The Australian outback: red kangaroos, emus, thorny devils and runaway camels and toads

Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 11 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 165 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 ✗

«2 kangaroos and an emu at the waterhole, how many legs, arms don't count»

1. 8 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 4 — no support
3. 6 — ✓ 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 2 · wrong ✗

«my uncle says emus won the war against the army lmao, made that up right» What is right?

1. It really happened: in 1932 soldiers largely failed to cull emus — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It is a made-up joke — no support
3. It was a war against kangaroos that ate all the wheat on the farms — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Emus were in the army — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 103, line 11: «In the «Emu War» of 1932 soldiers with machine guns tried to stop emus eating farmers' wheat and mostly failed, because the emus ran fast in scattered groups.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «wheat» (+3); the same action «eat» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

In a cartoon a kangaroo is a boxing champion who punches with gloves. What is true of real red kangaroos?

1. They punch only with their tails, which is why the tails are so thick and strong — score 0
2. They never fight at all — no support
3. Males do wrestle and kick with strong back legs, but no gloves or rings — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. They wear gloves in the wild — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 89, line 2: «Zoo-bred dart frogs are harmless, because their poison comes from the ants and mites they eat in the wild, yet the keeper still wears gloves, this time to prot…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «gloves» (+3); the same action «wear» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

«why are there camels in australia, isn't that like arabia» What is right?

1. People brought them in the 1800s and many ran wild — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. There are no camels in Australia — no support
3. They are actually large kangaroos — no support
4. They walked across from Arabia over a land bridge long ago — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 165, line 15: «Australia has the biggest herd of wild camels in the world, descended from camels brought in the 1800s to carry goods across the desert.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · right ✓

What would happen to the inside of a magnetic termite mound if it faced the midday sun with a broad side?

1. It would probably get hotter — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It would fill with water and become a lake — no support
3. Nothing could change, it is always the same — no support
4. It would freeze over at night and stay cold — 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 · right ✓

«gonna bring a cane toad home as a pet for my dog to play with» What is right?

1. No, they bite people's fingers off with their sharp teeth, so keep away — no support
2. No, cane toads are poisonous and a dog could die from biting one — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. Yes, dogs love to eat them — no support
4. Yes, they are safe toys — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 165, line 3: «People also brought animals that ran wild: dingoes thousands of years ago, then camels and cane toads, and the toads have become a poisonous pest.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

A lizard with spines stands still in wet sand and its back looks damp. What is it doing?

1. Sunbathing — no support
2. Laying eggs — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Washing itself — no support
4. Drinking through grooves that pull water to its mouth — ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 49, line 2: «Some parents never meet their babies, like the sea turtle that lays her eggs in the sand and swims away, while others work for months, like the emperor penguin…», 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 (+4); the same action «lay» (+3); the same thing acted on «eggs» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

«4 bilbies, how many big ears, quick»

1. 8 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 16 — no support
3. 2 — no support
4. 4 — 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 9 · wrong ✗

Why might a desert frog wait underground for years?

1. Because it cannot find the way up — no support
2. To survive dry years until rain makes pools to breed in — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Because it is scared of kangaroos — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Because it is hibernating from the snow, like a bear in winter — 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 89, line 6: «The golden poison frog of Colombia is one of the most poisonous animals in the world, and some people in Colombia wiped darts on frogs' backs for hunting, whic…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · right ✓

A dingo, a sheep farmer and a long fence. What is the fence for?

1. Keeping sheep away from dingoes' puppies — score 1
2. Keeping the hot sun off the sheep by holding up a shade cloth — score 5
3. Keeping dingoes away from the farmer's sheep — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. Stopping emus from flying — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 103, line 15: «Dingoes are wild dogs that came to Australia with people thousands of years ago; they howl rather than bark, and a fence more than 5000 kilometres long keeps t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+3); the same doer «fence» (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

«a lizard just puffed out a giant collar at me n hissed, is it gonna eat me» What is right?

1. No, it wants a hug — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. Yes, it is about to spit fire at you from its open mouth — no support
3. Yes, it eats people — score -1
4. No, the frilled lizard is trying to look scary so you leave it alone — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 76, line 9: «Survivors included many small mammals, birds, crocodiles, turtles, frogs, snakes and lizards, which needed less food, could hide, and ate seeds, insects or rot…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «need» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal means by which the thorny devil obtains water within an arid environment.

1. Fine grooves between its spines conduct moisture from damp sand to its mouth — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. It excavates deep wells in the sand with its strong foreclaws during the night — score 1
3. It consumes the dew of flowers exclusively — no support
4. It dispenses with water entirely throughout its life — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 165, line 9: «The thorny devil has tiny grooves between its spines that pull water from damp sand up to its mouth, and it has a false head on its neck that it shows when att…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «damp sand» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the introduction of the cane toad into Australia.

1. It was introduced in 1935 for the control of beetles in sugar cane and subsequently became a harmful pest — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. It has always been native to the continent — no support
3. It arrived spontaneously by swimming from Asia — no support
4. It was introduced as a source of cheap food for the population of the outback towns during the war — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 165, line 3: «People also brought animals that ran wild: dingoes thousands of years ago, then camels and cane toads, and the toads have become a poisonous pest.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «poisonous pest» (+3); the same action «become» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the red kangaroo?

1. It is the largest of the marsupials and is capable of hopping at speeds exceeding fifty kilometres per hour — ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. It is the smallest of the marsupials — score 7
3. It is a placental mammal related to the deer, and it moves about by leaping from rock to rock — ← Mova's choice · score 10
4. It moves exclusively by walking on all four limbs — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 165, line 2: «A red kangaroo bounds along like a pogo stick, and its springy tendons bounce it forward so it hardly gets tired, while a thorny devil drinks by standing in da…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «bound» (+3); the same doer «red kangaroo» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the origin of the dingo upon the Australian continent.

1. It was introduced by sheep farmers in the twentieth century — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It evolved from the kangaroo — no support
3. It arrived in the company of people several thousand years ago — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It descended from the marsupial wolves of the dinosaur age — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/165-the-australian-outback-kangaroos-emus-thorny-devils-and-runaway-toads/