CAT 2002 Question Paper

The sentences given in each question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labelled with a letter. Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.

A. This fact was established in the 1730s by French survey expenditions to Equador near the Equator and Lapland in the Arctic, which found that around the middle of the earth the arc was about a kilometer shorter.

B. One of the unsettled scientific questions in the late 18th century was that exact nature of the shape of the earth.

C. The length of one-degree arc would be less near the equatorial latitudes than at the poles.

D. One way of doing that is to determine the length of the arc along a chosen longitude or meridian at one degree latitude separation.

E. While it was generally known that the earth was not a sphere but an ‘oblate spheroid’, more curved at the equator and flatter at the poles, the question of ‘how much more’ was yet to be established.

Choose the best way of writing the sentence.

A. The main problem with the notion of price discrimination is that it is not always a bad thing, but that it is the monopolist who has the power to decide who is charged what price.

B. The main problem with the notion of price discrimination is not that it is always a bad thing, it is the monopolist who has the power to decide who is charged what price.

C. The main problem with the notion of price discrimination is not that it is always a bad thing, but that it is the monopolist who has the power to decide who is charged what price.

D. The main problem with the notion of price discrimination is not it is always a bad thing, but that it is the monopolist who has the power to decide who is charged what price.

Choose the best way of writing the sentence.

A. A symbiotic relationship develops among the contractors, bureaucracy and the politicians, and by a large number of devices costs are artificially escalated and black money is generated by underhand deals.

B. A symbiotic relationship develops among contractors, bureaucracy and politicians, and costs are artificially escalated with a large number of devices and black money is generated through underhand deals.

C. A symbiotic relationship develops among contractors, bureaucracy and the politicians, and by a large number of devices costs are artificially escalated and black money is generated on underhand deals.

D. A symbiotic relationship develops among the contractors, bureaucracy and politicians, and by large number of devices costs are artificially escalated and black money is generated by underhand deals.

Choose the best way of writing the sentence.

A. The distinctive feature of tariffs and export subsidies is that they create difference of prices at which goods are traded on the world market and their price within a local market.

B. The distinctive feature of tarriffs and export subsidies is that they create a difference of prices at which goods are traded with the world market and their prices in the local market.

C. The distinctive feature of tariffs and export subsidies is that they create a difference between prices at which goods are traded on the world market and their prices within a local market.

D. The distinctive feature of tarriffs and export subsidies is that they create a difference across prices at which goods are traded with the world market and their prices within a local market.

Choose the best way of writing the sentence.

A. Any action of government to reduce the systemic risk inherent in financial markets will also reduce the risks that private operators perceive and thereby encourage excessive hedging.

B. Any action by government to reduce the systemic risk inherent in financial markets will also reduce the risks that private operators perceive and thereby encourage excessive gambling.

C. Any action by government to reduce the systemic risk inherent in financial markets will also reduce the risks that private operators perceive and thereby encourages excessive gambling.

D. Any action of government to reduce the systemic risk inherent in financial markets will also reduce the risks that private operators perceive and thereby encourages excessive gambling.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Opprobrium: The police officer appears oblivious to the opprobrium generated by his blatantly partisan conduct.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Portend: It appears to many that the US ‘war on terrorism’ portends trouble in the Gulf.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Prevaricate: When a videotape of her meeting was played back to her and she was asked to explain her presence there, she started prevaricating.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Restive: The crowd became restive when the minister failed to appear even by 10 pm.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Ostensible: Manohar’s ostensible job was to guard the building at night.