CAT 2019 VARC - Slot 1

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CAT 2019 Question Paper With Answers & Explanation

VRC

Question Numbers (1 to 5): The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Contemporary internet shopping conjures a perfect storm of choice anxiety. Research has consistently held that people who are presented with a few options make better, easier decisions than those presented with many. . . .

Helping consumers figure out what to buy amid an endless sea of choice online has become a cottage industry unto itself. Many brands and retailers now wield marketing buzzwords such as curation, differentiation, and discovery as they attempt to sell an assortment of stuff targeted to their ideal customer. Companies find such shoppers through the data gold mine of digital advertising, which can catalog people by gender, income level, personal interests, and more. Since Americans have lost the ability to sort through the sheer volume of the consumer choices available to them, a ghost now has to be in the retail machine, whether it’s an algorithm, an influencer, or some snazzy ad tech to help a product follow you around the internet. Indeed, choice fatigue is one reason so many people gravitate toward lifestyle influencers on Instagram—the relentlessly chic young moms and perpetually vacationing 20-somethings—who present an aspirational worldview, and then recommend the products and services that help achieve it. . . .

For a relatively new class of consumer-products startups, there’s another method entirely. Instead of making sense of a sea of existing stuff, these companies claim to disrupt stuff as Americans know it. Casper (mattresses), Glossier (makeup), Away (suitcases), and many others have sprouted up to offer consumers freedom from choice: The companies have a few aesthetically pleasing and supposedly highly functional options, usually at mid-range prices. They’re selling nice things, but maybe more importantly, they’re selling a confidence in those things, and an ability to opt out of the stuff rat race. . . .

One-thousand-dollar mattresses and $300 suitcases might solve choice anxiety for a certain tier of consumer, but the companies that sell them, along with those that attempt to massage the larger stuff economy into something navigable, are still just working within a consumer market that’s broken in systemic ways. The presence of so much stuff in America might be more valuable if it were more evenly distributed, but stuff’s creators tend to focus their energy on those who already have plenty. As options have expanded for people with disposable income, the opportunity to buy even basic things such as fresh food or quality diapers has contracted for much of America’s lower classes.

For start-ups that promise accessible simplicity, their very structure still might eventually push them toward overwhelming variety. Most of these companies are based on hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital, the investors of which tend to expect a steep growth rate that can’t be achieved by selling one great mattress or one great sneaker. Casper has expanded into bedroom furniture and bed linens. Glossier, after years of marketing itself as no-makeup makeup that requires little skill to apply, recently launched a full line of glittering color cosmetics. There may be no way to opt out of stuff by buying into the right thing.

Q. 1 Which one of the following best sums up the overall purpose of the examples of Casper and Glossier in the passage?

Correct Answer

4

Explanation

In order to answer this question, we need to refer to the last paragraph of the passage. Consider the lines, ‘For start-ups that promise accessible simplicity, their very structure still might eventually push them toward overwhelming variety……’ Thus, the fourth option provides the right answer. While option 1 is only partially correct, options 2 and 3 are factually inconsistent with the information provided in the passage.

Q. 2 A new food brand plans to launch a series of products in the American market. Which of the following product plans is most likely to be supported by the author of the passage?

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

The central premise of the author’s argument is two-fold: 1. Fewer choices effectively result in better, easier decisions 2. The creators of new products continue to focus on those who already have plenty while access to basic necessities has shrunk even further for the lower classes. Hence, the author is likely to support any scheme that offers a limited range of products at low prices. This makes the choice, A range of 10 products priced between $5 and $10 the right answer.

Q. 3 Which of the following hypothetical statements would add the least depth to the author’s prediction of the fate of start-ups offering few product options?

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

In the last paragraph of the passage, the author states that starts-ups offering limited products also have revenue considerations and will have to eventually increase the range of products being offered, just like Casper and Glossier have done. The question asks you to identify the option that will add the least depth to the author’s argument (in other words, a statement that weakens the argument).

Option 1 which states that start-ups with few product options are no exception to the American consumer market that is deeply divided along class lines adds depth to the author’s argument since it contends that there is nothing unique about startups. They are bound to fail or will have to change. Another option which states that with the motive of promoting certain rival companies, the government decides to double the tax-rates for these start-ups also predicts that start-ups are likely to fail, adding weight to author’s argument about their fate mentioned in the last para.
Option 2 adds least depth because it brings out a point that will not lead start-ups to offer more product varieties, after all they are experiencing a surge in revenue without expanding their product catalogue. This actually contradicts the author’s prediction.
The third statement strengthens the author’s perspective and is thus negated.

