---
title: Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp-fish's mo… — how Mova does on the tests · Books
description: Lesson 87 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 5 of 17 tests right, exam 2 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, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp-fish's mouth, a tail, an egg and a snake

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**Tests:** 5 of 17 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 12 of 21 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 87 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/).

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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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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Ollie: «this is a new story, Taffy's never been in the book before, highkey sure.» (highkey = very, openly) Put it right.

- **1.** Wrong: it is the week after the picture-letter muddle of the last story — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Wrong: it is the week after the picture-letter muddle, and Taffy has been in the book many times before this story — score 1
- **3.** Right: it is the same story as the one about the spear, only later — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **4.** Wrong: it is the story about the big bear and Mummy's cooking pot — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 63, line 1: «Full of stew and with money in his pocket, Toad marches along with his chin in the air, telling himself the story of his own cleverness: prison, train, canal,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «story» (+3); the same circumstance (+1). 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Why does Taffy's idea work better than her picture-letter?

- **1.** It shows the whole battle in one picture, so Daddy can read it — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Each picture shows a whole story, so it's easy to follow — no support
- **3.** Each sign stands for one sound, so it can't be read as a battle — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Each sign stands for a whole word, so it can be read as a long battle with spears and shields — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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Tegumai says perches and trouts haven't got feelers. Why does that matter to a sign?

- **1.** A carp's feeler is too hard to draw on bark — no support
- **2.** Feelers make a fish look like a crab to Daddy — no support
- **3.** Feelers make the sign too long — **← Mova's choice** · score 1
- **4.** A sign must be clear and not get mixed up with others — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 18: «Real life: signs made only of pictures work when the message is very simple, like a road sign or a toilet door, but they cannot say exactly «please bring the b…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separate sign? join them, it's quicker.» What does Taffy say?

- **1.** Mia is right, but the tail is too long — score 1
- **2.** Mia's right, joined is quicker — no support
- **3.** Joined signs look like one big muddle on the wall — no support
- **4.** If they're joined she'll forget which sound is which — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 87, line 12: «For «Yah!» Taffy says it is «a mixy noise»; they draw the carp's tail, separately, for the yer-part: «If they're joined, I'll forget.»», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «forget» (+3); the same doer «taffy» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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What would happen if every sound had no fixed picture?

- **1.** Daddy would draw only carp-fish all day — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** The baby would learn to talk much faster — no support
- **3.** Nobody could be sure how to read the signs — **✓ the right answer** · score 0
- **4.** Every cave on the hill would be painted over and the children would have to learn all the sounds by heart — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 87, line 2: «Over lunch Taffy has «a secret surprise» idea. She asks Daddy to make a noise. He says «Ah!», and she thinks he looks like a carp-fish with its mouth open, so…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «daddy» (+5). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 0. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Which is TRUE about this part?

- **1.** Tegumai is truly excited and attends to Taffy's game — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Tegumai is cross with Taffy's game — no support
- **3.** Tegumai pretends to like the game but he's not — no support
- **4.** Tegumai is bored but listens politely to Taffy — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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Real life: how did our letter A begin?

- **1.** As a picture of an ox's head — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **2.** A snake — no support
- **3.** A tree — no support
- **4.** As a picture of a fish — score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 87, line 17: «Real life: our letter A began as a picture of an ox's head, called «alp» (ox); turn A upside down and you can still see the head and horns.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+5); the same doer «real life» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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Real life: what was the clever idea of the first alphabet-makers, about 3,800 years ago?

- **1.** Every sign was drawn in a different colour each time — no support
- **2.** Each picture was given a sound that matched the animal it showed, so readers could tell which one was meant — no support
- **3.** The pictures were painted on pots of clay — no support
- **4.** Each picture stood only for the first sound of its name — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 87, line 2: «Over lunch Taffy has «a secret surprise» idea. She asks Daddy to make a noise. He says «Ah!», and she thinks he looks like a carp-fish with its mouth open, so…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «picture» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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Real life: where did our letter O come from?

- **1.** A hand — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** A picture of a bear — no support
- **3.** A picture of an eye — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** A fish — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Looking back: what did the Stranger-man give Taffy to show he meant no harm?

- **1.** A fish — score 2
- **2.** A red-tipped feather — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **3.** A piece of birch-bark — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **4.** A stone — score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 84, line 3: «A Stranger-man from a far tribe comes along. He does not understand a word of their language. Taffy tries to tell him to go and fetch the spear; he hands her a…», 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 «stranger man» (+3). Against it: a different action (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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Looking back: what did the Head Chief say the next picture-letter needed?

