The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, part 4: The River Bank (the Mole grabs the oars, the boat goes over, and a friendship begins)

Tests: 2 of 18 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 14 of 22 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 28 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 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Mia, bit salty (annoyed): «the Rat taught the Mole to row straight away, he was a natural.» Put it right.

1. No, the Rat said yes; the Mole rowed well first time — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. The Rat said «Not yet»; the Mole grabbed the oars and tipped them over — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. The Rat said «Yes», and the Mole rowed nicely until the Rat fell in the river — score 7
4. The Rat taught the Mole to row straight away, and the Mole rowed beautifully — score 5

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 25, line 5: «The Rat is amazed, and dreamily tells him there is nothing «half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats» — and crashes into the bank while he say…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «tell» (+4); the same doer «rat» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

«his pride began to whisper that he could do it every bit as well». What does this mean?

1. His pride made him believe he was as skilled as a boatman — no support
2. His vanity told him he could row as well as anyone there — no support
3. His pride made him think he was as good as the Rat — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 15
4. He was proud of the boat — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 15, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 8: «The Mole's «pride began to whisper that he could do it every bit as well»; he seized the sculls and the Rat «fell backwards off his seat with his legs in the a…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same circumstance (+4); the same doer «pride» (+3); the same thing acted on «friend» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

The Rat is laughing while he saves the Mole. Is he being cruel?

1. No: he isn't worried — water is his home — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yes, he finds the Mole's trouble funny — no support
3. No, he isn't worried, because water is his home, and he thinks the whole thing is very funny to watch — score 1
4. Yes: he laughs at the Mole, who is drowning and cannot swim at all in the river — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 5: «The Rat is amazed, and dreamily tells him there is nothing «half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats» — and crashes into the bank while he say…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+3); the same action «laugh» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Mole say he might have «lost that beautiful luncheon-basket»?

1. He is hungry — no support
2. He feels silly about the picnic he spoiled — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. He feels terrible about the trouble — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. He is annoyed with the Rat for the spill — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 27, line 5: «The Mole asks to pack the basket too. It's not as fun as unpacking — he finds a forgotten plate, then the Rat points out a fork, and last of all he finds he's…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «find» (+2); the same doer «mole» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would a less kind friend have done after the boat went over?

1. Shouted and sent the Mole home — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Shouted, sent the Mole home, and refused to speak to him for a week — no support
3. Laughed at him and rowed off downstream — no support
4. Scolded him and left him in the water — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 1: «While they eat, the Mole notices a line of bubbles moving along the water. The Rat chirrups, and up climbs the Otter, shaking himself and grumbling «Greedy beg…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+2); the same thing acted on «friends» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Leo, proper nesh (feels the cold): «I'd have just sat there shivering». What did the Rat tell the Mole to do instead?

1. Go home — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Run around the field to warm — no support
3. Trot up and down till dry — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Sit and shiver — 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 ✗

«I am very sorry indeed for my foolish and ungrateful conduct.» Why «ungrateful»?

1. The Rat was kind all day, and the Mole grabbed his oars — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The Rat was kind all day, but the Mole never said thank you for the lunch or the lessons at all — ← Mova's choice · score 1
3. The Rat was kind all day and taught him patiently, and the Mole grabbed his oars and then dropped the luncheon-basket in the river — no support
4. He spent the picnic arguing with the Rat about rowing — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 14: «The Mole's apology: «I am very sorry indeed for my foolish and ungrateful conduct ... Indeed, I have been a complete ass, and I know it.» He also says his hear…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «mole» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

The Mole gives «straight back-talk» to the moorhens. What does this show?

1. He is angry — no support
2. His spirits have come back — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He is hungry — no support
4. He is feeling bold and brave again — ← Mova's choice · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 11: ««a firm paw gripped him by the back of his neck. It was the Rat, and he was evidently laughing—the Mole could feel him laughing, right down his arm and through…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

The Rat's stories have «steamers that flung hard bottles—at least bottles were certainly flung, and from steamers, so presumably by them». What's the joke?

1. Bottles were thrown by the Rat's own friends — score 2
2. People on the steamers threw them, not the boats, which is why bottles were flung about the river in every story — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. The bottles were flung by the steamers' captains, who were angry at the Rat's noisy singing on the river all day — no support
4. People on the steamers threw them, not the boats — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 28, line 18: «The Rat's river stories: weirs, floods, leaping pike, «steamers that flung hard bottles—at least bottles were certainly flung, and from steamers, so presumably…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «fling» (+3); the same thing acted on «hard bottles» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: what did the Rat say at the very start about messing about in boats — «In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter»? How does that come true now?