Q. 4 Based on the passage, all of the following can be inferred about consumer behaviour EXCEPT that:

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

In this question we need to identify the inference that can’t be made based on the information provided in the passage. The statement having too many product options can be overwhelming for consumers can be easily inferred from the initial lines of the passage.
Similarly, consumers are susceptible to marketing images that they see on social media can be inferred from the lines, ‘Indeed, choice fatigue is one reason so many people gravitate toward lifestyle influencers on Instagram….’
The statement too many options have made it difficult for consumers to trust products can be inferred from ‘They’re selling nice things, but maybe more importantly, they’re selling a confidence in those things, and an ability to opt out of the stuff rat race. . . .’.
Thus, the only statement that can’t be inferred is ‘consumers tend to prefer products by start-ups over those by established companies.’

Q. 5 All of the following, IF TRUE, would weaken the author’s claims EXCEPT:

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

Throughout the passage, the author is in favor of offering limited choices to customers. This particular option demonstrates that offering fewer products can bring positive results. Thus, it strengthens the author’s content and is the right answer.
The other options directly contradict the information provided in the passage and weaken the author’s claims.

Question Numbers (6 to 10): The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

In the past, credit for telling the tale of Aladdin has often gone to Antoine Galland . . . the first European translator of . . . Arabian Nights [which] started as a series of translations of an incomplete manuscript of a medieval Arabic story collection. . . But, though those tales were of medieval origin, Aladdin may be a more recent invention. Scholars have not found a manuscript of the story that predates the version published in 1712 by Galland, who wrote in his diary that he first heard the tale from a Syrian storyteller from Aleppo named Hanna Diyab . . .

Despite the fantastical elements of the story, scholars now think the main character may actually be based on a real person’s real experiences. . . . Though Galland never credited Diyab in his published translations of the Arabian Nights stories, Diyab wrote something of his own: a travelogue penned in the mid-18th century. In it, he recalls telling Galland the story of Aladdin [and] describes his own hard-knocks upbringing and the way he marveled at the extravagance of Versailles. The descriptions he uses were very similar to the descriptions of the lavish palace that ended up in Galland’s version of the Aladdin story. [Therefore, author Paulo Lemos] Horta believes that “Aladdin might be the young Arab Maronite from Aleppo, marveling at the jewels and riches of Versailles.” . . .

For 300 years, scholars thought that the rags-to-riches story of Aladdin might have been inspired by the plots of French fairy tales that came out around the same time, or that the story was invented in that 18th century period as a byproduct of French Orientalism, a fascination with stereotypical exotic Middle Eastern luxuries that was prevalent then. The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa — flips the script. [According to Horta,] “Diyab was ideally placed to embody the overlapping world of East and West, blending the storytelling traditions of his homeland with his youthful observations of the wonder of 18thcentury France.” . . .

To the scholars who study the tale, its narrative drama isn’t the only reason storytellers keep finding reason to return to Aladdin. It reflects not only “a history of the French and the Middle East, but also [a story about] Middle Easterners coming to Paris and that speaks to our world today,” as Horta puts it. “The day Diyab told the story of Aladdin to Galland, there were riots due to food shortages during the winter and spring of 1708 to 1709, and Diyab was sensitive to those people in a way that Galland is not. When you read this diary, you see this solidarity among the Arabs who were in Paris at the time. . . .
There is little in the writings of Galland that would suggest that he was capable of developing a character like Aladdin with sympathy, but Diyab’s memoir reveals a narrator adept at capturing the distinctive psychology of a young protagonist, as well as recognizing the kinds of injustices and opportunities that can transform the path of any youthful adventurer.”

Q. 6 Which of the following is the primary reason for why storytellers are still fascinated by the story of Aladdin?

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

As can be inferred from the passage, the main reason for scholars’ fascination with the story of Aladdin is that the experiences of the author are reflected in the story. The story of Aladdin, in a way, is a reflection of the author’s life. This is what makes it so interesting. Therefore, the correct answer is option 1. Documentation of history and the concept of Orientalism is not necessarily something that would keep the interest alive. This negates options 2 and 4. Similarly, the concept of rags-to-riches is showcased in various stories. So, option 3 is also out of scope.

