The garden in autumn: colours, conkers, webs and buried nuts

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 12 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 335 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 ✓

Grandma: «put conkers on the windowsill, love, the spiders can't stand 'em.» How could you test whether that is true?

1. Count the conkers every day — no support
2. Ask the spiders — no support
3. Watch spiders near conkers and near no conkers in the same kind of place — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Put conkers on every windowsill in the house and see if you still find spiders — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 148, line 4: «Watch a jumping spider on a windowsill: it turns, looks right at you with two big front eyes, ties on a safety thread and leaps onto a fly many times its own l…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «watch» (+3); the same thing acted on «jumping spider» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

«HUGE spider in the bath, kill it, it'll bite me in my sleep» What is true?

1. It is most likely a harmless male house spider looking for a partner — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. All big spiders are deadly — score 3
3. It will lay eggs in your ear — no support
4. It came in from the cold garden to hunt sleeping people at night — score 3

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 148, line 4: «Watch a jumping spider on a windowsill: it turns, looks right at you with two big front eyes, ties on a safety thread and leaps onto a fly many times its own l…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «look» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«bro i'm gonna roast these conkers like at the Christmas market» What is right?

1. Only the shell is poisonous — no support
2. Conkers are sweeter than chestnuts — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Roasting makes conkers safe, just like the chestnuts at the market — no support
4. Conkers are poisonous; only sweet chestnuts are roasted — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 335, line 6: «Conkers are the seeds of the horse chestnut; a spiky case usually holds one, sometimes two or three, and conkers are poisonous to eat, unlike sweet chestnuts.», 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, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

In a cartoon a squirrel buries one acorn and digs up exactly that acorn in spring. What do real jays do with the acorns they bury?

1. They find every acorn without fail — score 8
2. They bury them only to hide them from squirrels — ← Mova's choice · score 12
3. They never find a single acorn again — score 8
4. They find many again, and forgotten ones can grow into oaks — ✓ the right answer · score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 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 59, line 11: «Squirrels and jays bury acorns and nuts for winter and forget many, which grow into new trees; one jay can bury several thousand acorns in an autumn.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «squirrels» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «forget» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 12. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen to young oak woods if jays stopped burying acorns?

1. Nothing; jays never touch acorns — score 4
2. More oaks would grow than ever — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. Oaks would start growing conkers — score 6
4. Fewer new oaks would grow away from the old trees — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 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 12, line 7: «Grey squirrels bury nuts in many separate spots and find many by memory and smell, but the acorns they and jays forget can grow into new oak trees.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+6). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«mushrooms in a ring on the lawn, fairies were dancing lol. can i eat one» What is right?

1. It is a fungus spreading underground; never eat wild mushrooms without an expert — ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. It is magic, so it is safe to eat — no support
3. Mushrooms that grow in a ring on a lawn are always safe, so you can eat one — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Only the biggest one is poisonous — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 210, line 7: «A pig's snout is strong and very sensitive, used for rooting up roots and grubs, and pigs have been used to find truffles, a mushroom that grows underground.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «grow» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«just chuck the leaves on the bonfire and light it, who cares» Why should someone check first?

1. Leaves are against the law to burn — no support
2. A hedgehog may be sleeping in the pile — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Wet leaves make the fire explode — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Spiders will come out and bite — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 299, line 14: «In autumn trees stop making green chlorophyll, so yellow and orange colours that were hidden show through, some leaves make new red colours, and then the leave…», 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 action «make» (+1); the same doer «leaves» (+1). Against it: 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 8 · ★★ · right ✓

Count them: 5 swallows sit on the wire and 2 jays perch in the oak. How many tails and how many legs?

1. 7 tails and 14 legs — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 7 tails and 7 legs — no support
3. 7 tails and 28 legs — no support
4. 2 tails and 14 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 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

An apple has five seed chambers with up to two seeds in each. What is the most seeds it might have?

1. 25 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 10 — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. 5 — no support
4. 7 — 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 · ★★ · right ✓

«why do swallows sit on wires all bunched up, they're just bored» What are they really doing?

1. Waiting for the snow to come — no support
2. Gathering before flying to Africa for the winter — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. Listening for worms under the road — no support
4. Drying their feathers in the sun after a long bath in the pond — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 335, line 12: «Swallows gather on wires before flying thousands of kilometres to Africa for the winter, because the flying insects they eat disappear in the cold, and they of…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «africa» (+4); the same action «fly» (+3); the same property (+2); the same doer «swallows» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«the cold paints the leaves red, that's what Jack Frost does in the film» What is right?

1. The tree makes the reds itself; sunny days and cold nights make them brightest — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Only cold nights with no sun make red — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Leaves turn red from the rain — score 3
4. Yes, frost paints every leaf red overnight, and rain then washes the colour off — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 299, line 14: «In autumn trees stop making green chlorophyll, so yellow and orange colours that were hidden show through, some leaves make new red colours, and then the leave…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different doer (counts against) (+3); the same action «make» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal reason for which the leaves of many trees assume a yellow colour in autumn.

1. The leaves absorb a yellow substance from the soil — no support
2. A yellow pigment is introduced into the leaves by the action of frost — no support
3. The green pigment is broken down and withdrawn, revealing a yellow pigment present throughout the summer — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The yellow colour is produced exclusively by insects feeding upon the leaves — ← Mova's choice · 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 253, line 6: «Coast redwoods in California are the tallest trees in the world; the tallest, Hyperion, is about 116 metres, its exact place is kept secret to protect it, and…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · 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 efficacy of horse chestnut seeds in repelling spiders.

1. No reliable evidence supports the claim, and spiders tested showed no aversion — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The claim has been conclusively established by numerous investigations — no support
3. Spiders perish upon contact with such seeds — no support
4. Spiders are repelled only by seeds of a polished appearance — 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 large spiders frequently observed within dwellings in autumn?

1. They are principally male house spiders, harmless to people, wandering in search of a mate — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. They are spiders driven indoors by the presence of birds — score 8
3. They are venomous spiders migrating from the garden to avoid frost, and their bite is commonly dangerous — score 8
4. They are juvenile spiders newly hatched within the dwelling — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 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 335, line 10: «The big spiders seen indoors in autumn are mostly male house spiders wandering in search of a partner; they were already living in the house, hidden, and are h…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «male house spiders» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «big spiders» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the contribution of the jay to the regeneration of oak woodland.

1. Jays fertilise the soil with acorn shells — no support
2. Jays prune the branches of mature oaks — no support
3. Jays consume all acorns before germination can occur, and thereby prevent regeneration — ← Mova's choice · score -2
4. Acorns cached and subsequently not recovered by the bird may germinate as new oaks — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 59, line 11: «Squirrels and jays bury acorns and nuts for winter and forget many, which grow into new trees; one jay can bury several thousand acorns in an autumn.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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