Meaning of sentence in English

Question

Hi,

Last week in English lesson, there was a question. I think the answer was wrong. Now Im writing the question and the selections.

"Before leaving the Ark, Noah ordered Asure cooked as the last meal"
a)Asure was cooked because Noah ordered it eaten before leaving the Ark.
b)The last meal cooked prior to disembarking from the Ark was Asure.
c)Noah wanted to eat Asure as the last meal before everyone left the Ark.
d)Everyone cooked Asure before leaving the Ark, as Noah ordered.

The answer key says the right answer is "b" but according to me the answer is "a". What do u think about it?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

"Before leaving the Ark, Noah ordered Asure cooked as the last meal"

Here's what we know:
Noah was still on the Ark. He hadn't left yet. Still on the Ark he ordered (somebody) to cook Asure. Asure was to be the last meal. Then he left the Ark.

Here's what we don't know:
We don't know if anyone obeyed the command to cook the meal. We don't know if Noah ate Asure or if anyone did. If they ate it, we don't know if they ate it before or after they left the Ark. We don't know if anyone besides Noah left the Ark. They may all have stayed on the Ark.

a) says Asure was cooked. But we don't know that from the original sentence. We don't know if the order was obeyed.
a) also says that Noah ordered Asure to be eaten. The command was to cook it, not to eat it.
a) also says that it was to be "eaten before leaving the Ark". The original sentence says nothing about when Asure is to be eaten, only that it is to be cooked.

b) says Asure was the last meal cooked. But we don't know if Noah's orders were followed.

c) says that these things happened before everyone left the Ark. But we don't know if anyone but Noah actually left the Ark or even intended to.
c) also says that Noah wanted to eat Asure. But we don't know that. Maybe he had eaten already and ordered it cooked so the others could eat it.

d) says that everyone cooked Asure. We don't know that. We don't know if Noah's command was obeyed. And even if it was obeyed, we can't be sure that the order was for everyone to cook Asure.
d) also says ... leaving the Ark, as Noah ordered. But Noah did not order anyone to leave the Ark. He ordered them to cook Asure.

The test writers want us to infer that Noah's order was obeyed. Leaving that out of the comparison, b) is closest to what the test writers want as the answer!

Strange, strange question!

Xyz_girl · Answer

@CalifJim thanks for ur explanation. But I agree with u. It is really a strange question.

Anonymous · Answer

what are the meanings of sentence(s) according to you?

MrPedantic · Answer

I find the original statement slightly unidiomatic:

"Before leaving the Ark, Noah ordered Asure cooked as the last meal"

MrP

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