Exam question 2 · Trade: why people swap, and the great trade routes

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the so-called Silk Road?

Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 1 · right ✓ · What happens: follow, characteris, call · To what, where: called Silk Road · Speech: someone speaks here

This is exam question 2 of lesson 70 «Trade: why people swap, and the great trade routes» of the history 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	14 Road	det
10	so	so	ADV	_	12 called	advmod
11	-	-	PUNCT	_	10 so	punct
12	called	call	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	14 Road	amod
13	Silk	Silk	PROPN	Number=Sing	14 Road	compound
14	Road	Road	PROPN	Number=Sing	8 characterises	obj
15	?	?	PUNCT	_	8 characterises	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	what, whom	other	roles by
1	follow	gerund			vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	characteris	present	the called Silk Road	of the following statements; accurately property	tree rules
3	call	participle			vn initiate_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent

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 right answer

A network of routes along which goods passed through many hands

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	2 network	det
2	network	network	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 passed	nsubj
3	of	of	ADP	_	4 routes	case
4	routes	route	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 network	nmod
5	along	along	ADP	_	6 which	case
6	which	which	DET	PronType=Int	7 goods	det
7	goods	goods	NOUN	Number=Ptan	4 routes	nmod
8	passed	pass	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
9	through	through	ADP	_	11 hands	case
10	many	many	ADJ	Degree=Pos	11 hands	amod
11	hands	hand	NOUN	Number=Plur	8 passed	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	pass	past	a network of routes which goods			many hands			vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme through hand=Location

Option 2

A single paved highway travelled end to end by each merchant

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	4 highway	det
2	single	single	ADJ	Degree=Pos	4 highway	amod
3	paved	pave	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	4 highway	amod
4	highway	highway	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 travelled	nsubj
5	travelled	travel	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
6	end	end	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 travelled	obj
7	to	to	PART	_	8 end	mark
8	end	end	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	5 travelled	advcl
9	by	by	ADP	_	11 merchant	case
10	each	each	DET	PronType=Tot	11 merchant	det
11	merchant	merchant	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 end	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	pave	participle				vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme
2	travel	past	a single paved highway	end		vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme end=Trajectory
3	end	to-infinitive	a single paved highway not said here		by each merchant	vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality

Option 3

A railway constructed in 1877 between Beijing and Venice

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	2 railway	det
2	railway	railway	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	constructed	construct	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	2 railway	acl
4	in	in	ADP	_	5 1877	case
5	1877	1877	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	3 constructed	obl
6	between	between	ADP	_	7 Beijing	case
7	Beijing	Beijing	PROPN	Number=Sing	3 constructed	obl
8	and	and	CCONJ	_	9 Venice	cc
9	Venice	Venice	PROPN	Number=Sing	7 Beijing	conj

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	construct	participle		a railway not said here		1877		between Beijing and Venice	vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent

Option 4

A canal conveying silk from China to Rome by barge

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	2 canal	det
2	canal	canal	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	conveying	convey	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	2 canal	acl
4	silk	silk	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 conveying	obj
5	from	from	ADP	_	6 China	case
6	China	China	PROPN	Number=Sing	3 conveying	obl
7	to	to	ADP	_	8 Rome	case
8	Rome	Rome	PROPN	Number=Sing	3 conveying	obl
9	by	by	ADP	_	10 barge	case
10	barge	barge	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 conveying	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	convey	gerund	a canal not said here	silk	Rome	China		by barge	vn send-11.1 «NP V NP PP.initial_location PP.destination»: agent=Agent silk=Theme from china=Initial_Location to rome=Destination

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.

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