---
title: A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an i… — Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs? · tree and pragmatics
description: A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an icy crust. What happens to lemmings under it? Test 6 · ★★★ of lesson 150 «Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs?» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each o
---

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# Test 6 · ★★★ · Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs?

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an icy crust. What happens to lemmings under it?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** warm spell, hard frost · **What happens:** bring, turn, happen · **To what, where:** rain, snow, icy crust, crust

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This is test 6 · ★★★ of lesson 150 «Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs?» of the biology course of Mova's primary school. 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/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/#t6).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an icy crust.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:1
# text = A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an icy crust.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	warm	warm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	spell	spell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	brings	bring	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	11	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	frost	frost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	into	into	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	icy	icy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	crust	crust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | present | a warm spell | rain |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent rain=Theme |
| 2 | **turn** | present | a hard frost | the snow |  | a icy crust | then |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent snow=Theme into crust=Trajectory |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What happens to lemmings under it?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:2
# text = What happens to lemmings under it?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	lemmings	lemming	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	under	under	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | present |  |  |  | crust |  | to lemmings | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme under it=Location |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are warmer and safer than before, as the ice works like a hard roof

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:o1:1
# text = They are warmer and safer than before, as the ice works like a hard roof
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	warmer	warm	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	safer	safe	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	conj	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	before	before	ADV	RB	_	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
13	like	like	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	roof	roof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | They |  |  |  |  | warm *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **work** | present | the ice |  |  |  |  | like a hard roof | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing, ice does not reach them

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:o2:1
# text = Nothing, ice does not reach them
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **reach** | present · do-support | Nothing ice | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent they=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They get more food than usual

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:o3:1
# text = They get more food than usual
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	_
4	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	usual	usual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | They | more food |  |  |  | than usual | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer food=Stimulus |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They can be cut off from food and their nests get soaked

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs:t6:o4:1
# text = They can be cut off from food and their nests get soaked
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	cut	cut	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	off	off	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	nests	nest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	get	get	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	soaked	soak	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cut off** | can · passive |  | They |  | food |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP PP»: subject=Theme from food=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **soak** | present · passive |  | their nests |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1 «NP V NP.theme»: subject=Theme |

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**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.

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