Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras, hippos and giraffes

Tests: 7 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 10 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 128 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 · right ✓

«zebras are white horses with black paint basically» What is right?

1. Zebras have black skin and are not tame horses — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Right, they are just white horses painted with black stripes by nature — no support
3. Wrong, zebras are a kind of cow — no support
4. Right, any horse can become a zebra — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 13: «Zebras have black skin, so they are usually described as black with white stripes.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3); the same thing acted on «black skin» (+2); the same doer «zebras» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · right ✓

«Gloria floats like a ballerina, so hippos are great swimmers» What is right?

1. Right, they float like balloons — score 3
2. Right, they swim like seals, twisting and diving with ease — score 3
3. Right, they glide like swans — no support
4. Real hippos sink and bounce along the river bottom — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 9, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 128, line 3: «Gloria could not really float gracefully: a hippo's bones are so heavy that it sinks, and it walks and bounces along the river bottom, pushing up to breathe.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bounce» (+4); the same place «river bottom» (+3); the same doer «hippo» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · right ✓

«hippos look chill, can we paddle next to one» What is the best answer?

1. No, hippos are among the most dangerous large animals in Africa — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Yes, they are gentle grass eaters that never hurt anybody — no support
3. Yes, they are slow and sleepy — no support
4. Yes, if you bring them carrots — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 102, line 2: «A hippo looks lazy and round, but it opens its mouth wide enough to fit a child, walks along the bottom of the pool because it cannot really swim, and guards i…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same doer «hippo» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · wrong ✗

«2 giraffes + 3 zebras, how many legs» How many?

1. 24 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 12 — no support
3. 20 — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. 10 — 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 5 · right ✓

«3 giraffes, how many neck bones altogether, it's like a million» How many?

1. 21 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 210 — no support
3. 30 — no support
4. 3 — 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 ✗

«hippo's sweating blood, is it hurt??» What is right?

1. Yes, hippos bleed when hot — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yes, it was in a fight — no support
3. It is a red oily sunscreen, neither blood nor sweat — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yes, call a vet at once, it is bleeding from a cut — 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 7 · right ✓

«Melman's from Central Park Zoo so real giraffes live there» What is right?

1. The real Central Park Zoo is small and keeps no giraffes — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. Right, they roam the park — score 3
3. Right, all zoos have giraffes — score 3
4. Right, it has twenty giraffes living there, the biggest herd in America — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 128, line 17: «The real Central Park Zoo is small and keeps penguins and sea lions, but not lions, zebras, hippos or giraffes.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3); the same doer «real central park zoo» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

What would happen if a lion tried to grab a zebra from behind?

1. The lion would always win easily — score 1
2. The zebra would lie down — no support
3. The zebra would climb up a tree to get away from it — score 1
4. It could get a kick hard enough to break its jaw — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 128, line 8: «Stripes might also confuse a lion trying to pick out one zebra from a running herd, but this is less certain.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «lion» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Why might zebras like to graze near giraffes?

1. Giraffes share their leaves with them — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Giraffes are tall and spot lions early — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Giraffes scare all flies away — score 2
4. Giraffes carry zebras on their backs — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 101, line 1: «At the zoo the African savanna area is one big grassy paddock where giraffes, zebras and antelopes wander together, just as they share the plains of Africa, wh…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «share» (+5); the same doer «giraffes» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · wrong ✗

«does a hippo drown when it falls asleep under water?» What is right?

1. No, hippos breathe water — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. No, it can come up for air while asleep without waking — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. No, hippos never sleep — no support
4. Yes, hippos often drown if they fall asleep in deep water — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 128, line 3: «Gloria could not really float gracefully: a hippo's bones are so heavy that it sinks, and it walks and bounces along the river bottom, pushing up to breathe.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «breathe» (+2); the same doer «hippo» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · right ✓

«all zebras look the same, how do they tell each other apart lol» What is right?

1. Only the colour of their eyes is different — no support
2. They cannot tell each other apart at all — no support
3. Every zebra's stripe pattern is unique — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. They wear little name tags clipped to their ears — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 128, line 6: «Under its fur a zebra's skin is black, so scientists say zebras are black with white stripes, and every zebra's pattern is unique.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «pattern» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the colouration of the zebra.

1. The zebra possesses no stripes beneath its outer coat of hair — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The skin of the zebra is black, and the animal is accordingly described as black with white stripes — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The colouration of the zebra alters according to exposure to sunlight — no support
4. The skin of the zebra is white, and the black stripes are deposited upon the hair alone — 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 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal reason for which the hippopotamus does not float.

1. It is devoid of lungs — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Its skin is composed of mineral matter — no support
3. Its bones are of great density and weight — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It ingests a large quantity of water — 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 3 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the neck of the giraffe?

1. It contains seven bones, in common with almost all mammals, each being of great length — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. It contains approximately seventy bones, each being of the ordinary length found in other mammals — score 3
3. It contains no bones, being composed of muscle — score 3
4. It contains twice the number of bones found in the human neck — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 128, line 14: «A giraffe's neck has only seven bones, like almost all mammals, and its heart weighs about 11 kilograms to push blood up to its head.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «neck» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the explanation of zebra stripes which is at present best supported by experiment.

1. The stripes assist the zebra in the location of water — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. The stripes discourage biting flies from alighting — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. The stripes serve to retain heat in cold weather — score 3
4. The stripes afford concealment in green vegetation — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 25, line 12: «Every zebra has its own stripe pattern, and the best evidence says the stripes help keep biting flies from landing.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «help» (+2); the same doer «stripes» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/