---
title: Ascertain the explanation of zebra stripes which is at present best… — Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras,… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the explanation of zebra stripes which is at present best supported by experiment. Exam question 4 of lesson 128 «Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras, hippos and giraffes» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each 
---

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# Exam question 4 · Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras, hippos and giraffes

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the explanation of zebra stripes which is at present best supported by experiment.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, zebra stripes · **What happens:** ascertain, be, support, explain · **To what, where:** explanation

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 128 «Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras, hippos and giraffes» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the explanation of zebra stripes which is at present best supported by experiment.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	explanation	explanation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	zebra	zebra	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	stripes	stripe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
7	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	present	present	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	acl:relcl	_	_
11	best	well	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	12	advmod	_	_
12	supported	support	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	advcl	_	_
13	by	by	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	experiment	experiment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the explanation of zebra stripes |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent explanation=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | present | zebra stripes |  |  |  |  | present *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **support** | participle | zebra stripes *not said here* |  |  |  |  | by experiment; well *property* | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **explain** |  | zebra stripes |  |  |  |  |  | nom explanation «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stripes assist the zebra in the location of water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes:e4:o1:1
# text = The stripes assist the zebra in the location of water
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stripes	stripe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	assist	assist	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	zebra	zebra	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	location	location	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **assist** | present | the stripes |  | the zebra | the location of water |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent zebra=Beneficiary |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stripes discourage biting flies from alighting

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes:e4:o2:1
# text = The stripes discourage biting flies from alighting
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stripes	stripe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	discourage	discourage	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	biting	bite	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	flies	fly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	alighting	alight	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **discourage** | present | the stripes | biting flies |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus fly=Experiencer |
| 2 | **bite** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **alight** | gerund | the stripes *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stripes serve to retain heat in cold weather

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes:e4:o3:1
# text = The stripes serve to retain heat in cold weather
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stripes	stripe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	serve	serve	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	retain	retain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **serve** | present | the stripes |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **retain** | to-infinitive | the stripes *not said here* | heat |  | cold weather |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stripes afford concealment in green vegetation

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes:e4:o4:1
# text = The stripes afford concealment in green vegetation
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stripes	stripe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	afford	afford	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	concealment	concealment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	vegetation	vegetation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **afford** | infinitive | the stripes | concealment |  | green vegetation |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras,…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/e3/)
- next →: [The penguins of Madagascar: real pengu…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/129-madagascar-real-penguins-and-chimps/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Marty, Gloria and Melman: real zebras, hippos and giraffes](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/)