---
title: An old story tells of a hunter who found an anaconda as long as a bu… — Amazon giants and tall tales: anaconda… · tree and pragmatics
description: An old story tells of a hunter who found an anaconda as long as a bus, about 12 metres. What would a scientist say? Test 1 · ★★ of lesson 158 «Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and the candiru» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and
---

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# Test 1 · ★★ · Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An old story tells of a hunter who found an anaconda as long as a bus, about 12 metres. What would a scientist say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** old story, hunter, scientist · **What happens:** tell, find, say · **To what, where:** anaconda · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★★ of lesson 158 «Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and the candiru» 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/158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* An old story tells of a hunter who found an anaconda as long as a bus, about 12 metres.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:1
# text = An old story tells of a hunter who found an anaconda as long as a bus, about 12 metres.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hunter	hunter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	anaconda	anaconda	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	as	as	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	16	advmod	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
18	about	about	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	20	nummod	_	_
20	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | a old story |  |  |  |  | of a hunter | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **find** | past | a hunter | a anaconda |  |  |  | as a bus | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent anaconda=Theme as bus=Attribute |

<!-- .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 would a scientist say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:2
# text = What would a scientist say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	obj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	scientist	scientist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | would | a scientist |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No anaconda over about seven metres has been well measured, so the tale is doubtful

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:o1:1
# text = No anaconda over about seven metres has been well measured, so the tale is doubtful
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	2	det	_	_
2	anaconda	anaconda	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	over	over	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	about	about	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
7	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
8	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	10	aux:pass	_	_
9	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	10	advmod	_	_
10	measured	measure	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	doubtful	doubtful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **measure** | present · perfect · passive |  | no anaconda over seven metres |  |  |  | well *property* | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: subject=Value |
| 2 | **is** | present | the tale |  |  |  |  | doubtful *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Too short, because they are often found reaching a hundred metres in the jungle

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:o2:1
# text = Too short, because they are often found reaching a hundred metres in the jungle
1	Too	too	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
4	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
7	often	often	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
9	reaching	reach	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	xcomp	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	12	nummod	_	_
12	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	jungle	jungle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | present · passive |  | they |  |  |  | often *property* | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: subject=Attribute clause=Theme |
| 2 | **reach** | gerund | they *not said here* | hundred metres |  | the jungle |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent metre=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Snakes cannot grow longer than a metre

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:o3:1
# text = Snakes cannot grow longer than a metre
1	Snakes	snake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	longer	long	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	metre	metre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **grow** | can | Snakes |  |  |  |  | than a metre; long *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Totally true, they are often that long

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:t1:o4:1
# text = Totally true, they are often that long
1	Totally	totally	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	often	often	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
7	that	that	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | they |  |  |  |  | long, often *property* | tree rules |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [The Amazon forest floor: leafcutters,…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/157-the-amazon-forest-floor/e4/)
- next →: [Amazon giants and tall tales: anaconda…, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales/t2/)
- ↑ back to [Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and the candiru](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales/)