The Wind in the Willows, chapter IX, part 2: Wayfarers All (the swallows and the call of the South)

Tests: 4 of 16 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 13 of 20 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 57 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 ✗

«Swallows are just nesh, innit, they can't hack a bit of cold.» (nesh = feeling the cold easily) What's the real reason?

1. The cold shrinks their feathers and blood — no support
2. In winter there are almost no flying insects to eat, so the swallows leave every year before the frost — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. In winter there are almost no flying insects to eat — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. In winter there are almost no flying insects to eat, and their small bodies need warm air to fly — 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 57, line 10: «The third swallow tried «stopping on» one year: «O the weary length of the nights! The shivering, sunless days! The air so clammy and chill, and not an insect…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «third swallow» (+3); the same property (+1); 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 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which is TRUE about this part?

1. A swallow stayed and then flew right back — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. All swallows stay put — no support
3. One swallow stayed all winter and was happy — no support
4. One swallow once tried staying and nearly gave up — ✓ 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 3 · ★ · right ✓

Ruby from Adelaide: «that arvo the swallows told Ratty they hate England.» (arvo = afternoon) Put it right.

1. They love it too, and come home to it in its season — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. They hate the fog but love its summers — no support
3. They hate England, but they still come home to it because it is their nest and the sea is cold — no support
4. They dislike the cold, so they flee each year — 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 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why does the river look «steely and chill» after the Rat's daydream?

1. Next to his dream of the South, his home looks dull, after he heard swallows talk all afternoon — no support
2. His dream has made his home seem plain — ← Mova's choice · score -2
3. Next to his dream of the South, his home looks dull, and the cold has made the river mud thick — no support
4. Next to his dream of the South, his home looks dull — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 40, line 18: «From a stile they look back at the wood, «dense, menacing, compact», and hurry home to the river «that never made them afraid with any amazement».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+1); the same doer «river» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Rat feel he is a traitor?

1. Wishing to go feels like disloyalty to his friends — score 3
2. Longing to leave feels like betraying his beloved river, and the Mole would never forgive him — score 3
3. Longing to leave feels like betraying his beloved river — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Dreaming of the sea seems a betrayal of home — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 47, line 10: ««I hate being a burden to my friends, and I do not expect to be one much longer. Indeed, I almost hope not.» The Rat, missing the hint: «Well, I hope not, too…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «one» (+3); the same doer «rat» (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Aroha from Auckland: «chur, so the Downs are just some hills, nothing special to the Rat.» (chur = thanks, cool) Put it right.

1. They were always his limit, the edge of his world, where the swallows were born each spring — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They marked his known world's far boundary — no support
3. They were always his limit, the edge of his world — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. They were his frontier, the wall of his life — 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 · ★ · right ✓

«Ratty slays as a homebody.» (slay = do brilliantly) Is that still true today?

1. Not quite: today he feels a new longing to go away — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Not quite: today he feels a new longing to go away, and the swallows made him dream of far lands — no support
3. Yes, he still prefers the river and his home — no support
4. Not quite: today he feels a new longing to go away across the sea, though he never leaves his 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

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would the Rat probably have said about the South at the start of the book?

1. He would call it a dull distant place — score 3
2. He wanted to visit — score 3
3. It doesn't matter; he never wants to go — ✓ the right answer · score -1
4. He would say it means nothing to him — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 43, line 13: «From the cellar the Rat brings «a bottle of beer in each paw and another under each arm»: «Self-indulgent beggar you seem to be, Mole … Deny yourself nothing.»…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

«I'm dead, a rat wants to fly south!» (I'm dead = that's so funny) What is really happening?

1. The swallows are just amusing him for fun — no support
2. The swallows' talk awakens a real longing in him to travel — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. The swallows' talk awakens a real longing in him to travel, though he laughs about it first — score 0
4. The swallows' talk awakens a real longing in him to travel far beyond the Downs and the river — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 0, tied with another option at 0 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 57, line 3: «As the swallows chatter about the South, something new wakes up in the Rat: a longing to go too. When he opens his eyes, his own river looks grey and chilly, a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «wake up» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · right ✓

Looking back: in chapter V, what called the Mole, and where did it pull him?

1. The spring — score 1
2. His old home, pulling him back to it through the sunny spring air and the dusty road — score 10
3. His old home, pulling him back to it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. A smell of home pulling him back — score 10

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 41, line 16: «His home had called him «sorrowfully, reproachfully, but with no bitterness or anger; only with plaintive reminder that it was there, and wanted him». (Plainti…», 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 «home» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter VII, the Rat heard a call in the piping «stronger even than the music is sweet». How is today's feeling alike?

