--- title: Olympiad: what is really going on ★★★ — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Olympiad: what is really going on ★★★», a lesson of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: This olympiad lesson mixes the whole course into puzzles about reading grown-up life: what the words really mean, what the clues --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Adult life](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/) / Olympiad: what is really going on ★★★ # Olympiad: what is really going on ★★★ Lesson 61 of the adult life course of Mova's primary school: 21 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/0/) — This olympiad lesson mixes the whole course into puzzles about reading grown-up life: what the words really mean, what the clues add up to, and who is the right person to ask. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/1/) — Grown-ups often say more or less than they mean. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/2/) — «I've told you a million times» is not a number to count, and «that's not ideal» after the boiler breaks in January can mean a real headache. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/3/) — Clues work like a detective's: one clue alone proves very little, but several clues pointing the same way make a good guess. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/4/) — A guess is still not a fact until someone checks it. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/5/) — Scene: in a kitchen in Leeds, Mum whispers on the phone, a big box is hidden on top of the wardrobe, and your birthday is on Saturday. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/6/) — Three clues, one happy answer: a surprise is being planned, and it is kinder not to go looking for it. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/7/) — For every puzzle ask three questions: What do the words really mean? - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/8/) — What do all the clues say together? - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/9/) — Who should I tell or ask? - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/11/) — «I'm fine, it's just a scratch» about a real injury is the dangerous kind of downplaying: the wise move is to check it and tell an adult. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/12/) — One clue alone proves little; several clues pointing the same way make a good guess, and a guess still needs checking before it is treated as a fact. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/13/) — A story passed along a street often grows at each step, so the first, plainest version is usually closest to what really happened. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/14/) — The right helper depends on the problem: 999 for an emergency, the GP for an illness that can wait, the pharmacist for medicine advice, a teacher for a worry at school, a trusted grown-up for anything that frightens you. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/15/) — A closed door and low voices usually mean grown-up business, such as a worry, a plan or a surprise, and it is usually not about the child. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/17/) — «Sources close to» someone are people a newspaper does not name, so their claims cannot be checked by the reader. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/18/) — Signs of a scam: it is urgent, it asks for money, a PIN or a password, and it offers a prize or refund you never expected. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/19/) — In UK cinemas a 12A film may be seen by under-12s only with an adult; a 15 film may not be seen by anyone under 15, with or without an adult. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/20/) — «We can't afford it» can mean there is no money for it, or that the money is needed for something that matters more. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/21/) — A good grown-up who snaps when tired comes back later, says sorry, and makes clear it was not the child's fault. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/61-olympiad-what-is-really-going-on/22/) — The last thing a speaker says after «no wait» or «sorry, I mean» is the one that counts. - ← previous: [Next time: switch off, tell a grown-up, and parental controls](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/60-next-time-switch-off-tell-and-parental-controls/) - next →: [Olympiad: plans in order and money sums ★★★](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/62-olympiad-plans-in-order-and-money-sums/) - ↑ back to [Adult life](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/)