--- title: Alice in Wonderland, chapter IX, part 2: The Mock Turtle's Story (sc… — how Mova does on the tests · Books description: Lesson 18 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 4 of 19 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/) / 18 # Alice in Wonderland, chapter IX, part 2: The Mock Turtle's Story (school under the sea) **Tests:** 4 of 19 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 13 of 23 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 18 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. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/). 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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/). ### Test 1 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t1} Noah: «the Gryphon reckons the Queen chops heads off all day, deffo.» (deffo = definitely) Put it right. - **1.** The Gryphon says «they never executes nobody» — it's all her fancy, so Alice should go home to bed — score 6 - **2.** The Gryphon says the Queen really does chop heads off, and it is all true — score 5 - **3.** The Gryphon says «they never executes nobody» — it's all her fancy — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6 - **4.** The Gryphon says the Mock Turtle is fancy and they all sing about the heads — score 5 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 18, line 7: «The Gryphon says of the Queen: «It's all her fancy, that: they never executes nobody, you know.» Its grammar is country talk; in standard English: they never e…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «execute» (+4); the same thing acted on «nobody» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t2} «They never executes nobody» — say it in standard English. - **1.** They never execute anybody, and the Queen says so each day at noon in the great hall — score 7 - **2.** They never execute anybody — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **3.** Nobody is never executed — score 3 - **4.** They execute — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 18, line 7: «The Gryphon says of the Queen: «It's all her fancy, that: they never executes nobody, you know.» Its grammar is country talk; in standard English: they never e…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «execute» (+4); the same thing acted on «anybody» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t3} Why might the Mock Turtle be so sad, from what he says first? - **1.** He was once a real Turtle and now is only a «mock» one — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **2.** He wanted to be a real turtle but could not swim fast enough — score 7 - **3.** He used to swim in the sea with his friends every day — no support - **4.** He lost a friend — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 18, line 12: ««Once I was a real Turtle» — the Mock Turtle is sad because he is only a «mock» (pretend) turtle; his story is broken now and then by the Gryphon's odd cry «Hj…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «mock pretend turtle» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t4} Ava from Texas: «I'm fixin' to say Tortoise was a real tortoise.» (fixin' to = about to) Put it right. - **1.** He was a tortoise — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** He was slow — no support - **3.** He was an old Turtle, called Tortoise as a pun on «taught us» — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** He was a tortoise, the pet from Texas, called Tortoise for fun — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5} «Yes, we went to school in the sea, though you mayn't believe it—» «I never said I didn't!» «You did.» Why is this unfair to Alice? - **1.** She had not said anything of the kind, so the Mock Turtle should apologise to her and the Gryphon should explain why she is wrong about everything — **← Mova's choice** · score 8 - **2.** She had not said anything of the kind, but they insist she did, and then they tell her to hold her tongue and stop — score 8 - **3.** She was wrong about the sea, but they forgot she said nothing — score 8 - **4.** She had not said anything of the kind, but they insist she did — **✓ the right answer** · score 8 **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «She joked that after such a fall she would think nothing of tumbling downstairs, and would not say anything about it "even if I fell off the top of the house"…», 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 «alice» (+3); the same thing acted on «anything» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 8. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t6} The Mock Turtle is relieved that Alice's school did not teach washing. What does «extra» mean here? - **1.** A lesson the children had to repeat twice — no support - **2.** A lesson parents had to pay more for, on top of the usual fees, in the afternoon, at the sea-school — no support - **3.** A lesson parents had to pay more for — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** A subject taught only in the summer months — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 18, line 16: «Extras at the sea school: «French, music, and washing»; Alice's school taught French and music but not washing, and she says «You couldn't have wanted it much,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «teach» (+2); the same doer «extras» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t7} «You couldn't have wanted it much, living at the bottom of the sea.» What is Alice's joke about washing? - **1.** You're always wet under the sea anyway, so why learn washing, when the Mock Turtle had already told you he could not swim well? — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 - **2.** You're always wet under the sea anyway, so why learn washing? — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** You're always wet under the sea anyway, so why learn washing, and did the Queen teach that at the palace too? — no support - **4.