---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Foxes and squirrels · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the taxonomic position and habits of the red fox? Exam question 1 of lesson 215 «Foxes and squirrels» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's cho
---

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# Exam question 1 · Foxes and squirrels

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the taxonomic position and habits of the red fox?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** taxonomic position

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 215 «Foxes and squirrels» 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/215-foxes-and-squirrels/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:215-foxes-and-squirrels:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the taxonomic position and habits of the red fox?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	taxonomic	taxonomic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	position	position	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	habits	habit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the taxonomic position and habits of the red fox |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It belongs to the cat family and hunts in packs, in the manner of the lion upon the plains

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:215-foxes-and-squirrels:e1:o1:1
# text = It belongs to the cat family and hunts in packs, in the manner of the lion upon the plains
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	belongs	belong	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	packs	pack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	manner	manner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	lion	lion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	_
18	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	plains	plain	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **belong** | present | It |  |  | the manner of the lion |  | to the cat family; upon the plains | vn attend-107.4-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **hunt** | present |  |  |  | packs |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent in pack=Location |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a rodent which subsists upon nuts

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:215-foxes-and-squirrels:e1:o2:1
# text = It is a rodent which subsists upon nuts
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	rodent	rodent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	subsists	subsist	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a rodent |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **subsist** | present | a rodent |  |  |  |  | upon nuts | vn gorge-39.6 «NP V PP.patient»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a bear of diminutive size

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:215-foxes-and-squirrels:e1:o3:1
# text = It is a bear of diminutive size
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	diminutive	diminutive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	size	size	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a bear |  |  |  | of diminutive size | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It belongs to the dog family, yet hunts alone and climbs in the manner of a cat

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:215-foxes-and-squirrels:e1:o4:1
# text = It belongs to the dog family, yet hunts alone and climbs in the manner of a cat
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	belongs	belong	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	yet	yet	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	climbs	climb	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	manner	manner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **belong** | present | It |  |  |  |  | to the dog family | vn attend-107.4-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **hunt** | present |  |  |  |  |  | alone *property* | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **climb** | present |  |  |  | the manner of a cat |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in manner=Trajectory |

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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: [Foxes and squirrels, test 12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/215-foxes-and-squirrels/t12/)
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