Q. 7 Which of the following, if true, would invalidate the inversion that the phrase “flips the script” refers to?

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

Scholars initially thought that the plot of Aladdin must have been inspired by 18th century French fairy tales, but to quote the author, “The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life — the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa — flips the script.”
In other words, the story of Aladdin was not inspired by the French fairy tales but that Diyab was the actual author. By invalidating the inversion, the question wants us to not give the credit to Diyab Option 4 is negated because by pointing out the dissimilarity between Aladdin and the French fairy tales, it gives the credit to Diyab.
Option 2 is negated because even though Diyab described Bordeaux, he still saw the luxury and opulence of France.
Option 3 also gives the credit to Diyab, so it is not invalidating the inversion.
Option 1 is the right choice because, if the narratives bore no resemblance, then it disputes the evidence that Diyab ever narrated the story to Galland, as Galland claims in his diary. This would contradict, at least to some extent, the author’s claim that Diyab was the inspiration for the character of Aladdin.

Q. 8 The author of the passage is most likely to agree with which of the following explanations for the origins of the story of Aladdin?

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

Options 1, 3 and 4 are out of scope and cannot be considered. The origin of the story of Aladdin was based on Diyab’s life experiences. He transmitted this story to Galland who made it a part of Arabian Nights. Therefore, the correct answer is option 2.

Q. 9 All of the following serve as evidence for the character of Aladdin being based on Hanna Diyab EXCEPT:

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

Diyab’s travelogue serves as evidence for the character of Aladdin being based on him. This negates options 2 and 4. Moreover, the secondlast paragraph of the passage is suggestive of Diyab’s cosmopolitanism and cross-cultural experience. So, option 3 is also negated. Refer to the following lines from the first paragraph of the passage, “Galland, who wrote in his diary that he first heard the tale from a Syrian storyteller from Aleppo named Hanna Diyab”. There is no evidence of Diyab’s narration of the story to Galland. This makes option 1 the correct answer.

Q. 10 Which of the following does not contribute to the passage’s claim about the authorship of Aladdin?

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

Diyab and his life experiences have the authorship of the story of Aladdin. Since this is reflected in options 1, 2 and 4, they cannot be considered. This makes option 3 the correct answer as it proposes an entirely different theory to the authorship.

Question Numbers (11 to 15): The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

As defined by the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, topophilia is the affective bond between people and place. His 1974 book set forth a wide-ranging exploration of how the emotive ties with the material environment vary greatly from person to person and in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. Factors influencing one’s depth of response to the environment include cultural background, gender, race, and historical circumstance, and Tuan also argued that there is a biological and sensory element. Topophilia might not be the strongest of human emotions—indeed, many people feel utterly indifferent toward the environments that shape their lives—but when activated it has the power to elevate a place to become the carrier of emotionally charged events or to be perceived as a symbol.

Aesthetic appreciation is one way in which people respond to the environment. A brilliantly colored rainbow after gloomy afternoon showers, a busy city street alive with human interaction—one might experience the beauty of such landscapes that had seemed quite ordinary only moments before or that are being newly discovered. This is quite the opposite of a second topophilic bond, namely that of the acquired taste for certain landscapes and places that one knows well. When a place is home, or when a space has become the locus of memories or the means of gaining a livelihood, it frequently evokes a deeper set of attachments than those predicated purely on the visual. A third response to the environment also depends on the human senses but may be tactile and olfactory, namely a delight in the feel and smell of air, water, and the earth.

Topophilia—and its very close conceptual twin, sense of place—is an experience that, however elusive, has inspired recent architects and planners. Most notably, new urbanism seeks to counter the perceived placelessness of modern suburbs and the decline of central cities through neo-traditional design motifs. Although motivated by good intentions, such attempts to create places rich in meaning are perhaps bound to disappoint. As Tuan noted, purely aesthetic responses often are suddenly revealed, but their intensity rarely is long-lasting. Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify, and its most articulate interpreters have been self-reflective philosophers such as Henry David Thoreau, evoking a marvelously intricate sense of place at Walden Pond, and Tuan, describing his deep affinity for the desert.

