Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter)

Tests: 7 of 20 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 18 of 24 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 23 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. 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 ✓

Grace from Newcastle: «howay, Alice was tiny when she jumped up.» (howay = come on) Put it right.

1. She had grown very large, so her skirt knocked over the jury-box and spilled every juror out at once — score 7
2. She had grown very large, so her skirt knocked over the jury-box — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. She had grown very large indeed, so her big skirt knocked over the jury-box while she was standing up — score 5
4. She had shrunk small, so her skirt knocked over the jury-box — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 23, line 1: ««Here!» cries Alice, and jumps up so fast — forgetting how big she has grown — that her skirt knocks over the jury-box and all the jurors tumble onto the crowd…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «knock» (+3); the same doer «skirt» (+2); the same place «jury box» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★★ · right ✓

Why does Alice feel the jurors «must be collected at once and put back»?

1. The goldfish she upset kept running in her head, and fish that are out of water will die very soon indeed — score 5
2. The goldfish kept running in her head, and fish need their water — no support
3. The goldfish she upset kept running in her head, and fish die out of water — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The goldfish she upset kept running in her head, and she half remembers that fish die out of water quickly — 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 20, line 8: «The two creatures sit one on each side, very close, with eyes and mouths open «so very wide»; Alice is nervous at first but «gained courage as she went on».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «go on» (+3); the same doer «alice» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «Bill the Lizard writes a full history of the accident.»

1. True: he writes it all down — score 5
2. False, he sleeps — no support
3. False: he writes a short note in pencil — score 5
4. False: he just sits with his mouth open, gazing at the roof — ← 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, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 23, line 10: «The jury writes «a history of the accident»; Bill is too shocked to do anything but sit «with its mouth open, gazing up into the roof of the court».», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sit» (+4); the same doer «bill» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Sam: «Alice said she knew loads about the tarts, no cap.» (no cap = honestly) Put it right.

1. She said «Something» — «Quite a lot» — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. She said «Nothing» — «Nothing whatever» — ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. She said «Everything» — «Nothing» — score 5
4. She said «Tarts» — «Lots of tarts» — 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 23, line 3: «Then the King reads a rule from his note-book: «Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.» Everyone looks at Alice. She is not a mi…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «alice» (+3); the same action «say» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«Important — unimportant — unimportant — important.» What does this show about the King?

1. He cares how a word sounds more than what it means, which makes all the court laugh at him — score -2
2. He likes long words more than short ones — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. He cares how a word sounds more than what it means — ✓ the right answer · score -2
4. He cares how a word sounds more than what it means, and he is always ready to change his mind — score -2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 4, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 23, line 2: «The King asks what she knows about the tarts. «Nothing.» «Nothing whatever?» «Nothing whatever.» The King calls that «very important», the White Rabbit hints h…», 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 doer «king» (+1); the same thing acted on «words» (+1). The right option, 3, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Why does it «not matter a bit» to Alice what the jury writes?

1. No reason — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They are silly — no support
3. The verdict is already written down — no support
4. Their notes are nonsense anyway — ✓ 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 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Why can't Rule Forty-two be «the oldest rule in the book»?

1. It was made up this very morning — score 4
2. The oldest rule would be Number One, not Forty-two — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. The oldest rule would be Number One, not Forty-two, and Number One is in a book nobody has read — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. Forty-two is far too high a number — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 23, line 15: «Alice: «that's not a regular rule: you invented it just now.» King: «It's the oldest rule in the book.» Alice: «Then it ought to be Number One.» The King turns…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3); the same doer «rule» (+2); the same place «book» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Ella, a bit salty (cross): «the King proved Alice was a mile high.» Put it right.

1. He only said «You are»; the Queen said «Two miles» — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. He only said «You are»; the Queen said «Nearly two miles» — which the King then wrote in his book as proof — score 7
3. He only said «You are»; the Queen said «Nearly two miles» — no proof at all — ✓ the right answer · score 7
4. He only said «You are»; the Queen said «Nearly two miles» and the jury agreed with her; no proof at all — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 23, line 3: «Then the King reads a rule from his note-book: «Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.» Everyone looks at Alice. She is not a mi…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same doer «alice» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if anyone could «win» an argument by inventing a rule just then?

1. Whoever is in charge could make any rule to get rid of anyone they dislike, so the trial would be pointless — no support
2. Whoever is in charge could make any rule to get rid of anyone — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Whoever is in charge could make any rule he likes — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Whoever is in charge could make any rule to get rid of anyone, and nobody could ever argue back again — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 23, line 3: «Then the King reads a rule from his note-book: «Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.» Everyone looks at Alice. She is not a mi…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «oldest rule» (+4). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«It must have been that, unless it was written to nobody, which isn't usual.» What is silly about the King's reasoning?

1. He says the letter is written to somebody, so it is proof — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. He says a letter is written to somebody, which tells us nothing new — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. He says a letter is always written to somebody, which tells us nothing new about the Knave at all — score 7
4. He says a letter is written to somebody, which tells us nothing new and is said as if it were a clever clue — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 23, line 16: «The White Rabbit thinks the paper is a letter «written by the prisoner to—to somebody», and the King says «It must have been that, unless it was written to nob…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «write» (+4); the same thing acted on «letter» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓

The verses aren't in the Knave's handwriting, «and that's the queerest thing». How does the King twist this into proof?

1. He says it's forged — score 4
2. He says the Knave must have copied someone else's handwriting — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. He says the Knave must have forged a signature — score 4
4. He says the Knave must have copied the Queen's handwriting — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 23, line 4: «The White Rabbit produces new evidence: a paper with no address, not a letter but a set of verses, not in the Knave's handwriting and not signed. The King deci…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «knave» (+3); the same thing acted on «handwriting» (+3); the same action «imitate» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«If you didn't sign it, that only makes the matter worse.» Why is this unfair to the Knave?

