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Olympiad: thinking traps and what helps first ★★★

Tests: 2 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 7 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 32 of the reflection 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 ✗

A boy from Liverpool says, "Our kid says I'm proper useless at maths cos I got one sum wrong." ("Our kid" means brother or sister.) What is wrong with the brother's claim?

  • 1. It's grief, because maths can make you sad — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. It's a fair fact, since one wrong sum proves he's useless at maths — no support
  • 3. It's all-or-nothing: one wrong sum doesn't make you useless — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. It's fortune telling about next year's maths — 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 ✗

Bea says, "I'm literally never gonna have friends at secondary, it's so over." Which test question fits her thought best?

  • 1. "What did they actually say to me?" — ← Mova's choice · score 8
  • 2. "Is this a true sadness to accept?" — no support
  • 3. "Can I really know the future?" — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. "Was it mine to control?" — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 17: «If a friend says something that suggests they are being hurt or are in danger, a promise to keep it secret should be broken: tell a trusted adult.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+5); the same doer «friend» (+3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if Ruby kept believing the split was her fault?

  • 1. Her parents would get back together sooner — ← Mova's choice · score 5
  • 2. She'd carry guilt for something that was never hers — ✓ the right answer · score 3
  • 3. She would feel better and better each week — no support
  • 4. Nothing; the thought is true, so it is fine — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 12, line 17: «When parents get back together after a split, trusting that things will stay good can take time; mixed feelings, happy and scared at once, are normal.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «get back» (+2); the same doer «parents» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

In a cartoon the hero breaks a window and hides it all film. In real life, after Finn's ball breaks a neighbour's window, which order is wisest?

  • 1. Run home, blame a friend, then say sorry later — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Say sorry first, then hide, then deny it all — no support
  • 3. Hide the ball, wait, and hope nobody ever notices — no support
  • 4. Calm down, tell a grown-up, say sorry, help fix it — ✓ 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 ✗

A Kiwi mate says, "Yeah nah, I'm sweet as, just a bit gutted about Nan," while Nan is in hospital. ("Sweet as" means fine; "gutted" means very sad.) Which part shows the real feeling?

  • 1. "gutted about Nan" — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. "just a bit" — ← Mova's choice · score 5
  • 3. "I'm sweet as" — no support
  • 4. "Yeah nah" — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 6: «Hyperbole is exaggerating on purpose, like "I'm literally dying of boredom"; it shows a strong feeling but is not meant word for word.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «show» (+3); the same thing acted on «strong feeling» (+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 ✗

At her dog's funeral in the garden, Mia's cousin snaps, "Shut up, you're ALWAYS crying, you baby." Which word is the trap?

  • 1. "crying": crying at a funeral is wrong — ← Mova's choice · score 2
  • 2. None: the cousin is completely right — no support
  • 3. "always": she is crying about a real loss — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. "baby": she is young, so it's a fair word — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 11: «Not crying at a funeral does not mean you did not love the person; everyone grieves differently.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «cry» (+3); the same place «funeral» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Check the claim: "Thinking positive means pretending nothing bad happened."

  • 1. True: you must smile and look happy whatever happens — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. False: you can be sad and still see the true size of things — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. False, because thinking positive is always bad for you — no support
  • 4. True, but only when you are at school with friends — 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 ✗

Dev from Mumbai says, "Exam's preponed to Monday, I'll surely fail, my life is finished." ("Preponed" means moved earlier.) Which is the true-sized version?

  • 1. "I should just hide at home on Monday morning" — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. "Less time is stressful, but one exam won't finish my life" — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. "Monday is fine, because exams never matter at all, not one bit" — no support
  • 4. "My whole life really is finished, that's a fact" — 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 ✗

Zoe sobs, "I've ruined everything a hundred times this year." Her friend counts: 2 bad moments. Which number tells the truth?

  • 1. 102 — ← Mova's choice · score 5
  • 2. 50 — score 5
  • 3. 2 — ✓ the right answer · score 5
  • 4. 100 — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 16, line 5: «The same pattern runs through the other stories: a hidden wrong gets heavier day by day, and telling the truth, saying sorry and fixing what can be fixed is wh…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tell» (+3); the same thing acted on «truth» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★★ · right ✓

Grace from Boston says, "Wicked bad day, I'm the worst friend ever." She forgot one birthday. ("Wicked" means very.) What is the fair version?

  • 1. "I'm the worst friend in the whole wide world" — no support
  • 2. "Birthdays don't matter, so it doesn't matter" — no support
  • 3. "My friend will never talk to me again" — no support
  • 4. "I forgot one birthday; I can say sorry and make it up" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 14

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 14, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 4, line 15: «Forgetting a friend's birthday does not mean you don't care; saying sorry fast and doing something special fixes most of it ("belated" means late).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «forget» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «birthday» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓

Which thought should come FIRST in a good plan after a scary dream?

  • 1. "I'm safe in bed; I'll breathe slowly" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. "I'll keep this to myself for ever and ever" — no support
  • 3. "I'll replay the dream so I remember all of it" — no support
  • 4. "Dreams come true, so I must stay awake all night" — 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 ✗

Identify the thinking trap shown by the assertion "Everybody in the class must consider me foolish," made in the absence of any statement to that effect.

  • 1. Accurate perception, requiring no further examination — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Mind reading, the assumption of others' thoughts without enquiry — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Fortune telling, the confident prediction of future events — no support
  • 4. Grief, being a natural response to bereavement — 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 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Determine the steps which should ordinarily precede the making of amends after a distressing incident.

  • 1. Undertaking full repair before any feelings have subsided — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Concealing the incident until such time as it is forgotten — no support
  • 3. Attaining calm and informing a trusted adult — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Reviewing the incident at length during the night — 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 ✓

In respect of a child's belief that he caused his parents' separation, select the statement consistent with the established facts.

  • 1. Children bear no responsibility for the separation of their parents — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
  • 2. Separation results principally from untidiness at home — no support
  • 3. Children are partially responsible where they have misbehaved at home or at school — score 4
  • 4. Such beliefs are invariably accurate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 11: «Children are never to blame when their parents argue, separate or divorce; those are grown-up problems and grown-up decisions.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «separate» (+4); the same doer «parents» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following is NOT a thinking trap?

  • 1. The belief that a single error proves total incompetence — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Sorrow at a grandparent's death, months after the event — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. The conviction that one will fail every future examination — no support
  • 4. The assertion that nobody will ever befriend one — 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

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