Topophilia connotes a positive relationship, but it often is useful to explore the darker affiliations between people and place. Patriotism, literally meaning the love of one’s terra patria or homeland, has long been cultivated by governing elites for a range of nationalist projects, including war preparation and ethnic cleansing. Residents of upscale residential developments have disclosed how important it is to maintain their community’s distinct identity, often by casting themselves in a superior social position and by reinforcing class and racial differences. And just as a beloved landscape is suddenly revealed, so too may landscapes of fear cast a dark shadow over a place that makes one feel a sense of dread or anxiety—or topophobia.

Q. 11 Which one of the following comes closest in meaning to the author’s understanding of topophilia?

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

As per the passage, ‘topophilia’ has positive connotations and evokes feelings of love, affection and a strong emotional bond. Thus, all options that talk about lack of affinity or poor emotional connect can be negated. Thus, the statements ‘Nomadic societies are known to have the least affinity for the lands through which they traverse because they tend to be topophobic’ and ‘The French are not overly patriotic, but they will refuse to use English as far as possible, even when they know it well’ can be easily negated. There is no discussion regarding ‘topography’ in the passage. Hence, the correct answer is ‘The tendency of many cultures to represent their land as “motherland” or “fatherland” may be seen as an expression of their topophilia.’

Q. 12 Which one of the following best captures the meaning of the statement, “Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify . . .”?

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

Refer the lines Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify, and its most articulate interpreters have been self-reflective philosophers such as Henry David Thoreau, evoking a marvelously intricate sense of place at Walden Pond, and Tuan, describing his deep affinity for the desert. Thus, there is an element of subjectiveness that underlies all topophilic expression. Hence, option 2 is the right answer.

Q. 13 Which of the following statements, if true, could be seen as not contradicting the arguments in the passage?

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

This is a slightly difficult question. We have to read the options carefully and look for the one that is not against what the author has to say.
Option 1 is contradictory because the author says that olfactory response is the third most important factor, while the option says that it is the most important factor.
Option 3 can be ruled out because the author says in the first paragraph: the emotive ties with the material environment vary greatly from person to person and in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. The author says, ‘vary greatly’, while the option says, ‘vary little’.
Refer the lines - “As Tuan noted, purely aesthetic responses often are suddenly revealed, but their intensity rarely is long-lasting. Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify…” However, the option says that New Urbanism succeeded in those designs where architects collaborated with their clients. Thus, option 4 can also be negated.

Option 2 can be seen in the last paragraph and is parallel to what the author has to say. This is not contradicting the author’s argument, and hence it is the right choice.

Q. 14 In the last paragraph, the author uses the example of “Residents of upscale residential developments” to illustrate the:

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

This example has been discussed in the last paragraph of the passage where the author is talking about the darker applications of topophilia while exploring the affiliations between people and places. This immediately negates statements 3 and 4 - manner in which environments are designed to minimize the social exclusion of their clientele and sensitive response to race and class problems in upscale residential developments. There is no discussion regarding nationalist projects of the elites. Hence, option 1 is the right answer.

Q. 15 The word “topophobia” in the passage is used:

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

The answer to this question can be found in the last lines of the passage - And just as a beloved landscape is suddenly revealed, so too may landscapes of fear cast a dark shadow over a place that makes one feel a sense of dread or anxiety— or topophobia.

Question Numbers (16 to 19): The passage below is accompanied by a set of four questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Scientists recently discovered that Emperor Penguins— one of Antarctica’s most celebrated species—employ a particularly unusual technique for surviving the daily chill. As detailed in an article published today in the journal Biology Letters, the birds minimize heat loss by keeping the outer surface of their plumage below the temperature of the surrounding air. At the same time, the penguins’ thick plumage insulates their body and keeps it toasty. . . .

The researchers analyzed thermographic images . . .
taken over roughly a month during June 2008. During that period, the average air temperature was 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same time, the majority of the plumage covering the penguins’ bodies was even colder: the surface of their warmest body part, their feet, was an average 1.76 degrees Fahrenheit, but the plumage on their heads, chests and backs were -1.84, -7.24 and -9.76 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. Overall, nearly the entire outer surface of the penguins’ bodies was below freezing at all times, except for their eyes and beaks. The scientists also used a computer simulation to determine how much heat was lost or gained from each part of the body—and discovered that by keeping their outer surface below air temperature, the birds might paradoxically be able to draw very slight amounts of heat from the air around them. The key to their trick is the difference between two different types of heat transfer: radiation and convection.

