Wild animals and tall tales

Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 10 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 8 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 · ★★ · right ✓

Your mate swears: "I SAW it on a nature film, lemmings jumped off a cliff, so it's true." What do you say?

1. They only jump on Tuesdays — no support
2. Lemmings jump because they can fly a bit — no support
3. If something is shown on film, then it must always be true — no support
4. That film was staged; real lemmings don't do that — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 3: «Take each one apart and it's even better: the ostrich is turning its eggs in a nest dug in the ground, and the lemming film was staged, with lemmings pushed of…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «stage» (+2); the same thing acted on «lemming film» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Asking "is a tortoise leaving its shell like me leaving my skeleton?" Why is that a good comparison?

1. Because people could also step out of their skeletons — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Because tortoises have no skeleton at all inside them — no support
3. Because the shell really is its ribs and backbone — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Because tortoise shells are made of a kind of human bone — 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 ✗

"Lol blind as a bat, my brother can't find his socks." Is the saying good science?

1. Yes, bats see nothing but socks — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. No, bats see better than eagles in daylight — score 6
3. Yes, bats are totally blind — no support
4. No, bats can see; it's just a saying — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 8, line 9: «All bats can see, and fruit bats rely on their eyes; many bats also find their way by echolocation, listening to echoes of their own calls.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); the same doer «bats» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, a camel's hump goes flat and water pours out. What's wrong?

1. Camels keep water in their ears — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Humps hold fat, not water — ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. Nothing, humps are water bottles — no support
4. The water should be fizzy — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 11: «A camel's hump stores fat, not water; camels save water very cleverly and can drink a huge amount at once.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «water» (+4); the same doer «camels» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓

What would happen if you touched a porcupine's back?

1. Quills could come loose and stick into your hand — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. It would fire its sharp quills at you from far away — score 4
3. It would roll away like a ball — no support
4. Nothing, quills are soft like fur — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 10: «Porcupines can't shoot their quills; the quills come loose easily when touched and stick into an attacker.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «stick» (+4); the same doer «quills» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your friend says, "Owls can spin their heads in a full circle, like a cartoon." Wise reply?

1. "Only baby owls can do that." — no support
2. "Totally, they can turn their heads two full times round." — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. "No, owls can't turn their heads at all." — score 2
4. "Nearly! About three-quarters round, still amazing." — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 12: «Owls can turn their heads about 270 degrees, three-quarters of a circle, and special blood vessels let them do it safely.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «owls» (+3); the same action «turn» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A shop sells "shark cartilage, because sharks never get cancer". What two questions should you ask?

1. Is the shark famous, and how old was it when it was caught? — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Is it true, and who makes money from saying it? — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Is it tasty, and can I have two? — no support
4. What colour is the box, and is it big? — 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 · ★★ · right ✓

A chameleon on a green leaf turns bright red when another male comes near. Why?

1. It's much too cold for it to stay green — no support
2. It's signalling to the other chameleon — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. It has just eaten a bright red berry from the bush — no support
4. It's trying hard to match the colour of the leaf — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 13: «Chameleons change colour mostly to show mood, send signals and control their temperature, not to match whatever they sit on.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A picture shows a wolf howling under a full moon. What's the likely truth?

1. Wolves howl to their pack; the Moon just makes a good picture — ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. The wolf is calling the Moon down — no support
3. The full moon makes every wolf in the forest howl at it all night long — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Wolves only ever howl at the Moon — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 15: «Wolves howl to talk to their pack and mark their territory; the Moon doesn't make them howl.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same doer «moon» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓

A huge elephant suddenly steps back when a leaf blows across its feet. What does that suggest?

1. Elephants can startle at sudden small movements, not mice in particular — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
2. Elephants can't see their feet at all — no support
3. Elephants are terrified only of mice, because mice can climb up their trunks — score 5
4. The leaf was a hidden mouse — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 8: «There is no good evidence that elephants fear mice; like anyone, they may startle at a sudden small movement near their feet.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «sudden small movement» (+5); the same action «startle» (+3); the same doer «elephants» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

Why do tall tales about wild animals spread so easily?

1. Scientists invent them to test children — no support
2. Old books are always accurate — no support
3. We see wild animals from far away or in films, and a good story beats a dull truth — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
4. Animals behave differently on different days — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 2: «Wild-animal tall tales spread because we see animals from far away, in cartoons, or in old films, and a good story beats a dull truth: lemmings leaping off cli…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); the same thing acted on «animals» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the conduct of the ostrich when threatened?

1. It feigns death by burying its whole body — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It retreats into a burrow beneath its nest — no support
3. It conceals its head beneath the sand — no support
4. It lies flat upon the ground or flees at considerable speed — ✓ 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 ✓

Identify the substance principally stored in the hump of a camel.

1. Fat — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Water — no support
3. Air — no support
4. Blood — 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 · wrong ✗

It is given that a widely viewed documentary depicted lemmings leaping from a cliff in large numbers. Select the response consistent with the established facts.

1. The scene depicted a species other than lemmings — no support
2. The scene was staged by the film-makers, the lemmings having been forced — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The film recorded a regular annual event in which lemmings jump from cliffs — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. The lemmings were attempting to reach the sea to feed — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 2: «Wild-animal tall tales spread because we see animals from far away, in cartoons, or in old films, and a good story beats a dull truth: lemmings leaping off cli…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «lemmings» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). 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 ✗

Ascertain the maximum rotation of the head of which an owl is capable.

1. Approximately ninety degrees — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A complete rotation of three hundred and sixty degrees — no support
3. Two complete rotations — no support
4. Approximately two hundred and seventy degrees — ✓ 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/myths/8-wild-animals-and-tall-tales/