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Water, deserts and the shape of the land

Tests: 0 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 16 of the myths 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 ✗

You pull the plug in your sink five times and it swirls clockwise twice and anticlockwise three times. What does that show?

  • 1. Your house is exactly on the equator — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The swirl depends on the sink and water, not the half of the world — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. The Coriolis effect changes every minute — no support
  • 4. Your sink is broken and needs fixing — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

"omg my cousin literally showed me a video of an Aussie toilet going backwards, so it's TRUE" What's wrong with that proof?

  • 1. Toilets go either way anywhere; one video doesn't show the cause — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Videos from Australia are filmed upside down — no support
  • 3. Nothing, a video always proves the cause, so it must be totally true — ← Mova's choice · score 2
  • 4. Only the cousin's toilet works that way — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 2: «The Moon always shows us the same face, so the other side was "dark" in the old sense: unknown. It gets just as much sunshine as our side, and we first saw it…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «show» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2); a different thing acted on (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 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

A cartoon explorer crosses the Antarctic ice and says "Phew, glad we're out of the desert!" when he reaches it. What's wrong?

  • 1. Antarctica is itself a desert, the biggest one — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Nothing, Antarctica gets heaps of rain and snow — no support
  • 3. Antarctica is really a frozen sea, not land at all — no support
  • 4. Deserts can only be hot places, so ice can't be one — ← Mova's choice · 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 16, line 7: «A desert is a place with very little rain or snow; the biggest desert is Antarctica, and the Sahara is the biggest hot desert.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «desert» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Your mate says, "Shut up, a desert's hot and sandy, that's what the word means." How do you argue wisely?

  • 1. Shout until he gives in — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Agree with him to keep the peace, even though it's wrong — no support
  • 3. Tell him he's thick and walk off — no support
  • 4. Look up the meaning together: little rain or snow — ✓ 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if you left a bowl of seawater on a sunny windowsill for a week?

  • 1. The salt would go off and leave fresh water — ← Mova's choice · score 3
  • 2. The water would slowly turn into a block of ice — no support
  • 3. The water would go and leave salt behind — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Nothing, because seawater never evaporates — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 4: «The best weapon is a simple test. Pull the plug in your sink five times, balance an egg on an ordinary Tuesday, leave salty water in the sun, stir cornflour an…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «leave» (+2); the same thing acted on «salty water» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

In a film, quicksand closes over the hero's hat and he's gone. What's the true version?

  • 1. People float in quicksand, so it can't pull you under — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Quicksand works like a whirlpool — no support
  • 3. Quicksand really does swallow people whole within seconds — score 5
  • 4. Only heavy people sink all the way — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 1: «"Mate, in Australia the toilet flushes the OTHER way round. It's the Coriolis effect, it's science!" Your cousin is back from Sydney and he says it like a man…», 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 «other way» (+3); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why does "Roman glass hasn't sagged in 2,000 years" beat the dripping-window story?

  • 1. If glass flowed, very old glass would have sagged far more — ✓ the right answer · score 1
  • 2. Romans used special glass that cannot melt — ← Mova's choice · score 4
  • 3. Glass only drips in churches — no support
  • 4. Roman glass was always kept in the fridge — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 14: «Looking at the Sun during an eclipse is not safe: even a sliver can burn the retina (the seeing layer at the back of the eye), and it does not hurt while it ha…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «use» (+2); the same thing acted on «proper eclipse glasses» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Thomas won't give up: "But they're BOTH carbon, so I'm right!" Best reply?

  • 1. You're right, any carbon always turns into diamond in the end — no support
  • 2. Sharing an ingredient doesn't mean one turned into the other — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Then pencils must be made of diamonds — ← Mova's choice · score 2
  • 4. Coal and diamonds are not carbon at all — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 11: «Diamonds and coal are both made of carbon, but most diamonds formed deep in the Earth long before the land plants that made coal existed.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same action «make» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

"which is longer nile or amazon, just tell me the answer" What's the honest reply?

  • 1. They are exactly the same length — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The Nile, everyone agrees — no support
  • 3. Usually the Nile, but experts disagree about where they start — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. The Amazon, everyone agrees — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

Alfie's uncle remembers a big quake on a hot day. Why doesn't that prove "earthquake weather"?

  • 1. The hot weather warms the rock deep down and that makes it crack — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. One hot day is a coincidence; quakes come on every kind of day — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. It proves it, one example is enough — no support
  • 4. Quakes only happen in summer anyway — 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 ✗

The Weekly Wonder says eggs stand up only on 20 March. What's the smartest move?

  • 1. Wait till March before believing anything — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Ask a friend who heard it too — no support
  • 3. Try to balance one today and see — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Trust it, newspapers are always right — 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 ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the largest desert upon the Earth?

  • 1. It is Arabia, a desert being defined by the absence of rivers — score 7
  • 2. It is Antarctica, a desert being defined by scant precipitation — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11
  • 3. It is the Gobi, a desert being defined by low temperature — score 7
  • 4. It is the Sahara, a desert being defined by the presence of sand — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 11, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 7: «A desert is a place with very little rain or snow; the biggest desert is Antarctica, and the Sahara is the biggest hot desert.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «antarctica» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «biggest desert» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal reason for which the direction of rotation of water draining from a domestic basin is not determined by the Coriolis effect.

  • 1. The effect operates solely upon salt water — no support
  • 2. The effect ceases in the hours of darkness — no support
  • 3. The effect is far too weak at so small a scale — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
  • 4. The effect is reversed within enclosed buildings — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 6: «The Coriolis effect is real and makes hurricanes spin opposite ways in the north and south of the world, but it is far too weak to decide which way a sink or t…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «effect» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response that is consistent with the established facts concerning the salinity of the oceans.

  • 1. Salinity is produced by the excretions of marine animals — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Salinity originates exclusively from saline rainfall — no support
  • 3. Salinity is generated by the action of the tides — no support
  • 4. Minerals eroded from rock are conveyed by rivers and remain upon evaporation — ✓ 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 ✗

It is given that Mount Everest attains 8,849 metres above sea level, whereas Mauna Kea exceeds 10,000 metres when measured from its base upon the sea floor. Select the most accurate conclusion.

  • 1. Neither summit has been measured with accuracy — no support
  • 2. The designation of the tallest mountain depends upon the method of measurement — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Everest is the tallest by every method of measurement — no support
  • 4. Mauna Kea is the highest above sea level — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 9: «Mount Everest has the highest peak above sea level, 8,849 metres; measured from its base on the sea floor, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller, over 10,000 metres, t…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same place «sea level» (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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