---
title: «why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?» What is right? — Goldfish and pond fish: the three-seco… · tree and pragmatics
description: «why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?» What is right? Test 9 · ★★ of lesson 204 «Goldfish and pond fish: the three-second memory myth» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Test 9 · ★★ · Goldfish and pond fish: the three-second memory myth

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?» What is right?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** they · **What happens:** gasp, be · **To what, where:** top · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★★ of lesson 204 «Goldfish and pond fish: the three-second memory myth» 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/204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:1
# text = «why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	nsubj	_	_
6	gasping	gasp	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	csubj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
11	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
12	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	bored	bored	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **gasp** *in a quote* | present · progressive | they |  |  | the top |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | they |  |  |  |  | bored *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 is right?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:2
# text = What is right?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are practising jumping

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:o1:1
# text = They are practising jumping
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	aux	_	_
3	practising	practise	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	jumping	jump	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **practise** | present · progressive | They |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **jump** | gerund | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They want to see you

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:o2:1
# text = They want to see you
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | present | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **see** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | They *not said here* | you |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer you=Stimulus |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The water is short of oxygen, so change some water and check the filter

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:o3:1
# text = The water is short of oxygen, so change some water and check the filter
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	oxygen	oxygen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	change	change	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
10	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	11	det	_	_
11	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	check	check	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	filter	filter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the water |  |  |  |  | of oxygen; short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **change** | infinitive |  | some water |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Patient |
| 3 | **check** | infinitive |  | the filter |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent filter=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a fish game in which the winner is whoever stays at the top the longest

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth:t9:o4:1
# text = It is a fish game in which the winner is whoever stays at the top the longest
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	obl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	winner	winner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	whoever	whoever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	stays	stay	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	longest	long	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	15	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a fish game |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the winner |  |  | a fish game |  | at the top; stay *property* | 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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