Exam question 3 · Reading people in hard times: what's really behind the mea…
It is given that a friend laughs frequently but has ceased to eat at lunchtime following a family upheaval. Select the response consistent with the established facts.
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: friend, lunchtime, you · What happens: give, laugh, cease, eat, follow, select · To what, where: It, lunchtime, family upheaval, response
This is exam question 3 of lesson 28 «Reading people in hard times: what's really behind the mean face» of the reflection 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
Sentence 1: It is given that a friend laughs frequently but has ceased to eat at lunchtime following a family upheaval.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It | it | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 3 given | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 given | aux:pass |
| 3 | given | give | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 4 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 7 laughs | mark |
| 5 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 6 friend | det |
| 6 | friend | friend | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 laughs | nsubj |
| 7 | laughs | laugh | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 given | advcl |
| 8 | frequently | frequently | ADV | _ | 7 laughs | advmod |
| 9 | but | but | CCONJ | _ | 11 ceased | cc |
| 10 | has | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 11 ceased | aux |
| 11 | ceased | cease | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 7 laughs | conj |
| 12 | to | to | PART | _ | 13 eat | mark |
| 13 | eat | eat | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 11 ceased | xcomp |
| 14 | at | at | ADP | _ | 15 lunchtime | case |
| 15 | lunchtime | lunchtime | NOUN | Number=Sing | 13 eat | obl |
| 16 | following | follow | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 15 lunchtime | acl |
| 17 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 19 upheaval | det |
| 18 | family | family | NOUN | Number=Sing | 19 upheaval | compound |
| 19 | upheaval | upheaval | NOUN | Number=Sing | 16 following | obj |
| 20 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 3 given | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | give | present · passive | It | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | |||||
| 2 | laugh | present | a friend | frequently property | vn nonverbal_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ||||
| 3 | cease | present · perfect | a friend not said here | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality | |||||
| 4 | eat | to-infinitive | a friend not said here | lunchtime | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ||||
| 5 | follow | gerund | lunchtime not said here | a family upheaval | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent upheaval=Theme |
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.
Sentence 2: Select the response consistent with the established facts.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select | select | VERB | Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 2 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 3 response | det |
| 3 | response | response | NOUN | Number=Sing | 1 Select | obj |
| 4 | consistent | consistent | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 3 response | amod |
| 5 | with | with | ADP | _ | 8 facts | case |
| 6 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 8 facts | det |
| 7 | established | establish | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 8 facts | amod |
| 8 | facts | fact | NOUN | Number=Plur | 4 consistent | obl |
| 9 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 1 Select | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | select | imperative | you not said here | the response | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent response=Theme | ||||
| 2 | establish | participle | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Pivot |
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice
The friend is evidently content and no action is warranted
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 friend | det |
| 2 | friend | friend | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 content | nsubj |
| 3 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 5 content | cop |
| 4 | evidently | evidently | ADV | _ | 5 content | advmod |
| 5 | content | content | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| 6 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 10 warranted | cc |
| 7 | no | no | DET | PronType=Neg | 8 action | det |
| 8 | action | action | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 warranted | nsubj:pass |
| 9 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 10 warranted | aux:pass |
| 10 | warranted | warrant | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 5 content | conj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | present | the friend | content, evidently property | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | warrant | present · passive | no action | tree rules |
Option 2
The friend's conduct is solely an attempt to attract attention
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 friend | det |
| 2 | friend | friend | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 conduct | nmod:poss |
| 3 | 's | 's | PART | _ | 2 friend | case |
| 4 | conduct | conduct | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 attempt | nsubj |
| 5 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 8 attempt | cop |
| 6 | solely | solely | ADV | _ | 8 attempt | advmod |
| 7 | an | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 8 attempt | det |
| 8 | attempt | attempt | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 9 | to | to | PART | _ | 10 attract | mark |
| 10 | attract | attract | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 8 attempt | acl |
| 11 | attention | attention | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 attract | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is a | present | the friend's conduct | a attempt | solely property | tree rules | |||
| 2 | attract | to-infinitive | attention | vn lure-59.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent attention=Patient | |||||
| 3 | conduct | the friend | nom conduct «act transitive»: poss=agent |
Option 3 · ✓ the right answer
The friend may be masking distress, and a trusted adult ought to be informed
The tree, 14 words
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 friend | det |
| 2 | friend | friend | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 masking | nsubj |
| 3 | may | may | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 5 masking | aux |
| 4 | be | be | AUX | VerbForm=Inf | 5 masking | aux |
| 5 | masking | mask | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | root | root |
| 6 | distress | distress | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 masking | obj |
| 7 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 15 informed | punct |
| 8 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 15 informed | cc |
| 9 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 11 adult | det |
| 10 | trusted | trust | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 11 adult | amod |
| 11 | adult | adult | NOUN | Number=Sing | 15 informed | nsubj:pass |
| 12 | ought | ought | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 15 informed | aux |
| 13 | to | to | PART | _ | 15 informed | mark |
| 14 | be | be | AUX | VerbForm=Inf | 15 informed | aux:pass |
| 15 | informed | inform | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 5 masking | conj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mask | may · progressive | the friend | distress | vn fill-9.8 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent distress=Destination | ||||
| 2 | trust | participle | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent | ||||||
| 3 | inform speech: other | ought · passive | a trusted adult | vn tell-37.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |
Option 4
The matter ought to be announced to the class
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 matter | det |
| 2 | matter | matter | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 announced | nsubj:pass |
| 3 | ought | ought | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 6 announced | aux |
| 4 | to | to | PART | _ | 6 announced | mark |
| 5 | be | be | AUX | VerbForm=Inf | 6 announced | aux:pass |
| 6 | announced | announce | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 7 | to | to | ADP | _ | 9 class | case |
| 8 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 class | det |
| 9 | class | class | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 announced | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | announce speech: other | ought · passive | the matter | the class | vn reflexive_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Theme to class=Recipient |
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/reflection/28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face/e3/