听力原文： Americans have begun to feel that their privacy is being invaded, especially at
work. New sophisticated technology is being used to check up on or monitor people as they do their jobs. Sometimes employers even want to know about how employees spend their leisure.
In a new survey of more than 900 major U. S. companies, nearly two-thirds of them acknowledged using a range of surveillance methods to monitor their employees and up to a quarter of them do it secretly. And the practice is on the rise. According to the ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) Workplace Rights Project, the number of employees being monitored has doubled in the last five years.
What's driving this increase？ Partly, it's competition. If everyone else in an industry is keeping tabs on their workers, there's pressure to join in. But, to a large extent, companies have stepped up monitoring simply because it could be done, cheaply and efficiently.
Employers argue that they need information about employees in order to make important decisions about quality and safety on the job. Information about employee's physical and psychological health, political preferences, and so on allows them to help those who need it and reward those who are especially productive. Moreover, employers think they have the right to know how equipment they provide is being used on the job, if rules are being obeyed, if employees are getting the job done. That helps explain why banks routinely tape customer service calls, and why the U. S. Postal Service is testing a satellite system to track how long it takes to get the mail delivered.
Yet, on the other hand, technology was also adopted to accomplish other important goals. Video cameras were recently installed in some of the office buildings to deter theft, while others may keep a log of all phone calls so employees can pay the company for their personal calls.
According to Rebecca Locketz, the legal director of the ACLU's Workplace Right Project, there are legitimate uses of monitoring programs. But too often surveillance practices demean workers for no good reasons. She argues that employees should not have to leave their human dignity at the workplace door. They're entitled to a few safe-guards in this area. First, employees should always be informed when they're monitored. And second, there should be no monitoring whatsoever in purely private areas.
In the United States there are few protections against invasions of privacy. The fourth Amendment to the Constitution prevents the government from searching or removing things from one's home without proper permission. The Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 prevents an employer from listening to personal telephone conversations that take place during the work day. However, it permits monitoring of business calls. The ACLU and other organizations are promoting ways to expand protections for Americans' privacy in the workplace.
So far there is only one state, Connecticut, that forbids surveillance in areas such as locker rooms or the employee lounge. In other states, employers do secretly videotape private places if they suspect theft or criminal activities such as drug dealing.
Questions:
16.Which of the following is true according to the recent survey of 900 major U. S. companies？
17.What prompted the increase in the number of employees being monitored？
18.What does Rebecca Locketz, the legal director of the ACLU's Workplace Right Project think of the monitoring programs inside companies？
19.According to the talk, which of the following statements is true？
20.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a function of surveillance technology？
(36)
A．A majority of the companies admit their monitoring of the employees.
B．A minority of the companies acknowledge methods to monitor their employees.
C．A majority of the companies monitor their employees secretly.
D．Two-thirds of the companies refuse to reveal their answers to the surveys.
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