The Wind in the Willows, chapter II, part 2: The Open Road (Toad's canary-coloured caravan)

Tests: 5 of 16 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 13 of 20 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 30 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 ✓

Sam, sound (fine) with it: «Toad was dead modest about his house». Put it right.

1. He was dead modest, so he said nothing at all about the wonderful house — score 2
2. He told everyone it was a tiny hut — no support
3. He boasted it was the finest anywhere, and that nobody else had a house like it — score 5
4. He boasted it was the finest anywhere — ← 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 30, line 1: «They find Toad in a garden chair with a big map on his knees. He jumps up, shakes their paws, dances round them and says he was just about to send for them — h…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «house» (+3); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Rat ask about rowing «with an innocent air»?

1. He hopes Toad will take him sailing — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. He's teasing — he knows Toad has given it up — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He is asking sincerely, because he wants to learn rowing from Toad at the river — score 4
4. He wants to row with Toad now — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 2: «The Rat, «with an innocent air», asks about his rowing (he can guess the answer). «Pooh! boating!» says Toad — a silly waste of time; he has found «the real th…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lead» (+2); the same doer «toad» (+2); the same thing acted on «paws» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Toad says he only wants «to give pleasure to you fellows». What does he really want?

1. To be praised for his kindness and generosity — no support
2. To be left alone with his caravan and his new craze, without the Rat or Mole — ← Mova's choice · score 10
3. To borrow money from the Rat for the trip — score 4
4. His own way — to go on his trip with them — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 10, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 2: «The Rat, «with an innocent air», asks about his rowing (he can guess the answer). «Pooh! boating!» says Toad — a silly waste of time; he has found «the real th…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lead» (+5); the same circumstance (+3); the same doer «toad» (+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 ✗

«Of course, I don't really care.» Does Toad mean it?

1. Yes, he really is indifferent to them all — no support
2. Yes, he means it, and is simply telling them the honest truth about it — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. No — he cares a lot and is being crafty — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. No, he cares a lot, and is trying very cleverly to get them to beg him to go — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 2: «The Rat, «with an innocent air», asks about his rowing (he can guess the answer). «Pooh! boating!» says Toad — a silly waste of time; he has found «the real th…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «toad» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Ava, flexing (showing off): «the Rat begged Toad to let him come.» Put it right.

1. The Mole begged Toad to let him come — score 4
2. The Rat was pleased at first and asked Toad to take him on the trip right away — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. The Rat refused flatly at first — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The Rat agreed at once to come — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 2: «The Rat, «with an innocent air», asks about his rowing (he can guess the answer). «Pooh! boating!» says Toad — a silly waste of time; he has found «the real th…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «ask» (+4); the same doer «rat» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why is the Mole so tempted by the caravan?

1. Adventure is new and thrilling to him, and the caravan seems like a way out of his routine — no support
2. He has never seen a caravan before and thinks it is the finest house in the world — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. Toad has promised him a free cushion — no support
4. Adventure is new and thrilling to him — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 13: «The Mole had never seen a river before, and was «bewitched, entranced, fascinated»; it seemed to him «this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuc…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «see» (+2); the same property (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would have happened if the Rat had stayed firm and said no?

1. The Mole would have stayed loyally with him — ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. The Mole would have gone on the trip alone — no support
3. The Mole would have gone sadly with Toad anyway, feeling guilty about it all — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. The Mole would have stayed loyally with him, and Toad would have sulked in the yard for a week — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. 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 action «feel» (+2); the same doer «mole» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓

The book calls the caravan a «gipsy caravan». How do we see that word today?

1. As an old word many Roma and Travellers find unkind — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. As a term that was once common but is now seldom heard in polite conversation — no support
3. As an old word that many Roma and Travellers find unkind and avoid using today — no support
4. As a neutral word, still used by everyone today — 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 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I the Otter and the Rat laughed about Toad. What did the Rat say happens to all Toad's crazes?

