---
title: Trains and the Underground — how Mova does on the tests · Technology
description: Lesson 21 of the technology course of Mova's primary school: 8 of 11 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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# Trains and the Underground

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**Tests:** 8 of 11 right · **Exam:** 0 of 4 right · **Kind:** plain · **Understood:** 11 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 21 of the technology 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/).

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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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/).

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### Test 1 · right ✓ {#t1}

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In a cartoon, a train swerves round a cow standing on the line. What is wrong?

- **1.** Only the driver's cab can swerve, not the carriages — no support
- **2.** A train can't swerve, because the rails steer it — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **3.** Trains swerve only when they go slowly — score 2
- **4.** Nothing, trains steer round things all the time — score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 1: «A train is a long chain of carriages or wagons rolling on two steel rails. The rails steer the wheels, so the driver can only make the train go faster or slowe…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swerve» (+4); the same doer «train» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t1/)

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### Test 2 · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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«my bro says if theres no train coming the tracks are totally safe» What is right?

- **1.** Wrong, but only because the stones are sharp — no support
- **2.** Right: without a train coming there is no danger at all, so play away — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **3.** Right, as long as you walk on the sleepers — no support
- **4.** Wrong: a live rail or overhead wire can kill even with no train — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 3: «Stand on a platform when a fast train rushes through without stopping: the wind tugs at your coat and the train is past almost before you heard it coming. That…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «come» (+4); the same doer «train» (+4). 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t2/)

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### Test 3 · right ✓ {#t3}

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What would happen if a train driver fainted at the controls?

- **1.** The train would keep going until it ran out of track — score 6
- **2.** Passengers would have to take turns steering it to the next station — no support
- **3.** He would stop pressing the safety pedal, so the train would brake — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **4.** The signals would keep turning green to help — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 14: «In the cab the driver controls the speed with a lever and watches the signals; a safety pedal or button must be pressed regularly, or the train stops by itself…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «press» (+4); the same thing acted on «safety pedal» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t3/)

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### Test 4 · right ✓ {#t4}

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«ugh, a train went past already, barriers still down, can't we just duck under» What is the answer?

- **1.** Yes, if you run fast enough — no support
- **2.** Yes, one train has gone, so it is safe — no support
- **3.** No, wait: a second train may be coming — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** Only if you can't hear anything — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 3: «Stand on a platform when a fast train rushes through without stopping: the wind tugs at your coat and the train is past almost before you heard it coming. That…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «come» (+2); the same doer «train» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t4/)

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### Test 5 · right ✓ {#t5}

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«mate squeezed through the gates behind me, free ride lol» What is the safety problem?

- **1.** The gates close fast and can hit and trap a person — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **2.** There is none, the gates are made of soft rubber and can't hurt — no support
- **3.** The gate will take money from both people's cards at once — no support
- **4.** The gate will lock the whole station until a guard comes — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 11: «Ticket barriers read paper tickets, cards or phones and then open; the gates close fast, so nobody should squeeze through behind someone else.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «close» (+4); the same doer «gates» (+3); the same property (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t5/)

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### Test 6 · right ✓ {#t6}

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Ben says trains need long brakes because the wheels are made of rubber that slides. What is right?

- **1.** Yes, rubber wheels slide on wet rails — score 3
- **2.** Yes, and that is why trains slow down in rain only — no support
- **3.** No, trains could stop fast, but drivers like to brake slowly so nobody spills their drinks — score 5
- **4.** No, the wheels are steel and roll so easily on steel rails that stopping takes long — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 2: «Steel wheels on smooth steel rails roll with very little friction, the rubbing that slows things down. That is why one locomotive, the engine that pulls the tr…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «need» (+4); the same property (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t6/)

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### Test 7 · right ✓ {#t7}

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«why can't they just go faster on the old wiggly line too» Why does a high-speed train need special track?

