Latest Para Summary questions for CAT PDF
Most Expected Top CAT Questions PDF Download most important CAT Para summary questions most expected in the upcoming exam. These questions on based on the previous most repeating type of questions. If you preparing for the CAT exam these questions are very useful & may help you in the exam.
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Question 1: 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 behaviour 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.
a) Though engineering draws heavily from pure science, it contributes to knowledge, by incorporating the constraints and conditions in the real world.
b) Engineering and physics fundamentally differ on matters like building a bridge or a nuclear reactor.
c) The relationship between pure and applied science is strictly linear, with the pure science directing applied science, and never the other way round.
d) The unique task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and interpret the design constraints to produce a successful result.
Question 2: 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.
a) Displaced reference is particular to humans and thoughts pop into our heads for no real reason.
b) Thoughts precede all speech acts and these thoughts pop up in our heads even in the absence of any stimulus.
c) Thoughts are essential to communication and only humans have the ability to think about objects not present in their surroundings.
d) The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication.
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Question 3: 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.
a) Packard held that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ understands the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the supraliminal level, though the people targeted have no awareness of being persuaded.
b) Packard held that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ builds on peoples’ conscious thoughts and awareness, by understanding the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the subliminal level.
c) Packard argued that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ works at the supraliminal level, wherein the people targeted are aware of being persuaded, after understanding the hidden motivations of consumers and works.
d) Packard argued that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ understands the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the subliminal level, on the subconscious level of the awareness of the people targeted.
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Question 4: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
Should the moral obligation to rescue and aid persons in grave peril, felt by a few, be enforced by the criminal law? Should we follow the lead of a number of European countries and enact bad Samaritan laws? Proponents of bad Samaritan laws must overcome at least three different sorts of obstacles. First, they must show the laws are morally legitimate in principle, that is, that the duty to aid others is a proper candidate for legal enforcement. Second, they must show that this duty to aid can be defined in a way that can be fairly enforced by the courts. Third, they must show that the benefits of the laws are worth their problems, risks and costs.
a) A number of European countries that have successfully enacted bad Samaritan laws may serve as model statutes.
b) Everyone agrees that people ought to aid others, the only debate is whether to have a law on it.
c) If bad Samaritan laws are found to be legally sound and enforceable they must be enacted.
d) Bad Samaritan laws may be desirable but they need to be tested for legal soundness.
Question 5: A Japanese government panel announced that it recommends regulating only genetically modified organisms that have had foreign genes permanently introduced into their genomes and not those whose endogenous genes have been edited. The only stipulation is that researchers and businesses will have to register their modifications to plants or animals with the government, with the exception of microbes cultured in contained environments. Reactions to the decision are mixed. While lauding the potential benefits of genome editing, an editorial opposes across-the-board permission. Unforeseen risks in gene editing cannot be ruled out. All genetically modified products must go through the same safety and labeling processes regardless of method.
a) Excepting microbes cultured in contained environments from the regulations of genome editing is premature.
b) Creating categories within genetically modified products in terms of transgenic modification and genome editing advances science but defies laws.
c) Exempting from regulations the editing of endogenous genes is not desirable as this procedure might be risk-prone.
d) A government panel in Japan says transgenic modification and genome editing are not the same.
Question 6: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
The early optimism about sport’s deterrent effects on delinquency was premature as researchers failed to find any consistent relationships between sports participation and deviance. As the initial studies were based upon cross-sectional data and the effects captured were short-term, it was problematic to test and verify the temporal sequencing of events suggested by the deterrence theory. The correlation between sport and delinquency could not be disentangled from class and cultural variables known. Choosing individuals to play sports in the first place was problematic, which became more acute in the subsequent decades as researchers began to document just how closely sports participation was linked to social class indicators.
a) There is a direct relationship between sport participation and delinquency but it needs more empirical evidence.
b) Statistical and empirical weaknesses stand in the way of inferring any relationship between sports participation and deviance.
c) Sports participation is linked to class and cultural variables such as education, income, and social capital.
d) Contradicting the previous optimism, latter researchers have proved that there is no consistent relationship between sports participation and deviance.
