Arabian Nights, Alnaschar, part 34: the broken glass, the gold, and the trap below the house

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 194 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, did the barber's bro actually smash his own glass basket, or what?

1. Yeah, he kicked the whole thing over in the street and his lot smashed everywhere, proper mess, mate — no support
2. Yeah, he kicked it and it went everywhere, mate — ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. Nah, the lady's servant knocked it off the cart when he was shouting at the baker about his prices, innit — ← Mova's choice · score 11
4. Nah, he sat on it and cracked the lot, mate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 11, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 191, line 20: «Old word: "Mussulman" was an old English word for a Muslim, and "tranquillity" means calm and peace.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «old english word» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Wait, so the lady just handed him five hundred gold quid for free?

1. Yeah, she told her maid to pay him for the glass — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. Yeah, she told her servant to give him whatever he had — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. Nah, she made him wait ages then tossed him a small bag of coins from the balcony and left — score 2
4. Yeah, she told her servant to hand him the whole purse of gold and then she rode off on her mule — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 86, line 3: «After a long silence the Head Chief laughs, then the Stranger-man, then Tegumai, then everyone, except the ladies, who keep saying «Idiot!» to their husbands.…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «ladies» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the old woman actually poor, or was she having him on?

1. She was genuinely poor and hungry, she was begging on the street corner all day long — no support
2. She was having him on, she had a rich lady — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. She was having him on, she was really poor — no support
4. She was poor at first but then the lady paid her well for water — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 73, line 3: «Afterwards Toad sends the gaoler's daughter a gold chain and locket with pearls and a modest, grateful letter; the engine-driver is thanked and paid for his tr…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «barge woman» (+3). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why did the black slave go all mental on him with a sword?

1. He thought he was a thief at the door — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He wanted to know what business he had there — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He thought he was a thief — no support
4. He caught him stealing from the house — 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the brother fight back when they cut him up?

1. Yeah, he fought them with his fists — no support
2. Nah, he tried to run to the door but they caught him at the stairs and held him down — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Nah, he just stayed still, couldn't reply — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. Nah, he begged them to stop crying — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 194, line 6: «Who: the story is told by a barber about his brother Alnaschar, who "was so much absorbed in his dreams" that he kicked his basket of glass.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «brother» (+3); the same doer «brother» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did they think he was dead, or did they know he was alive?

1. They were certain he was alive and so they tied his hands and dragged him below — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They knew he was alive but ignored him — no support
3. They thought he was dead, so they threw him in the sea and left him there — no support
4. They thought he was dead, so they salted him — ✓ 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 7 · ★ · right ✓

Why'd the salt not kill him, is that even possible?

1. The salt numbed him, so he slept on — no support
2. It stung him, so he stayed awake, innit — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
3. Salt blocks blood, so he survived it — no support
4. It cured the cuts, mate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 194, line 5: «The salt's stinging keeps him awake, and little by little he gets his strength back in that dark place.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sting» (+6); the same doer «salt» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

Did the old woman push him down the stairs or what?

1. She dragged him to a trapdoor and threw him in — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. She pulled him to a hatch and dropped him — no support
3. She hauled him over to the cellar door — score 5
4. She pushed him down stairs — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 194, line 15: «The trapdoor: the old woman "dragged him to a trapdoor and threw him down into a vault filled with the bodies of murdered men."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «trapdoor» (+5); the same place «trapdoor» (+2); the same action «drag» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

How many gold pieces did he end up losing?

1. He lost every single piece of gold, the whole five hundred, and also his clothes, mate — score 6
2. All of the five hundred, mate — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The black slave took the purse and the robe and the old woman took the rest of the money from him — no support
4. Only the purse, not the coins — ← Mova's choice · score 11

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 11, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 189, line 22: «Old word: a "sequin" was a small gold coin, and "caliph" was the leader of the Muslim world, a bit like a king.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «small gold coin» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the tailor actually feel bad for the brother or was he just a laugh?

1. He told him off for hurting his poor wife and then gave him a coin to buy a new basket — score 3
2. He yelled at him for hurting his wife, then he laughed and told everyone in the market — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. He told him off for hurting his poor wife — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He called him a fool and walked off — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 194, line 2: «The tailor shouts at him, the crowd gathers, and a kind lady on a mule gives him a purse of five hundred gold pieces.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «shout» (+3); the same doer «tailor» (+3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the lady mad at him for the basket, or what?

1. Yeah, she demanded he pay the full price — no support
2. Yeah, she was furious and ordered her servants to beat him in the street for breaking the glass — no support
3. Nah, she felt sorry and gave him money — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Nah, she was angry at first but then she ordered her slaves to chase him down and give him gold — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 194, line 9: «Why: the lady gives him gold because his glass is broken and he is weeping; the text says she told her attendant, "Give him whatever you have got with you."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+1); 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

Test 12 · ★ · right ✓

Why did the brother feel so proper happy at first?

1. He had just been given a purse of gold, a beautiful wife, and a new life in the city — score 4
2. He believed the lady loved him truly — score 4
3. He thought he'd got a fortune and a wife — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. He thought he'd got a fortune, a wife, and a fine house to live in with his mother — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 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 194, line 12: «The trick: the old woman gets Alnaschar to follow her by promising him "a beautiful wife" and a fortune, but he is not clever enough to see the plan.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «alnaschar» (+4); the same thing acted on «beautiful wife» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following best describes the sequence of events by which Alnaschar is deprived of his gold and cast into the vault?

1. He is cut by the black slave, salted by the Greek slave, and robbed by the old woman — score 9
2. He is beaten by the lady's servant, salted by the old woman, and dragged through the vault door — no support
3. He is cut by the black slave, then salted by the Greek slave, and finally dropped by the old woman through the door — score 9
4. He is robbed by the black slave, salted by the Greek slave, and thrown through the trapdoor by the old woman — ← 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 9 for the next best. Its support: lesson 194, line 4: «A Greek slave and the black slave rub salt into his wounds, and the old woman throws him through a trapdoor into a vault of dead men.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «greek slave» (+5); the same place «trapdoor» (+2); the same circumstance (+2); the same action «throw» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

With reference to the text, identify the precise reason the lady gave Alnaschar the purse of gold coins.

1. She believed his story about being a poor brother of a rich merchant who had lost everything in a shipwreck — score 5
2. She was moved by his weeping over the broken basket of glass — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. She wanted to repay him for the kick she gave — score 5
4. She gave him the gold because her husband had ordered her to pay for all damage done in the street that day — ← Mova's choice · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 194, line 9: «Why: the lady gives him gold because his glass is broken and he is weeping; the text says she told her attendant, "Give him whatever you have got with you."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «brother» (+4); the same action «give» (+3); the same doer «lady» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Explain the function of the salt within the narrative, as it relates to the survival of the protagonist.

1. The salt cured the cuts and let the old woman release him from the vault — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The stinging of the salt kept him conscious and so preserved his life — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It healed his wounds quickly — no support
4. The salt stopped the bleeding — 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 · wrong ✗

State the principal consequence of the brother's kick for his own fortune, as recorded in the passage.

1. The basket was broken, his profits were lost, and he was then robbed of the lady's gold purse by the slaves — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. His stock was ruined and he owed debts — no support
3. He was robbed of his gold by thieves — no support
4. The basket was broken, and his profits were lost — ✓ 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

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