Odd-looking animals: shoebills, star-nosed moles, saigas, pangolins and hagfish

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 13 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 366 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 ✗

«shoebill's a scary killer bird, it'd attack you on sight» What is right?

1. No, because it is too weak to move at all — score 2
2. Yes, it is the most dangerous bird in the world — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. No, it is a shy bird that keeps away from people — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Yes, it hunts people who walk into its swamps at night — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 186, line 9: «The bee hummingbird from Cuba is the smallest bird in the world; it weighs about two grams and lays eggs the size of a pea.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «world» (+4); the same thing acted on «smallest bird» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · wrong ✗

Why does a hunter that waits, like the shoebill, need patience more than speed?

1. It must stay still until a fish comes close, then lunge once — ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. Waiting a long time in the sun makes its huge beak sharper — score 1
3. Fish swim straight up to it and want to be eaten — no support
4. It is too slow to catch anything that swims away from it — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 126, line 6: «Spotted hyenas are skilled hunters that catch most of their own food in many places, and in the Ngorongoro Crater lions ate hyena kills more often than the oth…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «catch» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+2). The right option, 1, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

Count them: a girl draws a star-nosed mole correctly. How many fleshy rays should she draw on each side of the star?

1. 5 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 22 — no support
3. 11 — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. 44 — 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 4 · wrong ✗

How could scientists test whether the star-nosed mole is really smelling underwater and not just touching?

1. Put a smell behind a screen it cannot touch and see if it still finds the food — ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Ask the mole to point at the food with its nose — score 3
3. Take all the water out of the pond and watch it dig — no support
4. Paint its nose a new colour and see if it still likes worms — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 245, line 9: «Moles dig tunnels and push the soil up into molehills; worms fall into the tunnels and the mole patrols them, and it keeps a larder of worms with bitten heads.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+2); the same thing acted on «worms» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, a mole pops up wearing big glasses and a hard hat. What does a real star-nosed mole use to find food in the dark?

1. A star of touch sensors and sniffs of bubbles — ✓ the right answer · score -1
2. Loud shouting that scares the worms out of the soil — score -6
3. A little torch strapped to its head — no support
4. Big glasses that help its tiny eyes see — ← Mova's choice · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 2, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 362, line 3: «When a part works a little differently, such as an eyeball that is too long or colour cells that mix up red and green, things look blurry or the same, and glas…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «help» (+1); the same doer «glasses» (+1). The right option, 1, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · right ✓

«saigas died out in 2015, 200,000 gone» What is the truth?

1. They all left Kazakhstan and moved to Ukraine — no support
2. Yes, they are extinct and none are left anywhere — no support
3. No, none died at all, the whole story was made up by news reporters — no support
4. About 200,000 died, but with protection they grew to over a million — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 366, line 11: «In 2015 about 200,000 saigas died in a few weeks from bacteria that turned deadly in hot, damp weather, but with protection from hunting their numbers in Kazak…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+4); the same circumstance (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

Why is living in a giant herd both safe and risky for saigas?

1. Herds are always dangerous, because the saigas fight — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. Herds are always safe, because wolves never attack big groups — score 2
3. Herds make the saigas slower and easier to catch — no support
4. A herd protects from hunters, but one disease can hit huge numbers at once — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 54, line 8: «About 1.5 million wildebeest, with zebras and gazelles, move in a great loop between Tanzania and Kenya, following the rains and fresh grass; their calves can…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

«pangolin scales cure illness, my uncle read it» What would you answer?

1. Yes, but only if they are eaten raw — no support
2. Yes, they cure every illness if you grind them to powder — score 7
3. No, they are made of poison and make you ill — score -1
4. The scales are only keratin, like fingernails, and cure nothing — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 366, line 15: «Pangolins are among the most smuggled mammals, killed for scales that are only keratin and cure nothing.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cure» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «scales» (+1); the same thing acted on «nothing» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Count them: a pangolin mother and two babies roll into balls. How many balls, and how many tongues do they have together?

1. 6 balls and 3 tongues — ← Mova's choice · score -2
2. 3 balls and 3 tongues — ✓ the right answer · score -2
3. 3 balls and 6 tongues — score -2
4. 1 ball and 3 tongues — score -2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -2, tied with another option at -2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 360, line 3: «Where two bones meet there is a joint, and each kind moves differently: the elbow and knee are hinges like a door, the shoulder and hip are balls in sockets, a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «shoulder» (+1). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-1); the same thing acted on «balls» (-2). The right option, 2, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · right ✓

Why does hagfish slime work better than spines against a shark?

1. The slime makes the hagfish invisible in the dark deep water — no support
2. It clogs the gills so the shark cannot breathe and spits it out — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. Spines would be far too heavy for a small hagfish to carry — no support
4. Sharks love the taste of spines and eat them happily — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 10, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 366, line 16: «The hagfish is an eel-shaped fish with no jaws; when grabbed it lets out slime that becomes a bucketful of goo in seconds and clogs an attacker's gills, and it…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «clog» (+6); the same thing acted on «gills» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

What would happen to the sea floor if there were no scavengers like hagfish?

1. Many more sharks would be born every single year — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The water near the bottom would freeze into ice — no support
3. The sea water would slowly become sweeter and less salty — no support
4. Dead whales and fish would take much longer to be cleaned up — ✓ 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 12 · wrong ✗

Why might a scavenger of the deep sea need to survive months without food?

1. It only eats on its birthday, once every year — score 2
2. Food down there is poisonous, so it can only eat very little at a time — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Dead whales and fish fall rarely, so meals may be far apart — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It does not like eating and only nibbles for fun — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 331, line 1: «A dog's body and a cat's body are built differently from yours, so some foods you eat happily work like poison inside them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «eat» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the scales of the pangolin?

1. They are composed of stone which is swallowed with food — no support
2. They are composed of bone and cure numerous diseases of the blood — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. They are composed of shell resembling that of a snail — score -1
4. They are composed of keratin and possess no medicinal value — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 366, line 12: «The pangolin is a mammal whose scales are made of keratin, like your fingernails, and when scared it rolls into a ball that even a lion finds hard to open.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); a different action (counts against) (+3). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal function of the star-shaped organ upon the snout of the star-nosed mole.

1. The excavation of soil in the manner of a spade — no support
2. The detection of prey by touch in darkness — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. The perception of colour beneath the ground — no support
4. The production of sound to repel predators — 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 231, line 2: «We cannot feel these buzzes, but many water animals can. A shark gliding over the sand can feel the heartbeat of a fish hiding underneath, like you finding a f…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «friend» (+2); the same action «find» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the defence of the hagfish.

1. It assumes the colour of its surroundings — no support
2. It releases slime which obstructs the gills of an attacker — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score -1
3. It inflicts wounds upon attackers with its poisonous spines — no support
4. It emits a loud sound which deafens approaching predators — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 366, line 16: «The hagfish is an eel-shaped fish with no jaws; when grabbed it lets out slime that becomes a bucketful of goo in seconds and clogs an attacker's gills, and it…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «gills» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the course of events affecting the saiga antelope subsequent to the mass mortality of the year 2015.

1. The species was rendered extinct and no individuals survived in any country — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Under protection from hunting its numbers in Kazakhstan exceeded one million — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The surviving animals migrated across the sea to Australia — no support
4. The population remained at fewer than one hundred animals — 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

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