The attractive moniker walled garden is given to those Internet envi

The attractive moniker “walled garden” is given to those Internet environments that control user access to applications and services. Although at times, gardens are walled to protect the user, as when children’s sites are protected from inappropriate outside content, for the most part, walls are built to enable vendors to control and charge for access.

An original purveyor of the walled garden model was AOL, which for a long time was many users’ only access to the Internet. AOL was a closed platform, with content that was custom designed and movement restricted by the “walls” surrounding the platform itself. Often, AOL customers did not know what they were missing; the territory beyond the wall was simply invisible to them.

Today, Amazon’s Kindle follows a similar closed platform model. Once users are inside, they are directed to apps sold solely through the Kindle store. Apple’s iPad is similarly restrictive, as are many of the new smartphones. As soon as the maker of a device starts limiting consumer access to the entirety of the Internet, the walled garden model is clearly in use. Hackers are now getting into the game: As subscribers become frustrated, new open source software springs up, enabling them to bypass the wall and convert content into more accessible modes.

Even Facebook, often considered to be the future of social media, is a walled garden of sorts. Outsiders cannot access private content inside Facebook, and a standard search engine cannot locate much of what exists there.

So the question for the consumer becomes: Do you want an easily navigable format that is restricted, or do you want complete access at all times to everything, however daunting that might be? The answer depends on the kind of consumer you are, on how much you value Internet as opposed to Intranet content, and perhaps on how comfortable you are with chaos.

1. According to the passage, what effect are hackers having on walled gardens?

(A) They are establishing their own closed platform models.
(B) They are inventing software that improves accessibility.
(C) They are enabling access to once-private content.
(D) They are improving the navigability of closed platforms.
(E) They are allowing consumers to avoid paying for content.

2. Based on information in the passage, walled garden seems like an apt nickname for this sort of platform because it connotes

(A) a prison-like, punitive atmosphere
(B) a region that is overgrown and untidy
(C) the formality of a nobleman’s parkland
(D) an environment that is pleasant but circumscribed
(E) an area of safety and comfort in a dangerous world

3. The author of the passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

(A) Walled gardens should only be used to protect children.
(B) Walled gardens are simply a way for providers to make money.
(C) Walled gardens are for consumers who care little about the Internet.
(D) Walled gardens may make the Internet easier to navigate.
(E) Walled gardens have no place in today’s social media.

4. How would you describe the structure of the passage?

(A) Definition and examples
(B) Cause and effect
(C) Spatial organization
(D) Problem and solution
(E) Theory and reasons

5. The author’s use of the word chaos in the final sentence indicates that her attitude toward consumers who are drawn to walled gardens is one of

(A) discouragement
(B) amusement
(C) antipathy
(D) confusion
(E) understanding