Most office workers assume that the messages they send to each other

Question

Most office workers assume that the messages they
send to each other via electronic mail are as private as a
telephone call or a face-to-face meeting. That
assumption is wrong. Although it is illegal in many
 (5)  areas for an employer to eavesdrop on private
conversations or telephone calls—even if they take
place on a company-owned telephone—there are no
clear rules governing electronic mail. In fact, the
question of how private electronic mail transmissions
 (10)  should be has emerged as one of the more complicated
legal issues of the electronic age.

People’s opinions about the degree of privacy that
electronic mail should have vary depending on whose
electronic mail system is being used and who is reading
 (15)  the messages. Does a government office, for example,
have the right to destroy electronic messages created in
the course of running the government, thereby denying
public access to such documents? Some hold that
government offices should issue guidelines that allow
 (20)  their staff to delete such electronic records, and defend
this practice by claiming that the messages thus deleted
already exist in paper versions whose destruction is
forbidden. Opponents of such practices argue that the
paper versions often omit such information as who
 (25)  received the messages and when they received them,
information commonly carried on electronic mail
systems. Government officials, opponents maintain, are
civil servants; the public should thus have the right to
review any documents created during the conducting of
 (30)  government business.

Questions about electronic mail privacy have also
arisen in the private sector. Recently, two employees of
an automotive company were discovered to have been
communicating disparaging information about their
 (35)  supervisor via electronic mail. The supervisor, who had
been monitoring the communication, threatened to fire
the employees. When the employees filed a grievance
complaining that their privacy had been violated, they
were let go. Later, their court case for unlawful
 (40)  termination was dismissed; the company’s lawyers
successfully argued that because the company owned
the computer system, its supervisors had the right to
read anything created on it.

In some areas, laws prohibit outside interception of
 (45)  electronic mail by a third party without proper
authorization such as a search warrant. However, these
laws to not cover “inside” interception such as
occurred at the automotive company. In the past, courts
have ruled that interoffice communications may be
 (50)  considered private only if employees have a
“reasonable expectation” of privacy when they send the
messages. The fact is that no absolute guarantee of
privacy exists in any computer system. The only
solution may be for users to scramble their own
 (55)  messages with encryption codes; unfortunately, such
complex codes are likely to undermine the principal
virtue of electronic mail: its convenience.    1 
 1. Which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) Until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes.
(B) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations or face-to-face meetings.
(C) Any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.
(D) At present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace.
(E) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees’ communications.

2 
 2. According to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some people use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?

(A) Such deletion reveals the extent of government’s unhealthy obsession with secrecy.
(B) Such deletion runs counter to the notion of government’s accountability to its constituency.
(C) Such deletion clearly violates the legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.
(D) Such deletion violates the government’s own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.
(E) Such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.

3 
 3. Which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.
(B) A problem is introduced, followed by explications of two possible solutions to the problem: the first solution is preferred to the second, and reasons are given for why it is the better alternative.
(C) A problem is introduced, followed by analysis of the historical circumstances that helped bring the problem about a possible solution is offered and rejected as being only a partial remedy.
(D) A problem is introduced, followed by enumeration of various questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found: one possible solution is proposed and argued for.
(E) A problem is introduced, followed by descriptions of two contrasting approaches to thinking about the problem: the second approach is preferred to the first, and reasons are given for why it is more likely to yield a successful solution.

4 
 4. Based on the passage, the author’s attitude towards interception of electronic mail can most accurately be described as:

(A) outright disapproval of the practice
(B) support for employers who engage in it
(C) support for employees who lose their jobs because of it
(D) intellectual interest in its legal issues
(E) cynicism about the motives behind the practice

5 
 5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely hold which one of the following opinions about an encryption system that could encodes and decode electronic mail messages with a single keystroke?

(A) It would be an unreasonable burden on a company’s ability to monitor electronic mail created by its employees.
(B) It would significantly reduce the difficulty of attempting to safeguard the privacy of electronic mail.
(C) It would create substantial legal complications for companies trying to prevent employees from revealing trade secrets to competitors.
(D) It would guarantee only a minimal level of employee privacy, and so would not be worth the cost involved in installing such a system.
(E) It would require a change in the legal definition of “reasonable expectation of privacy” as it applies to employer-employee relations.

6 
 6. Given the information in the passage, which one of the following hypothetical events is LEAST likely to occur?