1. He is punished for signing and for not signing — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Whatever he does — sign or not sign — the King calls it proof of guilt — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Whatever he does, sign or not sign, the King calls it proof of guilt, and the jury simply nods along — no support
4. Whatever he does — sign or not sign — the King calls it proof of guilt, so no answer can ever clear him — 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 · ★★★ · right ✓

Alice says «It proves nothing of the sort!» What gives her the courage now?

1. She has been growing and is now so big she is not afraid of anyone, and sees the reasoning is nonsense — score 8
2. She has been growing, and she sees the reasoning is nonsense — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. She has been growing, so she is no longer afraid — score 8
4. She has been growing for a while, and she sees at last that the whole reasoning is complete nonsense — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 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 23, line 20: «Alice has been growing all through the trial and gets bolder as she gets bigger; the Queen says «That proves his guilt»; Alice says «It proves nothing of the s…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «alice» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waiting. What did Alice think then that fits the King's «Begin at the beginning»?

1. «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, and he never seems to begin at all» — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, so I shall simply wait for ever» — score 3
3. «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin» — ✓ the right answer · score 1
4. «I don't see how he can start, if he doesn't finish» — 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 22, line 6: «Alice begins «to grow larger again»; she first thinks of leaving the court, but decides to stay «as long as there was room for her».», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «alice» (+2); the same action «begin» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: when did Alice first stand up to the Queen, and what did she say?

1. At the trial, «No!» — no support
2. At the croquet-ground, she said «Nonsense!» to «Off with her head!» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. At the croquet-ground, she said «Silly!» to «Off with his head!» — score 5
4. At the palace, she shouted «Nonsense!» in reply — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 20, line 15: ««What is the use of repeating all that stuff, if you don't explain it as you go on?» says the Mock Turtle: «It's by far the most confusing thing I ever heard!»…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mock turtle» (+3); the same action «say» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: in chapter I, Alice remembered «simple rules» before drinking. What was one?

1. If you drink much from a bottle marked «poison», it will certainly disagree with you sooner or later — score 10
2. If you drink much from a bottle marked «poison», it will disagree with you — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. If you drink much from a bottle marked «poison», it will disagree with you, and then you will be sick — score 10
4. Always look for a bottle marked «drink me» — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2, line 14: «Alice remembers stories of children who were burnt or eaten by wild beasts because they forgot simple rules, so she checks the bottle is not marked "poison"; o…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mark» (+4); the same doer «bottle» (+3); the same thing acted on «poison» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: what did the jurors do in the first part of the trial when Alice said «Stupid things!»?

1. Wrote «stupid things!» on their slates — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Wrote «rude things!» on their slates — no support
3. Wrote «stupid things!» on their slates, very carefully, in their best handwriting for the court — no support
4. Wrote «stupid things!» on their slates, and then the King told them to stop writing at once — ← Mova's choice · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 4 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 15: ««What is the use of repeating all that stuff, if you don't explain it as you go on?» says the Mock Turtle: «It's by far the most confusing thing I ever heard!»…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same action «say» (+4). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 18 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ A strange letter: «not directed», «not in the prisoner's handwriting», «no name signed». How many of these three facts are real evidence that the Knave wrote it?

1. All three of them, since each one proves something — no support
2. None of them — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Two of them — no support
4. Two of them are real evidence, the third is not, I think — ← 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 23, line 17: «The new paper «isn't directed at all» (directed = addressed), and it is «a set of verses», not in the prisoner's handwriting.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «new paper» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 19 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The King said «Consider your verdict» first after the accusation, and again after Rule Forty-two. Counting both, how many times has he said it so far in this lesson and the last two?

1. 1 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 10 times — no support
3. twice so far in this lesson and the last two — no support
4. 2 — ✓ 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 20 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «Nothing» — «Nothing whatever» — «That's very important.» If Alice knows nothing, what is her evidence worth to the trial?

1. Great value, as the King says — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Nothing: it is very important, says the King — no support
3. Nothing: it is unimportant, as the White Rabbit says, and the jury is rightly ignoring it — no support
4. Nothing: it is unimportant, as the Rabbit says — ✓ 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the occasion of the overturning of the jury-box.

1. Alice's sneezing, unmindful of the jury-box — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Alice's hasty turning in her chair — no support
3. Alice's rising in haste, unmindful of her increased size — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Alice's rising in haste, unmindful of her increased size, after the Queen shouted her name — 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 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that the King cited «Rule Forty-two». Select the response which most accurately characterises Alice's objection thereto.

1. That it was not a real law but was made up then — no support
2. That it was not a regular rule but had been invented at that moment, and was therefore void altogether — no support
3. That it was not a regular rule but had been invented at that moment — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. That it was not a regular rule at all, but had been invented at that very moment by the King — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 23, line 3: «Then the King reads a rule from his note-book: «Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.» Everyone looks at Alice. She is not a mi…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «king» (+3); the same action «make up» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the inference drawn by the King from the absence of a signature upon the verses.

1. That the Knave must have intended mischief — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. That the Knave was in a hurry — no support
3. That the Knave must have been careless — no support
4. That he is innocent — 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 · right ✓

Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the King's instruction for the reading of the verses?

1. Begin at the end, and read backwards slowly — no support
2. Begin at the beginning, proceed to the end, and then stop, without reading it aloud to anyone — score 3
3. Begin at the beginning, proceed to the end, and then stop — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Begin at the beginning, proceed patiently to the very end of the paper, and only then stop reading — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 23, line 21: «The King: «Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.»», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «beginning» (+4); the same action «begin» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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