** Alice thinks the sea is clean, so washing is not needed at all — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 19: «Pat says he is "Digging for apples, yer honour!" ("yer honour" = sir), which is nonsense, since apples grow on trees; the Rabbit calls him "you goose" (silly),…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tell» (+2); the same doer «alice» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t8} Match the pun: «Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography». Which real school subjects are hidden here? - **1.** Geometry and biology — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Mystery and arithmetic — no support - **3.** History and geography — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography, and also Drawling and Stretching — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t9} «Fainting in Coils» hides which real lesson? - **1.** Drawling, stretching, and fainting in coils, with extra lessons in painting — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Singing in tune — no support - **3.** Painting in oils — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Fainting in coils, with extra lessons in Drawing and Sketching every afternoon — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t10} Jack, chur (thanks): «so why'd the Turtle and the Gryphon hide their faces in their paws?» What's the best answer? - **1.** They were sad remembering «Laughing and Grief» and their old master, who had been sent to the Queen's garden — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 - **2.** They were sad remembering «Laughing and Grief» and their old master — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** They were sad remembering «Laughing and Grief» and their old master, the Classics teacher, who was an old crab — score 3 - **4.** They were sorry the Queen had heard their names and tales today — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 18, line 19: «The Classics master was an old crab who taught «Laughing and Grief» (Latin and Greek, the languages studied as «classics»); remembering him, «both creatures hi…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «grief» (+2); the same action «laugh» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t11} Is this TRUE or FALSE? «Alice asks lots of questions and the creatures are always patient with her.» - **1.** False — no support - **2.** False: they call her dull and tell her to be ashamed and to hold her tongue — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 11 - **3.** True: they answer every question she asks with great patience and care — score 7 - **4.** True: they like her questions and ask her many more — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 11, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 18, line 3: «He tells about his school in the sea. The master was an old Turtle they called Tortoise, «because he taught us». Whenever Alice asks a sensible question, the t…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «alice» (+4); the same doer «two creatures» (+3); the same action «call» (+2); the same property (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t11/) ### Test 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t12} Looking back: at the tea-party, when Alice asked what happens when they «come to the beginning again», what happened? - **1.** The Hatter asked Alice a riddle about the Queen and the tea was cold — score 3 - **2.** The March Hare changed the subject, the Dormouse fell asleep, and the Hatter asked Alice to stop asking riddles — **← Mova's choice** · score 8 - **3.** The March Hare changed the subject and the Hatter pushed Alice out of the garden into the very large wood beyond — score 8 - **4.** The March Hare changed the subject — just as the Gryphon does about the twelfth day — **✓ the right answer** · score 8 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 14, line 2: «Alice asks what happens when they get back to the start, and the March Hare quickly changes the subject. They wake the Dormouse for a story: three sisters, Els…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «change» (+3); the same thing acted on «subject» (+3); the same doer «march hare» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 8. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t12/) ### Test 13 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t13} Looking back: in chapter II, Alice tested herself with sums. What did she say? - **1.** «Four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is fourteen, and so on» — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** «Four times five is twenty and two plus two is five» — no support - **3.** «Four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen» — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** «Three times four is nine, and five times five is twenty» — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t13/) ### Test 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t14} Looking back: what was the first sentence in Alice's French lesson-book, which frightened the Mouse in chapter II? - **1.** «Bonjour» (Hello) — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** «Oui» (Yes) — no support - **3.** «Où est la souris?» (Where is the mouse?) — no support - **4.** «Où est ma chatte?» (Where is my cat?) — **✓ the right answer** · no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t14/) ### Test 15 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t15} Looking back: in chapter III, the Mouse said a history lesson was «the driest thing I know». Why did he recite it? - **1.** To dry everyone off after the pool of tears — **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **2.** To be polite — score 4 - **3.** To make the Duck laugh at the wet ground — **← Mova's choice** · score 6 - **4.