- **1.** Old lines are too narrow for its extra-wide wheels, so it would fall off the track — score 2
- **2.** The old lines have no electricity at all — no support
- **3.** It needs smooth track with gentle curves to go around 300 km/h safely — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** Fast trains can only run on bridges — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 21, line 2: «Steel wheels on smooth steel rails roll with very little friction, the rubbing that slows things down. That is why one locomotive, the engine that pulls the tr…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «fast train» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t7/)

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### Test 8 · right ✓ {#t8}

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You stand on a platform and a train is not stopping here. Where is the safe place?

- **1.** Behind the yellow line, because the train is fast and its wind tugs — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **2.** On the track side of the line, so the driver can see you and wave back — score 1
- **3.** Right on the edge, so you can see it — no support
- **4.** Anywhere, because trains slow down at every station — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 21, line 2: «Steel wheels on smooth steel rails roll with very little friction, the rubbing that slows things down. That is why one locomotive, the engine that pulls the tr…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «fast train» (+3); the same property (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t8/)

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### Test 9 · right ✓ {#t9}

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«a train with no driver?? i'm not sitting at the front, it'll crash» What is right?

- **1.** Someone hides inside the front to drive it secretly — no support
- **2.** Right, driverless trains are only tested with no people — no support
- **3.** Right, it only works in cartoons — no support
- **4.** Computers drive it using signals from the track, and the DLR has done it since 1987 — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 21, line 15: «London's Docklands Light Railway has run with no driver in a cab since 1987; computers drive it between stations.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «drive» (+4); the same doer «computers» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t9/)

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### Test 10 · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Count them: a freight train has 20 wagons, and each wagon carries 2 containers. How many containers?

- **1.** 60 — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** 18 — no support
- **3.** 22 — no support
- **4.** 40 — **✓ 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t10/)

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### Test 11 · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Which country's bullet trains are famous for being on time?

- **1.** Egypt — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **2.** Canada — score 8
- **3.** Japan — **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **4.** Brazil — score 8

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**Why:** It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 21, line 13: «Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains began in 1964 and are famous for running on time.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «shinkansen bullet trains» (+4); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 3, scored 8. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/t11/)

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

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Identify the principal reason for which a railway train requires a considerable distance in order to come to a halt.

- **1.** The rails are designed to accelerate any train that attempts to slow — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Railway trains are not equipped with brakes of any description — no support
- **3.** Braking is permitted exclusively within the confines of a station — no support
- **4.** The low friction between steel wheels and steel rails permits the train to roll with great ease, so that braking is protracted — **✓ 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/e1/)

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

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Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning electrified railway lines in the absence of any train.

- **1.** Only the stones beneath the rails present any hazard — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The current is discontinued whenever the line is unoccupied — no support
- **3.** Such lines are entirely harmless until a train approaches — no support
- **4.** A live rail or overhead conductor remains capable of inflicting fatal injury even when no train is present — **✓ 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/e2/)

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

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Ascertain the function of the device, frequently termed a dead man's handle, with which the driver's cab is furnished.

- **1.** It enables the driver to steer the train around obstructions — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It accelerates the train automatically in the event of the driver becoming unwell, so as to reach a hospital — no support
- **3.** It permits passengers to communicate with the signal box — no support
- **4.** It halts the train automatically should the driver cease to operate it at regular intervals — **✓ 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/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/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 operation of railway signals?

- **1.** Each signal is changed at random so that drivers remain attentive — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **2.** The line is divided into sections, and a signal displays red whilst the section ahead is occupied by a train — **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **3.** A signal displays red only during the hours of darkness — score 5
- **4.** Signals serve solely to inform passengers of the time — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 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 21, line 14: «In the cab the driver controls the speed with a lever and watches the signals; a safety pedal or button must be pressed regularly, or the train stops by itself…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «driver» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-3). The right option, 2, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/e4/)

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- ← previous: [20. Buses, trams, lorries and traffic lights](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/)
- next →: [22. Why planes fly](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/22-why-planes-fly/)
- ↑ back to [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/)