---
title: Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old Man Kanga… — how Mova does on the tests · Books
description: Lesson 81 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 1 of 16 tests right, exam 0 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo

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**Tests:** 1 of 16 right · **Exam:** 0 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 12 of 20 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 81 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/).

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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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/).

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### Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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Isla says: "Kangaroo asked Nqong to be chased by a dog, so it's fair." Put her right.

- **1.** Isla is right, he asked to be chased by Dingo — score 3
- **2.** He asked to be popular and run after, but Nqong gave him a joke he did not expect at all — score 7
- **3.** He asked to be chased by a dingo, which is fair — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **4.** He asked to be popular and "run after", not chased — **✓ the right answer** · score 8

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 81, line 20: «Real biology: dingoes are Australia's wild dogs, which came with people thousands of years ago and really do hunt kangaroos; but kangaroos got their long legs…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «dingoes» (+4); the same thing acted on «wild dogs» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Brody, Aussie: "Kangaroo ran from mornin' till the arvo, flat out like a lizard drinkin'." ("flat out like a lizard drinking" = very busy, going hard.) When did it end?

- **1.** Noon — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Half past four — no support
- **3.** Ten o'clock — no support
- **4.** Five o'clock — **✓ 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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What would have happened if there had been a bridge over the Wollgong River?

- **1.** He could have gone on running on all four legs as before — score 3
- **2.** He might have kept running on four legs instead of hopping — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **3.** He might have kept running on four legs and never grown the long hind legs at all, leaving the joke unfinished — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **4.** Nqong would never have played his joke, and the Kangaroo would have stayed in his grey woolly shape forever — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 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 79, line 21: «The "Precession of the Equinoxes" is a real, very slow wobble of the Earth that takes about 26,000 years, so saying something happened "in the middle of" it on…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «joke» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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True or false: at the end the Kangaroo is happy with his new shape.

- **1.** False: he is so delighted with his new legs that he hops all the way home and thanks Nqong — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **2.** True: he is happy with his new shape because he can jump over every river and hill in the country — score 6
- **3.** False: he moans that his shape and legs are spoiled — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** True: he is very happy with his new legs at last — 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 81, line 6: «The Kangaroo was "a Different Animal with four short legs. He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate" ("inordinate" = far too much).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «kangaroo» (+4); the same circumstance (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Tyler, Gen Z: "Kangaroo wanted to be famous and got chased by a dog lmao, be careful what you wish for fr." ("fr" = for real.) Which earlier animal also got a body change he did not like because of his own words?

- **1.** The Elephant's Child, who asked too many questions and was pulled by a Crocodile — no support
- **2.** The Giraffe, who got his long neck from the tree — no support
- **3.** The Camel, who said "Humph!" once too often — **✓ the right answer** · score -2
- **4.** The Zebra, who was painted by the Leopard and then got stripes he did not like at all — **← Mova's choice** · score -1

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score -1, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 12: ««How do you like the Queen?» — «Not at all... she's so extremely—» — then, seeing the Queen behind her — «—likely to win, that it's hardly worth while finishin…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «all» (+4); the same action «like» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored -2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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Sarge, rough: "Stop whinging, you got what you asked for, now shift." What did the Kangaroo really ask for?

- **1.** To have a new shape, a tail, and to be run after by every animal in the bush until he is tired — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** To be different, popular and chased by Dingo for the whole of the day long — no support
- **3.** To be different, popular and run after by five — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** To be famous and chased by one dog — 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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Compare: the Elephant's Child's trunk and the Kangaroo's legs were both made by pulling or running. Which is true?

- **1.** Both were stretched by a hard struggle, and both turned out useful — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The trunk was stretched by a crocodile, the legs were cut by a stone — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **3.** Both came from pulling and running, but the Kangaroo's legs were never useful for anything except sitting still in the sun — no support
- **4.** Both were stretched by the same crocodile's bite while the animals struggled hard together, and both helped them survive later — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 80, line 20: «Real biology: elephants got trunks slowly over millions of years, as their ancestors changed from generation to generation; no nose was ever stretched by a cro…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «stretch» (+4); the same doer «crocodile» (+2). 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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In which TWO stories so far did the animal ask for his change himself?

- **1.** The Elephant's Child and the Giraffe, who both begged for their changes — score 3
- **2.** The Whale and the Leopard, who asked the gods to change them for their own good — no support
- **3.** The Camel and the Elephant's Child — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **4.** The Leopard and Old Man Kangaroo — **✓ the right answer** · score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 3 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 81, line 1: «Once the Kangaroo was a grey, woolly animal with four short legs and far too much pride, and he went to three made-up gods in turn, asking to be made "differen…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «animal» (+3); the same action «ask» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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Fiona, Scotland: "Yon Dingo's a greetin' wee dug, hingin' oot his tongue." ("greetin'" = crying, "dug" = dog.) What did Dingo do at five o'clock?

- **1.** Sat down, hung out his tongue and howled — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **2.** Sat down, hung out his tongue — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **3.** Went home — no support
- **4.** Lay down and went to sleep — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 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 81, line 14: «At five o'clock the Kangaroo sat with his tail "like a milking-stool behind him" and said "Thank goodness that's finished!"; Dingo, now "Tired-Dog Dingo" and "…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «hang out» (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «tongue» (-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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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In the Camel story a Djinn makes the hump; in this story a god makes the change. What does each one tell the animal about the change?