1. He keeps every craze for a whole year — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. He gets tired of each one and starts something fresh, then tells everyone it was a waste — score 4
3. He gets tired and starts something fresh, and the Otter always laughs at him for it — score 4
4. He gets tired and starts something fresh — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 15: «Toad is «a short, stout figure—splashing badly and rolling a good deal, but working his hardest»; when the Rat calls to him he shakes his head and keeps on row…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+2); the same doer «rat» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I the Rat said: «I've never been there, and I'm never going». Where, and how does this fit his answer to Toad?

1. The Wide World across the sea, and he would rather spend his whole life fishing in his boat — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The Wide World — he wants to stay at home — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The Badger's wood, he loves the trees — no support
4. The Mole's house, he likes it best — 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: what did the Rat say «It's my world, and I don't want any other» about?

1. Sea — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Home — score 6
3. The big road — score 6
4. The River — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 27, line 2: «A stripy head peeps out of a hedge: Badger. «H'm! Company,» he grunts, and turns his back and disappears. That's just like him, says the Rat — he hates crowds…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «rat» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · right ✓

Looking back: in chapter I, how did the Mole first get excited about boats?

1. The Rat's little blue-and-white boat came to fetch him — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He rowed on the river with his friend the Otter — no support
3. The Rat's little blue-and-white boat came to fetch him from his hole and took him out onto the water — no support
4. A lovely little boat came up the bank to fetch him, and the Rat showed him how to row it — 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 ✗

Toad calls it a «dull fusty old river». How would the Rat of chapter I answer?

1. It's a dull, fusty old river to Toad, but it's family, food and fun to me — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It's a rather dull and boring place — no support
3. It's family, food and fun to him — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It's full of boring, slow old fish — 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 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Toad calls boating a «sheer waste of time» and talks about «the wasted years». But in chapter I he was rowing his hardest in a brand-new boat. What does that show?

1. He is a dishonest, boastful toad who lies — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. He changes his mind about everything he owns — no support
3. He never really rows at all — no support
4. Each new craze makes him scorn the last one — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 3: «Toad is out on the river, says the Otter, in a brand-new racing boat with new clothes and new everything. The Rat and the Otter laugh: Toad is always mad about…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «toad» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ Count the things inside the caravan in this list: «Little sleeping bunks—a little table—a cooking-stove, lockers, bookshelves, a bird-cage». How many kinds?

1. 6 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 7 — no support
3. 4 — no support
4. Five — 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 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ «Somehow, it soon seemed taken for granted by all three of them that the trip was a settled thing». What does «somehow» suggest?

1. Toad bought the tickets for everyone early — no support
2. The Rat decided it on his own — no support
3. They had a long and careful discussion about it — no support
4. Nobody really decided — Toad's talk just carried them along — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · 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 24, line 7: «Another verse says «I gave her one, they gave him two, You gave us three or more».», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «three» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the article in which Toad professed to have discovered «the real thing».

1. A splendid gipsy caravan fitted with a stove and a bird-cage — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A canary-coloured caravan — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. A large and fine barge — no support
4. A bright canary-coloured caravan with a brass lamp and curtains — 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 position initially adopted by the Rat in respect of the proposed expedition.

1. He declined, flatly, and said he would never ride in a caravan — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He first agreed, then declined flatly once he heard the price — no support
3. He declined, flatly — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He asked to go first — 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 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response which most accurately characterises the motto professed by Toad.

1. «Boats are best!» — no support
2. «Live for others!» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. «Live well» — no support
4. «Be wise» — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 30, line 17: «Toad «diplomatically»: «Come along in, and have some lunch ... We needn't decide anything in a hurry. Of course, I don't really care. I only want to give pleas…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «live» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

It is given that the Rat ultimately acceded to the expedition. Identify the principal reason for this.

1. He was afraid of the Mole — score 3
2. He was promised a free ride on the road — no support
3. He could not bear to disappoint his two friends — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. He could not bear to disappoint his two friends, who had both begged him sincerely at lunch — score 10

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 30, line 5: «Toad cleverly invites them to lunch «to talk it over», and talks so wonderfully about the trip that by the end it's somehow settled. The Rat gives in, because…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «disappoint» (+4); the same doer «rat» (+3); the same thing acted on «friends» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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