The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside)

Tests: 4 of 17 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 11 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 43 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 ✗

Kayla: «the Rat's mid about Mole's house, says it's a dump.» (mid = so-so) Put it right.

1. He says it is dusty, but praises its design and the sleeping-bunks, wanting to visit again soon — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He praises it: «a capital little house», so well planned — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He criticises the dust but secretly admires the Mole's taste and the careful planning of every room — no support
4. He calls it cold and says it should be torn down — 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 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «The Rat is not hungry, so he lets the Mole talk.»

1. True: he is perfectly content with his small share of the sardines and biscuits — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. False: he is desperately hungry but hides it — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. True: he ate a big supper at Badger's house — no support
4. False: he is not hungry at all 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 3 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Rat keep giving the Mole little jobs, like dusting?

1. To make sure the Mole learns every household skill before the spring returns and he leaves — score 2
2. Busy hands stop the Mole sinking into sadness — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. To keep the fire going while they wait — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. To teach the Mole how to clean the house properly — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 17: «At the station they left Toad «in the second-class waiting-room, giving a porter twopence to keep a strict eye on him», and left the horse at an inn stable.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «keep» (+4); the same doer «friends» (+3). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«They come to Mole End last of all,» says Mole with pride. Why is he proud?

1. It's late — no support
2. He is tired — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Ending at his home shows they value him — ✓ the right answer · score 1
4. They always eat his food first — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 35, line 3: «The Rat's laughter and his gleaming pistols cheer the Mole up. But he's too tired to walk, so they rest in the dry leaves; the Mole sleeps, and the Rat keeps w…», 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 property (+2). The right option, 3, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Arjun: «the Rat just does the needful and opens the tin, innit.» (do the needful = do what's necessary) But first, how did he even know there were sardines?

1. He heard the Mole mention them earlier while he was cleaning the whole house — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. He tasted the air in the kitchen and found a tin marked with a label — score 4
3. He remembered the tin from when Toad visited — score 4
4. He saw a sardine-opener and worked it out — ✓ 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 43, line 3: «The Rat asks the Mole to tell him all about his house, and the Mole forgets his sadness: this came from an aunt, that was a bargain, this other thing he saved…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+3); the same thing acted on «mole» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter III, the Rat worked something out from a small clue in the snow. What?

1. A broken window — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. From the Mole's cut shin: a door-scraper, a door-mat, a door — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. From the Mole's torn coat: a button, a hedge, a stick — no support
4. From a trail of muddy paw-prints in the lane — 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 ✗

So the Rat reasoned «door-scraper → door» in chapter III and now «sardine-opener → …». What?

1. A tin in the larder — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Sardines somewhere in the house — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Toad's cabin — no support
4. A cellar full of old wine bottles — 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 8 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: what was in the Rat's luncheon-basket in chapter I?

1. Cold chicken, tongue, ham, beef, gherkins, rolls, ginger beer… — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Cold chicken, tongue, ham, beef, gherkins, rolls, ginger beer, cake, jam, and a bottle of wine — no support
3. Hot soup in a flask, a pie, a jar of honey, pickled onions, cheese, and biscuits — no support
4. Boiled eggs, potted meat, cheese, rolls and cake — 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: what food did Toad show off in his caravan lockers in chapter II?

1. Only apples — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Cheese, pickled eggs, mustard — no support
3. Tinned peaches, jam, custard — no support
4. Biscuits, potted lobster, sardines — ✓ 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 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter I, why had the Mole left his home so suddenly?

1. Spring called him up out of his cleaning — ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. He was tired of the dust and the mess — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. He heard the birds singing outside his window — score 2
4. The river and his old friend Rat had sent him a letter, asking him to come out — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 35, line 3: «The Rat's laughter and his gleaming pistols cheer the Mole up. But he's too tired to walk, so they rest in the dry leaves; the Mole sleeps, and the Rat keeps w…», 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 property (+2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: in Badger's kitchen in chapter IV, what hung from the rafters?