1. Again a call pulls at him and he cannot resist easily — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Once more a voice tugs and he cannot refuse — no support
3. Again a call pulls at him and he cannot resist easily, though he tries to stay at home by the river — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Again a call pulls at him and he cannot resist easily, like the Rat did on the first spring morning — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 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 30, line 4: «The Rat flatly refuses: he's sticking to his river, and so is the Mole. The loyal Mole agrees — but adds, wistfully, that it sounds rather fun. The Rat sees ho…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «stick» (+3); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter IV, Badger said «People come — they stay for a while ... and they go». Who come and go in this chapter?

1. The birds that fly south, like hotel guests, and also the Mole who wandered away in spring — ← Mova's choice · score 9
2. The swallows, like lodgers in May — no support
3. The Badger's guests who stay a season — no support
4. The birds that fly south, like hotel guests — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 47, line 6: «Toad, says the Badger, keeps saying «O leave him alone, he wants nothing, perhaps he'll be better presently, it may pass off in time, don't be unduly anxious».», 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 doer «toad» (+3); a different action (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 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter III, the Mole liked the winter countryside «undecorated, hard». Who would hate that winter, as this part shows?

1. The swallows, who need sun and insects — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The swallows, who need sun and insects, though the Mole liked the frost and quiet snow of winter — ← Mova's choice · score 10
3. The swallows, who need sun and insects, and also the Mole who loved the frosty winter wood — score 10
4. The Mole, who likes the cold earth — 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 40, line 4: «They hurry home across the snowy fields towards the river. Looking back at the dark Wild Wood, the Mole understands himself at last: he is an animal of fields…», 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 doer «mole» (+3); a different action (counts against) (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter II, the Rat told Toad «I am going to stick to my old river». What tempts him now?

1. The sunny South beyond the Downs, which Toad has promised him in his new motor-car next spring — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. Fat flies on the warm far side — no support
3. The sunny South beyond the Downs — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The sunny South beyond the Downs, with its violet seas, tawny sands and lizard-haunted walls — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 46, line 13: ««On the contrary, I faithfully promise that the very first motor-car I see, poop-poop! off I go in it!» The Rat to the Mole: «Told you so, didn't I?»», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same receiver «mole» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (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 15 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «his Mountains of the Moon». Why does the author give the low Downs such a grand name?

1. He thought they were the edge of land — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. For the Rat they were as far as the end of the world — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. To him they seemed the edge of all land — no support
4. They were grand — 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 ✗

★★★ In chapter V a smell called the Mole home; here talk calls the Rat away. Which is the right pair?

1. Mole: pushed outward; Rat: pushed inward — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Mole: pulled homewards; Rat: pulled away from home — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Mole: pulled away; Rat: pulled home — no support
4. Mole: lost; Rat: found — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 28, line 12: «The Rat pushed a scull under each of the Mole's arms and swam behind, pushing him to shore, «a squashy, pulpy lump of misery».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «rat» (+2); the same action «push» (+1). 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 hardships enumerated by the swallow who once essayed to remain throughout the winter.

1. Freezing gales, bare trees, and no food to find — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Long nights, sunless days, frost and no insects found — no support
3. Long nights, sunless days, chill air, an absence of insects, and the loss of every nest in the eaves — no support
4. Long nights, sunless days, chill air and an absence of insects — ✓ 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 · wrong ✗

State the effect upon the Water Rat of the swallows' discourse concerning the South.

1. The stirring of an old wish, making his familiar river seem dull and cold and grey at dusk — no support
2. The awakening of a longing hitherto dormant, so that his river seemed chill and grey — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The awakening of a longing hitherto dormant, so that his river seemed chill and grey and every friend seemed distant at dusk — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. A stirring of an old wish, leaving the river dim and grey and cold — 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 57, line 18: «The Rat looks at «the great ring of Downs» (rounded chalky hills) to the south, «his simple horizon hitherto, his Mountains of the Moon, his limit»; the Mounta…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «look» (+2); the same doer «rat» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain which of the following the swallows did NOT cite as an inducement to return.

1. Fat flies in the meadow — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Plenty of insects over the ponds — no support
3. The prospect of riding in a motor-car — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Warm sunshine — 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 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the Downs?

1. They were a sizeable range of chalk hills that the Rat only glimpsed from his bank, and rarely visited — no support
2. They were the frontier of his world; the Rat saw sea and sunshine past them but never cared — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. They had formerly constituted the limit of the Water Rat's horizon, beyond which he cared to know nothing — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. They had formerly constituted the limit of the Water Rat's horizon, beyond which he cared to know nothing, and he had never crossed the crest even once in all his life along the river — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 57, line 18: «The Rat looks at «the great ring of Downs» (rounded chalky hills) to the south, «his simple horizon hitherto, his Mountains of the Moon, his limit»; the Mounta…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+3); 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

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