A、To combat competition and raise productivity. B、To provide them with more job opportunities. C、To help them maintain their liv

Americans suffer from an overdose of work. Regardless of who they are or what they do, Americans spend more time at work than at any time since World War Ⅱ. In 1950, the US had fewer working hours than any other industrialized country. Today, it exceeds every country but Japan where industrial employees load 2 155 hours a year compared with 1951 in the US and 1603 in the former West Germany.
    Between 1969 and 1989, employed Americans added an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules. The workweek has remained at above 40 hours. But people are working more weeks each year. Specifically pay-time-off holidays, vacations, sick leave shrank by 50% in the 1980s. As corporations have experienced stiff competition and slower growth of productivity, they have pressed employees to work longer. Cost-cutting lay-offs in the 1980s reduced the professional and managerial ranks, leaving fewer people to get the job done. In lower paid occupations where wages have been reduced, workers have added hours in overtime or extra jobs to preserve their living standards. The government estimates that more than 7 million people hold a second job.
    For the first time, large numbers of people say they want to cut back on working hours even if it means earning less money. But most employers are unwilling to let them do so. The government which has stepped back from its traditional role as a regulator of work time should take steps to make shorter hours possible.
    Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
    12. In which country do industrial employees work the longest hours?
    13. How do employed Americans manage to work more hours?
    14. Why do corporations press their employees to work longer hours according to the speaker?
    15. What does the speaker say many Americans prefer to do?