—Read the article about People Express.
—Choose the best word to fill each blank, from A, B, C or D.
—For each question 19-33 mark one letter (A, B, C or D )on your Answer Sheet.
—There is an example at the beginning.
People Express
People Express, founded in April 1981, grew rapidly on the basis of low fares and no-frills service. It soon became a leading airline and (19)______ changed the industry as firms constantly engaged in price wars to lure passengers. Then, People Express' bubble (20)______ because it overexpanded, consumer complaints mounted and other airlines matched its fares on popular routes. In 1986, People Express (21)______ hundreds of millions of dollars and was forced to sell out to Texas Air, the owner of Continental and Eastern Airlines.
In early 1987, Texas Air (22)______ People Express into its Continental division and industry observers believed (23)______ the costly fare wars would be ended. They could not have been more wrong. To stimulate business for its (24)______ Continental Airlines, Texas Air instituted a new low fare category (25)______ MaxSaver. The fare offered prices that were up to 40 per cent lower than 'supersaver' rates offered (26)______ all airlines. For example, the round-trip MaxSaver fare from New York to Houston was $79. The MaxSaver fares were immediately matched by all major airlines, (27)______ feared losing business.
While MaxSaver rates were low, they also had restrictions. Tickets could not be (28)______ or flight times modified after purchase. Passengers would have to stay over either a Saturday or Sunday, Reservations had to be made at least two days (29)______ and there were limited seats available. Three weeks after MaxSaver rates were (30)______ American Airlines announced plans to raise its discount fares and require 30-day (31)______ purchasing for its lowest fares. It felt it could not continue at the rates in effect. However, just 10 days (32)______ American Airlines had to revise its plan. Texas Air refused to abandon the MaxSaver fare; it even extended the program into the busy summer sea son. Competitors went along and the price war raged on, (33)______ an executive's comment that 'nobody's cost structure can survive MaxSavers.'
A．little
B．slowly
C．quick
D．radically