The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, part 1: The Further Adventures of Toad (free, the canal and the barge-woman's washing)
Tests: 7 of 17 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 18 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 61 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 ✓
Jade, lowkey (a bit) confused: «so Toad slept in a nice inn that night, yeah?» Put it right.
- 1. No, he spent the night in a cell at the old gaol after running off — score 4
- 2. Yes, he slept in a lovely inn with a soft bed and warm blankets — score 5
- 3. No, he slept in a hollow tree — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 4. Yes, in a nice comfy inn — no support
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 61, line 5: «Toad slept in a hollow tree whose «front door» faced east, so the early sun woke him, along with his very cold toes.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «hollow tree» (+4); the same action «sleep» (+2); the same doer «toad» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«I dare say it is, ma'am!» What does «I dare say» mean here?
- 1. I know — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. I suppose — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. I am sure — no support
- 4. I doubt — 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 ✓
Why does Toad talk about «my married daughter» and «my young children»?
- 1. He is pretending to be a washerwoman, so he invents a family — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
- 2. He wants her to think he is a respectable family man out walking — score 2
- 3. He is actually a washerwoman whose children were lost in the great flood of last year — score 2
- 4. He is trying to make the lift seem more honest and believable — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 55, line 12: «Toad confesses: «I am not the simple washerwoman I seem to be! I have no children waiting for me ... I am a toad — the well-known and popular Mr. Toad, a lande…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «simple washerwoman» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Kai: «Toad's lie about loving washing was a canny (clever) move, it got him a lift, end of.» What really happened?
- 1. The barge-woman made him wash everything on the barge, then she paid him a coin for the lift and sent him off — score 4
- 2. Toad lied about being a washerwoman and was caught out by the barge-woman at once — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 3. The lift was free, and the lie about washing got him a heap of clothes to wash — score 2
- 4. The lift was given before; the boasting about washing got him a heap of washing to do — ✓ the right answer · score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 54, line 19: «Toad lies: he has «Any amount of 'em» (children) at home, «playing with matches — and upsetting lamps, the little innocents!»», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «toad» (+5). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗
What would have happened if Toad had said he hated washing?
- 1. She would have thrown him off at the next lock — score 3
- 2. He would have had to pay her a shilling for the ride and then walk all the way to Toad Hall — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 3. She would have stopped the barge at once and made him walk back along the towpath to the station — score 4
- 4. He would probably have sat quietly and enjoyed the lift — ✓ the right answer · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 54, line 5: «The driver offers a ride on his engine if the «washerwoman» will wash a few of his dirty shirts. Toad has never washed a shirt in his life and doesn't mean to…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «toad» (+5). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓
Why does Toad say «I'm more used to gentlemen's things myself»?
- 1. He is trying to get out of washing her clothes — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 2. He is really a gentleman who has been robbed of his fine clothes and wants his money back now — no support
- 3. He wants her to believe he is a wealthy gentleman who has never worked with his hands in his life — score 2
- 4. He is pretending to be a true gentleman there — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 4: «But Toad boasts too much. He says he loves washing and is never so happy as with both arms in the wash-tub — so the barge-woman gives him a heap of her washing…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «try» (+3); the same doer «toad» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗
True or false? «The barge-woman believed Toad all the way through.»
- 1. False: she only suspected him at the end of the journey, after he failed to wash the clothes properly — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 2. True: she believed all his lies about his daughter and young children until the very end of the trip — score 5
- 3. False: she says she thought he was a humbug all along — ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 4. True: she believed his washerwoman story completely — score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 54, line 16: «An old gentleman pushes him away and calls him «his good woman, which angered Toad more than anything»: proud Toad hates being taken for a poor working woman,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «good woman» (+3); the same thing acted on «toad» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Looking back: in chapter VIII, who helped Toad get the washerwoman's dress?
- 1. The prison chaplain, whose sister ran the laundry — no support
- 2. The gaoler — ← Mova's choice · score 2
- 3. The gaoler's daughter, whose aunt was a washerwoman — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. A policeman — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 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 25, line 4: «In a hole in the opposite bank something twinkles: an eye, then a whiskered brown face. It is the Water Rat. The Rat rows across in a little blue-and-white boa…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «help» (+2); the same thing acted on «mole» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Looking back: why did Toad have no money on the train platform in chapter VIII?
- 1. He had left his coat with his money in the cell when he escaped through the window in the dress — ← Mova's choice · score 6
- 2. He had hidden it in the sack of washing he carried — score 2
- 3. The guards had taken his purse at the door of the cell — no support
- 4. He left his coat and waistcoat, with his money, in his cell — ✓ the right answer · score 6
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 54, line 12: «He had left his coat and waistcoat in the cell, «and with them his pocket-book, money, keys, watch, matches, pencil-case — all that makes life worth living».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «leave» (+2); the same thing acted on «coat» (+2); the same place «cell» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Looking back: what had Toad promised the engine-driver, though he had «never washed a shirt in his life»?
- 1. To wash his own clothes — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. To fix his car — no support
- 3. To mend his old coat — no support
- 4. To wash some of his shirts — ✓ 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 11 · ★★ · right ✓
Looking back: what did the fox say to Toad in the wood at the end of chapter VIII?