1. They stay in the boat — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They end up out of the boat, and the Rat doesn't mind a bit — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. They end up soaked, and the Rat sulks all afternoon long — no support
4. They fall in the river, and the Rat is cross about the wet — 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 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: the first time the Rat fell on his back in the boat, whose fault was it?

1. The steamer's wash knocked him — score 2
2. The Mole pushed him backwards — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. His own: he crashed while dreaming — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. The Mole's fault — no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 26, line 1: «Before they set off, the Rat climbs up into his hole and comes back staggering under a fat wicker picnic basket. When the Mole asks what's inside, the Rat ratt…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+3); the same receiver «rat» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: what had the Mole left unfinished at home that very morning?

1. The letter he meant to write to the Badger about the boat — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. The garden hedge outside — no support
3. His letters to the Badger — no support
4. His spring-cleaning — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 16: «The Mole «had to brush away a tear or two with the back of his paw. But the Rat kindly looked in another direction».», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in part 3, the Mole packed the basket «without much loss of temper». How is the end of the day different?

1. He packs the basket and goes home — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. He loses his temper and shouts at the Rat — score 5
3. He is calm — no support
4. His pride makes him tip the boat — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 5: «The Mole asks to pack the basket too. It's not as fun as unpacking — he finds a forgotten plate, then the Rat points out a fork, and last of all he finds he's…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «basket» (+4); the same doer «mole» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: how has the Mole changed since he jeered «Onion-sauce!» at the rabbits?

1. He becomes a sailor — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He learns to say sorry and be grateful — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He gets much bigger — no support
4. He now rows well and never gets wet at all — 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 15 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Isla, dreich day out (grey and wet): «the Mole went back to his own house that night.» Is she right?

1. Yes, he went home to his own house that night — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yes, at home — no support
3. Yes, he slept in his own bed at home — no support
4. No: he slept in the Rat's best bedroom — ✓ 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 16 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The book is called «The Wind in the Willows». Where does the title first show up in this chapter?

1. The Otter names the wind in the reeds on the bank — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The title is in the first line — no support
3. The Rat sings about the wind in the willows at lunch — no support
4. The Mole hears what the wind whispers among the reeds — ✓ 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 17 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ Put in order: (a) the Otter vanishes; (b) the boat goes over; (c) the Rat says «Not yet»; (d) Badger says «H'm! Company».

1. d, a, c, b — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. d, c — no support
3. a, b — no support
4. d, c, a, b, and then the Mole's apology — 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 18 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «This day was only the first of many similar ones». What does «similar» tell us?

1. The next days were rainy and sad, with the Mole alone at home by the fire — no support
2. The later days were boring and quiet, with the Rat away on business each day — no support
3. The next days were like it — happy, on the river, with friends — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The next days were happy ones too, but the Mole rowed alone and never again sat in the bow of the boat — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 5: «The first witness is the Hatter, still holding his teacup and bread-and-butter. He, the March Hare and the Dormouse each give a different date for when the tea…», 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 «teacup» (+2). Against it: 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the sentiment which impelled the Mole to seize the sculls.

1. Greed and impatience — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Jealousy and pride — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Jealousy and pride, combined with a wish to impress the Rat — no support
4. Fear and self-doubt — 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 ✗

Ascertain the means whereby the Rat conveyed the Mole to the bank following the capsize.

1. A scull beneath each arm, the Rat propelling from behind — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The Rat held a scull beneath each arm and kicked from behind, while steering the upturned boat towards the reeds for a long time — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. A rope round his waist, the Rat towing him from the far bank — no support
4. The Rat grabbed the Mole's neck and swam with him in his teeth, towing the boat behind him all the way to the bank — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 18: «The Rat: «there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.» While saying it he hit the bank and fell on his back wi…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+3); the same thing acted on «nothing» (+3). 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 ✗

Select the response which most accurately characterises the Rat's reply to the Mole's apology.

1. He told him off — no support
2. He forgave him and invited him to stay for a while, then rowed him home — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. He forgave him and invited him to stay — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He said sorry too and walked off in a huff — 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 28, line 1: «Rowing home in the evening sun, the Rat is murmuring poetry to himself. The Mole, full of lunch and pride, thinks rowing looks easy. «Not yet,» smiles the Rat.…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «row» (+2); the same property (+1). 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 · right ✓

Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the conclusion of the first chapter?

1. The Mole learnt to swim and row, and heard the wind in the reeds — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The Mole and the Rat quarrelled and never rowed together again — no support
3. The Mole gave up the river — no support
4. The Mole learnt to fish and never heard the wind — 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/28-willows-ch1-part4-sploosh/