Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Old House: a lonely old man and a little boy become friends across the street

Tests: 4 of 14 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 11 of 18 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 921 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.

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 ✓

Wait, who's that old geezer in the massive wig?

1. A posh gent in a long coat — no support
2. Some young lad in trousers — no support
3. Some lonely old bloke in breeches and a massive powdered wig — no support
4. Some lonely old bloke in breeches — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · 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 589, line 7: «The old man says "I don't wanter tell you no stories," so he is not sulking for no reason; he thinks the tale is muddled.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «old man» (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Bruv, did the boy really give away one of his tin soldiers?

1. Yeah, he gave one of his tin soldiers to the old man next door — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Nah, he sold it to a man — score 3
3. Yeah, he threw one away — no support
4. Yeah, he gave one to the old man — ✓ the right answer · 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 334, line 1: «Wendy gives the boys her "last words," and Smee ties her to the mast while Hook plans to make them walk the plank.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+4); the same receiver «boys» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

Mate, why did the boy even go round to that house?

1. His dad said he was lonely — no support
2. Bored, so just wandered — no support
3. His mum said the old man was lonely — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. His teacher said the man was rich — score 3

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 921, line 12: «Why: the boy gives the soldier because "I know he is terribly lonely," which his parents had said about the old man.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «boy» (+1); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Innit creepy how the trumpeters on the door look, right?

1. Yeah, they blow trumpets really hard with their cheeks all puffed out at the door — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They blow with their cheeks puffed out — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. They blow with their cheeks puffed out, like they're really going for it — no support
4. They look like they're shouting now — 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Proper random, but what was growing out of the balcony?

1. Long grass and wild leaves growing out of all the cracks in the stone — no support
2. Tiny flowers in the holes — ← Mova's choice · score -2
3. Ivy in the old gaps — no support
4. Grass and leaves in the cracks — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 160, line 7: «What: a tear falls to the ground, and "a flower grew out of the ground" where it landed, a flower "not at all like any that grew in the garden".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow out» (+2). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-1); the same doer «flower» (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

What did the chairs keep saying when they creaked?

1. Sit down, I'm creaking, oh dear — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Stop sitting, oh dear, I'm creaking — no support
3. Sit down, I'm tired, oh no — no support
4. Sit down, I'm creaking, oh dear, you're far too heavy for me today — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

Who was the tin soldier going on about being lonely?

1. The old woman upstairs — score 5
2. The old man in the house — ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. The old man in the house, who kept a lot of old toys in his drawer — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. The old man who lived alone in the house on the corner — score 2

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 16, line 7: «Alice soon decides it is «a very difficult game indeed»: her hedgehog unrolls itself and crawls away, the ground is full of ridges and furrows, and the soldier…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+4); the same doer «soldiers» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which picture was the lady on, the one with the powdered hair?

1. On the wall by the window — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Near the back of the room — no support
3. On the wall, near the centre of the room, above the old fireplace — no support
4. On the wall near the centre — ✓ 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 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

How long ago did that lady snuff it, roughly?

1. Nearly half a century back, long before the boy was born — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Around fifty years back, when the house was still new and bright — no support
3. Nearly half a century back — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Nearly a century ago — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 426, line 7: «The lady says that a young man will be her "husband dear", so she is ready to marry the Prince at once.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «prince» (+2); the same doer «lady» (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the old man's picture book have cool stuff in it?

1. Maps of far-off lands and tiny sheep — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Long processions of wonderful coaches with gold wheels and horses — no support
3. Long processions of wonderful coaches — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Many pages of coaches, carts and soldiers marching in long lines through a city — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

What was the old tailors' flag like, then?

1. Two large lions holding up a pair of scissors together — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A red flag showing scissors held up by two golden lions and a crown on top — no support
3. Scissors held up by two lions — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Thread wound around a bear — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · right ✓

What the heck was on the shoemakers' flag?

1. An eagle with two heads — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A horse with one head — no support
3. A lion with a sword — no support
4. A large golden eagle with two heads and wings spread wide — 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 ✗

Why couldn't the tin soldier cope with the house, mate?

1. It was too cold — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It was lonely and dead boring — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The house was quiet and grey — no support
4. The room was dark and noisy — 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 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

What did the old thoughts do, according to the boy?

1. Came back round at night, like guests, to pay him visits — score 2
2. Came back round to visit — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. Came back to haunt him — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Kept coming back round to visit him again and again — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. 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 794, line 7: «What: She is haunted by the thought of her drowned child, whose spirit "could have no rest until it was carried to the churchyard".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «thought» (+3); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). Against it: the same action «haunt» (-1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which object did the young boy present to the elderly gentleman as a token of kindness?

1. A paper boat for sailing — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. A small wooden horse — score 3
3. A coin — score 3
4. A tin soldier — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 694, line 2: «The kind prince opens the door, and the man vanishes after promising to repay him. The boy then flees his stepfather's threat.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «man» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

What refrain did the furniture repeatedly utter when the visitor entered the room?

1. Creak — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. Sigh — no support
3. Hi — no support
4. Sit down, I am creaking — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 299, line 6: «Who: a little boy visits an old man in a house where even the furniture seems to talk.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «talk» (+1); the same doer «furniture» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

To what circumstance does the narrator attribute the monotony of each successive visit?

1. The lonely old man who lives inside the house and never seems to change his routine at all — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. The house, in which one day resembles another — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The house, where the rooms are all the same — no support
4. The house, in which one day resembles another, with the same furniture and the same creaks — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 921, line 8: «What: the boy sends the old man a gift, "I have two tin soldiers, and this is one of them."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different doer (counts against) (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «one» (-1). The right option, 2, 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 houses opposite was described as having been constructed in a recent period?

1. The houses opposite, which were new, freshly painted, and had been constructed only the year before — no support
2. The other houses in the street — ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. The other houses in the street, which had been built only recently by a builder — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. The grand houses on the hill — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 921, line 1: «A new street has smart houses that look down on the old house opposite, which is crumbling and full of green plants.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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