---
title: Irish Fairy Tales, The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill, part 1: Finnian fo… — how Mova does on the tests · Books
description: Lesson 1033 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 4 of 13 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Irish Fairy Tales, The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill, part 1: Finnian forces his way into a pagan lord's house and wins him over

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**Tests:** 4 of 13 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 7 of 17 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 1033 of the books course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose.

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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Yer man Finnian, what was he doing sitting outside the door?

- **1.** Sitting quiet and fasting, like — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **2.** Sitting there in a deep trance, staring down at the ground for hours on end — score 7
- **3.** Meditating on the stones as the lord's men peered through the spy-holes above — score 7
- **4.** Staring at the ground in a trance — **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1031, line 3: «In the country, a white old man called Winter sits on a snowy hill and stares at the south.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «white old man» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «sit» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Like, were the lord's crew keeping watch on the saint?

- **1.** They crept about the halls and peeped through every crack in the wall — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** They peeped through the spy-holes — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** They guarded the great door — no support
- **4.** They watched him from the wall — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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Deadly, what did the lord say hunger had?

- **1.** A whip — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Fire, yeah — no support
- **3.** A sting — no support
- **4.** A bite — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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Sound, what did the lord do when a servant wanted to chuck a spear?

- **1.** He grabbed the spear and cuffed him hard across the face — score 7
- **2.** He sent him away — score 7
- **3.** He cuffed him hard — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** He cuffed him one — **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 607, line 19: «Old word: "Ts!" is a short sound of disapproval, and "wary" means careful and watchful, as a snake must be.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+4); the same thing acted on «short sound» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Did Tuan want to chat about his past, like?

- **1.** Not at all, he said, but he told a long tale about his ancestors anyway — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **2.** No, he said let it be, and he went quietly back to his own bed — score 6
- **3.** No, he said leave it — score 6
- **4.** No, he said let it be — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1033, line 16: «Quote: Finnian says "I am by blood a Leinsterman," and Tuan says "Mine is a long pedigree."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same doer «tuan» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Who was Colm Cille, like, in the story?

- **1.** Finnian's own pupil — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** A pupil — no support
- **3.** A monk — no support
- **4.** A brother of Finnian — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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Gas one, what province was Finnian's blood from?

- **1.** Clare, I reckon — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Leinster — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Munster, I reckon — no support
- **4.** Mayo, I reckon — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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Jaysus, how long did the lord pace his halls?

- **1.** From dusk all the way through to the sunrise — **← Mova's choice** · score 2
- **2.** All day — score 2
- **3.** Until first light — score 2
- **4.** All night long — **✓ the right answer** · score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1033, line 3: «Day after day the servants peep through spy-holes, the lord paces his halls all night, and even his dog gets pushed away.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pace» (+3); the same thing acted on «halls» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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Right, who carried poor Finnian into the house?

- **1.** Four of his men — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** Two of the servants — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** The lord and two of his servants together, carefully — score 4
- **4.** The old steward — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 976, line 7: «Where: the shilling is taken "to my own house", the place where "each and all would recognize me".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «take» (+2); the same place «own house» (+1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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How'd Finnian force his way in, like?

- **1.** By starving himself outside — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** By lying on the cold ground outside and starving himself for days — no support
- **3.** By sitting out the night — no support
- **4.** By refusing food outside the door until the lord gave in, like — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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What did the servants call Finnian, like?

- **1.** The new druid — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **2.** The new druid of the lake and the hills — score 3
- **3.** The stranger who fasted at the lord's door, the new druid, like — score 1
- **4.** The strange priest — **← Mova's choice** · score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 761, line 3: «He finds two young ravens thrown out of their nest, so he gives his horse to them for food.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «servant» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «horse» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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Grand, what was Tuan's dad called?

- **1.** Cairill — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Fer — no support
- **3.** Ruad — no support
- **4.** Conall — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t12/)

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### Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t13}

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Ah stop, who was Sera a brother to?

- **1.** Cairill — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Partholon — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Cairill, the father of Tuan, and his brothers — no support
- **4.** Partholon, the eldest of the Gaelic kings — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/t13/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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By what method did Finnian first seek admittance to the stronghold of the Ulster gentleman?

- **1.** By calling loudly at the window and demanding entry from the lord himself — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** By sending a boy round to the window to call out and demand entry at once — no support
- **3.** By shouting for the servants — no support
- **4.** By calling at the window and demanding entry — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2}

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What finally compelled the lord to open his great door on the morning after the siege?

- **1.** The steadfastness of Finnian's fast outside — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The bell that rang at the monastery gate — no support
- **3.** The sleeplessness of the lord at night — no support
- **4.** The steadfastness of Finnian's fast outside and the pleas of all the servants — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Which of the following accurately identifies the lineage Tuan declares at the conclusion of the passage?

- **1.** Son of Cairill — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **2.** Brother of Sera, son of Partholon, kin to Finnian — score 2
- **3.** Son of Starn — score 3
- **4.** Son of Starn, son of Sera, brother to Partholon — **✓ the right answer** · score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1033, line 5: «Finnian starts teaching Tuan, but when he asks about Tuan's past, Tuan gives only his name and family line.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Which of the following is the correct account of the Abbott's declared origin, as recorded in the passage?

- **1.** He is by blood a Leinsterman, though he was born far north in Donegal and raised by druids — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He is by blood a Leinsterman — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** He is by blood a Leinsterman, raised among the monks of Clonard and Finnian's own household — no support
- **4.** He is by blood from Munster — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1033-pg2892-part1/e4/)

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