Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 1: How the Whale got his Throat

Tests: 5 of 16 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 15 of 20 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 74 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, 9: "The Whale ate the sailor and never let him out." Put him right.

1. He stayed inside — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The sailor walked out on the beach near his home — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. No, he died — no support
4. The sailor was eaten and never came out — 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 ✗

Why do you think the 'Stute Fish sent the Whale to find a man?

1. Because the Whale was very hungry and needed a snack — score 2
2. Because he was lonely — no support
3. So the Whale would not eat him, the last fish left — ✓ the right answer · score 0
4. To make a friend for the Whale in the sea — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 62, line 3: «Miles later, on a wide common, he finds a man by a caravan with a pot of stew bubbling over a fire. The smell makes Toad truly hungry for the first time. «Want…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+3); the same thing acted on «toad» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

Kipling keeps saying "you must not forget the suspenders". Why does it matter at the end?

1. They held his breeches up when he got back home at the shore and walked out — no support
2. The Mariner used them to tie the grating, which kept the Whale from eating men ever again — score 1
3. The Mariner used them to tie the grating — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
4. They saved him from drowning at sea — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 74, line 15: «On the way the Mariner cuts the raft into "a little square grating all running criss-cross", ties it with the suspenders and drags it into the Whale's throat,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tie» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Jayden, Gen Alpha: "Mariner's lowkey the GOAT, no cap, he cooked." ("lowkey" = quietly, "GOAT" = the best ever, "no cap" = for real, "he cooked" = he did brilliantly.) What did he do so well?

1. Found the fish and told him to hide — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Ate the Whale — no support
3. Got home and blocked the Whale's throat for ever — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Swam to Winchester on the Whale's back — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 37, line 19: «Talk in this lesson: «bare» (London) = very, lots of; «dreich» (Scotland) = grey, cold and wet weather; «wee» (Scotland) = small; «it's giving» = it looks like…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «feel» (+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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would have happened if the Mariner had kept quiet inside the Whale?

1. He would still be sitting on his raft — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. The Whale would have had no reason to take him home, so he would have stayed inside the Whale forever — score 4
3. The Whale would have had no reason to take him home — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. The Whale would have swum on, hungry, and the fish would have stayed in the mud for a while longer — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. 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 74, line 17: «The Whale shouts a train-guard's call, "Change here for Winchester, Ashuelot, Nashua, Keene", as if his mouth were a railway station, and "and stations on the…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mariner» (+5). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

True or false: the story says whales today never eat men or boys or little girls, because of the grating.

1. False: Kipling says whales eat men, but only in the old days before the grating — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. True: that is the story's made-up reason — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. False: whales eat only krill today — score 5
4. True: because the grating stopped them, as every zoologist still agrees in 1900 — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 74, line 7: «The Whale ate "the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab", until only one small 'Stute Fish was left; "'Stute" is short for "astute", which means…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «whale» (+4); the same action «eat» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Nan in Glasgow: "Och, the wee fish was a right fly one, so he was." ("wee" = small, "fly" = sly and clever.) Which fish does she mean?

1. The Mariner himself — no support
2. The small 'Stute Fish — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. The Mariner, the wee sailor from the raft — no support
4. The big Whale's tail — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 74, line 1: «A Whale has eaten every fish in the sea except one small, clever 'Stute Fish, who hides behind the Whale's right ear. When the Whale says he is still hungry, t…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «stute fish» (+3); the same thing acted on «stute fish» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Mason says: "Whales got baleen when a sailor jammed a raft in one." Put him right.

1. Whales are born with baleen; it grew over millions of years — ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Whales grew it after the sailor's raft — score 5
3. Whales got baleen from eating krill at sea — score 5
4. Sailors made them — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 74, line 3: «Inside, the sailor jumps, bangs and dances so wildly that the Whale gets hiccups, so the Whale carries him all the way home to the white cliffs and lets him wa…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «sailor» (+4); the same thing acted on «whale» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

Why does the Mariner rhyme "grating" with "ating"?

1. Kipling jokes that he is Irish and says "eating" that way, as the poem's rhymes often do in Hibernian speech — score 3
2. Because in old English both words meant exactly the same sea creature and the rhyme was once standard — score 0
3. Kipling jokes that he is Irish and says "eating" that way — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Because the words are both spelled alike — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 74, line 16: «His rhyme is "By means of a grating / I have stopped your ating"; Kipling says he was "an Hi-ber-ni-an" (an Irishman), joking that his accent made "eating" sou…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4). Against it: the same doer «kipling» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Dad, dead sarcastic: "Oh great, let's all go paddle at Fifty North." What does the poem say it's like there?

