Exam question 2 · Trees
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the opening of the scales of a pine cone?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 4 · wrong ✗ · What happens: follow, characteris · To what, where: opening
This is exam question 2 of lesson 60 «Trees» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: the test at school.
The question
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which | which | PRON | PronType=Rel | 8 characterises | nsubj |
| 2 | of | of | ADP | _ | 5 statements | case |
| 3 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 statements | det |
| 4 | following | follow | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 5 statements | amod |
| 5 | statements | statement | NOUN | Number=Plur | 8 characterises | obl |
| 6 | most | most | ADV | Degree=Sup | 7 accurately | advmod |
| 7 | accurately | accurately | ADV | _ | 8 characterises | advmod |
| 8 | characterises | characteris | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 9 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 10 opening | det |
| 10 | opening | opening | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 characterises | obj |
| 11 | of | of | ADP | _ | 13 scales | case |
| 12 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 13 scales | det |
| 13 | scales | scale | NOUN | Number=Plur | 10 opening | nmod |
| 14 | of | of | ADP | _ | 17 cone | case |
| 15 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 17 cone | det |
| 16 | pine | pine | NOUN | Number=Sing | 17 cone | compound |
| 17 | cone | cone | NOUN | Number=Sing | 13 scales | nmod |
| 18 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 8 characterises | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | follow | gerund | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ||||||
| 2 | characteris | present | the opening of the scales of a pine cone | of the following statements; accurately property | tree rules |
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice
The scales open in wet weather to admit rain
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 scales | det |
| 2 | scales | scale | NOUN | Number=Plur | 3 open | nsubj |
| 3 | open | open | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| 4 | in | in | ADP | _ | 6 weather | case |
| 5 | wet | wet | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 6 weather | amod |
| 6 | weather | weather | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 open | obl |
| 7 | to | to | PART | _ | 8 admit | mark |
| 8 | admit | admit | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 3 open | advcl |
| 9 | rain | rain | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 admit | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | admit speech: other | to-infinitive | rain | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rain=Theme |
Option 2
The scales open nightly to release pollen
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 scales | det |
| 2 | scales | scale | NOUN | Number=Plur | 3 open | nsubj |
| 3 | open | open | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 4 | nightly | nightly | ADV | _ | 3 open | advmod |
| 5 | to | to | PART | _ | 6 release | mark |
| 6 | release | release | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 3 open | advcl |
| 7 | pollen | pollen | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 release | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | open | present | the scales | nightly property | vn spatial_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ||||
| 2 | release | to-infinitive | the scales not said here | pollen | vn free-10.6.3-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Causer pollen=Source |
Option 3
The scales open only when a squirrel strikes the cone with sufficient force
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 scales | det |
| 2 | scales | scale | NOUN | Number=Plur | 3 open | nsubj |
| 3 | open | open | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 4 | only | only | ADV | _ | 3 open | advmod |
| 5 | when | when | SCONJ | _ | 8 strikes | mark |
| 6 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 7 squirrel | det |
| 7 | squirrel | squirrel | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 strikes | nsubj |
| 8 | strikes | strike | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 open | advcl |
| 9 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 10 cone | det |
| 10 | cone | cone | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 strikes | obj |
| 11 | with | with | ADP | _ | 13 force | case |
| 12 | sufficient | sufficient | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 13 force | amod |
| 13 | force | force | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 strikes | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | open | present | the scales | vn spatial_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | |||||
| 2 | strike | present | a squirrel | the cone | with sufficient force | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent cone=Patient with force=Instrument |
Option 4 · ✓ the right answer
The scales open in dry weather, permitting the dispersal of winged seeds
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 scales | det |
| 2 | scales | scale | NOUN | Number=Plur | 3 open | nsubj |
| 3 | open | open | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 4 | in | in | ADP | _ | 6 weather | case |
| 5 | dry | dry | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 6 weather | amod |
| 6 | weather | weather | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 open | obl |
| 7 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 8 permitting | punct |
| 8 | permitting | permit | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | 3 open | advcl |
| 9 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 10 dispersal | det |
| 10 | dispersal | dispersal | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 permitting | obj |
| 11 | of | of | ADP | _ | 13 seeds | case |
| 12 | winged | wing | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 13 seeds | amod |
| 13 | seeds | seed | NOUN | Number=Plur | 10 dispersal | nmod |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | open | present | the scales | dry weather | vn spatial_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in weather=Location | ||||
| 2 | permit | gerund | the scales not said here | the dispersal of winged seeds | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dispersal=Theme | ||||
| 3 | wing | participle | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent | ||||||
| 4 | disperse | winged seeds | nom dispersal «act transitive»: of=patient |
Text: the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (world/data/school/), as the course runner gave them to the student. Trees: Mova's own parse — the en model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. Frames: Mova's frames reader (prag), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/60-trees/e2/