---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — The first people: hunters, gatherers a… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the mode of subsistence of humankind for the greater part of its history? Exam question 2 of lesson 1 «The first people: hunters, gatherers and cave painters» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and 
---

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# Exam question 2 · The first people: hunters, gatherers and cave painters

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the mode of subsistence of humankind for the greater part of its history?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** humankind · **What happens:** follow, characteris, subsist · **To what, where:** mode

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 1 «The first people: hunters, gatherers and cave painters» of the history 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/history/1-the-first-people/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:1-the-first-people:e2:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the mode of subsistence of humankind for the greater part of its history?
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	10	det	_	_
10	mode	mode	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	humankind	humankind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	greater	great	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	18	amod	_	_
18	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	history	history	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	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 mode of subsistence of humankind |  |  |  | of the following statements; for the greater part of part's history; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **subsist** |  | humankind |  |  |  |  |  | nom subsistence «possession intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hunting, fishing and the gathering of wild plants

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:1-the-first-people:e2:o1:1
# text = Hunting, fishing and the gathering of wild plants
1	Hunting	hunting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	fishing	fishing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	gathering	gathering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	wild	wild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The rearing of cattle in enclosed barns

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:1-the-first-people:e2:o2:1
# text = The rearing of cattle in enclosed barns
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rearing	rearing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	cattle	cattle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	enclosed	enclose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	barns	barn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **enclose** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The purchase of provisions in urban markets

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:1-the-first-people:e2:o3:1
# text = The purchase of provisions in urban markets
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	purchase	purchase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	provisions	provision	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	urban	urban	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	markets	market	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **purchase** |  |  | provisions |  | urban markets |  |  | nom purchase «act transitive»: of=patient in=place |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cultivation of cereals in permanent fields

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:1-the-first-people:e2:o4:1
# text = The cultivation of cereals in permanent fields
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cultivation	cultivation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	cereals	cereal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	permanent	permanent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	fields	field	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cultivate** |  |  | cereals in permanent fields |  |  |  |  | nom cultivation «act transitive»: of=patient |

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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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