The penguins do lose internal body heat to the surrounding air through thermal radiation, just as our bodies do on a cold day. Because their bodies (but not surface plumage) are warmer than the surrounding air, heat gradually radiates outward over time, moving from a warmer material to a colder one. To maintain body temperature while losing heat, penguins, like all warmblooded animals, rely on the metabolism of food. The penguins, though, have an additional strategy. Since their outer plumage is even colder than the air, the simulation showed that they might gain back a little of this heat through thermal convection—the transfer of heat via the movement of a fluid (in this case, the air). As the cold Antarctic air cycles around their bodies, slightly warmer air comes into contact with the plumage and donates minute amounts of heat back to the penguins, then cycles away at a slightly colder temperature.

Most of this heat, the researchers note, probably doesn’t make it all the way through the plumage and back to the penguins’ bodies, but it could make a slight difference. At the very least, the method by which a penguin’s plumage wicks heat from the bitterly cold air that surrounds it helps to cancel out some of the heat that’s radiating from its interior. And given the Emperors’ unusually demanding breeding cycle, every bit of warmth counts. . . . Since [penguins trek as far as 75 miles to the coast to breed and male penguins] don’t eat anything during [the incubation period of 64 days], conserving calories by giving up as little heat as possible is absolutely crucial.

Q. 16 Which of the following best explains the purpose of the word “paradoxically” as used by the author?

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

This is a simple question. Just go through the relevant section of the passage - “…by keeping their outer surface below air temperature, the birds might paradoxically be able to draw very slight amounts of heat from the air around them…” Option 3 captures this precisely.

Q. 17 In the last sentence of paragraph 3, “slightly warmer air” and “at a slightly colder temperature” refer to ______ AND ______ respectively:

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

It is already given that the sentence can be found in the last part of the third paragraph. Let’s see the context: As the cold Antarctic air cycles around their bodies, slightly warmer air comes into contact with the plumage and donates minute amounts of heat back to the penguins, then cycles away at a slightly colder temperature.
We know that the outer plumage of the penguins is even colder than the air, thus, the first blank refers to the cold air whose temperature is higher than that of the plumage and the second blank refers to the fall in temperature after some heat has been transmitted to the plumage.

Q. 18 Which of the following can be responsible for Emperor Penguins losing body heat?

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

We know that the plumage is responsible for maintaining body heat; it is the central idea of the passage. Food metabolism, too, helps generate heat, the passage says that clearly. We are left with two choices, thermal convection and reproduction process. The passage says that thermal convection helps them gain heat (“the simulation showed that they might gain back a little of this heat through thermal convection”). Thus, we see that thermal convection, food metabolism, and plumage all are responsible for heat gain, not heat loss. We are left with choice 3 as the right answer.

Choice 3 can be inferred from the following lines of the passage: “And given the Emperors’ unusually demanding breeding cycle, every bit of warmth counts...”. This suggests that the reproduction process results in heat loss.

Q. 19 All of the following, if true, would negate the findings of the study reported in the passage EXCEPT:

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

The passage says that the outer air temperature is warmer than the plumage temperature, but if the outer air temperature becomes colder than the plumage temperature, as option 4 says, the author’s argument would be invalidated, because the heat transfer from the outer colder air to the relatively warmer plumage will not happen.
Similarly, the plumage has to be colder than the outer Antarctic air, but in choice 1 the plumage is warmer than the outer Antarctic air, so this too would weaken the author’s argument in the passage.
In option 2; thermal convection helps the penguins get some heat, if the plumage is not allowing thermal convection to take place, there would be no gain of warmth, thus this too weakens the argument.
Only option 3 does not weaken the argument. The passage says that the feet are the warmest part of the body of a penguin. If you make them a little warmer, they will still remain the warmest part of the body. Hence, it is the answer.

Question Numbers (20 to 24): The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

"Free of the taint of manufacture" – that phrase, in particular, is heavily loaded with the ideology of what the Victorian socialist William Morris called the "antiscrape", or an anti-capitalist conservationism (not conservatism) that solaced itself with the vision of a pre-industrial golden age. In Britain, folk may often appear a cosy, fossilised form, but when you look more closely, the idea of folk – who has the right to sing it, dance it, invoke it, collect it, belong to it or appropriate it for political or cultural ends – has always been contested territory. . . .

