---
title: Tunnels and what lies under the street — how Mova does on the tests · Technology
description: Lesson 29 of the technology course of Mova's primary school: 7 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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# Tunnels and what lies under the street

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**Tests:** 7 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 8 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 29 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/).

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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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/).

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### Test 1 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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«found an old mine shaft in the woods, wanna explore it with torches» What is right?

- **1.** Never: old mines can collapse or be full of bad air — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Fine, if you bring torches and spare batteries and a snack for later — no support
- **3.** Fine, if you tie a rope round a tree — no support
- **4.** Fine, if you go in the daytime — 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t2}

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«how do trains breathe under the sea in the chunnel» What is right?

- **1.** The trains are electric, and big fans push fresh air through the tunnels — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9
- **2.** Trains hold their breath until France — no support
- **3.** They run on diesel and bring air in tanks — score 4
- **4.** The sea leaks in fresh air through little holes — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 7: «The Channel Tunnel joins England and France under the sea with three tunnels, two for trains and one service tunnel between them; it is about 50 km long, opene…», 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 (+4); the same doer «trains» (+2); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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What would happen if a digger dug up the road without checking the marks?

- **1.** It could hit a gas pipe, water pipe or cable — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **2.** Nothing, pipes are always buried much too deep for a digger to reach — score 3
- **3.** The road would fill with sand — no support
- **4.** The marks would move to a new place — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. 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 29, line 2: «The coloured paint marks that workers spray on the pavement before roadworks are a map of that hidden city, showing where pipes and cables run, so the diggers…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hit» (+2); the same doer «diggers» (+2); the same thing acted on «pipes» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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In a film, a tunnel machine digs a perfect tunnel with nothing lining the walls behind it. What is wrong in real life?

- **1.** Tunnels are lined only after 100 years — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **2.** Lining is only for decoration — no support
- **3.** Real machines fit concrete rings behind them so the tunnel does not collapse — **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **4.** Nothing, rock never falls in — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 5: «A tunnel-boring machine grinds through rock or soil with a giant rotating cutting wheel and lines the tunnel with concrete rings behind it; lasers and measurem…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «line» (+4); the same thing acted on «tunnel» (+4). 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/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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«wow, London's sewers are tiny pipes, right» What is right?

- **1.** Yes, all sewers are smaller than a drinking straw, so only water fits — no support
- **2.** London has no sewers at all — no support
- **3.** Sewers were built only last year — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **4.** Many are big tunnels, built in the 1860s by Joseph Bazalgette — **✓ the right answer** · score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 12: «Sewers are big underground tunnels that carry dirty water and rain to treatment works; London's main sewers were built in the 1860s by Joseph Bazalgette and he…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «build» (+2); the same thing acted on «main sewers» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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«a tunnel under a river in 1843? rubbish, they had no machines» What is right?

- **1.** It's true: the first Thames tunnel opened in 1843, dug by hand — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12
- **2.** Right, it was dug in 1943 — score 8
- **3.** Right, tunnels under rivers are impossible, the water would always pour in — no support
- **4.** It was dug by robots from France — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 12, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 29, line 14: «Before machines, tunnels were dug by hand with picks, shovels and explosives by the light of candles or lamps; the first tunnel under the River Thames opened i…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «open» (+4); the same doer «first tunnel» (+4); the same place «1843» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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You drive from sunshine into a road tunnel. Why don't you go blind for a second?

- **1.** Cars switch on night vision in tunnels — no support
- **2.** The tunnel walls are painted with special paint that soaks up sunlight all day — no support
- **3.** Your eyes don't need any time to adjust — no support
- **4.** The lights are brighter at the entrance to help your eyes adjust — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 29, line 13: «Road tunnels have lights, fans, cameras, emergency phones and radio for warnings; the lights are brighter at the entrance so drivers' eyes can get used to the…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «lights» (+2); the same place «entrance» (+2); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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Which is true about the Channel Tunnel?

- **1.** It opened in 1994 and is about 50 km long — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **2.** It is a bridge, not a tunnel — no support
- **3.** Cars drive through it on their own wheels in a road tunnel — score 6
- **4.** It opened in 1894 and is about 5 km long — score 8

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 29, line 14: «Before machines, tunnels were dug by hand with picks, shovels and explosives by the light of candles or lamps; the first tunnel under the River Thames opened i…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «open» (+4); the same doer «first tunnel» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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«they called the tunnel machine Ada, lol why» What is the reason?

- **1.** Ada is short for 'all digging always' — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Tunnel machines get women's names from a tradition linked to Saint Barbara — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** They name them after the drivers' cats — no support
- **4.** It is a law that machines need names — 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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«there's a fire in the tunnel ahead!» Which built-in parts help?

- **1.** Fans to clear smoke, emergency exits and safe rooms — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Big windows in the roof to let all the smoke out — no support
- **3.** Water slides that take people to the outside — no support
- **4.** Nothing, tunnels have no safety parts — 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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A tunnel's lining has 20 rings, and each ring is made of 6 curved pieces. How many pieces?

- **1.** 26 — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** 100 — no support
- **3.** 60 — no support
- **4.** 120 — **✓ 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/t11/)

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

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the operation of a tunnel-boring machine?

- **1.** The machine excavates without any lining being installed — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **2.** A rotating cutting wheel excavates the rock or soil, whilst concrete segments are erected in rings behind the machine — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** The machine melts the rock by the application of heat — score 5
- **4.** The machine displaces the soil laterally without excavation — score 5

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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 28, line 4: «All these machines are amazing to watch, and the only safe place to watch them from is behind the fence. Building sites are dangerous even when they look empty…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «machines» (+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/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/e1/)

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

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Ascertain the purpose of the coloured markings applied to the carriageway prior to excavation.

- **1.** They indicate the position of pipes and cables beneath the surface — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** They designate areas reserved for the parking of vehicles belonging to the workmen — no support
- **3.** They indicate the location of future potholes — no support
- **4.** They are applied solely for decorative purposes — 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/technology/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/e2/)

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

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Identify the principal reason for which the illumination at the portal of a road tunnel exceeds that within.

- **1.** The eyes of drivers are thereby permitted to adapt to the reduced light — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Electricity is thereby economised at the portal — no support
- **3.** The name of the tunnel is thereby rendered visible at a distance — no support
- **4.** Animals are thereby deterred from entering — 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/e3/)

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

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It is given that the Gotthard Base Tunnel measures approximately 57 kilometres and the Channel Tunnel approximately 50 kilometres. Determine by how much the former exceeds the latter.

- **1.** Approximately seventeen kilometres — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Approximately five kilometres — no support
- **3.** Approximately one hundred and seven kilometres — no support
- **4.** Approximately seven kilometres — **✓ 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/29-tunnels-and-under-the-street/e4/)

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- ← previous: [28. Diggers, cranes and cement mixers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/28-diggers-cranes-and-cement-mixers/)
- next →: [30. Bridges and skyscrapers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/30-bridges-and-skyscrapers/)
- ↑ back to [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/)