---
title: Your friend says, "In a lifeboat you should save the cleverest kids,… — Lifeboat choices · tree and pragmatics
description: Your friend says, "In a lifeboat you should save the cleverest kids, cos they're worth more." What is the best reply? Test 1 · ★★ 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
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/t1/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/) / [Lifeboat choices](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/) / t1

# Test 1 · ★★ · Lifeboat choices

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your friend says, "In a lifeboat you should save the cleverest kids, cos they're worth more." What is the best reply?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** friend, you, kids, best reply · **What happens:** say, save, be · **To what, where:** cleverest kids, lifeboat · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★★ of lesson 48 «Lifeboat choices» of the religion ethics 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/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your friend says, "In a lifeboat you should save the cleverest kids, cos they're worth more."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:1
# text = Your friend says, "In a lifeboat you should save the cleverest kids, cos they're worth more."
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	In	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lifeboat	lifeboat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	cleverest	clever	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	14	amod	_	_
14	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	cos	cos	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
17	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
19	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	conj	_	_
20	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your friend |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **save** *in a quote* | should | you | the cleverest kids |  | a lifeboat |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent kid=Theme |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | kids *= kid* |  |  |  |  | worth *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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What is the best reply?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:2
# text = What is the best reply?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	reply	reply	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the best reply |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Save whoever is your friend, that's fair

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:o1:1
# text = Save whoever is your friend, that's fair
1	Save	save	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	whoever	whoever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	fair	fair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **save** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | whoever | your friend |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | that |  |  |  |  | fair *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You're right, cleverness is all that matters

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:o2:1
# text = You're right, cleverness is all that matters
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	cleverness	cleverness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	5	appos	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	matters	matter	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | You |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **matter** | present | cleverness |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Everyone has equal worth, so a fair method like drawing lots is better

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:o3:1
# text = Everyone has equal worth, so a fair method like drawing lots is better
1	Everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	equal	equal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	worth	worth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	fair	fair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	method	method	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
10	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	drawing	draw	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
12	lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Everyone | equal worth |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent worth=Patient |
| 2 | **draw** | gerund | a fair method *not said here* | lots |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lot=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present | a fair method |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Clever kids are boring, so save the sporty ones because they can swim better

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t1:o4:1
# text = Clever kids are boring, so save the sporty ones because they can swim better
1	Clever	clever	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	boring	boring	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	sporty	sporty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
11	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
13	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
15	better	well	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	14	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Clever kids |  |  |  |  | boring *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **save** | infinitive | Clever kids *not said here* | the sporty ones |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |
| 3 | **swim** | can | kids *= kid* |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [The environment, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/47-the-environment/e4/)
- next →: [Lifeboat choices, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/t2/)
- ↑ back to [Lifeboat choices](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/)