EXAM WITH ANSWERS
EBAU Practice Examination (Asturias)
Angry Senders Beware
When Marcus Wood hit Send, little did he know that the e-mail he was sending to colleagues
would make headlines around the world. In it, Wood – who is the boss of a recruitment company in
Australia – used offensive language to accuse his employees of not being good enough. According to
Wood, they were playing games while they should have been at their desks, they didn’t wear the
correct attire in the workplace and they took too many days off sick.
He gave his workers an ultimatum: if they didn’t improve their performance in three months,
they would be fired. His employees got their revenge by putting the e-mail on Twitter. Their tweets
were shared globally, and news of the e-mail appeared in newspapers from Australia to the UK.
The “worst work e-mail ever”, as some called it, had gone viral. After his e-mail had become
famous, a repentant Wood apologised, and said: “I am becoming an online sensation for how not to
communicate …”
But Marcus Wood wasn’t the first to have sent such an e-mail. Since e-mails became the
communication tool of choice in offices worldwide, workers have been sending messages they later
wished they hadn’t. Take Richard Phillips, for instance. In an e-mail, the lawyer demanded five euros
from his secretary to pay for dry-cleaning after she had accidentally spilled ketchup on his suit. Four
days later when he still hadn’t received the money, Phillips, who is believed to have earned 200,000
euros a year, sent another e-mail asking for the cash. But his secretary was out of the office looking
after her ill mother. On her return, she couldn’t believe what she was reading and forwarded the
e-mails to her colleagues. Embarrassed, Phillips resigned from his position at the London law firm.
What should furious bosses and angry workers do before they e-mail their colleagues? They
should take a deep breath, calm down and think before they send. “Write your e-mail a couple of
hours before you send it,” advises Lily Herman, an expert in e-mail etiquette. She says that this allows
you to change your message when you are likely to be less angry. By doing this, you won’t put your
hard-earned reputation at risk from a not-so-carefully worded e-mail.
QUESTIONS. Do not copy literally from the text. (1 punto por respuesta = 4 puntos)
1. Why was Marcus Wood angry at his employees?
They weren’t at their desks when they needed to be, they wore inappropriate clothing and
they took too many sick days.
2. How did Marcus Wood’s e-mail become famous?
His e-mail was put on Twitter and eventually it was written about in newpapers across the
world.
3. Why do you think the writer mentions how much Phillips earned a year?
To point out how ridiculous he was asking his secretary to pay for the dry-cleaning.
4. Why did Richard Phillips leave his job?
He was embarrassed that other people at the law firm had read his e-mail.
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