(A) A court rules that a government office’s practice of deleting its electronic mail is not in the public’s best interests.
(B) A private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their supervisor.
(C) A court upholds the right of a government office to destroy both paper and electronic versions of its in-house documents.
(D) A court upholds a private-sector employer’s right to monitor messages sent between employees over the company’s in-house electronic mail system.
(E) A court rules in favor of a private-sector employee whose supervisor stated that in-house electronic mail would not be monitored but later fired the employee for communicating disparaging information via electronic mail.

7 
 7. The author’s primary purpose in writing the passage is to

(A) demonstrate that the individual right to privacy has been eroded by advances in computer technology
(B) compare the legal status of electronic mail in the public and private sectors
(C) draw an extended analogy between the privacy of electronic mail and the privacy of telephone conversations or face-to-face meeting
(D) illustrate the complexities of the privacy issues surrounding electronic mail in the workplace
(E) explain why the courts have not been able to rule definitely on the issue of the privacy of electronic mail

SiffyB · Accepted Answer

(06:08) 
 1. Which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?
 
(A) Until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes.
(B) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations or face-to-face meetings.
(C) Any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.
  (D) At present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace.  
(E) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees’ communications.

(A) This is definitely a choice one can be inclined towards, however, its scope is too narrow. Is the author only concerned about what will happen until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of emails are resolved? Definitely not! The solution is offered towards the end of the passage and does not encompass the whole idea. Out.
(B) This directly contradicts the passage. The whole passage deals with how emails cannot be regarded as private messages. Also, the passage doesn't state how this problem can be resolved best. This choice can be eliminated.
(C) No difference between the two sectors have been offered - no contrasts are drawn. We are only given factual information about the two. Thus, this choice may or may not be true. Out.
(D) This is the correct answer as the passage deals with the fact that there are no clear guidelines to these questions. 
(E) Again, this is not stated in the passage. May or may not be true. Out.

(01:11) 
 2. According to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some people use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?
 
(A) Such deletion reveals the extent of government’s unhealthy obsession with secrecy.
  (B) Such deletion runs counter to the notion of government’s accountability to its constituency. 
 (C) Such deletion clearly violates the legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.
(D) Such deletion violates the government’s own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.
(E) Such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.

This is stated in paragraph 2 lines 23-30. It clealy talks about government employees being "civil servants" and thus having a responsibility towards the citizens. This can be equated well to option (B) which says that the government is accountable to its people and, thus, should not delete emails as hard copies omit a lot of critical/useful information. (B) is the correct choice.

(01:06)
  3. Which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?
 
  (A) A problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.  
(B) A problem is introduced, followed by explications of two possible solutions to the problem: the first solution is preferred to the second, and reasons are given for why it is the better alternative.
(C) A problem is introduced, followed by analysis of the historical circumstances that helped bring the problem about a possible solution is offered and rejected as being only a partial remedy.
(D) A problem is introduced, followed by enumeration of various questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found: one possible solution is proposed and argued for.
(E) A problem is introduced, followed by descriptions of two contrasting approaches to thinking about the problem: the second approach is preferred to the first, and reasons are given for why it is more likely to yield a successful solution.

On a high level, the passage is divided into 4 paragraphs. The first describes the problem, the second and third paras talk about specific examples (government and private sector) and finally the fourth talks about the possible solution given this problem and how the solution doesn't really align with the goals of writing emails. This idea is best encapsulated in option (A) which is the correct answer!
 
 (01:09)
  4. Based on the passage, the author’s attitude towards interception of electronic mail can most accurately be described as:
 
(A) outright disapproval of the practice
(B) support for employers who engage in it
(C) support for employees who lose their jobs because of it
  (D) intellectual interest in its legal issues 
 (E) cynicism about the motives behind the practice

(A) The author merely states facts and positions of other people. She doesn't really give her opinion till the fag end of the passage where she states the solutions and its possible shortcoming. So, the author doesn't present her outright disapproval in the passage.
(B) No support is shown towards the employers.
(C) No support is shows towards the employees.
(D) This is the correct choice. The author is intellectually interested in its legal issues.
(E) There is no cynicism is the author's attitude

(01:48)
  5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely hold which one of the following opinions about an encryption system that could encodes and decode electronic mail messages with a single keystroke?

