Old Tales, Whittington and His Cat, part 27: Dick's cat wins his place at court across the sea

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

Lesson 1968 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, why was Dick knackered on the doorstep, like proper dead beat?

1. He hadn't eaten for three days — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He was locked out all night — score 1
3. He was too weak — score -2
4. He'd been sleeping rough — ← Mova's choice · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1968, line 8: «Where: Dick sleeps in a garret full of holes, where rats and mice come in at night.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sleep» (+1); the same doer «dick» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Bruv, what did the cook do when she was gutted about no meat?

1. She hit Dick with a ladle — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. She locked Dick in the cellar and got a broom to clean the floor — score 2
3. She took the broom and whacked Dick all round the kitchen until he cried — score 2
4. She basted Dick with a broom — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. 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 1968, line 7: «What: The cook is ill-natured and beats Dick with a broom, but Alice makes her stop being so cruel.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «cook» (+2); the same thing acted on «dick» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

Innit, how much did Dick fork out for that moggy?

1. a shilling — ← Mova's choice · score -4
2. a bob — no support
3. nowt — no support
4. a penny — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1968, line 10: «Why: Dick sends his cat to sea because he has no money or goods to send, and the rule says all servants may venture something.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. Against it: the same doer «dick» (-2); the same thing acted on «money» (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did Alice actually stick up for him, or nah?

1. Nah, she just gave him bread — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Nah, she told the cook off, then went and told her dad about the whole thing — score 5
3. Yeah, she told the cook off — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Yeah, she made the cook give him a proper dinner and a new coat — 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 358, line 17: «Alice's gift: money from her own purse, so that he can buy another cat.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «gift» (+3); the same doer «alice» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Mate, what was the venture thing he sent on the boat?

1. the old cat that lived in the garret — ← Mova's choice · score -1
2. his cat — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. his shoes — no support
4. a hen — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1334, line 5: «The wives trick their husbands: one makes hers think he is dead, one says he is not her husband, and one sends hers running naked to a burial.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. Against it: the same doer «husband» (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

Why was the cook proper jealous of Dick, though?

1. She hated Dick a lot — no support
2. She was lazy — no support
3. He had sent a cat to sea and got rich from it — score 0
4. Alice was kind to him — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1968, line 2: «The cruel cook beats him with a broom, until Alice warns her to treat him kinder.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+3); the same receiver «dick» (+1). Against it: the same doer «alice» (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Bells went ding dong, what were they on about?

1. Turn again, Whittington — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London, turn again — no support
3. Dick, go back to the kitchen and work for the cook — no support
4. Ring for the cook, boy — 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 ✓

Where did Dick park his bum to have a think?

1. on a stone at Holloway — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. at the top of the hill near the old church and mill — no support
3. under a tree at Islington — no support
4. on the road — no support

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1968, line 12: «Where: Dick sits on a stone at Holloway, which "to this day is called Whittington's Stone."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same place «stone» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which day did he leg it outta there?

1. the first morning after the long winter frost — no support
2. Midsummer Day — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. All-hallows Day — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. the Feast of St. Michael in the autumn — no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 1967, line 17: «Old word: "pelters" meant rushing off fast, a bit like "legging it" today.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «leg» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same circumstance (-1). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Where did the boat end up, like, proper far away?

1. back to London after a long storm at sea and a broken mast — score 0
2. the shores of Tunis — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. a strange coast where the people were black and the land was dry — no support
4. the coast of Barbary — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 2 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 16, line 19: «The Cat's head fades away while he is gone; when he comes back with the Duchess, it has entirely disappeared.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+2). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

The king's hat fell off, yeah? What was it called?

1. his crown — no support
2. his hat — ← Mova's choice · score -4
3. his turban — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. the long red cloak lined with fur — score -4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score -4, tied with another option at -4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1878, line 18: «Old word "degenerated" meant sank into something worse; today we would say "turned into."», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+1). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-2); the same thing acted on «old word» (-3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the cat a proper legend with them rats?

1. She laid them all dead — ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. She caught many mice — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. She killed most rats — score 5
4. She sat by the fire and let the king's men kill them all — 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 1936, line 7: «Why: Simon wants to drown the cat because "She never catches any mice now-a-days".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «catch» (+3); the same doer «cat» (+2); the same thing acted on «mice» (+1). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

What did the queen reckon when she saw the cat?

1. She was happy to have her — score 1
2. She loved the cat — score -2
3. She was pleased with the cat's care — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. She was too scared to touch her — ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1947, line 16: «The queen and king then send the hen-wife's boy and the gardener's boy, and the giant kills both of them at the stone.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «queen» (+1); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why nearly did the captain not give the cat up?

1. The rats might wreck the cargo — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The king had asked for her — score 0
3. The cat was his favourite pet — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. Cats are not allowed — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1452, line 3: «The youngest rides the wooden horse back to the White Cat, who welcomes him, feasts him, and gives him a golden chariot and a walnut.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «white cat» (+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 ✗

On what grounds did Mr. Fitzwarren decline Miss Alice's offer of money for Dick's venture?

1. Because the venture must be the servant's own property — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Because the money was too small — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. Because the money had been given by the girl's own father — score 6
4. Because the rules of the house say that only what a servant owns may be sent to sea, and Alice's money was not his — score 4

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 1964, line 19: «Old word: "threepenny-piece" was a small silver coin in old British money, and we no longer use this coin today.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+3); the same doer «old word» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

To what cause does the text attribute the cook's increased cruelty towards Dick after Alice's gift?

1. Jealousy arising from Alice's favour towards him — ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. Jealousy arising from the cook's own debts, and from the kindness shown by the master's household to the boy and his cat — score 2
3. Envy of the favour Alice showed Dick each day — no support
4. Jealousy because Alice had given Dick the money to buy his cat and the cook wanted it herself — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1968, line 11: «What: Alice gives Dick money for another cat, which makes the cook jealous of him.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+4); the same thing acted on «dick money» (+2). Against it: the same doer «alice» (-1). The right option, 1, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What reason does Dick give for requesting that the cat be returned to him after the voyage?

1. The rats and mice would keep him awake all night, and he had grown fond of the animal during the long voyage — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Without the cat the rats would keep him awake all night and he would have no one to warm his bed on the cold garret floor — score 4
3. The rats and mice would keep him awake all night — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. He had nobody else to talk to in the house — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1709, line 1: «The sister forgets her little brother, and the lonely boy in the forest grows wolf-like, howling back at his brother who cannot reach him.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «lonely boy» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

What was the response of the court when the captain brought the cat before the king and queen?

1. The king was delighted with the animal — score 2
2. The queen wanted to buy the animal — score 5
3. The queen was afraid to touch the animal — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. They wanted the cat gone — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 1678, line 9: «Why: the king hides his children because he is "afraid that their stepmother might not treat them well and might do them harm."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+3); the same doer «king» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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