---
title: Soft words for hard things: money and poverty — how Mova does on the tests · Euphemisms
description: Lesson 19 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 4 of 12 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Soft words for hard things: money and poverty

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**Tests:** 4 of 12 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 3 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 19 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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"Can't come to the cinema, I'm proper hard up mate" — why can't he come?

- **1.** He is ill — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He is grounded — no support
- **3.** He is too tall for the seats — no support
- **4.** He has no money — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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A news line: "Cash-strapped council closes three libraries." Why are the libraries closing?

- **1.** The council has too much money — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The libraries are too old — no support
- **3.** The council is short of money — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Nobody reads any more — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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Gossip: "Old Mrs Pike's in reduced circumstances since her husband went, poor dear." What happened to Mrs Pike?

- **1.** She has become very ill — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** She moved to a small flat by choice — no support
- **3.** She won the lottery — no support
- **4.** She is poorer than before — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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"Uncle Dave is so careful with money he reuses tea bags lol" — what is Uncle Dave?

- **1.** Generous — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Clumsy — no support
- **3.** Very rich — no support
- **4.** Stingy — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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A politician says: "We will support residents of our most deprived areas." Who will be helped?

- **1.** People who lost their homes in a storm — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** People who need more sleep — no support
- **3.** People who live in the countryside — no support
- **4.** People in the poorest neighbourhoods — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Tom reckons "food insecure" means scared of vegetables. Right?

- **1.** No, it means the fridge is broken — no support
- **2.** Yes, it means a picky eater — score 6
- **3.** Yes, it means allergic — score 6
- **4.** No, it means not able to afford enough food — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 19, line 15: «"Food insecure" (official) means hungry and not able to afford enough food.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «afford» (+3); the same doer «food insecure» (+3); the same thing acted on «enough food» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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A man at the market: "Ah, I find myself temporarily embarrassed — could you hold these apples till tomorrow?" Why does he ask?

- **1.** He has no money with him — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** He is going on holiday — no support
- **3.** He is ashamed of the apples — no support
- **4.** He forgot his bag — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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"Your nan's on a fixed income, so don't expect a big present, ok?" Why no big present?

- **1.** Nan does not like presents — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Nan has little money — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Nan is busy fixing things — no support
- **4.** Nan already bought one — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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A charity sign: "Your coins help rough sleepers stay warm tonight." Who is helped?

- **1.** People who sleep badly — no support
- **2.** Homeless people sleeping outside — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **3.** Campers in the hills — no support
- **4.** Children having a sleepover — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 19, line 14: «"Rough sleeper" (official UK) means a homeless person who sleeps outside.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sleep» (+2); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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"she's from the wrong side of the tracks, my mum says, as if that matters" — what does the mum mean?

- **1.** The girl missed her train — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The girl comes from the poor part of town — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** The girl is good at running — no support
- **4.** The girl lives by a railway — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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An advert: "Holidays for the budget-conscious traveller!" Who is the advert for?

- **1.** People who plan every minute — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** People who love luxury — no support
- **3.** People with little money to spend — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** People who travel for work — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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A famous singer says, "I came from a disadvantaged background." What does he mean?

- **1.** He sat at the back of class — no support
- **2.** He grew up abroad — no support
- **3.** He grew up poor — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** He was a bad singer at first — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 19, line 20: «"Disadvantaged background" means someone grew up poor.», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow up» (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/t12/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a household described as "in straitened circumstances"?

- **1.** The household is confined to a narrow space — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The household is exceptionally well organised — no support
- **3.** The household is poor and short of money — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The household is situated on a straight road — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2}

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It is given that a municipal authority is described as "cash-strapped". Identify the principal meaning of this description.

- **1.** The authority has insufficient funds — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The authority has recently received payment — no support
- **3.** The authority accepts payment in cash only — no support
- **4.** The authority retains its funds in a secured box — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the official expression "person experiencing homelessness".

- **1.** A person on holiday away from home — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** A person engaged in the construction of dwellings — no support
- **3.** A person without a home — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** A person in the process of relocating — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Whereas an individual is stated to be "receiving public assistance" in the United States, determine the circumstance thereby indicated.

- **1.** The individual is in receipt of government welfare — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The individual is being aided in a public place — no support
- **3.** The individual has received a public award — no support
- **4.** The individual is employed in public service — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/e4/)

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- ← previous: [18. Soft words for hard things: animals and pets and…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/18-pets-and-money/)
- next →: [20. Soft words for hard things: money and poverty an…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/20-debt-and-jobs/)
- ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/)

