Free Reading Comprehension Set I - 09 Practice Test - CAT 

Question 1

The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following? 

A. Evaluating two competing technologies
B. Tracing the impact of a new technology by narrating a sequence of events
C. Reinterpreting an event from contemporary business history
D. Illustrating a business strategy by means of a case history

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. In the first paragraph, the author outlines a business strategy, “developing integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution.” The rest of the passage discusses the rivalry between Beta and VHS producers for control of the global VCR market, an illustration of the use of this strategy by VHS producers. The author briefly evaluates the two competing technologies and traces the impact of each on the market, but neither of these is the  passage’s primary concern, so A and B are incorrect.
Choice C is incorrect because no events are reinterpreted in the passage.

Question 2

According to the passage, today’s successful firms, unlike successful firms in the past, may earn the greatest profits by:

A. investing in research to produce cheaper versions of existing technology.
B. being the first to market a competing technology.
C. adapting rapidly to a technological standard previously set by a competing firm.
D. emphasizing the development of methods for the mass production and distribution of a new technology.

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. The passage sets up a contrast with “traditional” ways to benefit from marketing a product by stating that market place success based on leadership in “mass production and distribution” is characteristic of today’s companies, not those of the past.
Choice B is incorrect because it describes the way in which companies have achieved success in the past.
Choices A and C are incorrect: they present ways of earning profits that are not discussed in the passage.

Question 3

According to the passage, consumers began to develop a preference for VCR’s in the VHS format because they believed which of the following?

A. VCR’s in the VHS format were technically better than competing-format VCR’s
B. VCR’s in the VHS format were less expensive than competing-format VCR’s
C. VHS was the first standard format for VCR’s
D. VHS prerecorded videotapes were more available than Beta-format tapes

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. The passage states that the “perception among consumers that prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS format further expanded VHS’s share of the market”.
None of the information given in the passage suggests that consumers thought the VHS-format was technically better (A) or less expensive than Beta (B).
Nor does the passage indicate that consumers believed that VHS-format VCR’s were the first on the market (C).

Question 4

The author implies that one way that VHS producers won control over the VCR market was by:

A. carefully restricting access to VCR technology.
B. giving up a slight early lead in VCR sales in order to improve long-term prospects.
C. retaining a strict monopoly on the production of prerecorded videotapes.
D. Sharing control of the marketing of VHS-format VCR’s.

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. VHS producers formed “strategic alliances with other producers and distributors” that helped manufacture and market their product, whereas Beta manufacturers “were reluctant to form such alliances and eventually lost ground”.
Choice A is incorrect because it describes the strategy used by Beta producers.
Choice B is incorrect because, although VHS producers held an early lead in sales, they did not give up their advantage.
Choice C is also incorrect: the passage states that VHS manufacturers took advantage of “strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes”, but no mention is made of a strict VHS monopoly on such tapes.

Question 5

The alignment of producers of VHS-format VCR’s with producers of prerecorded videotapes is most similar to which of the following?

A. The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with another automobile manufacturer to adopt a standard design for automobile engines.
B. The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with an automotive glass company whereby the manufacturer agrees to purchase automobile windshields only from that one glass company.
C. The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with a petroleum company to ensure the widespread availability of the fuel required by a new type of engine developed by the manufacturer.
D. The alignment of an automobile dealer with an automobile rental chain to adopt a strategy for an advertising campaign to promote a new type of automobile.

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The best answer is C. The alliances formed by VHS producers with videotape manufacturers created partnerships between companies whose products were mutually interdependent. Choice (C), an alignment with the producer of a complementary product that is necessary for the original product to function correctly, offers the closest analogy.
An alignment between manufacturers of competing products (A) is not analogous, nor is an alignment with a parts manufacturer (B).
Choice (D) describe alignments with companies that distribute and market the product and are similar to some of the strategic alliances formed by VHS producers, but not to their alignment with videotape producers.

Question 6

Which of the following best describes the relation of the first paragraph to the passage as a whole?

A. It makes a general observation to be exemplified.
B. It outlines a process to be analyzed.
C. It advances an argument to be disputed.
D. It introduces conflicting arguments to be reconciled.

SOLUTION

Solution : A

The best answer is A. In the first paragraph, the author presents a general observation about contemporary business; the rest of the passage narrates a specific series of recent events concerning two companies in particular. The story of these companies serves as an example that illustrates the observation being made in the first paragraph of the passage.
Choices B and C can be eliminated because the author does not advance an argument.
Although the passage does advance an argument, the author does not anticipate that the conclusions being drawn will be disputed, so choice D is also incorrect.

