ECA Practice
Reading Comprehension
Watch Your Electronic Footprint
1 Scanning the want ads in your local newspaper, you find what you think is the perfect summer
job. You submit an application and schedule an interview. Dressed to impress, you meet with your
prospective employer, who seems quite taken by your appearance, poise, and eagerness to work. The
job is yours, right?
2 Maybe not, if the employer tracks your electronic footprint.
Life in the Digital Age
3 Computers, networks, and the worldwide web have changed the way we share information.
Letters and long-distance phone calls have become passé. They’ve been replaced by text messaging
and the Internet phenomenon known as social networking—a quick way to maintain contact with
friends and family in a communal on-line space. Most social networking sites enable users to create
their own web pages that include photos, background information, and blogs. What network users
don’t consider, however, is that these web pages also provide employers with a new, completely legal
way to check out potential employees.
4 How so? Well, employers simply have to go to the networking website’s home page, join the
network, and search for the person they’re interested in learning about. If that person has a web page
on that network and if the page has a global access setting, any and all information posted there is
available for public viewing.
5 If the person’s web page has a restricted access setting, the employer can ask to join that
person’s select network of friends. Of course, the person can deny the request, but research has shown
that he or she probably won’t. A recent study of 14 to 21 year-olds who use social networks showed
that 66% of them allowed strangers to access their web page.
6 Job applicants should be mindful that personal information might be accessed not only through
their own web page but also through those of their friends. The information on friends’ pages may not
be accurate. In addition, photos on the web can easily be downloaded, manipulated, and reposted on
their web pages. Many social networking sites allow users to tag photos with names, making it easy for
employers to locate images by typing a name into an Internet search engine.
Does It Matter?
7 Perhaps the willingness of young social networking users to allow free access to their web
pages has something to do with an overall lack of concern about the consequences. The study
previously mentioned also showed that 75% of users were not too worried about “important people”
viewing their personal information. Yet they might do well to reconsider that attitude.
8 Human resource departments increasingly rely on the Internet to recruit and research workers.
One in five employers uses the Internet to research information on job candidates. Nearly 60% say that
what they find has some bearing on their hiring decisions. As one company spokesman says, “Potential
employers are never more than a few clicks away from information about you.” So mind that
electronic footprint!
1. In paragraph 3 (sentence 2), the author states that “letters and long-distance phone calls
have become passé” because of the increased use of computers. What is the BEST
definition of passé?
A occurring in the past
B no longer in wide use
C past the prime of one’s life
D frequently used
2. In paragraph 5 (sentence 3), the author cites that “66% of social networking users allow
strangers to access their sites” in order to
A reveal how many people use social networking sites.
B scare people so they do not create social networking sites.
C strengthen the argument that restricted access settings do not keep sites private.
D explain that some social networking users do not want to allow access to their sites.
3. What detail from the text supports the idea that “your electronic footprint” is important
to your future employment?
A Most ads for employment are now found on the World Wide Web.
B Employers will often ask for access to your social networking site.
C Employers often use the Internet to search for information on job applicants.
D Computers and the Internet have become the most popular mode of communication.
4. Identify one advantage and one disadvantage of using social networking sites. Be sure to
include examples from the text in your response.
5. What is the overall tone of the article? Explain your response using examples from the
text.
1 Scanning the want ads in your local newspaper, you find what you think is the perfect summer
job. You submit an application and schedule an interview. Dressed to impress, you meet with your
prospective employer, who seems quite taken by your appearance, poise, and eagerness to work. The
job is yours, right?
2 Maybe not, if the employer tracks your electronic footprint.
Life in the Digital Age
3 Computers, networks, and the worldwide web have changed the way we share information.
Letters and long-distance phone calls have become passé. They’ve been replaced by text messaging
and the Internet phenomenon known as social networking—a quick way to maintain contact with
friends and family in a communal on-line space. Most social networking sites enable users to create
their own web pages that include photos, background information, and blogs. What network users
don’t consider, however, is that these web pages also provide employers with a new, completely legal
way to check out potential employees.
4 How so? Well, employers simply have to go to the networking website’s home page, join the
network, and search for the person they’re interested in learning about. If that person has a web page
on that network and if the page has a global access setting, any and all information posted there is
available for public viewing.
5 If the person’s web page has a restricted access setting, the employer can ask to join that
person’s select network of friends. Of course, the person can deny the request, but research has shown
that he or she probably won’t. A recent study of 14 to 21 year-olds who use social networks showed
that 66% of them allowed strangers to access their web page.
6 Job applicants should be mindful that personal information might be accessed not only through
their own web page but also through those of their friends. The information on friends’ pages may not
be accurate. In addition, photos on the web can easily be downloaded, manipulated, and reposted on
their web pages. Many social networking sites allow users to tag photos with names, making it easy for
employers to locate images by typing a name into an Internet search engine.
Does It Matter?
7 Perhaps the willingness of young social networking users to allow free access to their web
pages has something to do with an overall lack of concern about the consequences. The study
previously mentioned also showed that 75% of users were not too worried about “important people”
viewing their personal information. Yet they might do well to reconsider that attitude.
8 Human resource departments increasingly rely on the Internet to recruit and research workers.
One in five employers uses the Internet to research information on job candidates. Nearly 60% say that
what they find has some bearing on their hiring decisions. As one company spokesman says, “Potential
employers are never more than a few clicks away from information about you.” So mind that
electronic footprint!
1. In paragraph 3 (sentence 2), the author states that “letters and long-distance phone calls
have become passé” because of the increased use of computers. What is the BEST
definition of passé?
A occurring in the past
B no longer in wide use
C past the prime of one’s life
D frequently used
2. In paragraph 5 (sentence 3), the author cites that “66% of social networking users allow
strangers to access their sites” in order to
A reveal how many people use social networking sites.
B scare people so they do not create social networking sites.
C strengthen the argument that restricted access settings do not keep sites private.
D explain that some social networking users do not want to allow access to their sites.
3. What detail from the text supports the idea that “your electronic footprint” is important
to your future employment?
A Most ads for employment are now found on the World Wide Web.
B Employers will often ask for access to your social networking site.
C Employers often use the Internet to search for information on job applicants.
D Computers and the Internet have become the most popular mode of communication.
4. Identify one advantage and one disadvantage of using social networking sites. Be sure to
include examples from the text in your response.
5. What is the overall tone of the article? Explain your response using examples from the
text.