--- title: Thinking about noticing — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Thinking about noticing», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Many animals notice danger before we do because their senses are tuned for it: dogs hear high sounds people cannot and smell far better, and hunt --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/) [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/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) / Thinking about noticing # Thinking about noticing Lesson 20 of the everyday 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/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/0/) — Many animals notice danger before we do because their senses are tuned for it: dogs hear high sounds people cannot and smell far better, and hunted animals such as rabbits and deer have eyes on the sides of their heads to see almost all around. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/1/) — Sound bends around corners and bounces off walls, but light travels in straight lines — so you can hear a car coming round a corner before you can see it. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/2/) — You have two ears, one on each side; a sound from your left reaches your left ear a tiny moment sooner and a little louder, and your brain uses that difference to tell where the sound is. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/3/) — A sound straight in front of you or straight behind you reaches both ears at the same time, so turning your head a little helps you find it. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/4/) — Example: when garden birds suddenly fall silent and fly up together, one of them has often seen a cat or a hawk — wise animals, and wise people, watch the watchers. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/5/) — A boy in Leeds was wearing headphones and looking at the ground while crossing a car park; he did not notice a reversing car until it was nearly on him. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/6/) — A girl in Montana noticed a mother moose with a calf on the trail ahead and turned back; a hiker who had not noticed walked closer and was charged. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/7/) — Dogs can hear high-pitched sounds that people cannot hear. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/8/) — A dog's sense of smell is many thousands of times more sensitive than a person's. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/9/) — Hunted animals like rabbits and deer often have eyes on the sides of their heads, so they can see almost all around. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/10/) — Hunters such as cats and owls have eyes at the front, so their two eyes see largely the same view, which helps judge distance. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/11/) — Owls and cats see very well in dim light, but no eye can see anything in total darkness. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/12/) — Eyes are especially good at noticing movement, so hunters creep slowly and prey animals often freeze. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/13/) — Sound waves bend around corners and bounce off walls; light travels in straight lines. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/14/) — A sound from one side reaches the nearer ear a tiny bit earlier and louder than the farther ear. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/15/) — The brain compares the two ears to work out where a sound comes from. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/16/) — Sounds straight in front of or behind you are harder to place, so turning your head helps. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/17/) — Electric cars and bikes can be very quiet at low speeds, so you must look as well as listen. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/19/) — An echo is sound bounced back from a surface, and echoes can make a sound seem to come from the wrong place. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/20/) — People who are not paying attention notice danger too late to get out of the way. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/21/) — Noticing early gives you time to choose: step back, go round or get help. - ← previous: [Your uh-oh feeling](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/19-uh-oh-feeling/) - next →: [Reading a dog's body language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)