Teachers and students stumped by question about talking pineapple on a state exam

Obvious troll is obvious. Pineapple might have been eaten but he did cause some serious reactions even in the real world.

still more logical than current events.

guy carries candy. I'll shoot him.

How I'd answer it: "I'm hungry- OMNOMNOM!"

Originally Posted by mariogreymist

It has to do with self awareness. Have you ever seen a cat attack its own reflection in a mirror? It's very funny, but also instructive - the cat doesn't know he's looking at himself. That's not to say he doesn't have his own primitive emotions, but annoyance is not a primitive emotion, it requires a sense of self awareness.

Picture this: My cat and I are taking a nap in my bedroom. Then a neighbor decides now would be a good time to play Sir Mix-a-Lot at extremely high volume, waking both my cat and me suddenly. Now, my cat is agitated. He'd rather be sleeping. But he doesn't perceive the social nature of the force which awakened him...he just knows he's awake. Me, I am annoyed. I can perceive a great many things my cat cannot, in spite of Gonzo's superior hearing. I can perceive the lack of courtesy on the part of my neighbor. My cat doesn't know what courtesy is (if you think a cat does, you've never had a cat). I can also perceive the difference between Sir Mix-a-Lot and every other form of music ever made, which is a further annoyance to the means by which I was awoken. Gonzo only knows the sound, and has no real interest in differentiating musical artists. (although he does seem to be eager to leave the room when I play Ligeti)

Annoyance is tied into how we relate to the world and the others in it, whereas agitation is just the physiological response of sudden stimuli.

I think you are fundamentally missing that this is not a Biology test. Scientific accuracy with regards to the real world is irrelevant in fiction, especially when the purpose of said fiction is to demonstrate a principle, not factually recount real world phenomena. Have you ever read anything from a fantasy or science fiction genre? What about even Kafka's Metamorphoses? People can't spontaneously turn into cockroaches, but that doesn't detract from the effectiveness of his story, assuming the reader has any remote capacity for imagination, is partially literate and can follow abstract thought. Your argument is moot, because whether animals or pineapples can feel annoyance in OUR world has zero bearing on the story, since the story takes place in a fictional world.

Furthermore, it's flat out ridiculous to say the test is invalid on the basis of the questions only making sense if you anthromorphize the animals and pineapple. Anthropomorphization is common practice in children's fiction (books, TV, movies) and has never been an issue before. Are you trying to claim the test is unfair in that kids would get confused because real animals don't get annoyed? Well real cats don't wear oversized hats and speak in rhyming couplets, but that never stopped Dr. Seuss from receiving widespread acclaim as a children's writer. It's a little ridiculous to criticize this story for anthropomorphizing animals and a pineapple when pop culture children's stories anthromorphize not only animals (Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, Redwall series, Clifford the dog, Berenstein Bears, Aesop's Fables, Pokemon, movies like A Bug's Life, Bugs Bunny & co., etc.) but also inanimate objects like plastic toys (Toy Story), sponges (SpongeBob SquarePants looks more like a kitchen sponge than an organic Sponge) and Cars (the Cars movies). If a kid can be expected to empathize with a talking car, they can certainly empathize with talking animals and pineapples.

Public school language education does not only teach literacy but also the artistic side to literature - creativity, imagination and figurative writing.

1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. C

My reasons were similar to @Stephen 's. I chose "annoyed" because there was nothing about hunger in the story (and excited & amused make no sense), but there was a lot of dialogue about the pineapple that showed the animals weren't exactly fond of him. In the context of the whole story, "annoyed" makes the most sense.

I thought the owl was the wisest because his comment was the moral of the story. You're answering questions based on what the story tells you, so you have to make connections with the information given. If I were to assume a bit more, than I'd say the owl's recognition that the pineapple didn't have sleeves shows he also saw it has no limbs, meaning it cannot move. Maybe his statement was even intended to be cheeky, implying no sleeves means no tricks (and therefore, an inability to win the race). But I don't think the test is asking you to reason to that extent at all.

Someone mentioned this silly story is likely used as an attempt to prevent students from making assumptions about the answers based on prior knowledge. I agree with that. It evens the playing field when it comes to testing reading comprehension over knowledge. The questions don't involve factual knowledge you may already possess, but they seek to gauge your ability to understand what this specific story has related. I have to admit I thought this was some kind of Onion-esque fake news story when I first read it though :D.

So my gripe is not with the silliness of the story, but that it's poorly written. This part annoys me:
"(I forgot to mention, fruits and vegetables were able to speak too.)"

Using the "I" when the narrator is obviously 3rd person is bad writing to me.

@JohnGalt: Name all the things you've ever eaten because they had annoyed you.

I love that people are actually flustered and heartily debating about this.

Beginning with paragraph 4, in what order are the events in the story told?

A switching back and forth between places

B In the order in which the events happen

C Switching back and forth between the past and the present

D In the order in which the hare tells the events to another animal

because that just what happned
The animals ate the pineapple most likely because they were
A Hungry
B Excited
C Annoyed
D Amused
why else would they eat that awesome pineapple?
Which animal spoke the wisest words?
A The hare
B The moose
C The crow
D The owl
The owl was the one most skeptical of the Pineapple

Before the race, how did the animals feel toward the pineapple?
A Suspicious
B Kindly
C Sympathetic
D Envious
they said the pineapple had "something up his sleeve"
What would have happened if the animals had decided to cheer for the hare?
A The pineapple would have won the race.
B They would have been mad at the hare for winning.
C The hare would have just sat there and not moved.
D They would have been happy to have cheered for a winner.
statement of fact
When the moose said that the pineapple has some trick up its sleeve, he means that the pineapple

A is wearing a disguise
B wants to show the animals a trick
C has a plan to fool the animals
D is going to put something out of its sleeve
it's a reference to the magician alleged practice of hiding their "tools of the trade" in their sleeves


I thoughly enjoyed this.

this is what happens if you let the NFP's write tests

This is so awful.

My daughter is taking standardized tests this week and I asked her if they asked about a pineapple. She looked at me like I was crazy and went to bed.

How would they have the question from a standardized test? That's my real concern.