MARKET LEADER Premier Website Lessons 27 April 2018

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Starting up

What is the first thing you do when you reach your desk at work and turn on your computer?

What would save you time?

Vocabulary 1

Match the words on the left with their meanings on the right.

1. tedium a. a difficulty or obstacle

2. scourge b. money gained from an activity

3. twaddle c. something with no chance of success

4. complaints d. speech or writing that serves no purpose

5. responsibility e. something that causes trouble and unhappiness

6. non-starter f. demands that money is paid for breaking the law

7. proceeds g. the job of making sure something is right or satisfactory

8. hurdle h. the experience of something that is slow and uninteresting

9. fines i. statements to say that you are annoyed or not satisfied about something

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Vocabulary 2

Match the two halves of the sentences below so they define the words in italics.

1. A radical solution is …

2. We do something knowingly if …

3. Something that is unthinkable is …

4. Something that is fiddly is …

5. Something that is virtual is …

6. A trusted system is …

7. A cluttered space has …

8. Something that is heartening makes …

9. Something that is overdue should …

a. … impossible to accept or believe.

b. … have been done a long time ago.

c. … people happier and more hopeful.

d. … we are aware that we are doing this.

e. … too many things in it and looks untidy.

f. … new and very different from a standard one.

g. … one that many people believe is honest and good.

h. … usually created by computers and appears on the internet.

i. … difficult to do because you have to make lots of small changes.

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Reading comprehension 1

Complete the sentences below with a correct form of the verbs from the box.

charge claim deal delete faff materialise scroll set show toy

1. This morning when I arrived at work, I did what I do every morning and started _______ through
my emails.
2. Then I tediously clicked and _______ my way through a pile of mail I never knowingly asked for and
definitely did not need.
3. Now it is surely time to re-think the scourge of spam and ask a once unthinkable question: should we start
_______ for email?
4. Millions of us still waste countless hours _______ with a deluge of [email] twaddle.
5. I know there are companies that _______ to be able to fix this in a few clicks with instant unsubscribing
services.
6. Why should email recipients have to _______ around with spam filters and regulator complaints to fix a
problem that should not exist in the first place?
7. A few companies have _______ with email charging over the years.
8. There would obviously be technical obstacles to charging, such as _______ up a trusted payment system.
9. Some type of charging would eventually _______ because the cluttered inbox problem was still huge and
not enough was being done to fix it.
10. If the Facebook row _______ us anything, it is that the time for tougher curbs on online data misuse is
well and truly overdue.

Now check your answers by reading the article.

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MARKET LEADER Premier Website Lessons 27 April 2018
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A radical solution to the tedium of email spam

This morning when I arrived at work, I did what I do every morning and started scrolling through my emails.
Then I did something I bet you did too: tediously clicked and deleted my way through a pile of mail I never
knowingly asked for and definitely did not need.
Now that the Facebook data privacy row has exposed the true cost of “free” online services, it is surely time to
re-think the scourge of spam and ask a once unthinkable question: should we start charging for email?
It is nearly 50 years since the American computer programmer Ray Tomlinson invented email as we know it,
and 14 years since Bill Gates predicted the spam problem would be solved within two years. Yet millions of us
still waste countless hours dealing with a deluge of twaddle.
I know there are companies that claim to be able to fix this in a few clicks with instant unsubscribing services.
But these can be fiddly to use and do not work with all email accounts. Worse, at least one service turned out
to be selling customers’ data on to other companies. There are also regulators around the world that one can
complain to about junk email, assuming one has time.
Yet all this misses the point. Why should email recipients have to faff around with spam filters and regulator
complaints to fix a problem that should not exist in the first place? Clearly the responsibility should lie with the
senders.
I have always liked the idea of being able to charge people to send you email, though like a lot of things I
would like to see, it has always been a non-starter. A few companies have toyed with email charging over the
years. Some would have let users set their own prices for virtual stamps and sent the proceeds to charity. You
could charge your friends and family nothing but others would have to pay at least £5 and an ex-husband £100.
There would obviously be technical obstacles to charging, such as setting up a trusted payment system. The
larger hurdle would be making people pay for something that has always been free — even if that freedom is
routinely abused.
Esther Dyson, a prolific technology investor who has long been keen on charging for email, thinks the
technical hitches are solvable. She told me recently she still thought some type of charging would eventually
materialise because the cluttered inbox problem was still huge and not enough was being done to fix it.
Meanwhile, new EU privacy rules may help. The General Data Protection Regulation that comes into force in
May is supposed to make it easier for people to control the way businesses use their data and allows fines of up
to €20m, or 4 per cent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher. Some online marketers are worried,
which is heartening. But if the Facebook row shows us anything, it is that the time for tougher curbs on online
data misuse is well and truly overdue.

© The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Reading comprehension 2
Here are the answers. What are the questions?

1. ____________________________________________________________________________?
It has exposed the true cost of “free” online services.
2. ____________________________________________________________________________?
Nearly 50 years ago.
3. ____________________________________________________________________________?
The American computer programmer, Ray Tomlinson.
4. ____________________________________________________________________________?
14 years ago.
5. ____________________________________________________________________________?
At least one of them was in fact selling customers’ data on to other companies.
6. ____________________________________________________________________________?
By letting users set their own prices for virtual stamps, for example, and sending the proceeds
to charity.
7. ____________________________________________________________________________?
In May.
8. ____________________________________________________________________________?
By allowing fines of up to €20m, or 4 per cent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.

Reading comprehension 3
Answer these questions about the article.
1. What can we do now to reduce the amount of unwanted emails in our inboxes?
2. What are the obstacles to a system of charges?

Discuss
Who sends the emails that annoy you the most? Why?
What would you do in the mornings if you didn’t need to tidy up your emails? How much extra time would you
have?
If you could use a system of charges for people who send you emails, who would go free, who would you
charge and who would you charge the most?

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Key
Vocabulary 1
1. h. 6. c.
2. e. 7. b.
3. d. 8. a.
4. i. 9. f.
5. g.

Vocabulary 2
1. f. 6. g.
2. d. 7. e.
3. a. 8. c.
4. i. 9. b.
5. h.

Reading comprehension 1
1. scrolling 6. faff
2. deleted 7. toyed
3. charging 8. setting
4. dealing 9. materialise
5. claim 10. shows

Reading comprehension 2
These are model questions. Your questions may be just as correct, so do show them to your teacher.
1. What impact has the Facebook data privacy row had?
2. When was the email as we know it first invented?
3. Who invented it?
4. When did Bill Gates predict that the spam problem would be solved within two years?
5. What was the worst problem with companies that say they can fix the email spam problem with instant
unsubscribing services?
6. How could an email charging system work?
7. When does the European General Data Protection Regulation come into force?
8. How will it show its power?

Reading comprehension 3
1. We can of course remove all unwanted emails manually; we can use the instant unsubscribing services
offered by some companies, but these are not always effective; and we can complain to a regulator about
junk mail.
2. There is pressure from companies who market their products and services online to keep the current
system, it may be difficult to set up a safe and reliable payment system – and it may not be popular for
some people if they have to pay for something that has always been free.

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