- **1.** A helper who could talk their language, so that he could explain the new drawings to everybody in the Tribe — no support
- **2.** A better cave near the river with a fire — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **3.** Someone who could talk their language, to explain it — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** A helper who would carry the fish and wood — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 9, line 14: «In "You are old, Father William" a young man asks his father, in this order, why he stands on his head, how he turns a back-somersault, how he ate a whole goos…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «old man» (+3); the same action «say» (+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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12}

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Looking back: how many letters did the Head Chief foretell?

- **1.** Twelve — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Twenty-four — no support
- **3.** Twenty-six — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Four — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t12/)

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### Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t13}

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Looking back: in the last story, Taffy borrowed a shark's tooth to draw. What does Tegumai use to scratch on bark here?

- **1.** A red ochre stone — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **2.** A shark's tooth — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **3.** A flint — score 3
- **4.** A bone needle — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 87, line 8: «Taffy «sat mousy-quiet for ten whole minutes» while her Daddy scratched on birch-bark with a shark's tooth.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «birch bark» (+3); the same action «scratch» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t13/)

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### Test 14 · ★ · right ✓ {#t14}

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Zoe from Cape Town: «lekker, so Daddy was annoyed by the game?» (lekker = great) Put it right.

- **1.** No: he was «quite incited too», his eyes shining with excitement — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** No: he was quite bored, and his face looked grumpy all afternoon — no support
- **3.** Yes: he was quite annoyed by the game and his eyes were dark with anger at Taffy's loud drawing and noise — no support
- **4.** Yes: he was quite annoyed, his face red and his voice loud — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t14/)

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### Test 15 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t15}

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★★★ Taffy says «inciting» for exciting. Which other word does she bend the same way in this part?

- **1.** «Enjoyment» for enjoying — no support
- **2.** «Incitement» for excitement — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** «Lookingment» for looking, which is a silly word a child would use at the cave door — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **4.** «Excitedment» for enthusiasm — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 87, line 7: «Taffy says «inciting» and «incitement» when she means exciting and excitement, «s'prise» for surprise and «thinked» for thought; these are her funny child's wo…», 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 «taffy» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t15/)

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### Test 16 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t16}

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★★★ Counting: in this part they make signs for how many different sounds?

- **1.** Four: ah, yer, oh, mm — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Five: ah, yer, oh, ssh, ooh — no support
- **3.** Four: ah, yer, oh, ssh — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Seven different sounds, all written down on birch-bark and kept safe in the back of the cave — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t16/)

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### Test 17 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t17}

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★★★ Careful: which sign did Tegumai draw first, the very first time, for ah?

- **1.** Taffy drew a snake first, then Tegumai drew the carp — score 4
- **2.** Taffy drew a fish-mouth, then Daddy drew one with a feeler, and then the tail was drawn last of all by Mia — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **3.** None: Taffy drew the first ah-sign, then Daddy drew a better one — **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **4.** Tegumai drew a carp's mouth first, then Taffy drew a better one — score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 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 86, line 2: «Taffy explains: there was only one spear, drawn three times to make sure; the «bad people» were her beavers; Mummy had her hands up because she would be please…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «draw» (+2); the same thing acted on «one spear» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t17/)

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

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Identify the sound for which the open mouth of a carp-fish was adopted as a sign.

- **1.** Ssh — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Ah — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** The sound oh, made with rounded lips — no support
- **4.** Yer — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/e1/)

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

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Ascertain the reason advanced by Tegumai for the inclusion of a feeler across the mouth of the carp.

- **1.** That perches and trouts possess no feelers, so the carp may not be mistaken — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** That perches and trouts lack feelers, so the carp is clear — no support
- **3.** It looks finer — no support
- **4.** That feelers keep the carp dry when the river rises during the wet season — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3}

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It is given that Tegumai uttered «Ssh!» while thinking. Select the response most consistent with the sign adopted.

- **1.** A bee, because bees buzz by the cave door — no support
- **2.** A fish, since fish splash in the water — no support
- **3.** A bear, since bears growl in the deep woods — no support
- **4.** A snake, being the creature that makes such a noise — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 87, line 2: «Over lunch Taffy has «a secret surprise» idea. She asks Daddy to make a noise. He says «Ah!», and she thinks he looks like a carp-fish with its mouth open, so…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same thing acted on «noise» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/e3/)

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

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the origin of the letter A in the real world?

- **1.** It comes from a picture of a river and its banks — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It derives from an ancient picture of the head of an ox — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** It came from a picture of a bird — no support
- **4.** It derives from an old drawing of a carp's open mouth — 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/e4/)

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