Back to the wild: animals that zoos returned to nature

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 114 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

«my mate says zoos just keep animals locked up and never let any go» What is true?

1. Every zoo animal is released back into the wild after exactly one year there — score 3
2. Zoos are not allowed to release anything — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Zoos have returned oryx, bison, condors, horses and snails to the wild — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Released zoo animals always die — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 114, line 14: «Some British zoos breed native animals like water voles (small river animals, not rats, that have vanished from much of Britain), sand lizards and pool frogs f…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «release» (+4); the same doer «chester zoo» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if condors were released while ranchers still left lead bullets in carcasses?

1. The condors would learn to avoid bullets — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Many condors would be poisoned again — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Nothing, as lead is harmless to birds — no support
4. The lead would make them fly much higher — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

Why can't oryx be released while people still hunt them from cars?

1. Oryx do not like living in the hot, dry desert at all — no support
2. Cars are good for oryx — no support
3. The original danger would wipe them out again — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Oryx cannot run on sand — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 108, line 16: «Sid in Ice Age is a ground sloth; giant ground sloths, some as big as elephants, walked the Americas until about 10,000 years ago, and scientists think people…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «wipe out» (+2); the same thing acted on «people» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

«unicorns were totally real, the oryx proves it» What is a fair answer?

1. Yes, the oryx has a single magic horn — no support
2. An oryx seen from the side may have inspired the legend, but unicorns were not real — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. Yes, unicorns live in Chad today — no support
4. No, the oryx has no horns at all — no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 114, line 12: «Some people think the oryx, seen from the side with its two horns in line, may have helped give rise to the unicorn legend, but no one can be sure.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); the same thing acted on «oryx» (+2); the same place «side» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

«a scimitar-horned oryx herd, 6 of 'em, how many horns»

1. 12, two horns each — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 6, one horn each — no support
3. 24, four horns each — no support
4. 18, three horns each — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

In The Lion King, Simba grows up away from home and walks back as king. Why is it harder for a real zoo-born lion?

1. It never learnt to hunt or avoid danger in the wild — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Real lions do not have families — no support
3. Real lions are scared of the sun — no support
4. Real lions cannot walk such long distances on their own — ← Mova's choice · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 100, line 6: «Sea lions can walk on all four flippers by turning their back flippers forward and have small ear flaps; true seals, like the harbour seal, have no ear flaps a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «walk» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why would a big grazing animal like the European bison help a forest?

1. Bison plant new trees all over the forest by digging holes with their big curved horns — no support
2. Bison keep the forest dark — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Grazing and trampling open up clearings where other plants and animals can live — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Bison eat all the insects — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 100, line 4: «Sea otters float on their backs, crack shells on stones and hold paws while they sleep, and by eating sea urchins they keep whole kelp forests alive.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+2); the same thing acted on «whole kelp forests» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

«why bother breeding voles, they're just rats innit» What is the best answer?

1. Voles are from Australia — no support
2. Voles are only bred to feed snakes — score 5
3. Voles are exactly the same as brown rats, so breeding them is pointless and a waste of money — score 5
4. They are native animals that vanished from much of Britain, and zoos help bring them back — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 114, line 14: «Some British zoos breed native animals like water voles (small river animals, not rats, that have vanished from much of Britain), sand lizards and pool frogs f…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «small river animals» (+5); the same action «vanish» (+2); the same place «much» (+2). Against it: the same doer «small river animals» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

«why'd they bring in a snail to eat snails, that's well dumb» What lesson did the Partula story teach?

1. Bringing in one animal to fix a problem can cause a bigger one — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. New animals brought in never cause any trouble on small islands — no support
3. Snails always eat only pests — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Islands need more predators — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 114, line 17: «Tiny Partula snails on Pacific islands such as Tahiti were wiped out by a predatory snail that people brought in to eat another pest snail; zoos bred them and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «wipe out» (+3); the same doer «predatory snail» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

How would scientists know if a release worked?

1. The animals send postcards — no support
2. Tracking shows the animals find food, survive and have young — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Every animal comes back to the zoo — no support
4. They count how many visitors came to see the release on the day — ← Mova's choice · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 83, line 14: «Scientists now count two kinds of African elephant, the savanna elephant and the smaller forest elephant, as well as the Asian elephant.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «count» (+5); the same doer «scientists» (+5). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

«3 condors and 2 Przewalski's horses released, how many legs»

1. 12, two for each condor and three for each horse — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 10, two legs each — no support
3. 20, four legs each — no support
4. 14, two for each condor and four for each horse — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the Arabian oryx.

1. It was extirpated in the wild by 1972 and reintroduced in Oman from 1982 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. It has never been absent from the wild — score 5
3. It was declared extinct in 2016 following its release in Chad — no support
4. It was reintroduced to Mongolia from zoo stock in 1927 — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 78, line 14: «The Arabian oryx was hunted to extinction in the wild by 1972, but zoo-bred animals were released in Oman from 1982, and it moved from endangered to vulnerable…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «arabian oryx» (+5); the same place «wild» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal condition that must be satisfied prior to the release of a captive-bred species.

1. The species must first be exhibited for a period of ten years in no fewer than three zoos — no support
2. The habitat must be protected and the original cause of decline removed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. The animals must have been born in the wild — no support
4. The release must coincide with the opening of the zoo season — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 114, line 15: «Releases work only when the wild habitat is protected and the original danger is gone, and they cost a lot of money and years of work.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «protect» (+4); the same thing acted on «wild habitat» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a soft release?

1. Animals are released without any preparation whatsoever — no support
2. Animals are released solely during the hours of darkness so that they remain unseen by predators — ← Mova's choice · score 9
3. Animals are first accommodated in large enclosures within the wild habitat in order to adapt — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Animals are released only onto artificial grass — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 112, line 6: «A clicker marks the exact moment an animal does the right thing and a food reward follows; training with rewards is called positive reinforcement, and it is us…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «animal» (+4). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the cause of the decline of Partula snails upon the islands of the Pacific.

1. The eruption of volcanoes upon every island — no support
2. Competition for food with the water voles released upon the islands by British zoos — score 1
3. The collection of shells by visiting tourists — no support
4. Predation by a carnivorous snail introduced to control another pest species — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 114, line 17: «Tiny Partula snails on Pacific islands such as Tahiti were wiped out by a predatory snail that people brought in to eat another pest snail; zoos bred them and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bring in» (+4); the same thing acted on «predatory snail» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/114-back-to-the-wild/