In our own time, though, the word "folk" . . . has achieved the rare distinction of occupying fashionable and unfashionable status simultaneously. Just as the effusive floral prints of the radical William Morris now cover genteel sofas, so the revolutionary intentions of many folk historians and revivalists have led to music that is commonly regarded as parochial and conservative. And yet – as newspaper columns periodically rejoice – folk is hip again, influencing artists, clothing and furniture designers, celebrated at music festivals, awards ceremonies and on TV, reissued on countless record labels. Folk is a sonic "shabby chic", containing elements of the uncanny and eerie, as well as an antique veneer, a whiff of Britain's heathen dark ages. The very obscurity and anonymity of folk music's origins open up space for rampant imaginative fancies. . . .

[Cecil Sharp, who wrote about this subject, believed that] folk songs existed in constant transformation, a living example of an art form in a perpetual state of renewal. "One man sings a song, and then others sing it after him, changing what they do not like" is the most concise summary of his conclusions on its origins. He compared each rendition of a ballad to an acorn falling from an oak tree; every subsequent iteration sows the song anew. But there is tension in newness. In the late 1960s, purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms. Electrification, however, comes in many forms. For the early-20th-century composers such as Vaughan Williams and Holst, there were thunderbolts of inspiration from oriental mysticism, angular modernism and the body blow of the first world war, as well as input from the rediscovered folk tradition itself.

For the second wave of folk revivalists, such as Ewan MacColl and AL Lloyd, starting in the 40s, the vital spark was communism's dream of a post-revolutionary New Jerusalem. For their younger successors in the 60s, who thronged the folk clubs set up by the old guard, the lyrical freedom of Dylan and the unchained melodies of psychedelia created the conditions for folk-rock's own golden age, a brief Indian summer that lasted from about 1969 to 1971. . . . Four decades on, even that progressive period has become just one more era ripe for fashionable emulation and pastiche. The idea of a folk tradition being exclusively confined to oral transmission has become a much looser, less severely guarded concept. Recorded music and television, for today's metropolitan generation, are where the equivalent of folk memories are seeded. . . .

Q. 20 The primary purpose of the reference to William Morris and his floral prints is to show:

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

This is a simple question whose answer can be easily inferred from the following lines - Just as the effusive floral prints of the radical William Morris now cover genteel sofas, so the revolutionary intentions of many folk historians and revivalists have led to music that is commonly regarded as parochial and conservative. Option 4 distorts the idea by reversing its order.

Q. 21 All of the following are causes for plurality and diversity within the British folk tradition EXCEPT:

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

This question can be answered by reading the options closely. A long history and varied influences will contribute to the diversity of an art form. Similarly, the presence of fluidity and oral traditions will also introduce diversity. However, the popularity and unpopularity of any art form has no correlation with the presence of diversity. Hence, this is the correct answer.

Q. 22 Which of the following statements about folk revivalism of the 1940s and 1960s cannot be inferred from the passage?

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

The question asks us to select an option that cannot be inferred from the passage. The statement that is made in the passage is: “In the late 1960s, purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms. Electrification, however, comes in many forms.” In other words, electrification need not always come through rock alone. It might come from any other form of music as well. Thus, this option surely cannot be inferred.
“…the lyrical freedom of Bob Dylan…” this phrase supports option 1.
Option 2 can be inferred because Cecil Sharp talks about folk music’s ability to adapt. The music of 40s and 60s demonstrates that adaptation.
The passage says that in the late 1960s, Purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms, this suggests that it had critics. Thus, option 4 can be inferred.

Q. 23 The author says that folk “may often appear a cosy, fossilised form” because:

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

Fossilized refers to something belonging to/ associated with the past. Out of the options given, only the second option comes close in meaning. The other options don’t correlate with the word fossilized.

Q. 24 At a conference on folk forms, the author of the passage is least likely to agree with which one of the following views?

Correct Answer

4

Explanation

The author appreciates how folk forms have been used by modern musicians and the fusion of folk with other forms of music throughout the passage. Hence, he is likely to agree with all options except 4 because it says that folk music exhibits unusual homogeneity.
If there is homogeneity, then the idea of adapting and infusing with other kinds of music is not valid. Thus, the author will not agree with this.