1. Lanterns, bells and bunches of flowers — score 7
2. Dried fish, candles and blankets — no support
3. Mice — score 7
4. Hams, herbs, onions and eggs — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 9, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 37, line 12: «The kitchen has a red brick floor, a log fire between two chimney-corners, two high-backed settles (settle = a long wooden bench with a high back), a long tabl…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4); the same action «hang» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Mia, lowkey shook (a bit upset): «Badger had heaps of food and the Mole's got nothing, that's sad.» What makes the Mole's supper feel like a feast anyway?

1. Lots of sardines and biscuits — no support
2. A big warm fire and the snow outside — no support
3. The Mole's brave cheerful spirit when he is sad — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. A friend who makes the best of it with jokes and kindness — ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 43, line 9: «Mole «promptly had another fit of the blues» (the blues = feeling very sad): «I've nothing to give you—nothing—not a crumb!»», 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 (+3); the same doer «mole» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★★★ · right ✓

What would happen if the Rat had agreed «yes, it's a poor cold little place»?

1. The Mole would feel even worse about his home — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. The Mole would feel happy and proud of it — score 2
3. The Mole would get very cross with the Rat — no support
4. The Mole would start to cry and say he should move far away from the river — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). 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» (+1); the same doer «mole» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «The field-mice come to Mole End first because it's the closest house.»

1. True: they come first every year — score 1
2. False: they come last of all — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. False: they come to Mole End in the middle of the night, after all the others — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. True: they always visit first, since Mole End is nearest to the lane for the carollers — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 43, line 17: «The Mole, «with a touch of pride»: the field-mice «go round carol-singing regularly at this time of the year … they come to Mole End last of all; and I used to…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «mole end» (+4); the same action «come» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «A bottle of beer in each paw and another under each arm.» How many bottles does the Rat bring?

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

★★★ The Rat lists foods they DON'T have: «No pâté de foie gras, no champagne!» Why is this funny after the Mole's «No bread! no butter»?

1. The Mole names simple foods; the Rat names wildly fancy ones — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. The Rat jokes about imaginary luxuries while the Mole reveals how poor the cupboard really is, so the contrast is comic — no support
3. The Rat contradicts himself and forgets the sardines entirely — no support
4. It is funny because both are describing the same dull meal — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. 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 action «list» (+2); the same thing acted on «food» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us.» Does he mean they'd really cut off their ears?

1. Yes, they would cut them off gladly — no support
2. No — it means they'd want it very much — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yes, he means they would really cut off their ears to be at supper with them — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. No, he means they admire the Mole's hearing and his lovely sharp ears — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 1, tied with another option at 1 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 15, line 20: «The White Rabbit whispers that the Duchess is «under sentence of execution»; Alice asks «What for?», and when the Rabbit asks «Did you say 'What a pity!'?», sh…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «ears» (+3); the same thing acted on «ears» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-3). The right option, 2, 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 article whose presence led the Rat to infer the existence of sardines within the dwelling.

1. A sardine-opener and a row of old jam jars set out upon the shelf of the kitchen dresser — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A bottle opener beside the empty larder — no support
3. A carving knife in the kitchen drawer — no support
4. A sardine-opener upon the kitchen dresser — ✓ 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 2 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the provisions discovered by the two animals in the course of their search.

1. A tin of sardines, captain's biscuits and a German sausage — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A box of matches, some candles and an old loaf — no support
3. A tin of peaches, cold tea, and some pickled onions — no support
4. A cold kettle — 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 · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Rat's conduct during the Mole's account of his possessions?

1. Hidden hunger combined with polite, attentive interest in every item the Mole displays — no support
2. Pretended contentment while privately planning to eat all the sardines before the Mole notices — ← Mova's choice · score 0
3. Concealed hunger and courteous attention — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Careless laughter and rude interruption — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 19: «The Mole «had started his spring-cleaning at a very early hour that morning» and had «not paused for bite or sup» (= had eaten and drunk nothing).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same action «eat» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). 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 · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the custom of the field-mice.

1. They sing carols each year, visiting the Badger first and finishing at Mole End with food — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Annual carol-singing round the lane, always visiting Toad's house in the evening before ending at Mole End — no support
3. Annual carol-singing, concluding at Mole End — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Carol-singing every spring, ending at the river — 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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