The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 3: Mr. Badger (the Otter comes through the snow, and the best home is underground)

Tests: 3 of 17 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 13 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 39 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 ✗

Ethan: «the Otter rocks up with his tracking skills and follows the footprints.» (rock up = arrive) Put it right.

1. He followed the tracks straight through the Wild Wood — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He found their tracks easily. — no support
3. The snow hid tracks, so he went to the wrong house — no support
4. Snow covered the tracks; he just guessed they'd be at Badger's — ✓ 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 2 · ★★★ · right ✓

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «The rabbits hid the Mole in their burrows when the weasels chased him.»

1. False: they knew, but did nothing — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. False. — no support
3. True: they hid him in holes safely — no support
4. True. — 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 ✗

«That rabbit's well mardy, he won't help nobody.» (mardy = sulky) What is the Otter really angry about?

1. There were hundreds of rabbits in the warren, and not one of them tried to help the lost Mole — no support
2. There were hundreds of rabbits, and none of them tried to help, and they also stole his supper. — score -1
3. There were hundreds of rabbits, and none of them tried to help — ✓ the right answer · score -1
4. Rabbits never stop being rude to other animals. — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 3: «Then the pattering begins: little feet, closing in from every side like hail. A rabbit dashes past him: «Get out of this, you fool, get out!» The Mole panics,…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rabbit» (+3); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 3, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Kai: «wicked cool, the Otter's walk.» (wicked = very, in New England) Which of these was NOT in the Otter's story of his walk?

1. The big snow-castle on the old bridge — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A frozen waterfall that he slid down — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. A stop at a frozen mill where he ate ham and drank tea with the miller — no support
4. A slide down the frozen river bank, then a long lunch with the robins in the hedges. — 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 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter III, a rabbit ran past the Mole in the Wild Wood. What did he mutter?

1. «Run!» — ← Mova's choice · score 8
2. «Get out of this, you fool, get out!» — ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. «Hurry up, get away from here!» — score 5
4. «Fool!» — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 7, line 6: «The Rabbit mutters "The Duchess! The Duchess! ... She'll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets!"; "executed" means put to death, and ferrets are smal…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mutter» (+4); the same doer «rabbit» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I, what did the Rat say about rabbits?

1. «Good rabbits.» — ← Mova's choice · score 13
2. «Rabbits are clever, but mostly rude» — no support
3. «Some are kind, but most are rude» — no support
4. «Some of 'em, but rabbits are a mixed lot» — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 13, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 39, line 2: «He tells of his walk through the snowy wood at sunrise: snow-castles, snow sliding off branches with a «flop!», robins looking proud as if they had done it all…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «rat» (+2); the same thing acted on «silly rabbit» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I, an old rabbit asked the Mole for sixpence to pass. What did the Mole do?

1. Gave him a sweet and walked on — score 7
2. Refused to pay, and then gave him a long lecture about the Wild Wood and its dangers. — score 7
3. Gave him sixpence, bowed politely, and then shouted «Onion-sauce!» at the old rabbit — ← Mova's choice · score 9
4. Bowled him over and shouted «Onion-sauce!» — ✓ the right answer · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 25, line 11: «The Mole shouted «Onion-sauce! Onion-sauce!» at the rabbits as a cheeky jeer; onion sauce was served with roast rabbit, so it was a rude joke. The rabbits only…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «shout» (+2); the same thing acted on «onion sauce» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 9. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: how did the Otter disappear at the picnic in chapter I?

1. He sank down after a fish with a splash — no support
2. He dived after a May-fly with a loud splash and was gone for a long time into the water — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. He dived after a May-fly — «cloop!» — and then climbed a tree and was gone from sight. — score 6
4. He dived after a May-fly — «cloop!» — and was gone — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 27, line 16: ««A swirl of water and a "cloop!" and the May-fly was visible no more. Neither was the Otter.» — the Otter dived after the May-fly to eat it. Then «again there…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «dive» (+4); the same doer «otter» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: what were the Otter's first words at the picnic in chapter I?

1. «Greedy beggars! Why didn't you invite me, Ratty?» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. «Greedy beggars! Why didn't you invite me to this lovely picnic by the river, Ratty?» — no support
3. «Hello, Ratty, you greedy fellow! Why didn't you send me a note about the picnic first thing?» — no support
4. «Good morning, Ratty! Where's the food?» — 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 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: why did the Mole leave his own underground home in chapter I?

1. He was bored. — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Spring called him up out of his spring-cleaning — ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. He wanted to see the river badly — score 3
4. Spring called him up from his cleaning — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 34, line 1: «Dusk falls fast. Then the faces begin: a little evil wedge-shaped face in a hole, gone when the Mole turns; then another; then it seems every hole has a hard-e…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Mole now says underground is the best place. Does that fit what he did in chapter I?

