---
title: Ascertain the reason for which hands ought to be washed after the ha… — Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets:… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the reason for which hands ought to be washed after the handling of a reptile. Exam question 4 of lesson 329 «Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and washing hands» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of
---

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# Exam question 4 · Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and was…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the reason for which hands ought to be washed after the handling of a reptile.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, reason · **What happens:** ascertain, hand, wash, handle · **To what, where:** reason, reptile

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 329 «Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and washing hands» 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/329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the reason for which hands ought to be washed after the handling of a reptile.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	hands	hand	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	washed	wash	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	advcl	_	_
11	after	after	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	handling	handling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	reptile	reptile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the reason |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent reason=Topic |
| 2 | **hand** | present | the reason |  |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **wash** | to-infinitive · passive | the reason *not said here* |  |  |  | after the handling of a reptile |  | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V» |
| 4 | **handle** |  |  | a reptile |  |  |  |  | nom handling «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reptiles leave a dye upon the hands

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:e4:o1:1
# text = Reptiles leave a dye upon the hands
1	Reptiles	reptile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	leave	leave	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dye	dye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **leave** | present | Reptiles | a dye |  | the hands |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent dye=Theme upon hand=Location |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reptiles transmit the common cold to human beings

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:e4:o2:1
# text = Reptiles transmit the common cold to human beings
1	Reptiles	reptile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	transmit	transmit	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	common	common	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	beings	being	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **transmit** | present | Reptiles | the common cold |  | human beings |  |  | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent cold=Theme to being=Destination |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reptiles secrete a poison through their scales which is absorbed through the skin

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:e4:o3:1
# text = Reptiles secrete a poison through their scales which is absorbed through the skin
1	Reptiles	reptile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	secrete	secrete	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	poison	poison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	through	through	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	scales	scale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	absorbed	absorb	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	through	through	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **secrete** | present | Reptiles | a poison |  | Reptiles's scales |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **absorb** | present · passive |  | Reptiles's scales |  | the skin |  |  | vn absorb-39.8 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reptiles frequently carry salmonella bacteria without themselves being ill

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:e4:o4:1
# text = Reptiles frequently carry salmonella bacteria without themselves being ill
1	Reptiles	reptile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	frequently	frequently	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	carry	carry	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	parataxis	_	_
4	salmonella	salmonella	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	without	without	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	3	obl	_	_
8	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	cop	_	_
9	ill	ill	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | present | Reptiles | salmonella bacteria |  |  |  | without Reptiles *= reptile*; frequently *property* | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bacterium=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | ill *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.

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- ← previous: [Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets:…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands/e3/)
- next →: [Unusual pets: stick insects, giant sna…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/330-unusual-pets-stick-insects-giant-snails-ant-farms-and-hermit-crabs/t1/)
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