Bills: rent, mortgage, energy, water, phone, council tax

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 9 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 21 of the money 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 ✗

Your mate goes, "Rent's a scam, if you live in a house it's yours, innit." What's true?

1. Only people without a job ever pay any rent — score 4
2. Renting means paying the owner to live in their home, and it's very normal — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. Rent is money paid to the council for the bins — ← Mova's choice · score 9
4. He's right, living somewhere for a year makes it yours — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 9, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 8: «Rent is money paid every month to live in a home that belongs to someone else, the landlord; at £700 a month it comes to 12 × £700 = £8,400 a year.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «money» (+4); the same doer «rent» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · wrong ✗

Gran from Birmingham says, "Heating's on for an hour, that's it, bab." ("Bab" means "dear".) What if she had it on 5 hours a day for 30 days, at 50p an hour?

1. It would cost £150 instead of £15 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It would cost £25 instead of £15 — no support
3. It would cost £15 either way — no support
4. It would cost £75 instead of £15 — ✓ 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 3 · wrong ✗

Your cousin says, "£25 a month for a phone is lowkey nothing, basically free." ("Lowkey" means "kind of".) On a 24-month contract, what does it really cost?

1. £25 in total — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. £250 in total — no support
3. £600 in total — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. £300 in total — 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 ✓

A dad from Glasgow says, "The leccy's gone up again, it's pure dreich oot, and we cannae have the heating on aw day." ("Leccy" is electricity; "dreich" means grey and wet.) What is he worried about?

1. The electricity man taking the telly away — no support
2. Rain coming through the roof into the house — no support
3. The energy bill rising if the heating stays on all day — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. The landlord putting up the rent because of all the rain — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 12: «A pay rise is more money for the same job, but bills often go up too.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «go up» (+3); the same doer «bills» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

What would happen if a family just stopped paying council tax?

1. They'd get reminders and fines, and the law can make them pay — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Only their own bin would be skipped, nothing else — score 2
3. Nothing at all, because paying council tax is optional for families — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. The council would send them a refund instead — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 11: «Council tax is paid to the local council for local services such as bins, streetlights, roads and libraries; £110 a month is 12 × £110 = £1,320 a year.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pay» (+2); the same thing acted on «council tax» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, a family burns banknotes in the fire and says, "Heating's free anyway!" What is wrong?

1. Nothing, because heating really is free in winter — no support
2. Heating is only paid for during the summer months — no support
3. Heating is paid for out of the council tax instead — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Heating costs money, paid on the energy bill — ✓ the right answer · 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 20, line 3: «Before pay reaches the bank, tax and pension money is taken off: Dad's payslip says he earned £2,500 but £2,000 arrived, because £500 went on tax, which pays f…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pay» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

Dad, sarcastic: "Late fee, £15. Brilliant." Is he pleased, and what does his £60 bill become?

1. Yes, he's pleased, and the bill becomes £45 — ← Mova's choice · score 14
2. No, he's annoyed, and the bill stays £60 — score 10
3. No, he's annoyed, and the bill becomes £75 — ✓ the right answer · score 14
4. Yes, he's pleased, and the bill becomes £75 — score 14

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 14, tied with another option at 14 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 21, line 16: «Paying a bill late can add a late fee: a £60 bill with a £15 fee becomes £75.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «become» (+4); the same doer «£ bill» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 14. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

Your big sister says, "A mortgage is just posh rent, same thing." What is the best answer?

1. A mortgage is a loan to buy the home; rent pays an owner to live there — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 13
2. Rent is a loan; a mortgage is a present from the bank — score 6
3. She's right, both are paid to a landlord for ever — score 4
4. A mortgage is a tax for living in a big house — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 13, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 3: «Rent is paid to a landlord who owns the home; a mortgage is a big loan from a bank to buy a home, paid back over many years with extra called interest; both ar…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «big loan» (+4); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+4); the same doer «mortgage» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · right ✓

A Liverpool lad says, "Me ma says turn the tap off, la, it's like flushing quids away." ("La" means "mate"; "quids" are pounds.) Is his mum right?

1. Yes, but only at night, when water is dearer — no support
2. No, tap water is completely free everywhere — no support
3. No, water only costs money when it is hot — no support
4. Yes, water costs money and a running tap wastes about 6 litres a minute — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 14: «A running tap can waste about 6 litres of water a minute; homes with a water meter pay for every litre they use.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «waste» (+2); the same doer «running tap» (+2); the same thing acted on «6 litres» (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · wrong ✗

A girl from Dublin says, "We never get bills, me da just pays them, so they're grand." ("Grand" means fine; "da" is dad.) What's really true?

1. Bills are paid out of the children's pocket money — no support
2. Bills only come to houses that own a car — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. She's right, some houses never have any bills — no support
4. The bills still come, and her dad pays them, maybe by direct debit — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 21, line 12: «Fixed costs are bills that come every month, like rent, energy and council tax; they are paid before money goes on fun.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «come» (+3); the same doer «bills» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

Sophie's mum says the £950 of bills come before the cinema. Why?

1. Bills are smaller than fun, so they hardly matter — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The bank stops people watching films in winter — no support
3. Bills like rent and energy keep the home going, so they come first — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Cinemas won't take money until your bills are paid — 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 12 · wrong ✗

Mum says, "Rent's £700 a month — no wait, it went up, it's £750." How much is that a year?

1. £8,400 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. £8,750 — no support
3. £7,500 — no support
4. £9,000 — ✓ 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 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the aggregate monthly expenditure of a household whose obligations are as follows: rent £650, energy £120, water £40, telephone £30 and council tax £110.

1. £1,050 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. £850 — no support
3. £910 — no support
4. £950 — ✓ 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

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a mortgage?

1. A sum paid by a bank to a householder in respect of savings deposited — no support
2. A charge levied by a local authority in respect of the collection of refuse — no support
3. A sum payable monthly to a landlord in respect of the occupation of a dwelling — no support
4. A loan advanced by a bank for the purchase of a dwelling, repayable with interest over many years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 10: «A mortgage is a loan from a bank to buy a home, paid back every month for many years, often 25; because of interest, the total paid back is more than the house…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same thing acted on «loan» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that a telephone contract obliges the subscriber to remit twenty-five pounds per month for a period of twenty-four months. Determine the total sum payable.

1. £500 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. £480 — no support
3. £625 — no support
4. £600 — ✓ 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 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal purpose for which council tax is levied.

1. The repayment of a loan taken out for the purchase of a dwelling — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The funding of local services such as refuse collection, street lighting and libraries — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The settlement of charges for electricity and gas consumed — no support
4. The remuneration of a landlord for the occupation of a property — 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/money/21-bills-rent-mortgage-energy-water-council-tax/