Q. 25 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.

1. Metaphors may map to similar meanings across languages, but their subtle differences can have a profound effect on our understanding of the world.
2. Latin scholars point out carpe diem is a horticultural metaphor that, particularly seen in the context of its source, is more accurately translated as “plucking the day,” evoking the plucking and gathering of ripening fruits or flowers, enjoying a moment that is rooted in the sensory experience of nature, unrelated to the force implied in seizing.
3. The phrase carpe diem, which is often translated as “seize the day and its accompanying philosophy, has gone on to inspire countless people in how they live their lives and motivates us to see the world a little differently from the norm
4. It’s an example of one of the more telling ways that we mistranslate metaphors from one language to another, revealing in the process our hidden assumptions about what we really value.

Correct Answer

3241

Explanation

Sentence 3 introduces the phrase ‘carpe diem’ so it comes in beginning. It is followed by statement 2 which further explains the meaning of the phrase. 4 and 1 form a mandatory pair as they talk about metaphors. Thus, the correct sequence is 3241.

Q. 26 Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.

1. One argument is that actors that do not fit within a single, well-defined category may suffer an “illegitimacy discount”.
2. Others believe that complex identities confuse audiences about an organization’s role or purpose.
3. Some organizations have complex and multidimensional identities that span or combine categories, while other organizations possess narrow identities.
4. Identity is one of the most important features of organizations, but there exist opposing views among sociologists about how identity affects organizational performance.
5. Those who think that complex identities are beneficial point to the strategic advantages of ambiguity, and organizations’ potential to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

Statement 4 is the introductory statement as it introduces the concept of complex identities. It will be followed by statement 3 as it further explains the phenomena of complex identities. Statements 2 and 5 form a pair because as they discuss two conflicting ideas of complex identities. Only statement 1 is the odd one out.

Q. 27 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Physics is a pure science that seeks to understand the behavior of matter without regard to whether it will afford any practical benefit. Engineering is the correlative applied science in which physical theories are put to some specific use, such as building a bridge or a nuclear reactor. Engineers obviously rely heavily on the discoveries of physicists, but an engineer's knowledge of the world is not the same as the physicist's knowledge. In fact, an engineer's know-how will often depend on physical theories that, from the point of view of pure physics, are false. There are some reasons for this. First, theories that are false in the purest and strictest sense are still sometimes very good approximations to the true ones, and often have the added virtue of being much easier to work with. Second, sometimes the true theories apply only under highly idealized conditions which can only be created under controlled experimental situations. The engineer finds that in the real world, theories rejected by physicists yield more accurate predictions than the ones that they accept.

Correct Answer

1

Explanation

The passage discusses the difference between pure and applied science and the difference between the knowledge of an engineer and that of a physicist. This is not captured by option 2. Option 4 cannot be considered as it is untrue. Option 3 has no mention of pure science, so it cannot be considered. So, the correct answer is option 1 as it clearly captures the essence of the passage.

Q. 28 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.

1. If you’ve seen a little line of text on websites that says something like "customers who bought this also enjoyed that” you have experienced this collaborative filtering firsthand.
2. The problem with these algorithms is that they don’t take into account a host of nuances and circumstances that might interfere with their accuracy.
3. If you just bought a gardening book for your cousin, you might get a flurry of links to books about gardening, recommended just for you! – the algorithm has no way of knowing you hate gardening and only bought the book as a gift.
4. Collaborative filtering is a mathematical algorithm by which correlations and co-occurrences of behaviors are tracked and then used to make recommendations.

Correct Answer

4123

Explanation

Sentence 4 is clearly the introductory line as it introduces the concept of collaborative filtering. Sentence 1 further discusses the experience of collaborative filtering, so it comes after 4. 2 and 3 form a mandatory pair as they throw light on the problems in collaborative filtering. So, the correct sequence is 4123.

Q. 29 Five sentences related to a topic are given below in a jumbled order. Four of them form a coherent and unified paragraph. Identify the odd sentence that does not go with the four. Key in the number of the option that you choose.