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Question 7: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
Artificial embryo twinning is a relatively low-tech way to make clones. As the name suggests, this technique mimics the natural process that creates identical twins. In nature, twins form very early in development when the embryo splits in two. Twinning happens in the first days after egg and sperm join, while the embryo is made of just a small number of unspecialized cells. Each half of the embryo continues dividing on its own, ultimately developing into separate, complete individuals. Since they developed from the same fertilized egg, the resulting individuals are genetically identical.
a) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and mimetic of the natural development of genetically identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
b) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and is close to the natural development of twins where the embryo splits into two identical twins.
c) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech unlike the natural development of identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
d) Artificial embryo twinning is just like the natural development of twins, where during fertilization twins are formed.
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Question 8: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
The conceptualization of landscape as a geometric object first occurred in Europe and is historically related to the European conceptualization of the organism, particularly the human body, as a geometric object with parts having a rational, three-dimensional organization and integration. The European idea of landscape appeared before the science of landscape emerged, and it is no coincidence that Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied the structure of the human body, also facilitated an understanding of the structure of landscape. Landscape which had been a subordinate background to religious or historical narratives, became an independent genre or subject of art by the end of sixteenth century or the beginning of the seventeenth century.
a) The three-dimensional understanding of the organism in Europe led to a similar approach towards the understanding of landscape.
b) Landscape became a major subject of art at the turn of the sixteenth century.
c) The study of landscape as an independent genre was aided by the Renaissance artists.
d) The Renaissance artists were responsible for the study of landscape as a subject of art.
Question 9: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
Production and legitimation of scientific knowledge can be approached from a number of perspectives. To study knowledge production from the sociology of professions perspective would mean a focus on the institutionalization of a body of knowledge. The professions-approach informed earlier research on managerial occupation, business schools and management knowledge. It however tends to reify institutional power structures in its understanding of the links between knowledge and authority. Knowledge production is restricted in the perspective to the selected members of the professional community, most notably to the university faculties and professional colleges. Power is understood as a negative mechanism, which prevents the non-professional actors from offering their ideas and information as legitimate knowledge.
a) Professions-approach focuses on the creation of institutions of higher education and disciplines to promote knowledge production
b) The study of knowledge production can be done through many perspectives.
c) The professions-approach has been one of the most relied upon perspective in the study of management knowledge production.
d) Professions-approach aims at the institutionalization of knowledge but restricts knowledge production as a function of a select few.
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Question 10: Carefully read the following statement:
Though he thought of himself as a/an ______ person, his boss’s abusive behaviour made him talk back. However, as he engaged in a/an _______ with his boss, all he got in response was a/an _______, which only filled him with _____
Fill in the blanks meaningfully, in the above statement, from the following options:
a) nonchalant, remonstration, philippic, ennui
b) insouciant, philippic, remonstration, ennui
c) philippic, remonstration, ennui, insouciance
d) ennui, philippic, insouciance, remonstration
e) nonchalant, ennui, philippic, remonstration
Question 11: Carefully read the following paragraphs:
The Lannisters had ______ gold than the Tyrells until the Lannister army sacked Highgarden and took the Tyrell fortune to pay back the Iron Bank. On the other hand, the Northern army has ______ than 10,000 men and therefore, Jon needs to bend the knee to Daenerys. What happens in the story next is dependent on George R. Martin, the writer of the series. For ______, he has not written anything further and we hope George R. Martin will get around to finishing the book _______. But as it happens, ________, book releases are delayed.
Fill in the blanks meaningfully, in the above paragraph, from the following options.
a) less, fewer, some time, sometime, sometimes
b) fewer, less, sometime, some time, sometimes
c) less, fewer, sometime, some time, sometimes
d) fewer, less, sometimes, sometime, some time
e) fewer, less, some time, sometime, sometimes
Question 12: Carefully read the following statement:
The payoff from ________ in education is so ______ and _______ that it is almost ________ as a predictor of economic change over a five to ten year period.
Fill in the blanks meaningfully, in the above statement, from the following options.
a) Expenditure, small, insignificant, irrelevant
b) Productivity, small, erratic, useless
c) Expenditure, fast, significant, powerful
d) Investment, slow, erratic, useless
e) Investment, slow, predictable, irrelevant
Question 13: He got ………. next morning, to be sure, and had his meals ……………. usual, though he ate ……………… and had more, I am afraid, than his usual supply of rum, for he helped himself…… the bar, scowling and blowing………….. his nose, and no one dared………………. cross him.
