---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a su… — Reading people in hard times: what's r… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a sudden change towards unkind conduct in a friend? Exam question 1 of lesson 28 «Reading people in hard times: what's really behind the mean face» of the reflection course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmati
---

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# Exam question 1 · Reading people in hard times: what's really behind the mea…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a sudden change towards unkind conduct in a friend?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** sudden change

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This is exam question 1 of lesson 28 «Reading people in hard times: what's really behind the mean face» of the reflection 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/reflection/28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:reflection:28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a sudden change towards unkind conduct in a friend?
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	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	sudden	sudden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	towards	towards	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	conduct	conduct	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	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 |  | a sudden change |  |  |  | of the following statements; towards unkind conduct in a friend; accurately *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
It is wholly attributable to the conduct of the recipient

```conllu
# sent_id = question:reflection:28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face:e1:o1:1
# text = It is wholly attributable to the conduct of the recipient
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	wholly	wholly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	attributable	attributable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	conduct	conduct	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	recipient	recipient	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | to the conduct of the recipient; attributable, wholly *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **conduct** |  |  | the recipient |  |  |  |  | nom conduct «act transitive»: of=patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It frequently arises from undisclosed difficulties in the friend's own life

```conllu
# sent_id = question:reflection:28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face:e1:o2:1
# text = It frequently arises from undisclosed difficulties in the friend's own life
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	frequently	frequently	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	arises	arise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	undisclosed	undisclos	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
6	difficulties	difficulty	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arise** | present | It |  |  | undisclosed difficulties |  | in the friend's own life; frequently *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in life=Location |
| 2 | **undisclos** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a reliable indication of an unkind character from birth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:reflection:28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face:e1:o3:1
# text = It is a reliable indication of an unkind character from birth
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	reliable	reliable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	indication	indication	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	birth	birth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a reliable indication |  |  |  | of a unkind character from birth | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It invariably reflects a deliberate decision to end the friendship

```conllu
# sent_id = question:reflection:28-reading-people-in-hard-times-whats-really-behind-the-mean-face:e1:o4:1
# text = It invariably reflects a deliberate decision to end the friendship
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	invariably	invariably	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	reflects	reflect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	deliberate	deliberate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	decision	decision	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	end	end	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	friendship	friendship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reflect** | present | It | a deliberate decision |  |  |  | invariably *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **end** | to-infinitive |  | the friendship |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality friendship=Eventuality |

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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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