Fionn mac Cumhaill, The Boyhood of Fionn, part 6: Fionn trains hard, learns to swim, and is left sneezing in a tree

Tests: 3 of 13 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 14 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1038 of the books 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.

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 ✗

Yo, so Fionn's aunts were basically whipping him round a tree with thorn sticks, right?

1. Yeah mate, he had to run from the switch and then swap places — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Nah bruv, he just stood there and got whacked by the switch — no support
3. Yeah mate, he ran — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. Nah, not really mate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1038, line 13: «Fionn learns to run by playing a switch game, where "a small boy feels a switch."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «run» (+4); the same doer «fionn» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Wait, who's the big hard lad with the huge shoulders and the sneery face?

1. the sons of Morna, big and mean — no support
2. Morna, the Connachtman, and his lot — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Morna, the Connachtman, and his whole gang of sons who lived down by the lake — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Uail and his hard crew, proper nasty — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 676, line 20: «When the prince asks, "Tell me how I can reach you?", Wildrose only smiles and shakes her head.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «prince» (+2); a different action (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 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

Bruv, why did the aunts hide the wee lad in a wood?

1. Cos they wanted him far from the house — no support
2. Cos they were dead scared of the sons of Morna — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Cos the women were dead scared of the sons of Morna and their hounds and their spears — ← Mova's choice · score 0
4. Cos they were hiding from the Connachtmen — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 887, line 17: «fact: Old word: a "master sawyer" was a man who cut up big logs into wood, so November "had to supply wood to the whole parish."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «man» (+1). Against it: the same circumstance (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

Was Goll Mor a proper nasty one or what?

1. Nah, he was laughing loads, so people forgave him for the butchering — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yeah, proper nasty — no support
3. Nah, he was alright — no support
4. Yeah he was mental, but his laughing made folks forget the killing lately — 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

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

Did Fionn actually manage to catch a fish, sound?

1. Yeah he grabbed a duck instead, which was a total mess and not a fish at all, lol — score 3
2. Nah, fish are mad quick, he couldn't catch them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Yeah, he grabbed one but it was dead slippery — score 5
4. Nah, fish move in sudden spurts so he could never grab a single one of them in the water — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 733, line 4: «A poor fisherman and his wife live in a pigsty until he catches a talking fish that says it is an enchanted prince, so he lets it go.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «catch» (+4); the same doer «king» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

Lol, what did the duck say when Fionn grabbed it?

1. "Qu--" and it was gone before the quack finished — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. "Quack" and it slipped out of his hands — no support
3. "Qu--" and it flapped off fast — no support
4. "Qu--" and it flew off before he could blink — 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 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

What was that thing the stranger said to Fionn?

1. "Hail, young lord" — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. "Well met, young master" — score 0
3. "My soul to you, young master" — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. "Good luck to you, sir" — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 1038, line 16: «The stranger greets Fionn with "My soul to you, young master," which was a polite old blessing.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «stranger» (+2); the same receiver «fionn» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Right, why did the women keep chasing each other round the house?

1. They were chasing the flies out of the room — score 5
2. They were checking the clouds and shadows and bones to see what the future would bring to the boy — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. They were arguing about who got the bread — score 6
4. They were having a whisper about something secret — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 1037, line 8: «Why he is hidden: his mother Muirne feared the sons of Morna, who had killed his father Uail, so "she could not keep him with her."», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mother» (+6). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

How did the aunts work out the future, like?

1. Stars, rain, sheep, fish and skulls over their heads at night — no support
2. Clouds, shadows, birds, flies and bones over their shoulders — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. Clouds, shadows, birds, flies, bones and dead sticks thrown over their shoulders in the dark house — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. Smoke, water, rivers, leaves and stones on their backs — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 932, line 9: «Why: aunt liked the flies because "the pieces in which there were the greatest number of characters on the stage were the most interesting to see."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «aunt» (+1); the same thing acted on «flies» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Ugh, what was the deal with the tree and the no sneezing rule?

1. He had to sit in it — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. He had to sit in it and not cough or whistle or sneeze — ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. He had to stay in it till dawn and be quiet — score 5
4. He had to hide in it and never sing at all — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 1018, line 2: «Tired, he sits under a willow-tree by the road and falls asleep.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sit» (+4); the same place «willow tree» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Haha, Fionn sneezed so much, what happened to him?

1. He just got a sore nose — score 4
2. Flies flew up both his nostrils and his head nearly came off — ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. Wasps buzzed up his nose and his eyes both swelled shut — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Flies flew up his ears and his mouth and he got sick — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1038, line 5: «They order him to sleep in a tree and keep silent, but he sneezes until flies fly up his nose.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «nose» (+3); a different action (counts against) (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Gutted for him, but who whispered that he was doing it on purpose?

1. Some savage voice from the bottom of the tree where the roots were thick and dark and wet — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A low voice from behind the big stone wall — no support
3. Some savage voice from the bottom of the tree — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Some wild voice from the top of the hill — 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 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

Honestly, did the aunts think he'd be as good as his dad?

1. No, they said he was far too weak — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Nope, one of his aunts said he never would be that good, and that was really very harsh of her — score 4
3. Nope, one said he never would, so harsh — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Yes, one of them said he would be fine — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1038, line 2: «They tell him wild tales of the sons of Morna and of his brave father, Uail.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tell» (+4); the same doer «aunts» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following describes the principal means by which the guardians conceal the infant Fionn from the sons of Morna?

1. By concealing him in a remote wood — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. By keeping him inside a remote wood far from every road and sealing off the paths with stones — no support
3. By concealing him in a remote wood under the guardianship of druid women who hid him — score 2
4. By disguising him as a girl at home — no support

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 828, line 14: «The trunk flies when "any one press on the lock", and the son hides it in a wood under some dry leaves in Turkey.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «wood» (+5); the same action «hide» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Upon what grounds does the narrative state that Fionn is forbidden to vocalise or sneeze during the night?

1. He is placed under formal bonds by his guardians — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He is placed under formal bonds by his guardians and is tied to the tree with rope through the night — no support
3. He is placed under formal bonds by his guardians, who fear that any noise will bring the sons of Morna — no support
4. He is forbidden by an oath from his aunts — ← Mova's choice · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1038, line 1: «Fionn's two druid aunts raise him in the wild, far from the dangers of court and camp.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «fionn» (+2). Against it: the same circumstance (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

In what manner does the narrative describe Fionn's proficiency in swimming in comparison with that of a fish?

1. He is faster, because fish glide with slow waves — ← Mova's choice · score -2
2. He is far less adept, since fish move in sudden spurts and he must learn their quick darts from the otter — no support
3. He is less adept, since fish move in sudden spurts — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He is less adept than a fish, which he learns only after many days of trying in the cold lake water — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 857, line 17: «Old word: "macadamized" describes a road paved with crushed stone; today we just say a tarmac or paved road.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1); the same circumstance (-3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which individual is identified in the narrative as the aunt of Fionn and one of his guardians?

1. Bovmall, the sister of Uail and the mother of one of Morna's sons — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. Bovmall, wife of Uail — score 1
3. Almhall, sister of Morna — score 1
4. Bovmall, sister of Uail — ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 53, line 14: «Next evening the aunt comes; «certain gold sovereigns» (gold coins worth a pound each), placed where she can see them, «practically completed the matter».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «place» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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