Rats and mice in the city, and the elephant and mouse myth
Tests: 2 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 222 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 ✗
«there's 3 rats in the alley, how many tails n legs»
- 1. 3 tails and 6 legs — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 6 tails and 12 legs — no support
- 3. 3 tails and 12 legs — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. 3 tails and 9 legs — 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 ✗
In a famous cartoon a frightened elephant leaps onto a stool when a mouse runs past. What is true?
- 1. Real elephants fear mice because mice eat their food — ← Mova's choice · score 6
- 2. Real elephants always faint when they see a mouse — no support
- 3. There is no good evidence real elephants fear mice especially — ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 4. Real mice hunt elephants in the wild, so elephants have learned to fear them — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 149, line 5: «There is no good evidence that elephants fear mice in particular; a TV test once showed an elephant stepping back from a mouse, but one test is not proof.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fear» (+2); the same doer «elephants» (+2); the same thing acted on «mice» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗
In a film a rat called Remy becomes a great cook with his amazing nose. What part is close to real life?
- 1. Real rats can read recipes — no support
- 2. Real rats can cook food in an oven — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 3. Real rats have a superb sense of smell and taste — ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 4. Real rats can steer a person by pulling hair — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 182, line 12: «Kangaroo rats of North American deserts can live without ever drinking, getting water from seeds and making very dry urine.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+2); the same doer «kangaroo rats» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · right ✓
«blocked the hole with my thumb-sized bit of foam, rat can't get in now, sorted» What is likely?
- 1. A rat can still gnaw through it or find a coin-sized gap — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. Rats never get through anything soft — no support
- 3. Foam is poisonous so rats run away — no support
- 4. Rats cannot climb, so a hole off the ground is always safe — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 222, line 10: «Rats are cautious with new food: they nibble a little and wait to see whether they feel ill.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «feel» (+2); the same doer «rats» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
«put new poison bait down, rats ate a tiny bit then left it, they're thick or what» What is really going on?
- 1. Rats are careful and test a little of new food first — ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. Rats only eat at full moon — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 3. Rats did not notice the bait at all, because they cannot smell — no support
- 4. Rats eat only cheese, never anything else — score 6
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 222, line 11: «In experiments, rats opened a cage to free another trapped rat, even when they could have eaten chocolate instead.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «eat» (+4); the same doer «rats» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗
«my grandad says rats alone gave everyone the Black Death» Is he completely right?
- 1. Yes, rats bit every person who caught it — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 2. Not quite; rat fleas helped, but human fleas and lice probably spread it too — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. No, cats spread it, not rats — no support
- 4. No, the Black Death was caused by bad weather and dirty air, not by any animal — 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 111, line 9: «Snakes and birds of prey are fed mostly frozen, thawed mice, rats and chicks, which is safer for the snake because a live rat can bite it; keepers often warm t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «bite» (+2); the same doer «live rat» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗
What would happen to a pet rat that was given nothing hard to chew for months?
- 1. Its tail would grow longer instead — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Nothing, rats' teeth stop growing — no support
- 3. Its front teeth could grow too long — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Its teeth would fall out and grow back — 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 8 · ★ · right ✓
Count them: a mouse family has 2 parents and 6 babies. How many front teeth do they have, with 4 each?
- 1. 32 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. 24 — no support
- 3. 8 — no support
- 4. 16 — 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's the mouse only come in when it's freezing out??»
- 1. It wants warmth and food for the winter — ✓ the right answer · score 2
- 2. Snow makes mice angry — no support
- 3. Mice only like the dark of winter — no support
- 4. It is coming in to hibernate in the fridge — ← Mova's choice · 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 222, line 14: «House mice come indoors in winter for warmth and food, and eat crumbs, seeds, grain and sweet foods, which they like better than cheese.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «come» (+2); the same doer «house mice» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
In Tom and Jerry a mouse runs off with a big wedge of holey cheese. What do real mice like most?
- 1. Only yellow cheese with holes in it — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Only raw meat and fish from bins — no support
- 3. Seeds, grain and sweet foods — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Nothing; they never eat indoors — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗
What would most likely happen if a giant pouched rat walked over a buried landmine?
- 1. It would dig the mine up and carry it away — ← Mova's choice · score -1
- 2. It would try to gnaw through the landmine — no support
- 3. Nothing, it is too light to set it off — ✓ the right answer · score -4
- 4. It would set it off and be blown up at once — score -1
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score -1, tied with another option at -1 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 222, line 16: «African giant pouched rats are trained to sniff out landmines; they are light enough not to set them off and their noses are excellent.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the principal reason for which the rat is capable of passing through an aperture of very small diameter.
- 1. The animal is able to detach its limbs temporarily — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The ribs are flexible, so that only the skull determines the passage — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The skeleton is composed entirely of cartilage — no support
- 4. The fur may be compressed to a fraction of its thickness — 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 ✗
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the popular belief that elephants fear mice?
- 1. It arises because mice habitually enter the trunk of the elephant — score 6
- 2. It has been demonstrated in all elephants under all conditions — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 3. No good evidence supports a particular fear of mice in elephants — ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 4. It arises because mice compete with elephants for food — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 149, line 5: «There is no good evidence that elephants fear mice in particular; a TV test once showed an elephant stepping back from a mouse, but one test is not proof.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «show» (+5); the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the behaviour of the rat when presented with an unfamiliar food.
- 1. The food is concealed and subsequently forgotten — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 2. The entire quantity is consumed without delay, before competitors arrive — no support
- 3. The food is invariably rejected without examination — no support
- 4. A small quantity is consumed and the animal awaits any ill effect — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 144, line 6: «Pigs learn tricks and solve puzzles as well as many dogs, and they can use a mirror to find food hidden behind them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hide» (+2); the same thing acted on «food» (+2). The right option, 4, 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 reason for which the African giant pouched rat is employed in the detection of landmines.
- 1. Its acute sense of smell is combined with a body weight insufficient to detonate them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Its teeth permit the safe dismantling of the devices once they have been located — no support
- 3. Its hearing permits the detection of ticking mechanisms — no support
- 4. Its eyesight permits the observation of objects beneath the soil — 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
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth/