CAT Verbal Ability Questions PDF [Most Expected]
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Question 1: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. Restitution of artefacts to original cultures could face legal obstacles, as many Western museums are legally prohibited from disposing off their collections.
2. This is in response to countries like Nigeria, which are pressurising European museums to return their precious artefacts looted by colonisers in the past.
3. Museums in Europe today are struggling to come to terms with their colonial legacy, some taking steps to return artefacts but not wanting to lose their prized collections.
4. Legal hurdles notwithstanding, politicians and institutions in France and Germany would now like to defuse the colonial time bombs, and are now backing the return of part of their holdings.
1) Answer: 3214
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about restitution of articles that were taken from colonies. 3 introduces the topic at hand: European museums are trying to come to terms with their colonial legacy by returning artefacts. 2 follows 3, providing the reason why this development has taken place. 1 then further describes the current situation: the legal obstacles this action could face. 4 concludes the paragraph by saying that other than these legal obstacles, institutions in France and Germany are seriously backing the move. Hence, the correct arrangement is 3214.
Question 2: Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. They often include a foundation course on navigating capitalism with Chinese characteristics and have replaced typical cases from US corporates with a focus on how Western theories apply to China’s buzzing local firms.
2. The best Chinese business schools look like their Western rivals but are now growing distinct in terms of what they teach and the career boost they offer.
3. Western schools have enhanced their offerings with double degrees, popular with domestic and overseas students alike—and boosted the prestige of their Chinese partners.
4. For students, a big draw is the chance to rub shoulders with captains of China’s private sector.
5. Their business courses now largely cater to the growing demand from China Inc which has become more global, richer and ready to recruit from this sinocentric student body.
2) Answer: 3
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about Chinese business schools and how they stand in comparison to their western counterparts. 2 mentions that thought they have a similar outlook, Chinese business schools have a different curriculum and are also different in what they have to offer. 1, 4, and 5 further talk about the peculiarity of the Chinese schools.
3, however, runs tangent to the discussion. It shifts the focus from Chinese schools and describes western schools. Hence, 3 is out of the context here.
Question 3: Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. A typical example is Wikipedia, where the overwhelming majority of contributors are male and so the available content is skewed to reflect their interests.
2. Without diversity of thought and representation, society is left with a distorted picture of future options, which are likely to result in augmenting existing inequalities.
3. Gross gender inequality in the technology sector is problematic, not only for the industry-wide marginalisation of women, but because technology designs embody the values of their makers.
4. While redressing unequal representation in the workplace is a step in the right direction, broader social change is needed to address the structural inequalities embedded within the current organisation of work and employment.
5. If technology merely reflects the perspectives of the male stereotype, then new technologies are unlikely to accommodate the diverse social contexts within which they operate.
3) Answer: 4
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph must be about the disparity in the representation of different genders. Sentences 1,2,3, and 5 are concerned with the problems that arise when the representation of females is less.
4, however, runs tangent to the discussion at hand. It talks about ‘structural inequalities’. This sentence, if included in the paragraph, would render it incomplete as all the other sentences talk about gender inequality and not structural inequality. Thus, 4 is out of context here.
Question 4: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. It is regimes of truth that make certain relationships speakable – relationships, like subjectivities, are constituted through discursive formations, which sustain regimes of truth.
2. Relationships are nothing without the communication that brings them into being; interpersonal communication is connected to knowledge shared by interlocutors, and scholars should attend to relational histories in their analyses.
3. A Foucauldian approach to relationships goes beyond these conceptions of discourse and history to macrolevel regimes of truth as constituting relationships.
4. Reconsidering micropractices within relationships that are constituted within and simultaneously contributors to regimes of truth acknowledges the central position of power/knowledge in the constitution of what has come to be considered true and real.
4) Answer: 2314
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about the different conceptions of relationships. 2 explains that communication is an important aspect here, and should be studied properly. 3 mentions a Foucauldian approach, that goes beyond this, and includes macrolevel regimes of truth. 1 then explains why the concept of regimes of truth is relevant here. 4 then aptly concludes the paragraph, implying how the micropractices within the relationships allude the importance of knowledge/power. Thus, the correct sequence would be 2314.
Question 5: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. Businesses find automation, such as robotic employees, a big asset in terms of productivity and efficiency.
2. But in recent years, robotics has had increasing impacts on unemployment, not just of manual labour, as computers are rapidly handling some white-collar and service-sector work.
3. For years politicians have promised workers that they would bring back their jobs by clamping down on trade, offshoring and immigration.
4. Economists, based on their research, say that the bigger threat to jobs now is not globalisation but automation.
5) Answer: 3412
Solution:
A quick read of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about the unemployment caused by automation. The passage is best opened by 3, which provides the current state of unemployment. The politicians view globalisation as the factor exacerbating unemployment. 4 contrasts this by saying that expert analysis tells a different story. It is automation that could prove to be a crucial factor. 12 forms a pair, that further elucidate the kind and scope of impact that automation has on jobs. Hence, the correct sequence would be 3412.
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Question 6: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. The US has long maintained that the Northwest Passage is an international strait through which its commercial and military vessels have the right to pass without seeking Canada’s permission.
2. Canada, which officially acquired the group of islands forming the Northwest Passage in 1880, claims sovereignty over all the shipping routes through the Passage.
3. The dispute could be transitory, however, as scientists speculate that the entire Arctic Ocean will soon be ice-free in summer, so ship owners will not have to ask for permission to sail through any of the Northwest Passage routes.
4. The US and Canada have never legally settled the question of access through the Passage, but have an agreement whereby the US needs to seek Canada’s consent for any transit.
6) Answer: 2143
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about the dispute between the US and Canada over the Northwest passage.
2 is a better opening sentence than 1 as 21 forms a good introduction into the dispute. 2 mentions that Canada claims ownership over the passage, and 1 then mentions the counterclaim the US offers: the passage is an international route.
43 becomes a mandatory pair which follows 21. 4 mentions the historical development in the dispute: it has not been legally settled yet. 3 then hints about the future of this dispute: the dispute itself would vanish once the entire Arctic begins to stay ice-free in summer.
Hence, the coherent arrangement is 2143.
Question 7: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. Look forward a few decades to an invention which can end the energy crisis, change the global economy and curb climate change at a stroke: commercial fusion power.
2. To gain meaningful insights, logic has to be accompanied by asking probing questions of nature through controlled tests, precise observations and clever analysis.
3. The greatest of all inventions is the über-invention that has provided the insights on which others depend: the modern scientific method.
4. This invention is inconceivable without the scientific method; it will rest on the application of a diverse range of scientific insights, such as the process transforming hydrogen into helium to release huge amounts of energy.
7) Answer: 3214
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about great inventions, focusing on the importance of scientific method and how it forms the foundation for other great inventions. 32 forms an introductory pair that claims that the modern scientific method must be the greatest of all inventions and then talks about its mode of inquiry.
1 then presents an invention that could solve many problems in the future. 4 then claims that the invention would have been impossible if the scientific method did not precede it. Hence, the coherent arrangement is 3214.
Question 8: Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. It has taken on a warm, fuzzy glow in the advertising world, where its potential is being widely discussed, and it is being claimed as the undeniable wave of the future.
2. There is little enthusiasm for this in the scientific arena; for them marketing is not a science, and only a handful of studies have been published in scientific journals.
3. The new, growing field of neuromarketing attempts to reveal the inner workings of consumer behaviour and is an extension of the study of how choices and decisions are made.
4. Some see neuromarketing as an attempt to make the “art” of advertising into a science, being used by marketing experts to back up their proposals with some form of real data.
5. The marketing gurus have already started drawing on psychology in developing tests and theories, and advertising people have borrowed the idea of the focus group from social scientists.
8) Answer: 5
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph must be about the industry of neuromarketing, which is still in its embryonic phase. 3 can be the opening sentence to the paragraph, as it introduces the topic at hand. All the other sentences need a sentence before them that introduces what is being talked about.
1,4, and 2 then go on to talk about the opinion of differernt associated parties on the matter. It has taken the advertising industry by storm. Others feel that this ‘art’ is being masked as a science, and many lack enthusiasm on the matter.
5 however, does not fit in here. The reason is that it talks about ‘psychology’, which is different from the use of neural science. Even if one is not familiar with the difference, we can see that it goes a step forward to talk about the application of a science, whereas the paragraph is mostly concerned with a growing science and how it is shaping public opinion. Hence, 5 is the odd one out.
Question 9: Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. The care with which philosophers examine arguments for and against forms of biotechnology makes this an excellent primer on formulating and assessing moral arguments.
2. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why: what is wrong with re-engineering our nature?
3. Breakthroughs in genetics present us with the promise that we will soon be able to prevent a host of debilitating diseases, and the predicament that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to enhance our genetic traits.
4. To grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions that verge on theology, which is why modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them.
5. One argument is that the drive for human perfection through genetics is objectionable as it represents a bid for mastery that fails to appreciate the gifts of human powers and achievements.
9) Answer: 1
Solution:
The sentences have been taken from Harvard’s Justice, and have been modified considerably. Since a paragraph has not been directly taken here, the better way of elimination here would be to evaluate the major points of each sentence and see which one runs tangent to the discussion at hand. (During the examination, one must try both ways to solve: arranging and eliminating.)
1. Using the debate on biotechnology to evaluate moral arguments.
2. Why is bioengineering disputed?
3. The promise of bioengineering.
4. Ethics of bioengineering based on theology.
5. The theological argument.
We can see here that the last four sentences try to examine why bioengineering is disputed in spite of its huge potential. Then reasons are given about the question on its ethicality, and how it is closely associated with theology on the matter.
1 however runs tangential to the discussion. The main focus is bioengineering while 1 aims to shift the focus and use the debate on the matter as a stepping stone to reach another goal: evaluating/formulating moral arguments. Hence, 1 is the odd one out here.
Question 10: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. But today there is an epochal challenge to rethink and reconstitute the vision and practice of development as a shared responsibility – a sharing which binds both the agent and the audience, the developed world and the developing, in a bond of shared destiny.
2. We are at a crossroads now in our vision and practice of development.
3. This calls for the cultivation of an appropriate ethical mode of being in our lives which enables us to realize this global and planetary situation of shared living and responsibility.
4. Half a century ago, development began as a hope for a better human possibility, but in the last fifty years, this hope has lost itself in the dreary desert of various kinds of hegemonic applications.
10) Answer: 2413
Solution:
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about the change needed in the way we go about development. 2 introduces the topic at hand, that this is a watershed moment when it comes to the subject of development. 41 make a mandatory pair, which talks about what the purpose of development was at the beginning and how it needs to be altered to suit the needs of today. 3 then aptly ends the paragraph, suggesting the measures that could be taken to counter the same. Hence, he proper sequence would be 2413.
Question 11: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Aesthetic political representation urges us to realize that ‘the representative has autonomy with regard to the people represented’ but autonomy then is not an excuse to abandon one’s responsibility. Aesthetic autonomy requires cultivation of ‘disinterestedness’ on the part of actors which is not indifference. To have disinterestedness, that is, to have comportment towards the beautiful that is devoid of all ulterior references to use – requires a kind of aesthetic commitment; it is the liberation of ourselves for the release of what has proper worth only in itself.
a) Aesthetic political representation advocates autonomy for the representatives manifested through disinterestedness which itself is different from indifference.
b) Aesthetic political representation advocates autonomy for the representatives drawing from disinterestedness, which itself is different from indifference.
c) Disinterestedness is different from indifference as the former means a non-subjective evaluation of things which is what constitutes aesthetic political representation
d) Disinterestedness, as distinct from indifference, is the basis of political representation.
11) Answer (B)
Solution:
The paragraph discusses two essential elements: it begins by presenting the facet of autonomy enjoyed by the representative in Aesthetic political representation and then highlights the cultivation of “disinterestedness” in this regard. Additionally, the author distinctly identifies the aforementioned concept as being not the same as that of “indifference”. Post this, towards the end. The author presents the reason behind this assertion. Option B correctly captures these two aspects without distorting the overall meaning.
Option A: The author does not claim that the autonomy “manifested” through disinterestedness.
Option C: The statement here contains added elements which cannot be inferred from the passage.
Option D: This alternative fails to capture the essence of the discussion and describes a single component. {‘political representation’ might again be incorrect}
Hence, of the given summaries, Option B aptly captures the substance of the passage.
Question 12: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Brown et al. (2001) suggest that ‘metabolic theory may provide a conceptual foundation for much of ecology just as genetic theory provides a foundation for much of evolutionary biology’. One of the successes of genetic theory is the diversity of theoretical approaches and models that have been developed and applied. A Web of Science (v. 5.9. Thomson Reuters) search on genetic* + theor* + evol* identifies more than 12000 publications between 2005 and 2012. Considering only the 10 most-cited papers within this 12000 publication set, genetic theory can be seen to focus on genome dynamics, phylogenetic inference, game theory and the regulation of gene expression. There is no one fundamental genetic equation, but rather a wide array of genetic models, ranging from simple to complex, with differing inputs and outputs, and divergent areas of application, loosely connected to each other through the shared conceptual foundation of heritable variation.
a) Genetic theory has evolved to spawn a wide range of theoretical models and applications but Metabolic theory need not evolve in a similar manner in the field of ecology
b) Genetic theory has a wide range of theoretical approaches and application and is foundational to evolutionary biology and Metabolic theory has the potential to do the same for ecology
c) Genetic theory has a wide range of theoretical approaches and applications and Metabolic theory must have the same in the field of ecology
d) Genetic theory provides an example of how a range of theoretical approaches and applications can make a theory successful.
12) Answer (B)
Solution:
There are two key points discussed in the passage:
1. The prospect of “metabolic theory” being foundational to the field of ecology; the same as is the case in (2)
2. Genetic theory being the conceptual basis of evolutionary biology {given the diverse and extensive theoretical approaches and models available}.
Thus, the summary needs to capture both these points. Option B fulfils this requirement.
Option A: is a distorted claim since it is not implied in the passage; the author does not assert that “metabolic theory need not evolve in a similar manner”.
Option C: is again a misinterpretation because the author does not claim that metabolic theory “must” contribute in a similar fashion. Instead, the focus is on the “potential” of this theory.
Option D: is divergent since the author does not discuss the “success” of a theory.
Hence, Option B is the correct answer.
Question 13: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Brazil’s growth rate has been low, yet most Brazilians say their financial situation has improved, and they expect it to get even better. This is because most incomes are rising fast, with higher minimum wages and very low unemployment. The result is falling inequality and a growing middle class — the result of economic stabilization, improved social security and universal primary education. But despite recent improvements the Brazilian economy is still painfully unequal, with poor Brazilians paying the biggest share of their income in taxes and getting the least back in government services.
a) Economic reforms have benefitted many Brazilians, but they are unaware of the impending problems from rising inequalities in their society.
b) Good economic indicators have masked the unfair taxation of the poor that is likely to destabilise the Brazilian economy in the next few years.
c) Most Brazilians feel they have benefitted from recent economic events, but the poor continue to be dealt unfairly by the state.
d) With rising incomes and falling unemployment, most Brazilians are being misled into thinking that their economy is doing well.
13) Answer (C)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. The Brazilian economy has been stagnant, but the popular perception is that the times have improved.
2. The reasons are falling inequality and other important services.
3. Despite this, the economy is brutally unequal.
A: Ignorance on the part of Brazilians is not implied. What the author is saying that though things have improved for the ones who say so, others are still being dealt a rough hand.
B: The paragraph does not imply that the good economic indicators are being used as subterfuge to cover up the prevailing inequality.
C: Comes the closest in capturing the three points. Hence, is the answer.
D: It has a problem similar to Option A. Things have improved for that section of people. They are not ignorant, nor are they being misled into believing something.
Question 14: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The human mind is wired to see patterns. Not only does the brain process information as it comes in, it also stores insights from all our past experiences. Every interaction, happy or sad, is catalogued in our memory. Intuition draws from that deep memory well to inform our decisions going forward. In other words, intuitive decisions are based on data, and not contrary to data as many would like to assume. When we subconsciously spot patterns, the body starts firing neurochemicals in both the brain and gut. These “somatic markers” are what give us that instant sense that something is right … or that it’s off. Not only are these automatic processes faster than rational thought, but our intuition draws from decades of diverse qualitative experience (sights, sounds, interactions, etc.) – a wholly human feature that big data alone could never accomplish.
a) Intuition is infinitely richer than big data which is based on rational thought and accomplishes more than what big data can.
b) Intuitions are automatic processes and are therefore faster than rational thought, and so decisions based on them are better.
c) Intuition draws from deep memory, and may not be related to data, but to decades of diverse qualitative experience.
d) Intuitions are neuro-chemical firings based on pattern recognition and draw upon a rich and vast database of experiences.
14) Answer (D)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are as follows:
1. Intuition draws from a vast array of memories that our brain keeps in store.
2. When our brain recognises a pattern from past memories, neuron firing starts, which gives us the gut feeling of intuition.
A: Distortion: The passage does not give any detail about big data being based on rational thought.
B: Out of scope. The paragraph does not allude to whether the decisions based on intuition are better or worse.
C: Incorrect: The passage says that intuitive decisions are based on data.
D: Correctly covers the mentioned points and hence, is the answer.
Question 15: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
People view idleness as a sin and industriousness as a virtue, and in the process have developed an unsatisfactory relationship with their jobs. Work has become a way for them to keep busy, even though many find their work meaningless. In their need for activity people undertake what was once considered work (fishing, gardening) as hobbies. The opposing view is that hard work has made us prosperous and improved our levels of health and education. It has also brought innovation and labour and time-saving devices, which have lessened life’s drudgery.
a) Despite some detractors, hard work is essential in today’s world to enable economic progress, for education and health and to propel innovations that make life easier.
b) Hard work has overtaken all aspects of our lives and has enabled economic prosperity, but it is important that people reserve their leisure time for some idleness.
c) Some believe that hard work has been glorified to the extent that it has become meaningless, and led to greater idleness, but it has also had enormous positive impacts on everyday life.
d) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
15) Answer (D)
Solution:
The main points of the passage are:
1. People increasingly view idleness as sin and industriousness as a virtue, pushing them into meaningless jobs.
2. On the other hand, this has also saved us from many of life’s drudgeries.
A: Misses out on point 1.
B: A distortion. The author does not advocate idleness. Also, 1 is not covered properly.
C: Incorrect. ‘led to greater idleness’ is not implied anywhere in the passage.
D: Covers both the points aptly and is the answer.
Question 16: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The unlikely alliance of the incumbent industrialist and the distressed unemployed worker is especially powerful amid the debris of corporate bankruptcies and layoffs. In an economic downturn, the capitalist is more likely to focus on costs of the competition emanating from free markets than on the opportunities they create. And the unemployed worker will find many others in a similar condition and with anxieties similar to his, which will make it easier for them to organize together. Using the cover and the political organization provided by the distressed, the capitalist captures the political agenda.
a) In an economic downturn, the capitalists use the anxieties of the unemployed and their political organisation to set the political agenda to suit their economic interests.
b) The purpose of an unlikely alliance between the industrialist and the unemployed during an economic downturn is to stifle competition in free markets.
c) An economic downturn creates competition because of which the capitalists capture the political agenda created by the political organisation provided by the unemployed.
d) An unlikely alliance of the industrialist and the unemployed happens during an economic downturn in which they come together to unite politically and capture the political agenda.
16) Answer (A)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. In an economic disaster, the atypical alliance of established industrialist and unemployed workers proves powerful.
2. Anxieties and anticipation lead them to look after their interests.
3. It is the industrialist that benefits the most as he is able to use the latter to achieve his vested political interests.
A: Comes the closest in capturing all three points, and hence, is the answer.
B: Distortion. This purpose has not been mentioned in the passage.
C: Distortion. It has not been mentioned that an economic downturn creates competition. It has been mentioned that during such a disaster, the industrialist is more likely to focus on the downsides emerging from free-market (competition) than the upsides.
D: Distortion. It has been implied that the industrialist manipulates the situation to fulfill his own political agenda, and not that the two parties come together to achieve a single goal.
Question 17: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Creativity is now viewed as the engine of economic progress. Various organizations are devoted to its study and promotion; there are encyclopedias and handbooks surveying creativity research. But this proliferating success has tended to erode creativity’s stable identity: it has become so invested with value that it has become impossible to police its meaning and the practices that supposedly identify and encourage it. Many people and organizations committed to producing original thoughts now feel that undue obsession with the idea of creativity gets in the way of real creativity.
a) The obsession with original thought, how it can be promoted and researched, has made it impossible for people and organizations to define the concept anymore.
b) The industry that has built up around researching what comprises and encourages creativity has destroyed the creative process itself.
c) Creativity has proliferated to the extent that is no longer a stable process, and its mutating identity has stifled the creative process.
d) The value assigned to creativity today has assumed such proportions that the concept itself has lost its real meaning and this is hampering the engendering of real creativity.
17) Answer (D)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. The value of creativity to economic progress has been realised, with serious investment being done to study/promote it.
2. But this success fires back. Policing its meaning can lead to obsession, hampering creativity itself.
A: It is extreme in approach. The paragraph does not imply that it has become impossible to define the concept, but it becomes difficult to practice creativity when it is being forced on oneself.
B: It is also extreme. The obsession hampers, not completely destroys the creative process.
C: This option is a distortion and fails to capture the above points.
D: Comes the closest to capturing the above two points, and hence, is the answer.
