---
title: Inference: reading between the lines — how Mova does on the tests · English
description: Lesson 18 of the english course of Mova's primary school: 1 of 11 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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# Inference: reading between the lines

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**Tests:** 1 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 6 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 18 of the english 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/).

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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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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«she slammed the door so she's just tired innit». What's wrong with this inference?

- **1.** Doors can't be slammed in stories — **← Mova's choice** · score 1
- **2.** Nothing, all slamming means tiredness — no support
- **3.** It doesn't fit the clue: slamming shows anger, not tiredness — **✓ the right answer** · score 1
- **4.** It's too long — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 1, tied with another option at 1 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 18, line 1: «Inference means working out what the writer means but does not say. «Lily slammed the door and threw her bag on the floor.» The text never says «angry», but sl…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «slam» (+4); the same thing acted on «door» (+3). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-6). The right option, 3, scored 1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Ollie: «Grandma's hiding something, she's a criminal, 100%.» Which clue does Ollie ignore?

- **1.** She was standing in a room — score 5
- **2.** Her eyes twinkled, which shows fun, not guilt — **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **3.** She was holding a parcel in her hands — score 5
- **4.** She is a grandmother, and grandmothers never hide anything — **← Mova's choice** · score 8

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 2: «Every Friday Ollie brings home a school book with a yellow sticker and groans, «It's a baby book, bruv» (bruv is London slang for mate or brother). The sticker…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «ollie» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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«inference = guessing, so any answer's fine, yeah?» What's true?

- **1.** No, inference is reasoning from clues in the text — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 11
- **2.** No, inference is copying the words — score 4
- **3.** Yes, inference is just guessing — no support
- **4.** Yes, any answer gets the marks in an inference question as long as it is long — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 11, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 18, line 9: «Inference is reasoning from clues, not wild guessing.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «reason» (+4); the same place «clues» (+4); the same doer «inference» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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★★ «Ella grinned and hugged the envelope. Then she ran to tell her mum.» What was probably in the envelope?

- **1.** A bill for the gas — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Bad news from school that she wanted to hide from everyone — no support
- **3.** Good news — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Nothing at all — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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★★ «Dad looked at the clock again and sighed. The pizza was going cold.» Which is the best inference?

- **1.** Dad is asleep at the table — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Dad has broken the clock and is upset — no support
- **3.** Dad is happy that the pizza is cooling down nicely — no support
- **4.** Someone is late for tea and Dad is fed up waiting — **✓ 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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★★★ «Noah's coat was soaked, but his hair was perfectly dry. He shook out his umbrella in the hall.» What can you infer?

- **1.** It was sunny all day and he had been swimming in the sea — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He forgot his umbrella at school — no support
- **3.** It was raining and his umbrella kept his head dry — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** His coat fell in the bath at home — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one. Priya sat beside the old man anyway, and he smiled for the first time that day.» What does this show about Priya?

- **1.** She didn't see the empty seats — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** She was kind: she chose to sit with him when she didn't have to — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** She was lost — no support
- **4.** She had to sit there because there was nowhere else to sit on the bus — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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In a cartoon, a character's face turns red and steam comes out of its ears. What feeling does this show?

- **1.** Cold — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Boredom — no support
- **3.** Anger — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Hunger after missing lunch at school — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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«Maya smiled so she's fine, case closed». What would a good detective say?

- **1.** She's laughing at Tess — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Smiles never lie, so she must be absolutely fine and happy — no support
- **3.** Her sad eyes show she's hiding how she feels — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** We can't know anything from faces — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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What would happen if you answered every inference question with the feeling but no clue?

- **1.** The teacher would give you extra marks for being short — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** You'd miss marks, because the evidence is missing — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Nothing — no support
- **4.** You'd get full marks every single time — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Gran in the story says the house is «a right state» (northern for a real mess). Ruby infers the garden is messy. What would make her answer stronger?

- **1.** Making up a new clue that isn't in the text but sounds good — **← Mova's choice** · score 14
- **2.** Adding the clue: weeds and a broken gate — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** Writing «a right state» three times — no support
- **4.** Saying it in a posh voice — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 14, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 18, line 1: «Inference means working out what the writer means but does not say. «Lily slammed the door and threw her bag on the floor.» The text never says «angry», but sl…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «clues» (+4); the same thing acted on (+4). 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/t11/)

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

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises inference in reading?

- **1.** The verbatim reproduction of words appearing in the text — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **2.** Recollection of facts from beyond the text in question — no support
- **3.** Unsupported conjecture — no support
- **4.** The deduction of meaning not explicitly stated, on the basis of evidence within the text — **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 2, line 16: «Some common words such as «was» have a tricky bit (the a says /o/, the s says /z/); the rest still follows the rules.», 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 «common words» (+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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/e1/)

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

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It is stated that a character's hands trembled as he opened a letter. Identify the inference best supported by this evidence.

- **1.** That the character was cold, the weather being wintry and the house unheated — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** That the letter was empty — no support
- **3.** That the character was asleep — no support
- **4.** That the character was nervous — **✓ 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/e2/)

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

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Ascertain which of the following constitutes a complete two-mark response to an inference question.

- **1.** A statement of the inferred idea together with supporting evidence from the text — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** A description of one's own feelings unconnected with the text whatsoever — no support
- **3.** A copy of the question — no support
- **4.** A statement of the idea alone — 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Given that a character smiles whilst her eyes remain sad, select the response consistent with the evidence.

- **1.** She conceals an unhappy feeling behind an outward smile — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9
- **2.** She is wholly content — no support
- **3.** She is unable to see clearly owing to bright sunlight — no support
- **4.** She is angry — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 18, line 3: «An inference must fit ALL the clues, not just one. «Grandma's eyes twinkled as she hid the parcel behind her back.» Is she a thief? Twinkling eyes mean fun and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «smile» (+4); the same action «hide» (+3); the same thing acted on «sad feeling» (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/e4/)

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- ← previous: [17. Retrieval: finding the answer in the text](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/17-retrieval-finding-the-answer-in-the-text/)
- next →: [19. Prediction: what happens next](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/19-prediction-what-happens-next/)
- ↑ back to [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/)