CAT 2024 Slot 2 Question Paper

D) Option 2 is the correct answer.

The given sentence effectively bridges the opening complaints with the positive news about the benefits of being a night owl, reinforcing the idea that science supports the idea of night owls being "superior." This creates a smooth transition to the explanation of the study that follows.

A) Option 4: Placing the sentence at the end of the paragraph would seem a bit disconnected. The paragraph is already wrapping up with the mention of the study, and adding a bold claim of "superiority" at the end feels less impactful.

B) Option 3: This would place the sentence just before the study is mentioned. However, the sentence about "scientific superiority" would disrupt the flow here. The study is the moment when the night owl's position is validated, so introducing the idea of "superiority" immediately before the study would feel forced and out of place.

C) Option 1: This would place the sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, right after the opening line. However, the sentence about scientific superiority seems premature here, as the paragraph is still setting up the context for the night owls’ grievances. It would be too early in the paragraph to claim "superiority" without first addressing the negative stereotypes, making this placement less effective.

Sentence 2 is the odd one out.

Sequence 1435 forms a coherent paragraph:

Sentence 1 introduces the debate about gender being influenced by both biological and social factors. It sets the tone for the paragraph, addressing the complexity of gender.
Sentence 4 follows logically from Sentence 1. After introducing the complexity of gender, it suggests that, even with the acknowledgment of both nature and nurture, researchers studying gender's biological basis still face political challenges.
Sentence 3 builds on Sentence 4, highlighting why researchers studying the biological aspects of gender face resistance. The public discomfort with viewing gender as more than just a social construct is explained.
Sentence 5 connects to Sentence 3 by elaborating on the political preference for viewing gender purely as a social construct, reinforcing the challenges faced by researchers advocating for a more nuanced view of gender.

Sentence 2 doesn't fit in the context of the paragraph. The rest of the sentences are focused on the complexities of gender as a mix of nature and nurture and the political and societal challenges researchers face. Sentence 2 shifts the focus to the issue of sexism, which, while related to gender, does not directly tie into the previous sentences discussing the nature vs. nurture debate and the political resistance to biological explanations.

Evaluation of options:

Option 1: The given sentence would feel disjointed here. The sentence before Blank 1 talks about the exchanges in the year 1000, and then the phrase "These exchanges" in the next sentence directly refers to those early global interactions. Inserting the sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization here would disrupt the flow, as it shifts the focus to European involvement too early and interrupts the natural transition from the earlier exchanges.

Option 2:The sentence doesn’t fit here because the paragraph is discussing the opening of global routes through the exchanges before Columbus. The sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization would break the flow, as it introduces an idea that contradicts the continuity of thought about the routes and exchanges leading up to 1492. The transition between the sentences before and after Blank 2 is smooth, and inserting the sentence would disrupt that.

Option 3: The given sentence fits here, especially since the previous sentence talks about the travelers of 1000 being much closer technologically. The sentence about the Europeans not inventing globalization reinforces that these global exchanges were already in place, and the next sentence, which talks about how these exchanges were changed and augmented by Europeans, fits logically after the given sentence. This creates a natural progression of ideas from the historical exchanges to the European influence.

Option 4: While the sentence might seem to fit here, this part is more focused on how things evolved after 1000. It discusses changes and developments that took place over time, particularly after the initial exchanges. The sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization would shift the focus too much from the evolution and changes happening after 1000, making it less coherent in this context.

Therefore, Option 3 is the best fit because it connects logically with both the idea of technological closeness and the shift in influence after 1000.

Option D accurately captures the essence of the passage by summarizing the two main components of information warfare described within the DIME model. The passage emphasizes how governments engage in information warfare as part of their broader strategy, which includes routine monitoring of telecom data and communication networks.

This surveillance allows governments to control and manipulate information. In addition, the passage highlights the role of cyber troops, government-backed teams tasked with manipulating public opinion on social media using tactics such as spreading false information and targeted advertising.

Option A: This option incorrectly focuses on open data policies being used to deploy cyber troops, which the passage does not emphasize.

Option B: This misses the focus on the monitoring of telecom data and networks, which is a key part of the passage.

Option C: This is incorrect because it introduces military operations as a separate concept, whereas the passage emphasizes that military, along with diplomacy, information, and economics, is part of the DIME model. The primary focus of the passage is on information warfare and how governments use cyber troops and monitor telecom data to influence public opinion. While military actions are part of the broader DIME framework, the passage is specifically concerned with the use of information tactics, not military operations on their own.

Option D best captures the essence of the passage.

John Cleese argues that comedians need freedom to be creative and that fear of offending people or worrying about the consequences of what they say hinders their ability to be original. He highlights how modern comedians often second-guess themselves, which stifles their creativity. This option directly reflects the main idea of the passage, which stresses the importance of freedom and creativity in comedy, while warning against the fear that stifles innovation.

Option A: While Cleese advocates for freedom in comedy, he doesn't say that comedians "must go where no one has gone before," which is more of an extreme interpretation than the essence of the passage.

Option B: This option focuses too much on the relationship between creativity and critical thinking. The passage is more about how fear of offending hinders creativity, not about creativity being incompatible with critical thinking.

Option C: This focuses on the "death of the art form," but Cleese's main point is about how fear of repercussions impacts creativity, not about the art form dying as such.