Question 18: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Biologists who publish their research directly to the Web have been labelled as “rogue”, but physicists have been routinely publishing research digitally (“preprints”), prior to submitting in a peer-reviewed journal. Advocates of preprints argue that quick and open dissemination of research speeds up scientific progress and allows for wider access to knowledge. But some journals still don’t accept research previously published as a preprint. Even if the idea of preprints is gaining ground, one of the biggest barriers for biologists is how they would be viewed by members of their conservative research community.
a) One of the advantages of digital preprints of research is they hasten the dissemination process, but these are not accepted by most scientific communities.
b) Compared to biologists, physicists are less conservative in their acceptance of digital pre-publication of research papers, which allows for faster dissemination of knowledge.
c) While digital publication of research is gaining popularity in many scientific disciplines, almost all peer-reviewed journals are reluctant to accept papers that have been published before.
d) Preprints of research are frowned on by some scientific fields as they do not undergo a rigourous reviewing process but are accepted among biologists as a quick way to disseminate information.
18) Answer (B)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. As compared to physicists, biologists are more conservative when it comes to the subject of preprints.
2. Preprints allow faster dissemination of knowledge.
A: Misses out the comparison between biologists and physicists.
B: Captures both the points appropriately and is the answer.
C: Also misses out the comparison between biologists and physicists.
D: Factually incorrect, physicists and not biologists are open to the idea of preprints.
Question 19: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Developing countries are becoming hotbeds of business innovation in much the same way as Japan did from the 1950s onwards. They are reinventing systems of production and distribution, and experimenting with entirely new business models. Why are countries that were until recently associated with cheap hands now becoming leaders in innovation? Driven by a mixture of ambition and fear they are relentlessly climbing up the value chain. Emerging-market champions have not only proved highly competitive in their own backyards, they are also going global themselves.
a) Competition has driven emerging economies, once suppliers of cheap labour, to become innovators of business models that have enabled them to move up the value chain and go global.
b) Innovations in production and distribution are helping emerging economies compete with countries to which they once supplied cheap labour.
c) Developing countries are being forced to invent new business models which challenge the old business models, so they can remain competitive domestically.
d) Production and distribution models are going through rapid innovations worldwide as developed countries are being challenged by their earlier suppliers from the developing world.
19) Answer (A)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. Developing economies are becoming hotbeds of economic innovation.
2. Earlier they used to be associated with cheap labour, but now ambition and fear have made them competitive globally.
Option A: It correctly captures the two main points and hence is the answer.
Option B: This option is distorted. Business innovations have not been mentioned as the reason why emerging economies have become competitive globally. It has only been mentioned as a factor in close association.
Option C: Again, the paragraph does not mention that the developing economies are being forced to do this in order to stay competitive. This option suggests an element of necessity for the survival of the economies, which is not implied.
Option D: This option is distorted. The passage only mentions innovations in developing economies and not worldwide.
Question 20: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Foreign peacekeepers often exist in a bubble in the poor countries in which they are deployed; they live in posh compounds, drive fancy vehicles, and distance themselves from locals. This may be partially justified as they are outsiders, living in constant fear, performing a job that is emotionally draining. But they are often despised by the locals, and many would like them to leave. A better solution would be bottom-up peacebuilding, which would involve their spending more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than only meeting government officials.
a) Peacekeeping duties would be more effectively performed by local residents given their better understanding, knowledge and rapport with their own communities.
b) The environment in poor countries has tended to make foreign peacekeeping forces live in enclaves, but it is time to change this scenario.
c) Extravagant lifestyles and an aloof attitude among the foreigners working as peacekeepers in poor countries have justifiably made them the target of local anger.
d) Peacekeeping forces in foreign countries have tended to be aloof for valid reasons but would be more effective if they worked more closely with local communities.
20) Answer (D)
Solution:
The main points of the paragraph are:
1. The peacekeeping forces often exist in a bubble. Though there are valid reasons behind this, this also results in the locals feeling antipathy towards them.
2. The solution to this problem is to build rapport with the locals too instead of focusing only on the government officials.
Option A: Not implied in the paragraph. The paragraph suggests building relationships with the locals. Appointing only locals as peacekeepers has not been implied.
Option B: This option distorts what is being presented in the paragraph. The paragraph suggests that the bubble is justified sometimes and also suggest measures to counter that. The option implicates the country’s environment as being responsible for that bubble, hence the blame is shifted completely. Also, the option fails to mention the antipathy and the measures suggested to counter the bubble.
Option C: This option is distorted. Where the paragraph says that the aloof attitude is justified sometimes, the option blames the peacekeeping forces and their ‘extravagant lifestyles’ for the antipathy they face. Hence, can be eliminated.
Option D: Option D correctly captures the main points and is the answer.
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