---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Magnets, compasses and big Earth facts · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the cause of lower temperatures during the winter months? Exam question 1 of lesson 17 «Magnets, compasses and big Earth facts» of the myths course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of
---

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# Exam question 1 · Magnets, compasses and big Earth facts

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the cause of lower temperatures during the winter months?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris, cause · **To what, where:** cause, lower temperatures

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This is exam question 1 of lesson 17 «Magnets, compasses and big Earth facts» of the myths 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/myths/17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:myths:17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the cause of lower temperatures during the winter months?
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	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	lower	low	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	13	amod	_	_
13	temperatures	temperature	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
14	during	during	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	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 cause of lower temperatures |  |  | month | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **cause** |  |  | lower temperatures |  |  |  |  | nom cause «event 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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Sun's output of heat diminishes during winter

```conllu
# sent_id = question:myths:17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts:e1:o1:1
# text = The Sun's output of heat diminishes during winter
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	output	output	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	diminishes	diminish	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	during	during	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **diminish** | present | the Sun's output of heat |  |  |  | winter |  | vn caused\_calibratable\_cos-45.6.2-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Moon intercepts a portion of the sunlight

```conllu
# sent_id = question:myths:17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts:e1:o2:1
# text = The Moon intercepts a portion of the sunlight
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Moon	Moon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	intercepts	intercept	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	portion	portion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sunlight	sunlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **intercept** | present | the Moon | a portion of the sunlight |  |  |  |  | vn confront-98 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent portion=Theme |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The inclination of the Earth's axis causes oblique sunlight and abbreviated days

```conllu
# sent_id = question:myths:17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts:e1:o3:1
# text = The inclination of the Earth's axis causes oblique sunlight and abbreviated days
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	inclination	inclination	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	axis	axis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	causes	cause	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	oblique	oblique	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	sunlight	sunlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	abbreviated	abbreviate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	amod	_	_
13	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | present | the inclination of the Earth's axis | oblique sunlight and abbreviated days |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition sunlight=Patient |
| 2 | **abbreviate** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **incline** |  | the Earth's axis |  |  |  |  |  | nom inclination «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Earth is then at its greatest distance from the Sun

```conllu
# sent_id = question:myths:17-magnets-compasses-and-big-earth-facts:e1:o4:1
# text = The Earth is then at its greatest distance from the Sun
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	8	advmod	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	greatest	great	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	8	amod	_	_
8	distance	distance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the Earth |  |  | the Sun | then | at Earth's greatest distance | 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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