Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 3: «a great invention» and the road on Merrow Down

Tests: 6 of 17 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 15 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 86 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 ✓

Ruby: «Head Chief was salty and punished Taffy, end of.» (salty = cross) Put it right.

1. He sent her away from the Tribe — no support
2. He laughed and said she had made a great invention — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. He made her wash the Stranger-man herself — score 7
4. Right, she was spanked by the whole Tribe, one chief after another, all afternoon — no support

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 86, line 10: «The Head Chief: «It is a great invention, and some day men will call it writing. At present it is only pictures, and ... pictures are not always properly under…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «head chief» (+4); the same thing acted on «great invention» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Head Chief say pictures need «a man who can talk our language» with them?

1. Only men may carry them — score -2
2. Pictures are against the old law of the Tribe of Tegumai — no support
3. A picture alone can be misunderstood, as they have just seen — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. The Stranger-man cannot see pictures — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 86, line 3: «After a long silence the Head Chief laughs, then the Stranger-man, then Tegumai, then everyone, except the ladies, who keep saying «Idiot!» to their husbands.…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «understand» (+4); the same thing acted on «pictures» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would have happened if Taffy had drawn the spear once, small and clear, beside Mummy?

1. The Tribe would certainly not have come, and everyone would have understood at once — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Nothing could ever be misread — score 4
3. Teshumai would have written back — score 4
4. Perhaps less fright, but a picture could still be misread — ✓ the right answer · score 2

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 85, line 1: «Taffy finishes her picture, proud of it, and asks if the Stranger-man understands. He nods hard, but he is sure it means the great Chief is surrounded by enemi…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «taffy» (+5). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

Which is TRUE at the end of this story?

1. Taffy's Daddy's black-handled spear is never brought — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. The Stranger-man goes home angry, with mud still in his hair — no support
3. Tegumai catches a huge carp — no support
4. The Tribe punishes Taffy — 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 86, line 4: «Taffy only wanted the spear, and in the end it is the one spear nobody brought. The Stranger-man is adopted into the Tribe because he was a gentleman about the…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bring» (+4); the same thing acted on «one spear» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

Kipling ends: very few little girls like learning to read or write. What should we say about that today?

1. It is a real law — no support
2. It is an old idea that is wrong: girls read and write as well as boys — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. It is true even today, which is why most writers in the world are men — no support
4. It is about beavers — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 86, line 14: «Kipling's last joke, that little girls do not like learning to read and write, is an old idea that is wrong: girls and boys learn to read and write equally wel…», 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 «old idea» (+3); the same doer «old idea» (+1); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Erin from Cork: «yer man the Stranger was a right eejit to run off.» (eejit = idiot) Was he?

1. No: he was brave and polite and tried his best to help — ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. Yes, he never meant to help at all and only wanted to get away from the river — score 6
3. Yes, he hit the ladies — no support
4. Yes, he stole the spear — ← 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 86, line 6: «Tegumai to his Tribe: «Can't a man break his carp-spear without the whole countryside descending on him? You're a very interfering people.»», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «man» (+4); the same thing acted on «carp spear» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

Real life: where did true writing first begin, about 5,000 years ago?

1. In Mesopotamia, from pictures and counting marks — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. On Merrow Down in Surrey, with a girl called Taffy — no support
3. In Rome — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. In a cave by the Wagai — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 3 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 86, line 18: «Real life: Stone Age people in Britain did not write; writing came to Britain with the Romans, about 2,000 years ago.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «writing» (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Real life: when did writing reach Britain?

1. It never did — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 200 years ago — no support
3. With the Romans, about 2,000 years ago — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. In the Stone Age, with Taffy and her Daddy — 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 ✗

Ben from Sunderland: «howay, the Wey's always been this size.» (howay = come on) What does the poem say?

1. It was a small brook — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It was exactly the same size as it is today — no support
3. It was more than six times bigger then — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It was dry — 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: in part 1, what did Taffy wish they could do to get the spear?

1. Shout loud enough for Mummy to hear them back at the Cave — no support
2. Run very fast — no support
3. Swim home — no support
4. Write, so they could send a message home — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 16

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 16, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 84, line 2: «One day they go fishing for carp in the Wagai river, miles from home, and Tegumai breaks his spear on the river bottom. Mending it will take half the day. Taff…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «send» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «message» (+3); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in part 1, what did Taffy pull from the Stranger-man?

