---
title: Soft words for hard things: work, firing and the economy — how Mova does on the tests · Euphemisms
description: Lesson 21 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 6 of 13 tests right, exam 0 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: work, firing and the economy

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**Tests:** 6 of 13 right · **Exam:** 0 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 6 of 17 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 21 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/).

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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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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News: "The factory announced a reduction in force affecting 400 staff." What happened?

- **1.** 400 new soldiers joined the army — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** About 400 workers lost their jobs — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** 400 workers moved to another office — no support
- **4.** 400 workers got a pay rise — 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Gossip at the school gate: "Her dad's been on garden leave since March." What is really going on?

- **1.** He is on a long paid holiday abroad — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He has been planting a new garden at work — no support
- **3.** He has been off sick with a bad back — no support
- **4.** He is paid to stay home until his notice ends — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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"my uncle's an actor, says he's 'resting' lol" — what does this mean?

- **1.** He is too tired to act — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He is on a beach holiday — no support
- **3.** He has no acting work right now — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** He is sleeping during the day — 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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"boss showed him the door after the fire alarm prank, serves him right" — what happened to him?

- **1.** He was given a new office — no support
- **2.** He was led safely outside — no support
- **3.** He was fired — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **4.** He was moved to the front desk — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 4: «When a boss is forced out, the press release often says he is leaving "to spend more time with family".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «force out» (+3); the same thing acted on «boss» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · right ✓ {#t5}

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Report: "The economy saw negative growth for two quarters in a row." (A quarter is three months.) Which is true?

- **1.** The economy got smaller for half a year — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **2.** The economy grew a little each month, but slowly — no support
- **3.** The economy grew very fast — no support
- **4.** Nothing changed at all — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 4: «Economists do the same with bad news: "negative growth" sounds like growing, but it means the economy got smaller.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «economy» (+4); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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Max says: "a market correction means prices got fixed to the right number, so it's good news." Is he right?

- **1.** Yes, it means prices were made correct — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Yes, it means the market was repaired — no support
- **3.** No, it means prices doubled — no support
- **4.** No, it means prices fell a lot — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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A delivery firm calls its riders "independent contractors". What does this usually mean for the riders?

- **1.** A higher wage than ordinary staff — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **2.** A company car and a pension — score 5
- **3.** No sick pay, holiday pay or job security — **✓ the right answer** · score -1
- **4.** The right to choose their own bosses — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 6, line 13: «"Freshen up" usually means go to the toilet and wash, often before a meal or meeting.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «mean» (+1). The right option, 3, scored -1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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The company letter says: "We are offering early retirement to staff over 55." What is it really trying to do?

- **1.** Get older workers to leave — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Give older workers a pay rise — no support
- **3.** Give older workers a party — no support
- **4.** Let older workers come in earlier — 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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"Tom was relieved of his duties after the audit." What happened to Tom?

- **1.** He was given a medal — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He got a well-earned holiday — no support
- **3.** His work became lighter — no support
- **4.** He lost his job — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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"sod it, they gave me my marching orders, only been there a week" — what happened?

- **1.** The speaker was promoted — no support
- **2.** The speaker got a list of tasks — no support
- **3.** The speaker joined a band — no support
- **4.** The speaker was fired — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 11: «"Outplacement" means help given to fired workers to find new jobs.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fire» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Advert: "Flexible hours! Work when it suits you!" What should a careful worker check?

- **1.** Whether the hours are too short to count — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Whether the work involves yoga — no support
- **3.** Whether any hours or pay are guaranteed — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Whether the office has a gym — 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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The bank chief says: "We hope for a soft landing." What is she hoping for?

- **1.** That all planes land safely at the airport in fog — no support
- **2.** That prices crash all at once — no support
- **3.** That the bank closes quietly — no support
- **4.** That the slowdown ends without a full recession — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 22: «"Soft landing" means a slowdown that avoids a full recession.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «slowdown» (+6); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t12/)

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### Test 13 · ★ · right ✓ {#t13}

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"mum says the bank is just printing money now, they call it quantitative easing" — what is quantitative easing?

- **1.** The central bank creating new money — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **2.** The bank closing on Sundays — no support
- **3.** Making coins lighter to carry — no support
- **4.** Giving everyone free money in the post — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 21: «"Quantitative easing" means the central bank (the country's own bank, in charge of its money) creating new money.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «central bank» (+4); the same action «create» (+2); the same thing acted on «new money» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/t13/)

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

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Identify the principal meaning of the expression "headcount reduction" as employed in corporate announcements.

- **1.** The abbreviation of staff meetings — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The more accurate enumeration of personnel — no support
- **3.** The diminution of noise within the premises — no support
- **4.** The dismissal of a number of employees — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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It is given that an employee has been placed upon "garden leave". Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning his circumstances.

- **1.** He is granted additional annual holiday in recognition of service — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He is dismissed forthwith without remuneration — no support
- **3.** He is assigned horticultural duties upon the company grounds — no support
- **4.** He remains remunerated but is excluded from the workplace until the expiry of his notice — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/e2/)

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

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises an economy described as experiencing "negative growth"?

- **1.** Its total output has increased modestly — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Its prices have risen substantially — no support
- **3.** Its growth has been detrimental to the environment — no support
- **4.** Its total output has diminished — **✓ 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Ascertain the plain meaning of the designation "sanitation engineer" when employed facetiously in respect of a municipal worker.

- **1.** A designer of civil structures — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** A collector of refuse — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** An installer of electrical systems — no support
- **4.** An inspector of hospitals — 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/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/e4/)

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- ← previous: [20. Soft words for hard things: money and poverty an…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/20-debt-and-jobs/)
- next →: [22. Soft words for hard things: work, firing and the…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/22-jobs-shops-and-estate-agents/)
- ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/)