on an icon, children can link to advertisers and be granted tremendous spending power. Children are an important target group for consumer companies. Children under age 12 spent $ 14 billion, teenagers another $ 67 billion, and together they influenced $ 160 billion of their parents' incomes.
Many critics question the appropriateness of targeting children in Internet advertising and press to require that children be treated as a "special case" by advertisers. Because children lack the analytical abilities and judgment of adults, they may be unable to evaluate the accuracy of information they view, or understand that the information they provide to advertisers is really just data collected by an advertiser. Children generally lack the ability to give consent to the release of personal information to an advertiser, an even greater problem for children when they are offered incentives for providing personal information, or when personal information is required before they are allowed to register for various services. Children may not realize that in many cases these characters provide hotlinks directly to advertising sites.
The Internet does present some challenges for advertisers who want to be ethical in their marketing practices. Many advertisers argue that we underestimate the levels of media awareness shown by children. By the age of seven or eight most children can recognize an advertisement and know that its purpose is to sell something and are able to make judgments about the products shown in advertisements. However, this somewhat optimistic and decidedly libertarian view of children runs aground when we realise that they are (like a surprising number of adults) unable to judge accurately between entertainment and advertising. Adults can fend for themselves but, as marketers, we should be explicit about our purpose when advertising to children on the Internet.
According to the first paragraph, children as an internet market.

A. are using it at an earlier and earlier age
B. is overtaking the adult market due to their spending power
C. is growing at an incredible rate
D. has brought about advertisements both beneficial and harmful