The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 2: Mr. Badger (bad news of Toad, a winter promise, and two lost hedgehogs)

Tests: 3 of 18 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 17 of 22 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 38 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 ✗

Liam, a bit salty (cross): «Toad's only crashed once, it's no big deal.» Put it right.

1. Just one smash, and no fines — no support
2. Only his third smash so far — no support
3. It's his seventh crash, two hospital stays and fines paid — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. It's his seventh smash, three hospital stays and awful fines — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 1: «Full and warm by the fire, the friends chat, and Badger asks how old Toad is getting on. «From bad to worse,» says the Rat. Toad has smashed his seventh motor-…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pay» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★★ · right ✓

Sophie from Cardiff: «Badger's all cwtched up by the fire and says they'll sort Toad out tomorrow.» (cwtched up = snug) Put it right.

1. Not tomorrow — when winter is over and the nights get shorter — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Not tomorrow — when winter is over, the nights get shorter, and the river is clear of ice — no support
3. Not tomorrow — when the Rat and Mole have packed their bags and the Badger has finished his nap in the study — no support
4. Tomorrow, after breakfast, when the fire is lit properly — 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 3 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «The Badger tells the Rat and the Mole off for not helping Toad sooner.»

1. True: he scolds them — score 1
2. False: he blames Toad alone for everything — no support
3. True: he says they were lazy and slow — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. False: he just thinks hard and plans for the spring — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 38, line 2: «The Rat asks: shouldn't his friends do something? Badger says he can't do anything now — it's winter, and in winter no animal is expected to do anything brave…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «badger» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«He's rich, but if he keeps paying fines he'll be skint.» (skint = with no money) Which earlier warning from the Rat says the same thing?

1. «Such a good fellow, too, but no stability» — no support
2. «Killed or ruined—it's got to be one of the two» — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. «Give him a boat, and he'll sail off down the river for ever, a ruined animal» — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. «Mark my words, Toad will be ruined by fines and nobody will be able to help him now» — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 29, line 6: «The Rat had been «swimming in the river, in company with his friends the ducks»; when the ducks stood on their heads he would «dive down and tickle their necks…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«Me and little Billy here, we was trying to find our way to school.» How would a school book say it?

1. Billy and I were trying very hard to find our way back to school through the deep snow — score 9
2. Billy and I had been trying all morning to find our way to school in the snow and cold — ← Mova's choice · score 12
3. Billy and I were trying to find our way to school — ✓ the right answer · score 12
4. Billy and me were looking for the school road — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 12, tied with another option at 12 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 38, line 15: «The elder hedgehog: «Me and little Billy here, we was trying to find our way to school—mother would have us go, was the weather ever so». In Standard English:…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «billy» (+4); the same circumstance (+4); the same thing acted on «way» (+3); the same action «find» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 12. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Is the hedgehog's «we was» a mistake by the writer?

1. No — it's how the hedgehog speaks, in his own local dialect of the countryside near the wood — no support
2. Yes — the writer forgot the grammar rule, and the printer copied it wrongly from the page — no support
3. No — it's how the hedgehog speaks in his dialect — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yes, the writer got the grammar wrong here — ← 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 37, line 16: «Badger does not mind table manners, because he «did not go into Society» (Society = smart, polite company). The writer jokes that he was wrong, «because they d…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «writer» (+3); the same property (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«The master's gone into his study … on no account to be disturbed.» Why does everyone understand?

1. They know he is busy with his papers — no support
2. They know he's really having a winter snooze — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. They know he's really having a winter snooze, as everyone in the wood knows he always does — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Because the sign on the study door has been there since the summer and nobody ever reads it — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 16: ««Billy he got frightened and took and cried, being young and faint-hearted» (faint-hearted = easily scared). He adds: «Mr. Badger he's a kind-hearted gentleman…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «know» (+2); the same doer «everyone» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★★ · right ✓

Ava, lowkey impressed: «Badger's got rizz, even the hedgehogs know their way to his door.» (rizz = charm) What does the hedgehog say about Badger?

1. «Mr. Badger he's a kind-hearted gentleman, as everyone knows, and he has charm and good manners too» — score 10
2. «Mr. Badger he's a kind-hearted gentleman, as everyone knows» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. «Mr. Badger he's a kind-hearted gentleman, as everyone knows, and his house is the warmest in the wood» — score 10
4. «Mr. Badger, he's a gentleman of great learning and wisdom» — score 10

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 38, line 2: «The Rat asks: shouldn't his friends do something? Badger says he can't do anything now — it's winter, and in winter no animal is expected to do anything brave…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «badger» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter II, what did Toad do right after the motor-car smashed his caravan?

1. Sat by the ditch, weeping, and sobbing loudly — no support
2. Sat in the road murmuring «Poop-poop!» in a happy dream and then got up to buy another car — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. Sat in the road murmuring «Poop-poop!» in a happy dream — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Walked home along the river bank, whistling a tune — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 1: «Full and warm by the fire, the friends chat, and Badger asks how old Toad is getting on. «From bad to worse,» says the Rat. Toad has smashed his seventh motor-…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «toad» (+3); the same thing acted on «seventh motor car» (+1). Against it: a different action (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 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: what was the last news of Toad at the end of chapter II?