(A) It would be an unreasonable burden on a company’s ability to monitor electronic mail created by its employees.
  (B) It would significantly reduce the difficulty of attempting to safeguard the privacy of electronic mail. 
 (C) It would create substantial legal complications for companies trying to prevent employees from revealing trade secrets to competitors.
(D) It would guarantee only a minimal level of employee privacy, and so would not be worth the cost involved in installing such a system.
(E) It would require a change in the legal definition of “reasonable expectation of privacy” as it applies to employer-employee relations.

Turn your attention to the final paragraph. The shortcoming of scrambling messages in emails is that is not convenient. What if there were a system to encrypt the normal messages with a single keystroke? This would not hinder the convenience of employees, right? The author would be in for this solution. This is stated in option (B) which is the correct answer.
 
 (01:00)
  6. Given the information in the passage, which one of the following hypothetical events is LEAST likely to occur?
 
(A) A court rules that a government office’s practice of deleting its electronic mail is not in the public’s best interests.
(B) A private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their supervisor.
  (C) A court upholds the right of a government office to destroy both paper and electronic versions of its in-house documents. 
 (D) A court upholds a private-sector employer’s right to monitor messages sent between employees over the company’s in-house electronic mail system.
(E) A court rules in favor of a private-sector employee whose supervisor stated that in-house electronic mail would not be monitored but later fired the employee for communicating disparaging information via electronic mail.

(C) clearly goes against paragraph 2. Consider this clause: "...paper versions whose destruction is forbidden". Thus, the paper version cannot be destroyed. (C) is a clear winner. All the other options may be somewhat likely to occur.

(00:28)
  7. The author’s primary purpose in writing the passage is to

(A) demonstrate that the individual right to privacy has been eroded by advances in computer technology
(B) compare the legal status of electronic mail in the public and private sectors
(C) draw an extended analogy between the privacy of electronic mail and the privacy of telephone conversations or face-to-face meeting
  (D) illustrate the complexities of the privacy issues surrounding electronic mail in the workplace 
 (E) explain why the courts have not been able to rule definitely on the issue of the privacy of electronic mail

(A) The author doesn't talk about right to privacy before the advances and doesn't compare it the right to privacy after these advances so as to compare the two and assert that privacy has been eroded by the advances. This choice is incorrect.
(B) No parallel/contrast is drawn between the public and private sector. Out.
(C) The main purpose is  not  to draw parallels between the two said entities.
(D) This is precisely what the author intends to convery through the passage. Correct.
(E) We don't know why the courts haven't been able to rule. Out.

gmatway · Answer

Lets take some mental notes - 
intro - Emails are not private .
examples - public sector senario and pvt sector senario
conclusion - author states solution(encryption codes) but inserts a shortcoming (unfortunately, suchcomplex codes are likely to undermine the principal virtue of electronic mail: its convenience.)
Main point (why author wrote this passage) - to ive us info about why Email has no clear privacy guidelines with examples and scenarios . 
 
1. Which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) Until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes. (the whole point was never to resolve , author already stated his solution .in 2/3 of passae author is just describin conditions with examples) 
(B) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations or face-to-face meetings.
(C) Any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.
 (D) At present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace. -   Correct  refer lines ' In the past, courts
have ruled that interoffice communications may be
(50) considered private only if employees have a
“reasonable expectation” of privacy when they send the
messages. The fact is that no absolute guarantee of
privacy exists in any computer system'
(E) The legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees’ communications.

2. According to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some people use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?

(A) Such deletion reveals the extent of government’s unhealthy obsession with secrecy.
 (B) Such deletion runs counter to the notion of government’s accountability to its constituency.  correct
(C) Such deletion clearly violates the legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.
(D) Such deletion violates the government’s own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.
(E) Such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.

Refer - Government officials, opponents maintain, are
civil servants (government is accountable) ; the public should thus have the right to
review any documents created during the conducting of
(30) government business. - 
(B) is the correct choice because if govt delete info = runs counter to retaining info which is their job as a civil servant .

3. Which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.
  Correct WE ALREADY STRUCTURED OUR PASSAGE.
(B) A problem is introduced, followed by explications of two possible solutions to the problem: the first solution is preferred to the second, and reasons are given for why it is the better alternative.
(C) A problem is introduced, followed by analysis of the historical circumstances that helped bring the problem about a possible solution is offered and rejected as being only a partial remedy.
(D) A problem is introduced, followed by enumeration of various questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found: one possible solution is proposed and argued for.
(E) A problem is introduced, followed by descriptions of two contrasting approaches to thinking about the problem: the second approach is preferred to the first, and reasons are given for why it is more likely to yield a successful solution.

