Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police
Tests: 7 of 13 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 6 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 27 of the euphemisms 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 ✓
News: "A 34-year-old man is helping police with their inquiries after the robbery." What is really happening?
- 1. He is being questioned as a suspect in the robbery — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. He is a witness who saw nothing — no support
- 3. He found the stolen money — no support
- 4. He is a volunteer detective — 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 27, line 14: «"Helping police with their inquiries" is a British phrase for being questioned as a suspect (a person the police think may have done the crime).», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «question» (+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
Test 2 · ★ · right ✓
"Shut up about my brother. He's inside, all right? Three years." Where is the brother?
- 1. In prison for three years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Sitting indoors for three years — no support
- 3. In hospital — no support
- 4. At a boarding school — 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 3 · ★ · right ✓
Shop owner: "Shrinkage cost us two thousand pounds this year." What happened?
- 1. Goods worth that much were stolen — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The shop building got smaller — no support
- 3. Clothes shrank in the wash — no support
- 4. Prices dropped by that much — 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 4 · ★ · right ✓
Gossip: "Watch your purse round Dave, he's got sticky fingers." What is the warning?
- 1. Dave steals — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Dave is good at catching things — no support
- 3. Dave is clumsy — no support
- 4. Dave has been eating jam — 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 · ★ · right ✓
A US news line: "Police have named a person of interest in the case." Which is true?
- 1. Police have arrested the victim — no support
- 2. Police have found a famous guest — no support
- 3. Police suspect that person — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 4. Police have found a witness to thank — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 14: «"Helping police with their inquiries" is a British phrase for being questioned as a suspect (a person the police think may have done the crime).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «police» (+2); the same thing acted on «person» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · right ✓
"The suspect is known to police," says the reporter. What does it tell you?
- 1. He is a police officer — no support
- 2. He is a lost child — no support
- 3. He is a friend of the police chief — no support
- 4. He has a criminal record — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 16: «"Known to police" means a person has a criminal record (a police list of crimes they were found guilty of).», 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 «criminal record» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗
Report: "Officers used a less-lethal weapon to stop the man." Which is true?
- 1. They used no weapon at all — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. They used a weapon meant not to kill, which can still hurt or kill — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. They used a toy — no support
- 4. They used a deadly gun on purpose — 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 8 · ★ · wrong ✗
Mate: "lol he got a five-finger discount on them sweets." What did he do?
- 1. He paid half price — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. He got a coupon — no support
- 3. He stole the sweets — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. He bought five sweets — 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 9 · ★ · right ✓
"Her uncle's been a guest of His Majesty since last spring," laughs a neighbour. Where is the uncle?
- 1. At sea — no support
- 2. In prison — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 3. At the King's palace — no support
- 4. In the army — no support
Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 8: «"Detained at His Majesty's pleasure" is a British official phrase for being held in prison for an indefinite time, with no end date fixed in advance.», 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 place «prison» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
A US prison report: "The inmate was placed in administrative segregation." What happened to him?
- 1. He was moved to a bigger cell with friends — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. He was set free — no support
- 3. He was given an office job — no support
- 4. He was put in solitary confinement — ✓ 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 · ★ · wrong ✗
"My cousin did time, back in the 90s — no wait, early 2000s." What did the cousin do?
- 1. Worked as a clockmaker in the 90s — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Studied history in the early 2000s — no support
- 3. Served a prison sentence in the 90s — no support
- 4. Served a prison sentence in the early 2000s — ✓ the right answer · 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 · ★ · wrong ✗
A police statement says "an officer-involved shooting occurred on Main Street". What happened?
- 1. An officer took photos — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. A police officer shot someone — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. An officer was hit by a car — no support
- 4. There was a shooting game at a fair — 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 ✗
Old film: "Ten years up the river, that's what you'll get!" What is the threat?
- 1. Ten years living on a boat — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Ten years in prison — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Ten years of rowing — no support
- 4. Ten years of fishing — 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
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the phrase "detained at His Majesty's pleasure"?
- 1. Retained in the employment of the Crown — no support
- 2. Held in prison for a period not fixed in advance — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 3. Received as a guest at a royal residence — no support
- 4. Kept late at school by royal command — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 8: «"Detained at His Majesty's pleasure" is a British official phrase for being held in prison for an indefinite time, with no end date fixed in advance.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hold» (+2); the same place «prison» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the principal meaning of "use of force" as employed in police reports.
- 1. The operation of police vehicles — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The application of physics in the classroom — no support
- 3. Violence by police — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. The opening of jammed doors — 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 that is consistent with the established meaning of "protective custody" within a prison.
- 1. The isolation of a prisoner for his own safety — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. The placing of a prisoner in a recreation room — no support
- 3. The confinement of the prison staff — no support
- 4. The early release of a prisoner — 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 27, line 18: «"Protective custody" means keeping a prisoner alone for their own safety.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «prisoner» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓
It is given that an applicant is described as "justice-involved". Ascertain what is thereby indicated.
- 1. The applicant has a criminal record or past dealings with the courts — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The applicant serves as a judge — no support
- 3. The applicant holds strong views upon fairness — no support
- 4. The applicant has sat upon a jury — 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
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/27-crime-prison-and-police/