CAT 2024 Slot 3 Question Paper

Let's evaluate the given choices and check if they are consistent with the information in the passage -

Option A: According to the passage, this is not true. The author emphasises that Moutai deliberately avoids targeting the middle class, as the competition in that market is intense, and instead focuses on the super-rich. This suggests that marketing to the middle class is not as lucrative or straightforward as it might appear.

Option B: The passage mentions that the Chinese government is Moutai's largest shareholder and potentially plays a role in controlling the prices of products, which is a key factor for any firm in this market to consider. Furthermore, the author discusses how the government might further interfere with the operations in this space: [“... in what some see as a travesty of corporate governance, its majority owner has plans to set up its own sales channel ...”]

Option C: The author highlights that the premium market in China is still growing and not overcrowded with luxury brands, indicating a potential opportunity for firms targeting high-end consumers.

Option D: The passage states that many firms have failed in their attempt to cater to the middle class due to fierce competition. This is a valid consideration for any firm looking to enter the market.

Hence, Option A is the correct choice.

To determine where the given sentence fits best, we must consider the logical flow of ideas between sentences. The sentence in question provides important historical and contextual information about the photograph. The author begins by describing the image and ends the paragraph by mentioning the official title of the photo. While sentences offering historical context are typically placed at the beginning, inserting the sentence in either Blank 1 or 2 would create a disruption in the flow of the image's description. This suggests that the sentence must fit in either Blank 3 or 4. Offering contextual information after mentioning the title at the end seems odd; thus, we can eliminate Blank 4. 

When we refocus on Blank 3, we see that by this point in the paragraph, the author has just described the soldiers from the South Vietnamese Army’s 25th Division following behind the children. This sets up a moment of helplessness that emphasises the chaos and brutality of the scene. The sentence about the trauma and violence of the war logically follows the description of the soldiers because it explains the broader implications of the photo’s content, providing a context for the violence and its far-reaching consequences. After discussing the soldiers, the sentence connects the personal and immediate suffering in the photograph with the larger scope of the Vietnam War’s impact, which then leads into the official title of the photograph. The official title, "The Terror of War," is directly linked to the broader theme of violence and destruction that the sentence describes. Thus, the given sentence naturally sets the stage for introducing the official title and the iconic nickname, "Napalm Girl," ensuring a smooth and coherent transition.

Hence, Option C is the correct choice. 

The question asks us to identify the hypothetical scenario that does not reflect the kind of loss described in the passage. The passage discusses cultural, ecological, and intellectual losses caused by language extinction, including the loss of:

• Unique cultural expressions (e.g., music, art, and emotions tied to language).
• Knowledge about the environment (e.g., relationships between plants and illness).
• Worldviews and philosophical insights.

We need to identify a scenario that doesn’t align with these themes. Let us examine the options based on this understanding -

Option A: This scenario reflects the loss of unique cultural knowledge - in this case, the ability to describe the “20 different moods of the ocean,” which likely represents detailed ecological and environmental understanding.

Option B: This scenario focuses on some form of administrative or statistical change in a government list; the focus is not on the cultural, ecological, or intellectual loss emphasised in the passage. Therefore, the option does not reflect the deeper, humanity-wide loss described in the passage.

Option C: This scenario aligns with the loss of unique cultural concepts and the emotional depth tied to a word or phrase. In the author’s perspective, losing this concept would diminish humanity's understanding of the complexity of human relationships.

Option D: This scenario reflects the loss of ecological knowledge about snow textures, which likely has practical implications for living in the Arctic environment. This aligns with the passage's discussion of losing environmental wisdom when languages die.

Hence, Option B is the correct choice. 

The central idea of the passage is that endangered languages, as carriers of unique cultural perspectives and human knowledge, must be preserved to benefit humanity. The author argues that liberal arts education plays a vital role in this preservation, both by fostering global citizenship and by encouraging some individuals to directly engage in preservation efforts. Liberal arts education, as framed in the passage, sensitises students to cultural diversity and equips them with the tools to support endangered languages and cultures.

We observe that Option B, however, directly undermines this central idea by redefining the focus of liberal arts education. Requiring fluency in two of the most widely spoken global languages (e.g., English, Spanish, Mandarin) would prioritise dominant languages rather than endangered ones. This hypothetical scenario shifts resources and attention away from the preservation of linguistic diversity, which is central to the passage's argument. Such a requirement would reinforce the dominance of already powerful languages, the very phenomenon identified as a major “language killer” in the passage. By institutionalizing the focus on dominant languages, it would erode the argument that liberal arts education fosters support for endangered languages and cultural preservation, ultimately weakening the role of liberal arts in addressing language extinction.

In contrast, the remaining choices either align with the discussion or do not serve as strong counterarguments to the points presented in the passage. For instance, Option A acknowledges that most liberal arts students will not directly engage in language preservation but does not challenge the broader idea that liberal arts education fosters empathy and support for endangered languages. Option C limits the long-term success of language preservation but does not negate its immediate benefits or the potential for renewal in subsequent generations. Similarly, Option D highlights a limitation of recording dying languages but does not undermine the broader argument that documentation is a valuable and necessary tool in preservation.

The passage highlights the widespread extinction of indigenous languages in North America due to colonisation, physical annihilation, and assimilation policies while noting slightly better survival rates in Central and South America. It implies that language survival may be influenced by factors such as social policies, cultural integration, and the extent of physical and cultural displacement.