4. Based on the passage, the author’s attitude towards interception of electronic mail can most accurately be described as:

(A) outright disapproval of the practice
(B) support for employers who engage in it
(C) support for employees who lose their jobs because of it
 (D) intellectual interest in its legal issues - correct . refer 1) there are no clear rules (LAWS) governing electronic mail. 2)'The fact is that no absolute guarantee of..' these lines show how intrested our author is in leal issues . 
privacy exists in any computer system 
(E) cynicism (doubt) about the motives behind the practice (there is no fix practice )

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely hold which one of the following opinions about an encryption system that could encodes and decode electronic mail messages with a single keystroke = CONVENIENCE ?
Prethink - even while statin solution author talks about how inconvenient it is to ENCRYPT a mail. So if someone can decode mail in a click of a button then no one would take the pain of encrypting in the first place.

(A) It would be an unreasonable burden on a company’s ability to monitor electronic mail created by its employees.
 (B) It would significantly reduce the difficulty of attempting to safeguard the privacy of electronic mail. correct  
(C) It would create substantial legal complications for companies trying to prevent employees from revealing trade secrets to competitors.
(D) It would guarantee only a minimal level of employee privacy, and so would not be worth the cost involved in installing such a system.
(E) It would require a change in the legal definition of “reasonable expectation of privacy” as it applies to employer-employee relations.

6. Given the information in the passage, which one of the following hypothetical events is LEAST likely to occur?

'We are looking for an option that will never happen or at least not happen before other worse scenarios '

(A) A court rules that a government office’s practice of deleting its electronic mail is not in the public’s best interests.
(B) A private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their supervisor.
 (C) A court upholds the right of a government office to destroy both paper and electronic versions of its in-house documents.Correct this can never happen why? refer lines '(20) their staff to delete such electronic records, and defend
this practice by claiming that the messages thus deleted
already exist in paper versions whose destruction is
forbidden.' Even to destroy mail version they need a paper based version as evidence . Both can't be destroyed ' 
(D) A court upholds a private-sector employer’s right to monitor messages sent between employees over the company’s in-house electronic mail system.
(E) A court rules in favor of a private-sector employee whose supervisor stated that in-house electronic mail would not be monitored but later fired the employee for communicating disparaging information via electronic mail.

7. The author’s primary purpose in writing the passage is to

(A) demonstrate that the individual right to privacy has been eroded by advances in computer technology
(B) compare the legal status of electronic mail in the public and private sectors
(C) draw an extended analogy between the privacy of electronic mail and the privacy of telephone conversations or face-to-face meeting
(D) illustrate the complexities of the privacy issues surrounding electronic mail in the workplace (Correct )-  (D) Correct - Author has illustrated (employee example) email related issues . 
(E) explain why the courts have not been able to rule definitely on the issue of the privacy of electronic mail

lakshya14 · Answer

In (6), with the help of the line "In the past, courts
have ruled that interoffice communications may be considered private only if employees have a
???reasonable expectation??? of privacy when they send the
messages." This supports the (E), although (C) also supports the passage. How to really distinguish between them?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Consider this as an EXCEPT question.

According to E  Paragraph 4  mentions a traditional necessary condition for interoffice privacy: a  “reasonable expectation of privacy.”  The employee in  (E)  evidently possessed such an expectation, so the ruling in  (E)  is perfectly consistent with the thrust of the passage’s ideas.

While  (C)  deals with  paragraph 2’s  topic but goes much further than it, or common sense, permits. Even those in favor of deleting e-mail  (lines 18-23)  base their proposal on the fact that e-mail is redundant, given the availability of paper copies. Messages deleted in both paper and email forms go much further; it’s difficult to imagine any judge permitting  (C) ’s course of action, so  (C)  is the correct answer.

Thank you

VirFortis · Answer

It took me 20 min to complete this RC even though it was of a lower difficulty and less dense. Any guidance on improving speed in RC without losing comprehension?

BTW, I got 6/7 correct. And mostly my accuracy in RC is >90%.

jppresa · Answer

I think you should gradually decrease the time you spend on each passage even if your accuracy drops and then push your accuracy back up again. One of the main components of the GMAT is timing so by taking so long its as if you were getting half the question wrong. In the real exam taking over 20min would basically mean guessing 2-3 questions in the end even if your timing for CR and SC is decent.

I'm not an expert though, so take this as an opinion.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Most office workers assume that the messages they send to each other

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