** To keep the Mouse awake in the cold water — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 5, line 2: «The Mouse, who seems to be in charge, makes everyone sit in a ring and reads them "the driest thing" it knows: a boring history lesson about William the Conque…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same doer «mouse» (+3). Against it: a different thing acted on (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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t15/) ### Test 16 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t16} Looking back: in chapter I, Alice used «Latitude» and «Longitude». Why? - **1.** She had no idea what they meant, but thought they were nice grand words — **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **2.** She had no idea what they meant, but thought they were nice grand words, and she wanted to use them in the Queen's garden — score 7 - **3.** She had heard them from the Gryphon and thought they were sea words — score 7 - **4.** She was copying them from her French book and thought they were nice — **← Mova's choice** · score 8 **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1, line 16: «Alice guessed she was near the centre of the earth, "four thousand miles down", and said "Latitude" and "Longitude" without knowing what they meant, because th…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «latitude» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3); the same property (+2). The right option, 1, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t16/) ### Test 17 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t17} ★★★ Lessons were ten hours the first day, nine the next, and so on. How many hours in all over the first ten days? - **1.** 7 — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** 3 — no support - **3.** 55 — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** 50 — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t17/) ### Test 18 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t18} ★★★ If the lessons lessen by one hour a day, why is the twelfth day a puzzle? - **1.** It would be a day with no lessons at all — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** It would need minus one hour of lessons — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** It is a holiday — no support - **4.** It would need one more hour of lessons — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t18/) ### Test 19 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t19} ★★★ Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision. Which real word does «Distraction» hide, and what letters change? - **1.** Dis only — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Sub for Dis — no support - **3.** Subtraction: «Sub» becomes «Dis» — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Addition: «Ad» becomes «Dis» — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/t19/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1} Identify the reason assigned by the Mock Turtle for the designation «Tortoise» as applied to his former master. - **1.** He wore a shell — no support - **2.** That his name was a pun on taught, and that he sang to them on the rock each evening after school — no support - **3.** That he taught them, since he was an old Turtle who came to school in the sea every single day — **← Mova's choice** · score 1 - **4.** That he taught them — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 18, line 3: «He tells about his school in the sea. The master was an old Turtle they called Tortoise, «because he taught us». Whenever Alice asks a sensible question, the t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «turtle» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2} It is stated that the duration of lessons diminished by one hour per day commencing at ten. Ascertain the condition of the eleventh day. - **1.** Lesson day — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** It was a rainy day — no support - **3.** Not known — no support - **4.** It was a holiday — **✓ the right answer** · no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3} Select the response which most accurately characterises the Gryphon's opinion of the Queen's sentences of execution. - **1.** That they were her fancy and that nobody was in fact executed — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** That they were her fancy and that nobody was in fact executed, because the Queen was far too kind to chop anyone's head off — **← Mova's choice** · score -2 - **3.** That they were her fancy and that nobody was in fact executed, though the Knave of Hearts was sad about his tarts — no support - **4.** That they were severe but she always gave the prisoners a fair trial — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 17: «The executioner's argument: you can't cut off a head unless there is a body to cut it off from. The King's argument: anything that has a head can be beheaded.…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «cut off» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4} Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the regular course of the Mock Turtle's education? - **1.** It comprised Reeling and Writhing and the four branches of Arithmetic — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** It included French and music and also the Classics taught by a crab — no support - **3.** It comprised Reeling and Writhing and the four branches of Arithmetic, with extra lessons in music, French, drawing and washing — no support - **4.** It comprised Reeling and Writhing, the four branches of Arithmetic, and also washing, French, and music each week in the sea — no support **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/18-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-2/e4/) - ← previous: [17. Alice in Wonderland, chapter IX, part 1: The Moc…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/17-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-1/) - next →: [19. Alice in Wonderland, chapter X, part 1: The Lobs…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/19-alice-the-lobster-quadrille-1/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/)