Evaluation of the options:

Option 1: The sentence starting with "Yet each day..." would not fit here. This part of the paragraph is still introducing Kervran’s initial observations about the hens. The focus is on the strange behavior of the hens in relation to mica, not yet the outcome (calcareous eggs). Inserting this sentence here would seem out of place and disrupt the flow of the paragraph. It would feel disjointed because the paragraph hasn't yet explained the significance of the eggs.

Option 2: The sentence wouldn't fit here either. Here, the paragraph is still describing the hens' behavior of pecking at mica, and inserting the sentence about eggs would shift the focus. The focus here is on what the hens are doing (pecking mica), and the sentence about eggs feels disconnected from this point in the narrative. It doesn’t flow with the idea of their actions related to mica, and thus, it would seem disjointed.

Option 3:  The sentence about the eggs fits perfectly here because it explains a key element of the puzzle: the hens are producing eggs with calcareous shells despite not having an obvious source of calcium. This provides an important piece of information that explains why Kervran was puzzled in the first place. It ties directly to the anomaly he is investigating. It flows naturally with the narrative, as the sentence adds to the mystery that Kervran is trying to solve.

Option 4: It won't fit here as the paragraph has already shifted to Kervran's conclusion about the hens’ behavior. Inserting the sentence about the eggs here would introduce new information too late and disrupt the focus on Kervran's final findings. It would feel out of place in the context of the paragraph’s progression.

Therefore, The sentence fits best in Option 3. It helps to explain Kervran's puzzling observations and contributes to the mystery that he's trying to solve, all while maintaining a smooth narrative flow. The other options either disrupt the flow or introduce new information too soon or too late.

Option B is the correct answer. This is not an externality because it refers to the original intended use of air-conditioning. Willis Carrier invented air-conditioning specifically to ensure cool, dry air for factories with low-humidity requirements.

The other options are externalities:

Option A: This is clearly an unintended consequence. CFCs were initially used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, but their long-term environmental impact (ozone depletion) was not anticipated.

Option C: The Jacquard loom, originally a mechanical device for weaving patterns in fabric, led to the development of programmable machines, which had far-reaching effects on modern computing — an unintended consequence of the loom's invention.

Option D: Edison’s phonograph was originally designed for dictation, but it ended up being adapted for music recording — another example of an unintended consequence.

Option B is the correct answer. The first paragraph sets the stage by discussing how technological or industrial advances are often accompanied by unintended consequences or secondary effects, which may not be fully understood or predictable at the time of the invention. The passage gives the example of the printing press, which led to unexpected developments such as the creation of spectacles, and later, the telescope and microscope. This reflects the idea that the true impact of a technological advance often extends far beyond its original intent, and those consequences are not immediately apparent.

Option A: This suggests that secondary effects are mostly beneficial, which is not the central point of the first paragraph. While some secondary effects may be beneficial, the focus is more on the unpredictability and far-reaching nature of these effects, rather than their inherent benefit.

Option C: The paragraph doesn't advocate for judging inventions solely by their secondary effects but instead highlights that these effects are unpredictable and sometimes surprising. The main point is about their unpredictability, not about how to judge an invention.

Option D: While the paragraph mentions that unintended consequences can sometimes lead to other innovations, the primary focus is on the unexpected nature and long-term ripple effects of technological advances rather than on how they fuel future technologies.

Option B is the correct answer. The author mentions Carrier, Babbage, and Edison to emphasize that the inventors' original intentions were not aligned with the unexpected societal impacts their inventions had. Carrier created air-conditioning for industrial use, but it triggered a mass migration to cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Babbage's invention of a programmable loom and Edison’s phonograph were both originally intended for specific purposes (textile weaving and dictation, respectively), but they led to far-reaching technological developments in computing and music industries. The focus is on how the full consequences of their inventions were not anticipated by the inventors.

Option A: The passage does not suggest that the secondary effects of inventions mostly resulted in new inventions. Instead, the secondary effects are shown as often surprising or leading to unforeseen societal changes, rather than leading to more inventions.

Option C: The passage doesn't claim that the unintended consequences were largely beneficial. While some consequences may have been beneficial (like the telescope and microscope from the printing press), others (like climate change from industrialization) have been harmful.

Option D: This is close, but it's not the main point. The intended purpose of the inventions may have been different from their actual use, but the author’s primary argument is about how the inventors could not have predicted the full societal impacts of their inventions, rather than focusing on how inventions end up being used for different purposes.

Option A is the correct answer. The author does not state that recent advances are inherently more threatening than past ones. Instead, the passage highlights that unintended consequences (like climate change) have emerged from industrialization, which has global effects. The author suggests that the nature of technological progress (with more individuals and smaller groups able to innovate) has changed, leading to new risks. The focus is not on a comparison of "past vs. recent" as more threatening but on the unexpected global impacts of all technological advances, whether past or present. Thus, option A misrepresents the author's view.

Option B: The author would agree with this to some extent because the passage explains that Ethyl (leaded fuel) and Freon are examples of innovations whose unintended consequences stem from waste by-products. Specifically, the author mentions that these technologies caused harm due to the by-products they emitted (such as lead from fuel and chemicals from Freon), which had secondary effects on health and the environment.

Option C: This would be supported, as the author highlights how individuals or small groups can now create innovations that have global impacts, particularly in fields like biotechnology and chemistry, which was less true in the past

Option D: This would be supported, as the author suggests that the health threats of leaded fuel were visible earlier (in the 1920s), implying that they should have been addressed sooner.