1. ‘Stat’ signaled something measurable, while ‘matic’ advertised free labour; but ‘tron’, above all, indicated control.
2. It was a totem of high modernism, the intellectual and cultural mode that decreed no process or phenomenon was too complex to be grasped, managed and optimized.
3. Like the heraldic shields of ancient knights, these morphemes were painted onto the names of scientific technologies to proclaim one’s history and achievements to friends and enemies alike.
4. The historian Robert Proctor at Stanford University calls the suffix ‘-tron’, along with ‘-matic’ and ‘- stat’, embodied symbols.
5. To gain the suffix was to acquire a proud and optimistic emblem of the electronic and atomic age.

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

4 is the introductory sentence as it introduces ‘suffix’. The author then talks about what these symbols mean in statement 1. This is followed by statement 5 which talks about gaining suffix. It is followed by statement 3 which throws light on how these symbols are painted on the names of scientific technologies. Statement 2 does not fit entirely with the context of the passage and is hence the odd one out.

Q. 30 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.

1. We’ll all live under mob rule until then, which doesn’t help anyone.
2. Perhaps we need to learn to condense the feedback we receive online so that 100 replies carry the same weight as just one.
3. As we grow more comfortable with social media conversations being part of the way we interact every day, we are going to have to learn how to deal with legitimate criticism.
4. A new norm will arise where it is considered unacceptable to reply with the same point that dozens of others have already.

Correct Answer

3241

Explanation

Statement 3 acts as an introductory statement as it talks about dealing with legitimate criticism. It is followed by statement 2. Statement 4 and 1 form a mandatory pair, which is evident from the phrase “until then”. So, the correct sequence is 3241.

Q. 31 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders alerted the public to the psychoanalytical techniques used by the advertising industry. Its premise was that advertising agencies were using depth interviews to identify hidden consumer motivations, which were then used to entice consumers to buy goods. Critics and reporters often wrongly assumed that Packard was writing mainly about subliminal advertising. Packard never mentioned the word subliminal, however, and devoted very little space to discussions of “subthreshold” effects. Instead, his views largely aligned with the notion that individuals do not always have access to their conscious thoughts and can be persuaded by supraliminal messages without their knowledge.

Correct Answer

3

Explanation

Choices with respect to supraliminal and subliminal have a clear difference. Also, the passage mentions that Packard believed in supraliminal images, not subliminal. This makes options 1 and 4 incorrect. The passage mentions that people are not aware, which is also indicated in option 3. Thus, the correct answer is option 3.

Q. 32 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.

1. People with dyslexia have difficulty with printreading, and people with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty with mind-reading.
2. An example of a lost cognitive instinct is mindreading: our capacity to think of ourselves and others as having beliefs, desires, thoughts and feelings.
3. Mind-reading looks increasingly like literacy, a skill we know for sure is not in our genes, since scripts have been around for only 5,000-6,000 years.
4. Print-reading, like mind-reading varies across cultures, depends heavily on certain parts of the brain, and is subject to developmental disorders.

Correct Answer

2341

Explanation

Statement 2 is clearly the introductory line as it introduces the concept of mind-reading. It is followed by 3 which further elaborates on the concept. Statements 4 and 1 form a mandatory pair as they talk about the concept of print-reading, which is very similar to mind-reading. Thus, the correct sequence is 2341.

Q. 33 Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.

1. His idea to use sign language was not a completely new idea as Native Americans used hand gestures to communicate with other tribes.
2. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, for example, observed that men who are deaf are incapable of speech.
3. People who were born deaf were denied the right to sign a will as they were “presumed to understand nothing; because it is not possible that they have been able to learn to read or write.”
4. Pushback against this prejudice began in the 16th century when Pedro Ponce de León created a formal sign language for the hearing impaired.
5. For millennia, people with hearing impairments encountered marginalization because it was believed that language could only be learned by hearing the spoken word.

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

The five sentences discuss the issue of hearing impairments and marginalization because of this. Statements 5, 4, 1 and 3 revolve around the same concept. Sentence 2 seems a little out of context. Thus, the correct answer is option 2.

Q. 34 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.

Correct Answer

2

Explanation

Option 1 cannot be considered because it mentions information that has not been described in the passage. Options 3 and 4 are untrue as they distort the information provided in the passage, so they cannot be considered. Option 2 does not have any distortions and clearly captures the essence of the passage. Thus, the correct answer is option 2.