When we worry about who might be spying on our private lives， we usually think about the Federal agents． But the private sector outdoes（超越） the government every time． It's Linda Tripp， not the FBI， who is facing charges under Maryland's laws against secret telephone taping． It's our banks， not the Internal Revenue Service （IRS）， that pass our private financial data to telemarketing（电话营销） firms． Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far． The legislators（立法者） lean toward letting business people track our financial habits virtually（事实上） at will． As an example of what's going on， consider U．S． Bancorp， which was recently sued（控告） for deceptive （欺诈性的）practices by the state of Minnesota． According to the lawsuit， the bank supplied a telemarketer called Member Works with sensitive customer data such as names， phone numbers， bank-account and credit-card numbers， Social Security numbers， account balances and credit limits． With these customer lists in hand， Member Works started dialing for dollars - selling dental plans， videogames， computer software and other products and services． Customers who accepted a "free trial offer" had 30 days to cancel． If the deadline passed， they were charged automatically through their bank or credit-card accounts． U．S． Bancorp collected a share（股份） of the revenues（收入）． Customers were doubly deceived， the lawsuit claims． They didn't know that the bank was giving account numbers to Member Works． And if customers asked， they were led to think the answer was no． The state sued Member Works separately for deceptive selling． The company defends that it did anything wrong． For its part， U．S． Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes． But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to non-financial products sold by outside firms． A few top banks decided to do the same． Many other banks will still do business with Member Works and similar firms． And banks will still be mining（开采） data from your account in order to sell you financial products， including things of little value， such as credit insurance and credit-card protection plans． You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit． For example， no federal law shields （保护）"transaction（交易；办理） and experience" information - mainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts． Social Security numbers are for sale by private firms． They've generally agreed not to sell to the public． But to businesses， the numbers are an open book． Self-regulation doesn't work． A firm might publish a privacy-protection policy， but who enforces（实施） it？ Take U．S． Bancorp again． Customers were told， in writing， that "all personal information you supply to us will be considered confidential．" Then it sold your data to Member Works． The bank even claims that it doesn't "sell" your data at all． It merely "shares" it and reaps（收获） a profit． Now you know．（1）Contrary to popular belief， the author finds that spying on people's privacy ____ ．A． is mainly carried out by means of secret tapingB． has been intensified with the help of the IRSC． is practiced exclusively（独自的） by the FBID． is more prevalent（流行的；普遍的） in business circles（2）We know from the passage that ____ ．A． legislators are acting to pass a law to provide better privacy protectionB． most states are turning a blind eye to the deceptive practices of private businessesC． the state of Minnesota is considering drawing up laws to protect private informationD． lawmakers are inclined to give a free hand to businesses to inquire into customers' buying habits（3）When the "free trial" deadline is over， you'll be charged without notice for a product or service if ____ ．A． you fail to cancel it within the specified periodB． you happen to reveal your credit card numberC． you find the product or service unsatisfactoryD． you fail to apply for extension of the deadline（4）Businesses do not regard information concerning personal bank accounts as private because ____ ．A． its revelation will do no harm to consumers under the current protection policyB． it is considered "transaction and experience" information unprotected by lawC． it has always been considered an open secret by the general publicD． its sale can be brought under control through self-regulation（5）We can infer from the passage that ____ ．A． banks will have to change their ways of doing businessB． privacy protection laws will soon be enforcedC． consumers' privacy will continue to be invadedD． "free trial" practice will eventually be banned