III. Reading comprehension 12%
       Most people would agree that their lives have been positively affected by the Internet and e-mail. The Internet allows us toaccess large amounts of information on nearly any topic quickly and cheaply. E-mail allows us to communicate with friends,family, and colleagues almost instantly even when they are on another continent. However, a question on many people’s mindsconcerns privacy. Does a company or government agency have the right to keep a record of the sites you visit on the Internet?Does your employer have the right to read your e-mail messages?
       Democratic societies create large zones of privacy for individuals by limiting the power of public and private authorities tolook into anyone’s personal matters. Although privacy is still a very important value, the computer age has brought a newdebate over privacy rights. Computer systems have made it easy for companies or government to collect, store, and processdata. This results in three potentially dangerous effects. First, organizations can collect far more personal information thanever before. Second, they can exchange the data with other organizations quickly and easily. Finally, they can use theinformation in ways that individuals do not know and cannot control.
       In North America and some European countries, traditional rules regarding privacy have been extended to covercomputerized information practices. The concern for individual rights to privacy has resulted in three guidelines. First,individuals should know how any organization is using their personal data files. Second, rules for sharing personal data shouldbe set and made public. Third, everyone should have the right to inspect, correct, and challenge information in their personalfiles. Although these guidelines are a good beginning, finding the correct balance between the rights of organizations to collectand use personal data and individual rights will be a long process.
【題組】22. According to the passage, what is NOT an advantage of the Internet?
(A) Any topic we take an interest in can be found out on the Internet.
(B) We can gain access to large amounts of information cheaply.
(C) Our messages can be read by the people whom they are not intended for.
(D) Our messages can be sent to our friends immediately.