- 1. Good morning, Toad! Your dinner is ready in the hall, come along now! — no support
- 2. Hullo, Toad! Stop running, the police are waiting by the big gate ahead! — no support
- 3. «Hullo, washerwoman! Half a pair of socks and a pillow-case short this week!» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 4. Oh my, it is the washerwoman again! You owe me a clean pillow-case and two pairs of socks by Monday morning! — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 55, line 20: «A fox says: «Hullo, washerwoman! Half a pair of socks and a pillow-case short this week! Mind it doesn't occur again!» Toad looks for a stone to throw, cannot…», 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 thing acted on «pair» (+3); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Looking back: in chapter I, the Rat said there is nothing «half so much worth doing as» what?
- 1. «Simply messing about in boats» — ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 2. Walking along the riverbank — no support
- 3. Simply sailing down the river — score 2
- 4. Simply messing about in boats on the river all summer long with friends — ← Mova's choice · score 8
Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 4 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 18: «The Rat: «there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.» While saying it he hit the bank and fell on his back wi…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mess» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same property (+1); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 1, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 13 · ★★ · right ✓
Sam, yeah nah (no) not buying it: «Toad's well humble now after prison.» Which line from this part proves him wrong?
- 1. Now I shall have a nice warm bath at home — no support
- 2. «Toad's luck again! I always come out on top!» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 3. Poop poop! — score 2
- 4. I will never be seen in prison again, I swear — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 48, line 7: «Toad: «Smart piece of work that! … Brain against brute force—and brain came out on the top». About the Rat: «A worthy fellow, Ratty, with many good qualities,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «top» (+3); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Why might Toad be so desperate to reach Toad Hall quickly?
- 1. He wants to surprise his servants and his friends at home — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 2. His friends at the hall are expecting a grand party tonight and he has nothing to wear at all — score 2
- 3. He has promised his daughter he would be home by dinner, and the barge-woman has hurried him along the canal — score 4
- 4. He has no money, he is hungry, and the police may be hunting him — ✓ the right answer · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 54, line 11: «Struggling with the cotton gown, he reaches «where all waistcoat pockets are eternally situated» and finds «not only no money, but no pocket to hold it, and no…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «toad» (+4). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 15 · ★★ · wrong ✗
★★★ «A long half-hour passed.» If Toad lost the soap 50 times in 30 minutes, about how often did he lose it?
- 1. Roughly every two minutes — ← Mova's choice · score 6
- 2. More than once a minute — ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 3. Twice a day — score 6
- 4. Once an hour — score 6
Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 61, line 4: «But Toad boasts too much. He says he loves washing and is never so happy as with both arms in the wash-tub — so the barge-woman gives him a heap of her washing…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «lose» (+4); the same doer «toad» (+1); the same thing acted on «soap» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 16 · ★★ · right ✓
★★★ The road is «like a stray dog» and the canal «a shy little brother». Which word describes how the author treats the road and canal here?
- 1. As if they were people or animals with feelings — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 2. As objects that are only useful for travel — no support
- 3. Harshly — no support
- 4. As if they were ordinary places with no feelings — score 6
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 61, line 2: «It is an early summer morning and he has the whole world to himself, but nothing can tell him the way home. He finds a road, then a canal running beside it, an…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «canal» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 17 · ★★ · right ✓
★★★ Which of these did Toad NOT tell the barge-woman?
- 1. That he had escaped from prison — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. That he had a daughter at home — no support
- 3. That he had been a prisoner in the gaol and had been locked up for weeks — no support
- 4. That his name was Toad — 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 circumstance which, by Toad's own reckoning, was «worth fifty blankets» upon his awakening.
- 1. The realisation that he had been rescued by a kind passing barge-woman and her husband — no support
- 2. The realisation that he was free — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The thought of his lovely home — no support
- 4. Finding out that the police had given up searching for him in the wood at last — ← Mova's choice · score 3
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 55, line 20: «A fox says: «Hullo, washerwoman! Half a pair of socks and a pillow-case short this week! Mind it doesn't occur again!» Toad looks for a stone to throw, cannot…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «look» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). 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 ✗
It is given that the barge-woman declined Toad's offer to steer. Ascertain the reason she advanced.
- 1. That steering a barge requires practice — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Because she did not trust a stranger with her husband's valuable boat and cargo at all — no support
- 3. Because a gentleman like Toad would certainly damage the boat and the rope, and cost her — no support
- 4. Because he is a stranger to the canal — ← 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 47, line 15: «The Rat: «It's best to be on the safe side … I've never heard him ask for a lawyer! If there's nothing really the matter, the doctor will tell him he's an old…», 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 «rat» (+2). 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 ✗
Select the response which most accurately characterises the consequence of Toad's assertion that he delighted in washing.
- 1. He was set to wash the barge-woman's garments — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. He was forced to wash every garment on the barge and then iron them carefully all afternoon — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 3. He was sent to fetch the horse from the field — score 4
- 4. He was made to wash the barge-woman's garments and then dig a hole in the towpath for her — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 61, line 11: «Toad, in the washerwoman's dress, lies to her: his married daughter has sent for him, he is «in the washing and laundering line», he has left his children and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «launder» (+5); the same doer «toad» (+3). Against it: 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
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the barge-woman's opinion of Toad?
- 1. She had suspected him of being a humbug from the outset, owing to his conceited manner of speech — ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 2. She had known from the first moment that he was a humbug, and had laughed at him all the way along the canal — no support
- 3. She accepted his washerwoman story at once, but grew suspicious only when his manner of speech seemed too grand — no support
- 4. She found out at the lock that he was a prisoner, and then she helped him run away from the police — ← Mova's choice · score 6
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 48, line 4: «Toad is dragged off in chains, shrieking, across the market-place where people throw carrots and jeer, over a drawbridge into a grim old castle, up winding sta…», 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 «helpless prisoner» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/61-willows-ch10-part1-the-barge-woman/