1. Partly — he left his hole for the sunshine, yet he still loves being underground — ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Partly, he left home but later missed it — score 4
3. Yes, completely — he left his hole for the river, sat in the sun, and now prefers the river to any hole. — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. Partly — he left his hole for the sunshine and the river, but he still loves being underground most of all, and always returns home — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 3 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 33, line 2: «Summer ends. Frost and mud keep them indoors, the river races past too fast for boating, and the Rat sleeps a lot and writes poems by the fire. The animals tel…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same circumstance (+3); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«Supposing a fire breaks out—where's Toad?» What does the Badger mean?

1. A big house above ground can burn or fall apart, and Toad can't fix that — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Toad is always late. — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Toad's big house could burn, and Toad is lazy — no support
4. A big house can burn, and Toad will panic — no support

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 29, line 3: «Of course! says the Rat. Toad is always glad to see you and always sorry when you go. He's kind and good-natured — though perhaps not very clever, and rather b…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «toad» (+5); the same property (+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

Test 13 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen to the Badger if a flood came?

1. He would sleep through it all soundly — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. He would have to leave his home and move into hired lodgings for months and months. — no support
3. He would be fine, just a little wet — no support
4. Not much — he could stop up a hole or dig a new room — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 39, line 19: «The Badger on the Rat: when the floods come he has to move out into hired lodgings, «uncomfortable, inconveniently situated».», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4). 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 14 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Freya from Melbourne: «the Badger reckons a house should have heaps of windows and a view, this arvo he said it.» (heaps = lots) Put it right.

1. He says a house must be above ground, with heaps of windows, and a view of the river for everyone. — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He says above ground is always best for all — no support
3. He says houses need many windows and views — no support
4. He says underground is best: no weather, no one looking over your wall — ✓ 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 15 · ★★★ · right ✓

★★★ «There's no security, or peace and tranquillity, except underground.» Who in this book so far would most DISAGREE?

1. The Otter, who loves the cold river — no support
2. The Otter — no support
3. The Rat, who loves his breezy river home — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. The Badger, who lives in his warm sett — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 13: «The Mole agrees «So it is, so it is» — «No, it isn't!» cries the Rat — «Well then, it isn't, it isn't,» says the Mole soothingly: he changes his mind at once t…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «rat» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Otter «had to cuff his head once or twice». Count all the times he hits the rabbit in his story, if «once or twice» means at most two.

1. More than ten times, with a cuff each time — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Maybe five or six times in total — no support
3. Four or five — no support
4. At most three — ✓ 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 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «In the stillness, every now and then masses of snow slid off the branches.» Which word in this lesson's story sounds just like what it names?

1. Whumpfling — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Slide — no support
3. Splatter — no support
4. Flop — ✓ 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 principal ground upon which the Otter concluded that the missing animals were to be found at the Badger's residence.

1. Mole's footprints. — no support
2. The general habit of animals in difficulty to resort to the Badger — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Rabbits had seen them walk that way — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. The hedgehogs told him where they were — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 14: «The Rat: «He is now possessed. He has got a new craze, and it always takes him that way, in its first stage. He'll continue like that for days now, like an ani…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «walk» (+2); the same doer «animal» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the reply of the rabbit to the Otter's reproach?

1. Astonishment that rabbits should be expected to act — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Astonishment that rabbits should be expected to act, and a boastful claim that he himself saved Mole. — score 9
3. Sad agreement that rabbits do nothing — ← Mova's choice · score 10
4. Astonishment that rabbits should be expected to act, together with a shy plea for help from his own family — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 9 for the next best. Its support: lesson 39, line 2: «He tells of his walk through the snowy wood at sunrise: snow-castles, snow sliding off branches with a «flop!», robins looking proud as if they had done it all…», 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 «rabbits» (+4). 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 ✗

It is given that the Badger dismissed the hedgehogs. Ascertain the provision made for them.

1. Sixpence each and a kiss goodbye — no support
2. Sixpence apiece and a pat on the head — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Two pennies apiece, a pat on the head, and a long lecture on the proper way to fry ham. — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. A slice of bread and a ride home — 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 39, line 3: «The Otter asks the Mole to fry him some ham, and the Mole sets the hedgehogs to do it. While they fry it, the Otter and the Rat talk river talk without end, an…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fry» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the Badger's principal objection to dwellings above ground.

1. Their exposure to weather and to accident — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Their exposure to weather and to accident, and also the fact that they are too close to the river — no support
3. Their exposure to weather and to accident, which the Rat would also say is far too dull for him. — no support
4. Cold winds and damp, not much more — 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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