Myths and cartoons put right: Tom and Jerry, elephants and mice, ostriches and more

Tests: 8 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 12 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 191 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 ✓

«tom's been chasing jerry round that house 80 years and never got him, cats are rubbish hunters innit» What is right?

1. Real cats hunt well, but by waiting and pouncing, not long chases — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
2. Right, real cats can never catch mice because mice are too clever — score 6
3. Real cats only hunt cheese — score 9
4. Right, mice are faster than cats in every way, even over a short jump — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 9 for the next best. Its support: lesson 191, line 5: «Tom chasing Jerry wildly round the house is fun, but a real cat hunts by waiting still and pouncing in one short burst.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hunt» (+5); the same doer «real cat» (+3); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

In a cartoon an elephant shrieks and jumps on a stool when a mouse runs past. What is the best correction?

1. No good evidence elephants fear mice; any sudden small movement might startle them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 12
2. Mice are the only animal elephants fear — score 7
3. Elephants squash every mouse they see, so they have nothing to fear from them at all — score 8
4. Elephants really are terrified of mice and can jump onto stools to escape them — score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 12, tied with another option at 12 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 149, line 2: «There is no good evidence that elephants fear mice in particular. Elephants see poorly and can be startled by anything small that darts suddenly near their fee…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fear» (+4); the same doer «elephants» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «mice» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓

Count them: 3 ostriches stand in a row. How many legs and how many toes, if each foot has 2 toes?

1. 6 legs and 12 toes — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. 6 legs and 6 toes — score 4
3. 3 legs and 6 toes — score 4
4. 12 legs and 12 toes — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 137, line 5: «Praying mantises wait very still, then shoot out spiky front legs that fold like a pocket knife to grab insects in a fraction of a second; a mantis has six leg…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «spiky front legs» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A scientist waves a still red flag and a flapping green flag at a bull. Which will it most likely charge?

1. Both at the very same moment — no support
2. The flapping green flag — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Neither, bulls only charge people — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. The still bright red flag — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 191, line 10: «Bulls see red poorly and charge at a matador's cape (the cloth a bullfighter waves) because it moves, whatever its colour.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «charge» (+5). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«my goldfish swims to the corner every morning when i open the curtains, coincidence?» What is most likely?

1. It is trying to escape the tank, and the corner is where the glass is thinnest — no support
2. It has learned that food comes then, because goldfish remember for months — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Coincidence, everybody knows goldfish forget everything in three seconds — ← Mova's choice · score 12
4. It is scared of the light — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 12, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 152, line 1: «People joke that a goldfish swimming round its bowl sees the same castle every few seconds and thinks «oh, a castle!» each time, because it forgets everything…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «forget» (+5); the same doer «goldfish» (+3); the same property (+3); the same thing acted on «everything» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓

What would happen if a hungry leopard grabbed a porcupine?

1. The porcupine would shoot it from far away — score 3
2. The leopard would turn into a porcupine — score 3
3. It could end up with quills stuck painfully in its face and paws — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. Nothing, quills are soft as hair — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 183, line 5: «Snow leopards live high in the mountains of Asia; their long thick tails help them balance and wrap round their faces to keep them warm when they sleep.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «leopards» (+3); the same place «faces» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

Winnie-the-Pooh lives on honey. If a real bear raids a bees' nest, what is it really after?

1. Mostly the fat grubs, with the honey as well — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Only honey, it throws the grubs away — no support
3. The wax, to make candles — no support
4. The bees, to keep as pets — no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 191, line 13: «Bears break into bees' nests mostly for the grubs, which are full of fat and protein; most bears eat mainly plants, berries and nuts.», 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 doer «bears» (+3); the same circumstance (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«found a little bird hopping on the grass with feathers, I'm taking it home to save it yeah?» What is best?

1. No, it is probably a fledgling and its parents are nearby, so leave it — ✓ the right answer · score 1
2. Yes, its mum will never come back for it once it has fallen out of the nest — no support
3. Yes, but wash it gently in soap and warm water first — no support
4. Yes, birds can't live on the ground at all — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 123, line 7: «Jackrabbits are hares; hares are bigger than rabbits, with longer ears and legs, and live above ground in nests in grass.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «ground» (+4); the same action «live» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓

«cut a worm with my spade, now I got 2 worms lol» What is right?

1. No, at best the front half lives and regrows a tail; the back half usually dies — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yes, and each half grows a new head — no support
3. Yes, two worms for the price of one, because each half grows whatever it is missing — no support
4. Yes, worms split on purpose — 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 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Count them: a pack of 4 wolves howls on a hill. How many tails and how many ears?

1. 4 tails and 4 ears — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 8 tails and 8 ears — no support
3. 4 tails and 16 ears — no support
4. 4 tails and 8 ears — ✓ 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

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

In The Jungle Book the snake Kaa hypnotises Mowgli with swirling eyes. What is true?

1. Snakes cannot hypnotise; they just cannot blink — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Only big snakes can hypnotise — score 5
3. Snakes hypnotise with their tongues — score 5
4. Real pythons hypnotise children — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 4: «In The Jungle Book, Kaa the python hypnotises people with spinning eyes; real snakes can't hypnotise anyone, they just have no eyelids, so their stare never bl…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hypnotise» (+5); the same doer «real snakes» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · right ✓

«that fox in the cartoon outsmarts everyone, so foxes are the cleverest animals ever» What is the best answer?

1. Yes, foxes beat every other animal at every test, just like in the cartoons and the old fables — score 2
2. No, foxes are the least clever mammals — no support
3. Yes, foxes can talk and read — no support
4. Foxes are clever, but crows and parrots solve harder puzzles; cartoons invent personalities — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 191, line 17: «Foxes are clever, but crows, ravens and parrots solve puzzles that need several steps; cartoon personalities are made up.», 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) (+1). · 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 concealment behaviour of the ostrich.

1. The ostrich inserts its head beneath the surface of the sand until the danger has passed — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The ostrich excavates a burrow and enters it — no support
3. The ostrich ascends the nearest tree — no support
4. The ostrich lies prostrate with its neck extended along the ground — ✓ 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 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the stimulus to which a bull principally responds when it charges the cape of the matador.

1. The movement of the cloth — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. The odour of the coloured cloth — no support
3. The rough texture of the cloth — no support
4. The red colour of the cloth — 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 154, line 5: «Bulls are not angered by red; cattle see red poorly and charge at the cape because it moves, and in tests they charged moving capes of any colour.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «capes» (+4); the same action «move» (+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 the memory of the goldfish?

1. It is incapable of retaining any information beyond three seconds — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It retains information exclusively concerning colour — no support
3. It retains information only in darkness — no support
4. It is capable of retaining learned behaviour for a period of months — ✓ 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 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the reason for which a snake is popularly, though erroneously, believed to hypnotise its prey.

1. It releases a vapour that induces sleep — no support
2. It rotates its eyes in a spiral — no support
3. It emits a high sound which is inaudible to its prey and which causes it to stand quite still — no support
4. It possesses no eyelids and therefore stares without blinking — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 137, line 12: «Snakes have no outside ears but feel vibrations through their jaw bones; they have no eyelids, so they stare without blinking, but they cannot hypnotise anyone.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «stare» (+2); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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