Just So Stories, The Beginning of the Armadillos, part 2: swimming lessons, curling lessons, and a new name

Tests: 7 of 17 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 16 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 83 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 ✗

Mo: «they got their armour from a magic spell, no cap.» (no cap = honestly) Put it right.

1. No spell: they were born that way — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. No magic: they just grew bigger during the rainy season — no support
3. Yes, a spell: they found it in the river and changed — no support
4. No spell: they practised all night, helping each other, and changed — ✓ 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 ✓

Why do Hedgehog and Tortoise each want the OTHER's skill?

1. Each wants to be the best — no support
2. Each wants to hide from Jaguar's sharp claws in the water — no support
3. Jaguar's rhyme tells him how to catch each one, so each needs what he lacks — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. They both want the other's shell for their home safety — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 82, line 3: «Hedgehog says «you can scoop me out of my shell», so Jaguar thinks he must be Tortoise and grabs him. His paw fills with prickles, and Hedgehog flies off into…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «order» (+3); the same receiver «tortoise» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen now if Jaguar dropped one of them in the water?

1. It would curl up and sink quickly — no support
2. It would swim away, since both can swim — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. It would sink to the bottom — no support
4. It would swim away at once, and Jaguar would have to chase both of them along the river bank — ← Mova's choice · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 82, line 12: «Tortoise ties Jaguar in knots of «she said I said» talk, then says «if you want to see me swim away you've only got to drop me into the water». Jaguar thinks i…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «tortoise» (+5); the same place «bank» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

«Excellent!» says each friend to the other again and again. What does this show?

1. They are trying to trick Jaguar — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. They are competing hard to be the first to finish, and each wants to win the prize for the best shape — no support
3. They encourage each other kindly as they learn — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. They are impatient with each other and want to finish the lesson and get back to sleep — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 82, line 3: «Hedgehog says «you can scoop me out of my shell», so Jaguar thinks he must be Tortoise and grabs him. His paw fills with prickles, and Hedgehog flies off into…», 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 thing acted on «tortoise» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Real life: what are real armadillos?

1. Reptiles with hard shells on their backs — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Mammals from South America that have bony plates over their backs, heads and tails, covered in skin — no support
3. Animals living in trees that roll up in a ball and eat grubs and insects — no support
4. Mammals with bony plates covered in tough skin — ✓ 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 6 · ★ · right ✓

Real life: who gave armadillos their name?

1. Spanish speakers: «little armoured one» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
2. The Portuguese, long ago in Brazil — no support
3. English sailors, who sailed past Rio — no support
4. Spanish explorers, who named them after a little knight in their old armour stories — 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 83, line 17: «Real life: the name «armadillo» is Spanish for «little armoured one», given by Spanish speakers in the Americas, not by a jaguar. Armadillos live from the sout…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+2); the same action «give» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Lily from Liverpool: «all armadillos roll up in a ball, sound?» (sound = right, OK) Put it right.

1. Only the giant armadillo, which lives in the grass plains of Brazil, can roll up in a ball — score 4
2. Only the pink fairy armadillo rolls up — no support
3. Only three-banded armadillos roll into a full ball — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. Only nine-banded armadillos can swim — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 18: «Real life: only the three-banded armadillos can roll into a full ball; the nine-banded armadillo can swim, hold its breath for about six minutes, and even walk…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «banded armadillos» (+4); the same action «roll» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Grace from Sydney: «nine-banded armadillo went for a swim this arvo.» (arvo = afternoon) Could that be true?

1. Yes: nine-banded armadillos can swim across rivers — score 6
2. Yes: nine-banded armadillos can swim and even walk along the bottom — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. No: nine-banded armadillos hate water, but they can dig long tunnels under rivers to cross them safely in the dry season — no support
4. Yes: nine-banded armadillos can swim and even walk along the bottom, holding their breath for minutes at a time — ← Mova's choice · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 18: «Real life: only the three-banded armadillos can roll into a full ball; the nine-banded armadillo can swim, hold its breath for about six minutes, and even walk…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «banded armadillos» (+4); the same thing acted on «breath» (+3); the same action «hold» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which is TRUE about this part of the story?

1. Hedgehog swims across the wide river alone — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Jaguar falls backward over his own tail three times, then runs off into the forest to find his mother — no support
3. Tortoise curls up in the sun — no support
4. Jaguar falls backward over his own tail three times — ✓ 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 · ★ · right ✓

Looking back: which earlier animal also got a new shape by running and hopping all day, as these two did by practising all night?

1. Leopard — no support
2. The Crab, who scuttled into the sea — no support
3. Rhinoceros — no support
4. Old Man Kangaroo, chased by Yellow-Dog Dingo — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 77, line 2: «A man with a bow and arrows hunted there with him, until the hunted animals had had enough: led by the long-legged Giraffe, they ran away to a great forest ful…», 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 «hunted animals» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: how did the Rhinoceros get the folds in his skin?

