---
title: Identify the principal reason for which the rat is capable of passin… — Rats and mice in the city, and the ele… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which the rat is capable of passing through an aperture of very small diameter. Exam question 1 of lesson 222 «Rats and mice in the city, and the elephant and mouse myth» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the 
---

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# Exam question 1 · Rats and mice in the city, and the elephant and mouse myth

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which the rat is capable of passing through an aperture of very small diameter.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, rat · **What happens:** identify, be, pass · **To what, where:** principal reason, aperture

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 222 «Rats and mice in the city, and the elephant and mouse myth» 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/222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which the rat is capable of passing through an aperture of very small diameter.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	rat	rat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	capable	capable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	acl	_	_
11	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	passing	pass	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
13	through	through	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	aperture	aperture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	very	very	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
18	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	diameter	diameter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | the rat |  |  |  |  | for the principal reason; capable *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **pass** | gerund | the rat *not said here* |  |  | a aperture of small diameter |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme through aperture=Location |

<!-- .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 animal is able to detach its limbs temporarily

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth:e1:o1:1
# text = The animal is able to detach its limbs temporarily
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	able	able	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	detach	detach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	limbs	limb	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	temporarily	temporarily	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the animal |  |  |  |  | able *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **detach** | to-infinitive | the animal *not said here* | animal's limbs |  |  |  | temporarily *property* | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent limb=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ribs are flexible, so that only the skull determines the passage

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth:e1:o2:1
# text = The ribs are flexible, so that only the skull determines the passage
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ribs	rib	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	flexible	flexible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	skull	skull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	determines	determine	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	passage	passage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the ribs |  |  |  |  | flexible *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **determine** | present | the skull | the passage |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent passage=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The skeleton is composed entirely of cartilage

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth:e1:o3:1
# text = The skeleton is composed entirely of cartilage
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	skeleton	skeleton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	composed	compose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	cartilage	cartilage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **compose** | present · passive |  | the skeleton |  |  |  | of cartilage; entirely *property* | vn create-26.4-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Result |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fur may be compressed to a fraction of its thickness

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth:e1:o4:1
# text = The fur may be compressed to a fraction of its thickness
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fur	fur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	compressed	compress	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fraction	fraction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	thickness	thickness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **compress** | may · passive |  | the fur |  |  |  | to a fraction of fur's thickness *result* | vn bend-45.2 «NP V NP PP.result»: subject=Patient to fraction=Result |

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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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