- **1.** The Djinn: he may eat three times; Nqong: wait a while — score 7
- **2.** The Djinn: nothing; Nqong: go home — no support
- **3.** The Djinn: he will stop eating; Nqong: come back tomorrow — score 6
- **4.** The Djinn: it lets him work three days without eating; Nqong: come and ask tomorrow — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 69, line 19: «Toad told Mole his adventures and «rather let himself go»: much of it was «what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in-time-instead-of-ten-minutes-aft…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «mole» (+6); the same action «let» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Mason, Gen Alpha: "Nqong was lowkey trolling the Kangaroo, no cap." ("trolling" = teasing someone on purpose.) Which line shows Nqong teasing?

- **1.** "Why aren't you grateful to Yellow-Dog Dingo?" — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** "Hush now." — no support
- **3.** "Nqong, you may hop along the river for me now." — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** "Are you sure you want to race, Kangaroo?" — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 81, line 16: «Nqong teased him: "Why aren't you grateful to Yellow-Dog Dingo?" The Kangaroo called it "a practical joke" (a trick played on someone), then quickly said sorry…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «nqong» (+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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t12}

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The Whale story had "Fifty North and Forty West"; this song has "From Torres Straits to the Leeuwin". What are these?

- **1.** Names of rivers the Kangaroo swam — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Names of places the gods created in the Dreamtime for the animals to live in — no support
- **3.** Imaginary lands only in the song — no support
- **4.** Real places you can find in an atlas — **✓ 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t12/)

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### Test 13 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t13}

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Across the six stories, which animal's change is the only one that came from Kipling's idea of hiding in shadows?

- **1.** The Elephant's Child, in the Whale story — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **2.** The Whale and the Camel, both changed by Kipling's shadow ideas in their own stories — no support
- **3.** The Giraffe and the Zebra, in the Leopard story — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The Rhinoceros, in the Elephant's Child story — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 3: «Next they throw pebbles in at the window, but the pebbles turn into little cakes; Alice eats one, shrinks, and runs past the crowd into a thick wood.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «alice» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same circumstance (+1). 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t13/)

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### Test 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t14}

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★★★ The Kangaroo's hops went one yard, three yards, five yards. If the pattern went on, how long would the next hop be?

- **1.** Seven feet — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Nine — no support
- **3.** Seven yards, then nine, then eleven, growing without end — no support
- **4.** Seven yards — **✓ 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t14/)

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### Test 15 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t15}

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★★★ The chase began soon after ten o'clock and Nqong stopped it at five o'clock. About how many hours did it last?

- **1.** Four hours — **← Mova's choice** · score 2
- **2.** Around six hours — score 2
- **3.** Two hours — score 2
- **4.** About seven hours — **✓ the right answer** · score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 18, line 5: «Lessons lasted ten hours the first day, nine the next, and so on: «That's the reason they're called lessons, because they lessen from day to day.» Alice works…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «last» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t15/)

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### Test 16 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t16}

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★★★ Trap: Dingo is called "Yellow-Dog Dingo" most of the time. What two other names does he get when he is worn out at the end?

- **1.** Lazy-Dog Dingo and Sleepy-Dog Dingo — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **2.** Tired-Dog Dingo, Poor Dog Dingo, and Sad-Eyed Old Dingo of the Salt-Pan — score 6
- **3.** Tired-Tail Dingo and Dusty Dog Dingo — no support
- **4.** Tired-Dog Dingo and Poor Dog Dingo — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 81, line 16: «Nqong teased him: "Why aren't you grateful to Yellow-Dog Dingo?" The Kangaroo called it "a practical joke" (a trick played on someone), then quickly said sorry…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «dog dingo» (+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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/t16/)

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

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Identify the deity who acceded to the Kangaroo's request, together with the hour at which the request was made.

- **1.** The Little God Nqa, at ten after breakfast — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Nquing, at eight — no support
- **3.** The Big God Nqong, at ten before dinner-time — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The Middle God Nquing, at six before breakfast — 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Ascertain the circumstance which first compelled the Kangaroo to proceed upon his hind legs alone.

- **1.** A dog that bit him on the back legs at dusk — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Nqong's wish that he should hop across the Wollgong River — no support
- **3.** The river was too deep and wide for any animal to cross, so he had to hop along the bank forever — no support
- **4.** The absence of any bridge or ferry across the Wollgong River — **✓ the right answer** · no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e2/)

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

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Select the response that most accurately characterises the double meaning upon which the narrative turns.

- **1.** It refers to the chase, the Dingo's teeth, and the Kangaroo's shape as a sort of joke about running — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It signifies that the race was held in a bush-land park — no support
- **3.** It means both "famous" and "escaped" only — no support
- **4.** "Run after" signifies both popularity and literal pursuit — **✓ 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e3/)

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

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State, in accordance with established zoology, the classification of the kangaroo.

- **1.** A reptile, laying its eggs in the sand dunes — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** A placental mammal with a long pouch and a tail that carries the young around on its back — no support
- **3.** A marsupial, bearing its young in a pouch — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** A marsupial that feeds on grass and eucalyptus leaves and hops across the plains — no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e4/)

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