Evaluating the choices, we note that Option A is plausible since allowing children to stay with families would help preserve native languages, unlike the North American policy of removing children to boarding schools, as discussed in the passage. Option B is also reasonable, as less effective assimilation efforts by colonial governments could lead to better language retention. Option C also aligns with the passage’s context, as it discusses physical annihilation as a significant driver of language extinction, but the survival rate being slightly better in South America could suggest marginally less physical annihilation.

However, Option D is problematic; while providing locals with jobs in the colonial administration might seem like a factor that supports language retention, this scenario is not consistent with the passage. The passage emphasises that dominant languages often replace indigenous ones through socio-economic pressures, and employment in colonial administration would likely reinforce the use of the dominant language rather than preserve native languages.

Hence, Option D is the best choice.

The author discusses how a liberal arts education, combined with participation in language preservation efforts, empowers students in several significant ways. He highlights that such an education broadens students' cultural understanding, helps them communicate across linguistic barriers (Option A), and enables them to gain insights into both their own and others' cultures (Option D). Option B is an implicit aspect of this discussion. The passage also suggests that some students may even become involved in active language preservation, though it emphasises that the majority might not pursue this path.  Contrarily, Option C is not explicitly mentioned or understood: while the passage provides examples of communities that have established such schools, it does not suggest that students themselves will take on this role.

Option C is the correct answer. This option best captures the essence of the passage. The tradwife’s embrace of traditional roles and vintage fashion naturally contrasts with and highlights the superficiality of modern life. The passage emphasizes that she is not overtly critiquing society but rather embodying a regressive ideal that challenges contemporary norms. This fits with how the passage describes her actions—her existence itself is a challenge to modern societal expectations.

Option A:The passage does not suggest that the tradwife is actively critiquing modern society. Instead, the tradwife embodies a lifestyle and set of ideals that are in contrast to contemporary values. The critique comes from others' reactions to her behavior, not from her intentions. 

Option B: The passage does not show her as actively trying to expose or mock anything. She simply lives in a way that contrasts with modern expectations. The "mockery" is a reaction from others, not her goal. Therefore, this option overstates her intentions.

Option D: This focuses on the tradwife's dress and adherence to traditional roles as the means of revealing modern life’s artificial nature. While the tradwife does embody these traditional values, the passage is more focused on how her actions highlight societal superficiality rather than "revealing" it. Additionally, the passage suggests that her behaviour is not an overt revelation but rather something that others react to—making this option somewhat distorted.

The passage contrasts the personal, introspective nature of lyric poetry with Marxism's outward focus on societal change. At first glance, the characteristics of lyric poetry - being personal, small-scale, and idiosyncratic - seem incompatible with Marxism's demand for a transformative critique of an unjust society. However, the passage introduces a nuanced perspective within Marxist thought, which recognises lyric poetry as having an implicit critical and utopian function. Through its imaginative and alternative modes of perception, lyric poetry can challenge dominant ideologies and suggest a vision of resistance to oppression. Thus, while lyric poetry does not directly engage with large-scale social concerns, it can still align with Marxist ideals by offering subtle forms of critique and hope for change. Option C most effectively captures this idea.

None of the other choices present a valid interpretation of the passage. For instance, Option A oversimplifies the issue by portraying lyric poetry as merely ‘utopian,” ignoring its critical and resistant potential as described in the passage. It misses the nuanced compatibility suggested between lyric poetry and Marxism. Option B inaccurately suggests that Marxism has “internal contradictions,” which is not the focus of the passage. Similarly, Option D frames Marxism as dismissive of lyric poetry, ignoring the strand of Marxist thought that finds value in poetry's alternative perspectives; this misrepresentation makes it a weaker summary.

A good starting point here would be to link sentences 5 and 3 based on the idea of “pruning.” Sentence 5 talks about the synaptic development that occurs during the early period described in sentences 4 and 2. It describes how synapses are initially overproduced, a concept that sets up the next part of the process: synaptic pruning. Sentence 3 continues this discussion by offering an explanation for why synapses are pruned: to reinforce the necessary connections and eliminate the weaker ones. This helps to fine-tune the brain’s wiring, ensuring that the important pathways are retained while the less useful ones are discarded. Together, 5-3 ties in with the broader purpose of neural wiring presented in Sentence 2: it emphasises that the creation of neural connections in the fetus is a preparatory stage and that these connections are essential for the future performance of the visual system. Sentence 4 sets the context of the paragraph: it mentions the formation of neural connections before birth, specifically focusing on the connections between the eyes and the brain.

While Sentence 1 provides a technical description of synapse creation and function, it doesn’t fit the broader context set by sentences 4, 2, 5, and 3. These sentences focus on brain development (especially related to vision) and the process of synapse formation and pruning in a developmental context. Sentence 1 focuses on the structural aspect of synapse formation (the “specialized structures” at the terminal end of an axon), which is more about how a synapse functions at a microscopic level rather than the larger developmental or functional role synapses play in early brain development, as discussed in the other sentences.

Therefore, Sentence 1 is the odd one out.

The passage discusses the challenges of regulating innovations in biotechnology. It highlights two key issues: (i) current regulations are outdated and insufficient for new biological advancements, and (ii) the unpredictable nature of living entities and rapid technological changes make it difficult to design a regulatory framework that anticipates all risks and contingencies. The core question is whether regulation can ever keep pace with the unpredictable and unique outcomes of biotechnology. Option C correctly touches upon these ideas.

The other options are either too narrow or miss the essence. Option A focuses on calibration and scientists' roles, which is not the central concern of the passage. Similarly, Option B highlights the urgency for new rules but omits the skepticism about achieving comprehensive regulation. Option D overemphasises the impossibility of imagining all risks without addressing the need for flexibility in regulations.

Hence, Option C is the best choice.