1. He went off to Town to buy an expensive new boat — score 3
2. He went up to Town and ordered a large, very expensive motor-car — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. He went up to Town, ordered a large expensive motor-car, and promised the Rat he'd drive more carefully this time — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. He went up to Town and ordered a large, very expensive motor-car, painted bright yellow with brass lamps — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 38, line 7: «The trouble: Toad «will insist on driving himself, and he's hopelessly incapable» (incapable = not able to do it). He thinks he is «a heaven-born driver» whom…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «drive» (+5); the same doer «toad» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: before motor-cars, which crazes did Toad have, as the Rat told the Mole in chapter I?

1. Sailing, then gardening, then house-painting — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Sailing, then punting, then house-boating — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Fishing, then rowing, then swimming — no support
4. Sailing only — 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 12 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I, how did the Otter sum Toad up?

1. «A good fellow, sadly» — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. «Such a good fellow, too … But no stability—especially in a boat!» — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. «Such a jolly fellow, but no stability» — no support
4. «Such a good fellow, really, but a wild sort of boatman» — 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 ✓

Looking back: in chapter III, what did the Rat do in winter at home?

1. He slept a great deal, and scribbled poetry — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 15
2. He stayed indoors, and read old newspapers — score 8
3. He slept a great deal, and scribbled poetry by the fire, though he never finished any of it — score 15
4. He slept a great deal, scribbled poetry, and kept a small garden by the fire all winter — score 15

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 15, tied with another option at 15 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 33, line 12: ««In the winter time the Rat slept a great deal, retiring early and rising late», and «scribbled poetry or did other small domestic jobs».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sleep» (+4); the same doer «rat» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «great deal» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«The Mole … his heels higher than his head.» What does this picture show?

1. He is sitting up straight, on a hard chair — score 6
2. He is sitting up, reading a book — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Lying on the floor — no support
4. He is lying back, comfortable and happy, on the settle — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 37, line 6: «Mole says the footsteps sound like someone «walking in carpet slippers that were too large for him and down at heel» — «which was intelligent of Mole, because…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same doer «mole» (+4). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if Badger tried to save Toad in midwinter, against animal-etiquette?

1. Toad would refuse, and the others would laugh at him — score 5
2. The hedgehogs would be late for school again — ← Mova's choice · score 9
3. Everyone is sleepy and snowed in, so it would be hard and odd — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Nobody would mind — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 38, line 15: «The elder hedgehog: «Me and little Billy here, we was trying to find our way to school—mother would have us go, was the weather ever so». In Standard English:…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «elder hedgehog» (+5); the same circumstance (+4). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «Smashes, or machines? … it's the same thing—with Toad.» Why are they the same for Toad?

1. Each car has a smashed wheel, so it counts — no support
2. They are both machines — no support
3. Both are things Toad keeps in the coach-house — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Every car he buys, he smashes, so the counts match — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 38, line 8: «Badger asks «Smashes, or machines?» The Rat: «it's the same thing—with Toad. This is the seventh.» Toad's coach-house is «piled up to the roof—with fragments o…», 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 «smash» (+1); the same thing acted on «same thing» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Rat says the coach-house holds the «other six». The seventh smash was last week. How many cars has Toad had so far, if every car was smashed once?

1. 7 — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Seven cars in all — ← Mova's choice · score 11
3. Eight, counting the caravan — no support
4. 0 — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 11, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 2: «The Rat asks: shouldn't his friends do something? Badger says he can't do anything now — it's winter, and in winter no animal is expected to do anything brave…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «car» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «winter» (+3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 18 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «Then he's a millionaire,» says Theo, «because the Rat says he's rich.» What is wrong with Theo's reasoning?

1. The Rat says he's rich but «not a millionaire» — rich doesn't mean a millionaire — ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. Theo is correct, he is rich — no support
3. Theo is right, since the Rat calls Toad rich in the book — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. Theo is wrong because the Rat said Toad is poor — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 15: «The Rat says any time is a good time to call on Toad.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «call» (+5); the same doer «rat» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the number of motor-car accidents attributed to Toad as at the time of the Rat's report.

1. Seven cars, all smashed — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Seven — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Seven, counting the coach-house wrecks — no support
4. Nine — 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 · right ✓

Identify the principal reason advanced by the Badger for the postponement of any intervention.

1. Toad's wish to be left alone for the winter season — no support
2. The cold weather — no support
3. Winter itself — no support
4. The winter season, in which no strenuous undertaking is expected of any animal — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 2: «The Rat asks: shouldn't his friends do something? Badger says he can't do anything now — it's winter, and in winter no animal is expected to do anything brave…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «expect» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the hedgehogs' reason for their presence at the Badger's residence?

1. Having lost their way to school in the snow, they sought shelter — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Having lost their way to school in the snow, and frightened by the cold, they sought shelter and warmth — no support
3. They had been sent by their mother to find Toad — no support
4. They were sent out by the Mole to find the Rat — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 16: «The Mole dug «more to oblige the Rat than for any other reason, for his opinion was that his friend was getting light-headed» (light-headed = a bit dizzy or ma…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «rat» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «mole» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the Badger's occupation in his study that morning.

1. Repose in an arm-chair, with a red handkerchief over his face, pretending not to hear the hedgehogs — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Writing a letter at the desk, with his spectacles on — no support
3. Repose in an arm-chair, with a handkerchief over his face and his boots resting on the fender — no support
4. Repose in an arm-chair, with a handkerchief over his face — ✓ 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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