a) Down, like, a little, out of, out, to
b) Down, as, little, of, out, to
c) Downstairs, as, little, out of, out of, through
d) Downstairs, like, a little, out, of, to
e) Down, like, a little, of, of through
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Question 14: . ………….. bat who fell upon……………… ground and was caught by……………. weasel pleaded to be spared his life. …… ..weasel refused, saying that he was by nature ………………. enemy of all birds. ……………… bat assured him that he was not ……………… bird, but …………… mouse, and thus was set free.
a) a, the, a, the, the, the, the, a
b) a, the, a, the, a, the, a, a
c) the, a, a, the, the, a, the, the
d) a, the, a, the, the, the, a, a
e) the, a, a, a, the, the, a, a
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Question 15: Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate option that follows:
…………. wolf, meeting with …..lamb astray from …..fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to ……. lamb ……….. wolf’s right to eat him.
a) a, a, the, the, the
b) the, a, the, a, the
c) a, a, a, the, the
d) the, the, the, the, the
e) the, a, the, a, a
Answers & Solutions:
1) Answer (A)
The passage says that pure science intends to discover without any end-goal in mind. While engineers use these benefits for practical applications. The author says that the science behind these practical applications are often considered false by pure science since they are approximated or not applied as per ideal conditions. In any case, even though they are rejected, these approximated science theories find lot of practical applications in everyday life.
Option A is correct. By diluting science, these theories are put into practical benefits. Hence, option A is correct
Option B is incorrect as no such implication can be drawn from the passage
Option C is incorrect. Linear relationship indicates that, if a certain theory is rejected by pure science, it is bound to be rejected by applied science too. This is clearly not the case as engineers use rejected theories for practical benefits.
Option D speaks only about engineers and has no reference to sciences or the main point of the paragraph. The paragraph intends to compare the functionalities of scientists and engineers while option D is specific to engineers and does not encapsulate the essence of the paragraph.
Hence, by way of elimination Option A is the most suitable summary
2) Answer (D)
The paragraph says that humans think about past occurrences suddenly without any immediate stimuli.
The author also says that thinking/thoughts about a certain distant past is a necessity before one can speak about it.
He says that thoughts are a pre-requisite before one talks about it. He also gives an example that various human-like symbols might have emerged without any immediate stimuli.
Option A and C: There is no mention of specificity to humans in the passage
Option B : “All speech acts” is a false generalisation. The passage says that speaking about distant past requires thinking about it first
Option D : It clearly captures the essence of the passage and says that one needs to think about distant past events before talking about them
Hence option D is correct.
3) Answer (A)
In this context, “Psychoanalytical analytical technique” implies that the advertising agencies are adapting methods to tap into the unconscious mind of the consumers. They are conducting detailed interviews to identify hidden motivations.
Here, subliminal advertising represents some portion of the ad being difficult to comprehend or simply put, when one of the motives of the ad is so subtle that it is difficult to be understood by a layman.
While supraliminal advertising can be clearly conceived by most people.
Packard claims that the ‘Hidden persuaders’ use supraliminal advertising to entice customers by tapping into consumers without their knowledge. (….can be persuaded by supraliminal messages without their knowledge.)
Option B and D say that the method is subliminal, hence, it is incorrect
Option C says that people are well aware about being persuaded, hence incorrect.
Option A is a wholesome summary of the method of persuation.
4) Answer (D)
In the given paragraph, the author has discussed about Bad Samaritan laws and whether it is enforceable by law. While answering the question, the author puts forward three points which she deems necessary for the implementation of Bad Samaritan law. Only after crossing the three obstacles mentioned by the author, the law should be enacted. Option D is the most relevant in this context.
Option A is about implementing the law without any conditions, which is not what the author wants to convey.
Option B does not mention anything about the three obstacles.
Option C is stated with a firmness which is not the tone of the author. The author says that the law may be enacted, not must be enacted.
Hence, option D is the correct answer.
5) Answer (C)
Let us note down the important points:
The Japanese government recommends regulating GM organisms in which foreign genes are introduced, not those in which the endogenous genes have been edited. The step has drawn mixed reactions since there are some risks involved in gene editing.
Option A shifts the focus on exempting microbes. The central theme of the passage is that endogenous gene editing is not totally risk free. Therefore, we can eliminate option A.
Option B states that categorizing GM products advances science but defies laws. No such comparison has been made in the paragraph. The legality of the issue has not been discussed and hence, we can eliminate option B.
Option D fails to capture the fact that endogenous gene editing is not devoid of risks.
Only option C captures the fact that exempting endogenous gene editing is not desirable due to the risks involved. Therefore, option C is the right answer.