1. Icy, the waves freezing on the deck — no support
2. Stormy, the ship rolling and everyone seasick, so the Mariner had to paddle his toes in the cold — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Foggy, the sailors hungry and wet — no support
4. Stormy, the ship rolling and everyone seasick — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 74, line 16: «His rhyme is "By means of a grating / I have stopped your ating"; Kipling says he was "an Hi-ber-ni-an" (an Irishman), joking that his accent made "eating" sou…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «mariner» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · right ✓

Sophie, Texas: "Y'all, that Whale just turned round three times on his tail like a dang dog." When did he do that?

1. After the hiccoughs stopped at dusk — no support
2. When the Mariner tickled his tongue — no support
3. At dawn — no support
4. Right after he swallowed the Mariner — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 74, line 11: «The Mariner sits on his raft trailing his toes in the water, because "he had his Mummy's leave to paddle"; the Whale opens his mouth "back and back and back ti…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «swallow» (+3); the same thing acted on «mariner» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which word best describes the Mariner?

1. Brave — no support
2. Determined — no support
3. Quick-thinking and handy with a knife — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Resourceful — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 21: «Old words in today's English: "I fancy" = I think, "don't be particular" = don't be fussy, "a deal too flustered" = much too upset and muddled, "made believe"…», 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 (+2); the same doer «old words» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · right ✓

Dylan, Kiwi: "Yeah nah, the Whale's not the bad guy, he was just hungry, eh." ("yeah nah" = no.) What did the Whale do that was greedy?

1. Ate every fish in the sea but one — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Ate every crab but one — no support
3. Swallowed the Mariner and his raft — no support
4. Ate every fish in the sea but one, then swallowed the Mariner and all of his clothes — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 74, line 1: «A Whale has eaten every fish in the sea except one small, clever 'Stute Fish, who hides behind the Whale's right ear. When the Whale says he is still hungry, t…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «sea» (+4); the same action «eat» (+3); the same thing acted on «fish» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Count carefully: how many separate things did the Whale swallow in one gulp, counting the Mariner himself and each thing he had with him?

1. Five, but counting the Whale's sea water and biscuit tin — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. One — no support
3. Seven things in all: the Mariner, his raft, and the fish — no support
4. Five — ✓ 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Mariner walked out wearing his breeches and took the jack-knife home. What of his things did he NOT take home?

1. The grating and the rope — no support
2. The raft, the suspenders and the grating he had made — ← Mova's choice · score 1
3. The grating, the raft, and the suspenders he tied to his waist — no support
4. The raft and the suspenders — ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 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 74, line 12: «He wears blue canvas "breeches" (trousers) and "suspenders" (braces that hold trousers up), and carries a "jack-knife" (a folding pocket-knife); Kipling keeps…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «suspenders» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Read carefully: did the Mariner make the grating before or after he asked to be taken home?

1. Before: he asked to be taken home first — ← Mova's choice · score 0
2. Before: he made the grating first, then asked the Whale to take him home — score -2
3. After: he made it while the Whale was swimming — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Before he was swallowed by the Whale — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 0, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 74, line 17: «The Whale shouts a train-guard's call, "Change here for Winchester, Ashuelot, Nashua, Keene", as if his mouth were a railway station, and "and stations on the…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «take» (+2); the same property (+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 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the location to which the cetacean was directed by the small 'Stute Fish in pursuit of a human meal.

1. Latitude forty south, longitude fifty east — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Off Iceland — no support
3. The Equator — no support
4. Latitude fifty north, longitude forty west — ✓ 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 means by which the shipwrecked Mariner secured the grating within the throat of the Whale.

1. By binding it with his suspenders — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. With rope — no support
3. By tying it with his breeches — no support
4. By knotting — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 74, line 15: «On the way the Mariner cuts the raft into "a little square grating all running criss-cross", ties it with the suspenders and drags it into the Whale's throat,…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «tie» (+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 · right ✓

Select the response that most accurately characterises the alimentary consequence of the grating for the Whale.

1. He could thereafter consume only very small fish — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He would starve and die near Albion — no support
3. He could thereafter consume only very small fish and never swallow another man — no support
4. He could eat crabs and seals instead — 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 ✗

State, in accordance with established zoology, the structure by which the largest whales filter their sustenance.

1. Gills lined with strong fine hairs — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Plates of baleen situated within the mouth and attached to the upper jaw — no support
3. Plates of baleen situated within the mouth — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Enormous stomachs and a muscular gullet capable of holding a whole raft — 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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