1. His hair — score 5
2. His birch-bark, which he had kept for his own little girl-daughter — score 2
3. The shark's tooth from his necklace — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. His spear — ← Mova's choice · score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 12, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 86, line 2: «Taffy explains: there was only one spear, drawn three times to make sure; the «bad people» were her beavers; Mummy had her hands up because she would be please…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «draw» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «one spear» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: the Tribe was wrong about the picture. Which earlier character was wrong about a nose that would not shrink?

1. Painted Jaguar — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The Kangaroo — no support
3. The Camel — no support
4. The Elephant's Child — ✓ 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 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: like Taffy, Old Man Kangaroo got more than he asked for. What did he ask?

1. To be left alone to dance on his rock in the middle of Australia — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. To be made strong — score 1
3. To be made different and popular by five o'clock — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. To have a pouch — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 85, line 4: «The Stranger-man is thumped, rolled on pebbles and called rude names, but he leads them all back to the river. There they find Taffy making daisy-chains and Te…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «lead» (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

Josh: «I'm dead, the ladies said "Idiot!" ever so politely.» (I'm dead = that's so funny) Why is it a joke?

1. «Idiot» means husband — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Calling someone «Idiot!» is not polite at all — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. They really were polite — no support
4. They were talking to the beavers — 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 · ★ · right ✓

★★★ «Then the Head Chief laughed; then the Stranger-man; then Tegumai; then all the Tribe.» Who laughed third?

1. Tegumai — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. The Head Chief — score 7
3. The Stranger-man — score 7
4. All the Tribe — no support

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 86, line 3: «After a long silence the Head Chief laughs, then the Stranger-man, then Tegumai, then everyone, except the ladies, who keep saying «Idiot!» to their husbands.…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «head chief» (+2); the same action «laugh» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Head Chief says «some day men will call it writing. At present it is only pictures.» What is the difference he means?

1. Writing is drawn with a shark's tooth, pictures with a stick — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Pictures are bigger — no support
3. Writing fixes exact words, pictures do not — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Writing has colours — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 14: ««Draw» has two meanings: to pull liquid up out of a well, and to make pictures; the Dormouse uses both at once; Alice asks «What did they draw?», «quite forget…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «draw» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★ · right ✓

★★★ The poem says Taffy lived on Merrow Down «long and long before» the ancient Britons traded there. If the Britons traded about 2,500 years ago, when did Taffy live?

1. Even earlier than that — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. After the Romans — no support
3. At just the same time as the ancient Britons traded there — no support
4. Last 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the explanation furnished by Taffy in respect of the «bad people» depicted upon the birch-bark.

1. That they were Neolithic ladies — no support
2. That they were beavers, drawn to indicate the way through the swamp — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. That they were enemies of the Tribe — no support
4. That they were the soldiers of the Head Chief, advancing in Platoons and Detachments — 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 84, line 17: «Taffy draws lying flat on her tummy with her legs in the air. She draws only the beavers' heads, because she says she can't draw beavers, and she draws Mummy w…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «beavers» (+3); the same action «draw» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the designation by which, according to the Head Chief, the invention would hereafter be known.

1. Engraving — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Painting — no support
3. Picture-telling — no support
4. Writing — ✓ 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 ✓

Select the response most consistent with the established facts concerning the fate of the Stranger-man.

1. He was beheaded — no support
2. He was banished from the banks of the Wagai for ever after — no support
3. He was adopted into the Tribe, having made no fuss about the mud — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. He returned to his own tribe in anger — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 86, line 4: «Taffy only wanted the spear, and in the end it is the one spear nobody brought. The Stranger-man is adopted into the Tribe because he was a gentleman about the…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «tribe» (+4); the same action «adopt» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the arrival of writing in Britain?

1. It was invented in Surrey during the Stone Age — no support
2. It arrived in the present century, by means of the telephone — no support
3. It has never arrived — no support
4. It arrived with the Romans, approximately two thousand years ago — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 86, line 18: «Real life: Stone Age people in Britain did not write; writing came to Britain with the Romans, about 2,000 years ago.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+7); the same action «come» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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