6) Answer (B)
The main points of the passage are that the relation between sports participation and deviation have not been established and that there is not sufficient evidence to prove the relationship.
Option A is distorted because it states that the relationship is already established.
Option B mentions all the relevant points.
Option C does not talk about the relationship and hence, ruled out.
Option D distorts what is given in the paragraph by saying that latter researchers have “proved” there is no consistent relationship. Thus, it is can be eliminated.
Hence, option B is the correct answer.
7) Answer (A)
The author mentions that artificial embryo twinning is ‘low tech’ to introduce the topic. Then, he explains how the process is exactly similar to the process of development of twins. He states that the process mimics the natural development of twins. He has not highlighted any of the differences between the 2 processes.
Let us evaluate the options.
Option C states that artificial embryo twinning is ‘low tech’ unlike the natural development of twins. The author makes no such comparison in the paragraph and hence, option C can be eliminated.
Option D states that the twins are formed during fertilization but the paragraph mentions that the twins are formed after the process of fertilization (i.e, after the sperm and the egg join).
Option B fails to capture the fact that the twins are ‘genetically’ identical. Also, it states that the artificial twinning process is ‘close to’ the natural development of twins. Though this option is not incorrect, option A is worded in a better way. Option A states that the process is mimetic of the natural development of the twins (emphasizing that no difference has been highlighted), the twins are genetically identical and the process is similar to the process of development of twins after fertilization. Therefore, option A is the right answer.
8) Answer (C)
Let us note down the main points of the given paragraph:
The given paragraph describes how the study of landscape gained prominence and became an independent genre. Renaissance artists facilitated the development of the field as an independent genre.
Let us evaluate the options one by one.
Option A states that understanding of the organism in Europe led to a similar approach towards the understanding of landscape. Though this option is true, it fails to capture the fact that the field evolved as an independent genre with the help of Renaissance artists.
Option B states that Landscape became a major subject of art at the turn of the sixteenth century. Again, option B fails to capture the role played by the Renaissance artists.
Option D states that Renaissance artists were responsible for the study of landscape as a subject of art. The paragraph mentions that the artists facilitated in the transformation of the field into an independent genre. Option D establishes a strong relationship and holds Renaissance artists ‘responsible’ for the study of landscape ‘as a subject of art’. The parts within the quotes disregard the fact that the artists just aided the process. They were not solely responsible for the development. Therefore, we can eliminate option D.
Only option C captures the fact that the renaissance artists ‘aided’ in the development of the study of landscape as an independent genre and hence, option C is the right answer.
9) Answer (D)
Let us note down the important points.
Professions-approach structures and institutionalizes knowledge but knowledge production is restricted to the select members of the community. It prevents the non-professional actors from offering their ideas.
Options A, B, and C do not capture the negative aspects of the professions-approach at all. They just focus on the advantages offered by the approach but the given paragraph places a huge emphasis on the limitations of the approach as well. Only option D captures both the advantage offered by the approach and its limitations. Therefore, option D is the right answer.
10) Answer (A)
11) Answer (A)
12) Answer (D)
13) Answer (B)
The first blank can be filled using ‘down’ or ‘downstairs’. The second blank should be filled using ‘as’. ‘As usual’ is a phrase and hence, ‘as’ should fill the second blank. The third blank can be filled using ‘little’ or ‘a little’. The 4th blank can be filled with ‘out’, ‘of’, or ‘out of’. The last blank should be filled by ‘to’. Therefore, option B is the right answer.
14) Answer (D)
‘A’ should be used to fill the first blank since the bat is introduced for the first time. The article ‘the’ should be used before ‘ground’ since the ground is a general term (like the Earth, the Sky). ‘A’ should be used before the weasel. ‘The’ should be used before the weasel since the weasel has already been introduced. ‘the’ should be used before enemy since it states a general concept. ‘The’ should be used before ‘bat’ since it has already been introduced. ‘A’ should be used before both ‘bird’ and ‘rat’ since the bat describes himself to be a member of a large group.
A, the, a, the, the, the , a, a is the correct order. Therefore, option D is the right answer.
15) Answer (A)
‘A’ should precede the wolf and the lamb since they are introduced for the first time. The ‘fold’ describes the lamb’s fold. Therefore, the article ‘the’ should be used. Since the wolf and the lamb have already been introduced, the last 2 blanks should be filled with ‘the’.
The correct order is a, a, the, the, the. Option A is the right answer.
