---
title: Identify the statement that most accurately characterises the dilemm… — Lifeboat choices · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the statement that most accurately characterises the dilemma commonly termed the trolley problem. Exam question 2 of lesson 48 «Lifeboat choices» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice
---

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# Exam question 2 · Lifeboat choices

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the statement that most accurately characterises the dilemma commonly termed the trolley problem.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, most, dilemma · **What happens:** identify, characteris, term · **To what, where:** statement, trolley problem

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 48 «Lifeboat choices» of the religion ethics 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/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:e2:1
# text = Identify the statement that most accurately characterises the dilemma commonly termed the trolley problem.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	statement	statement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	most	most	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	nsubj	_	_
6	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dilemma	dilemma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
10	commonly	commonly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	termed	term	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	trolley	trolley	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the statement |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent statement=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present | most |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **term** | past | the dilemma | the trolley problem |  |  |  | commonly *property* | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent problem=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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It concerns the conveyance of goods within a retail establishment

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:e2:o1:1
# text = It concerns the conveyance of goods within a retail establishment
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	concerns	concern	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	conveyance	conveyance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	4	nmod	_	_
7	within	within	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	retail	retail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	establishment	establishment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | present | It | the conveyance of goods |  |  |  | within a retail establishment | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus conveyance=Experiencer |
| 2 | **convey** |  |  | goods |  |  |  |  | nom conveyance «communication transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It concerns the number of persons a vehicle may lawfully carry

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:e2:o2:1
# text = It concerns the number of persons a vehicle may lawfully carry
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	concerns	concern	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	number	number	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	persons	person	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	vehicle	vehicle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
9	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	lawfully	lawfully	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	carry	carry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | present | It | the number of persons |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus number=Experiencer |
| 2 | **carry** | may | a vehicle | persons *not said here* |  |  |  | lawfully *property* | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It concerns a question upon which all moral philosophers are agreed

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:e2:o3:1
# text = It concerns a question upon which all moral philosophers are agreed
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	concerns	concern	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	obl	_	_
7	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
8	moral	moral	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	philosophers	philosopher	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	agreed	agree	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | present | It | a question |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus question=Experiencer |
| 2 | **agree** *speech: agree* | present · passive |  | all moral philosophers |  |  |  | upon a question | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: subject=Topic |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It concerns whether harm to one person may be permitted in order to save five, and remains disputed

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:e2:o4:1
# text = It concerns whether harm to one person may be permitted in order to save five, and remains disputed
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	concerns	concern	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
4	harm	harm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	permitted	permit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	ccomp	_	_
11	in	in	SCONJ	IN	ExtPos=SCONJ	14	mark	_	_
12	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	fixed	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
15	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	remains	remains	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	2	obl	_	_
19	disputed	dispute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	18	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | present | It | remains |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **permit** | may · passive |  | harm to one person |  |  |  |  | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 3 | **save** | to-infinitive |  | five |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent five=Theme |
| 4 | **dispute** | participle |  | remains *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- next →: [Lifeboat choices, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/e3/)
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