---
title: A rattlesnake rattles and then a hiker backs away. How did the rattl… — Thinking like an animal · tree and pragmatics
description: A rattlesnake rattles and then a hiker backs away. How did the rattle help the snake? Test 8 · ★★★ of lesson 30 «Thinking like an animal» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was right.
---

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# Test 8 · ★★★ · Thinking like an animal

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A rattlesnake rattles and then a hiker backs away. How did the rattle help the snake?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** rattlesnake, hiker, rattle · **What happens:** rattle, back away, help · **To what, where:** snake

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This is test 8 · ★★★ of lesson 30 «Thinking like an animal» of the everyday 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/everyday/30-thinking-like-an-animal/#t8).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A rattlesnake rattles and then a hiker backs away.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:1
# text = A rattlesnake rattles and then a hiker backs away.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rattlesnake	rattlesnake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	rattles	rattle	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
5	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	8	advmod	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hiker	hiker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	backs	back	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	away	away	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rattle** | present | a rattlesnake |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **back away** | present | a hiker |  |  |  | then | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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:* How did the rattle help the snake?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:2
# text = How did the rattle help the snake?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	rattle	rattle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past · do-support | the rattle |  | the snake |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent snake=Beneficiary |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It avoided a fight and kept its venom

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:o1:1
# text = It avoided a fight and kept its venom
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	avoided	avoid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	venom	venom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | past | It | a fight |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent fight=Location |
| 2 | **keep** | past |  | fight's venom |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent venom=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It scared away its own babies

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:o2:1
# text = It scared away its own babies
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	scared	scare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	away	away	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	babies	baby	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scare away** | past | It | its own babies |  |  |  | away *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus baby=Experiencer |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It called other snakes nearby to come and help it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:o3:1
# text = It called other snakes nearby to come and help it
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	called	call	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	snakes	snake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	nearby	nearby	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past | It |  | other snakes |  |  | nearby *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent snake=Recipient |
| 2 | **come** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **help** | infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Beneficiary |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It caught its dinner

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:30-thinking-like-an-animal:t8:o4:1
# text = It caught its dinner
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	caught	catch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | past | It | its dinner |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dinner=Theme |

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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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