1. He was born with them — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. A Parsee's cake-crumbs made him rub against trees — score 2
3. He was bitten by a snake in the forest — no support
4. He rubbed against a palm-tree because of cake-crumbs inside his skin — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 76, line 5: «That, says the story, is why rhinos have baggy, folded skin and a very bad temper; it is a funny revenge tale with a little lesson: "Them that takes cakes ...…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+5); the same doer «skin» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: which friend in part 1 said «you can scoop me out of my shell if you like», though he had no shell?

1. Stickly-Prickly Tortoise, who lived near the river and always wanted to swim — ← Mova's choice · score 10
2. Old Man Kangaroo — no support
3. Friendly Tortoise Shell — no support
4. Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog — ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 82, line 1: «On the banks of the muddy Amazon live two friends: Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, who eats snails, and Slow-Solid Tortoise, who eats lettuces. Painted Jaguar lives…», 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 action «live» (+3); the same doer «painted jaguar» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · right ✓

Looking back: what did Jaguar get in his paw the night before?

1. A splinter from a palm tree — score 5
2. A stinging nettle from the river bank — score 5
3. Leaves — score 5
4. Prickles — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 11, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 6: «Jaguar sits on the bank sucking prickles from his paws and saying his rhyme; Hedgehog says he will not forget it «this month of Sundays», which means for a ver…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same place «paws» (+3); the same doer «jaguar» (+2); the same thing acted on «prickles» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · right ✓

Ava: «Kipling ate with that ending, he'd been to Rio loads.» (ate = did it brilliantly) What does the song say?

1. He sailed the Amazon many years ago and loved it — score 3
2. He had sailed the Amazon but never stopped at Rio, so he wished to return — score 3
3. He had never sailed the Amazon or reached Brazil, but would love to go — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. He had sailed there many times — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 5: «The story ends with a song: Kipling has never sailed the Amazon or seen a jaguar or an armadillo, but he would love to «roll down to Rio» one day before he is…», 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 action «sail» (+2); the same thing acted on «amazon» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Careful: when the friends say «Can't curl, but can swim — Stickly-Prickly, that's him!», why is this a trick on Jaguar?

1. Because the rhyme is only sung and never written, so he cannot check it — no support
2. Because Jaguar cannot read the rhyme properly — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. Now BOTH can curl and BOTH can swim, so the rhyme no longer tells them apart — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Because it is rude — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 6: «Jaguar sits on the bank sucking prickles from his paws and saying his rhyme; Hedgehog says he will not forget it «this month of Sundays», which means for a ver…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «jaguar» (+4); the same thing acted on «rhyme» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Hedgehog had his back-plates... no, wait. Who had back-plates unlaced, and how many times does the story say they were unlaced?

1. Hedgehog, twice: «a little», then «two more» — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. Tortoise, twice: «a little», then «two holes more» — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. Tortoise, three times, each time a little more — score 7
4. Tortoise, twice, first a little and then two holes more, but Hedgehog also did it once for himself — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 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 83, line 1: «Hedgehog and Tortoise know Jaguar will never forget his rhyme, so they decide to swap skills. Tortoise holds up Hedgehog's chin while he learns to swim; Hedgeh…», 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 «hedgehog» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★ · right ✓

★★★ A friend says: «armadillos look like hedgehog plus tortoise, so they must come from them.» What is wrong with that thinking?

1. Armadillos come from hedgehogs, since they are both small and both have prickly backs — score 3
2. Looking alike does not prove two animals are related; armadillos are a separate family of mammals — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. It is true, they are cousins — no support
4. Armadillos are closely related to hedgehogs, since both have spines and bony plates — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 16: «Real life: armadillos are mammals, with hair on their bellies and babies that drink milk; they are not a mix of hedgehog and tortoise. Their armour is made of…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «armadillos» (+4); the same circumstance (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the means by which the Hedgehog and the Tortoise acquired each other's abilities, according to the narrative.

1. By mutual practice through the night, each assisting the other — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. By being transformed by the Parsee's cake-crumbs and the palm-tree's bark during a long and magical storm — no support
3. By being born in the river at dawn, under a full moon — no support
4. By a long process of trial, error and patient practice through the whole night, with each friend coaching the other step by step — 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 ✗

Ascertain the name proposed by Mother Jaguar for the creature that was «a little bit of both».

1. Tortihog — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Tort — no support
3. Hedgehog-Tortoise — no support
4. Armadillo — ✓ 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 3 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the armour of real armadillos?

1. It consists of small bony plates covered with tough skin — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. It consists of large bony shells joined together over the head, back and tail, and is not covered by skin at all — no support
3. It is a single hard shell fused onto the spine — no support
4. It is formed from thick shell plates which grow back every year when the animal sheds them in the spring season — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 83, line 16: «Real life: armadillos are mammals, with hair on their bellies and babies that drink milk; they are not a mix of hedgehog and tortoise. Their armour is made of…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cover» (+4); the same thing acted on «small bony plates» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that the end-song expresses a wish of its author. Select the response which most accurately characterises that wish.

1. To roll down to Rio some day before he is old — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. To visit the Amazon with his best friends one day — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. To sail to Brazil and never return — no support
4. To see England again before he dies — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, 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 action «see» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). 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

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