Question 7

According to the passage, which of the following is a characteristic that distinguishes electroreceptors from tactile receptors?

A. The manner in which electroreceptors respond to electrical stimuli.
B. The tendency of electroreceptors to be found in clusters.
C. The unusual locations in which electroreceptors are found in most species.
D. The amount of electrical stimulation required to excite electroreceptors.

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. According to the passage, the electrorecepors in the snouts of spiny anteaters responds to extremely weak electrical fields. The author of the passage contrasts these electroreceptors with tactile receptors, stating that it takes field strengths “about 1,000 times greater than those known to excite electroreceptors” to excite the tactile receptors on an anteater’s snout. The passage does not contrast the two types of receptors with regard to the characteristics mentioned in choices A, B and C.

Question 8

Which of the following can be inferred about the experiment described in the first paragraph?

A. Researchers had difficulty verifying the existence of electroreceptors in the anteater because electroreceptors respond to such a narrow range of electrical field strengths.
B. Researchers found that the level of nervous activity in the anteater’s brain increased dramatically as the strength of the electrical stimulus was increased.
C. Researchers found that some areas of the anteater’s snout were not sensitive to a weak electrical stimulus.
D. Researchers tested small areas of the anteater’s snout in order to ensure that only electroreceptors were responding to the stimulus.

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The best answer is C. In the experiment described in the first passage, researchers described the electroreceptors in the anteater’s snout as “clustered” at the tip. Thus, it can be inferred that nervous activity was not recorded across the entire snout, but only in certain areas. Therefore, some areas of the snout, including those containing the tactile receptors, were not stimulated by the weak fields used in the experiment, as choice C suggests.
There is no information in the description of the experiment provided in the passage to suggest A, B or D.

Question 9

The author of the passage most probably discusses the function of tactile receptors as indicated in the lines of the passage by (*) in order to:

A. eliminate and alternative explanation of anteaters’ response to electrical stimuli.
B. highlight a type of sensory organ that has a function identical to that of electroreceptors.
C. point out a serious complication in the research on electroreceptors in anteaters.
D. suggest that tactile receptors assist electroreceptors in the detection of electrical signals.

SOLUTION

Solution : A

The best answer is A. Because tactile receptors also respond to electrical stimulation, the researchers’ conclusion that electroreceptors exist is valid only if it can be demonstrated that the nervous activity recorded in the anteater’s brain did not originate in the tactile receptors.
There is no indication in the passage that tactile receptors function like electroreceptors (B) or that tactile receptors assist electroreceptors (D).
There is no information in the passage to suggest that the presence of tactile receptors complicated research onelectroreceptors, so (C) is not correct.

Question 10

Which of the following can be inferred about anteaters from the behavioral experiment mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. They are unable to distinguish between stimuli detected by their electroreceptors and stimuli detected by their tactile receptors.
B. They are unable to distinguish between the electrical signals emanating from termite mounds and those emanating from ant nests.
C. They can be trained to recognize consistently the presence of a particular stimulus.
D. They are more efficient at detecting stimuli in a controlled environment than in a natural environment.

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The best answer is C. The passage states that anteaters were “successfully trained” by researchers “to distinguish between two troughs of water,” only one of which had an electrical field.
Choices A, B, D can be eliminated because they present hypotheses about anteater behavior that were not tested in the experiment and are not discussed in the passage.

Question 11

The passage suggests that the researchers mentioned in the second paragraph who observed anteaters break into a nest of ants would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

A. The event they observed provides conclusive evidence that anteaters use their electroreceptors to locate unseen prey.
B. The event they observed was atypical and may not reflect the usual hunting practices of anteaters.
C. It is likely that the anteaters located the ants’ nesting chambers without the assistance of electroreceptors
D. The speed with which the anteaters located their prey is greater than what might be expected on the basis of chance alone.

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The best answer is D. The last sentence in the passage implies that the researchers believed that the anteaters’ locating of their unseen prey was too prompt and too deliberate to be accidental.
Choice A is incorrect: researchers were unable to confirm that the anteaters’ favorite prey, termites, emitted electrical signals, and the observation of anteaters locating ants’ nesting chambers “suggests”,rather than proves conclusively, that anteaters use their electroreceptors to find prey.
Choice B is incorrect because here is no indication in the passage that researchers believed that the anteaters’ behavior was a typical. Choice C is incorrect because, according to passage, the researchers believed that the anteaters “were using their electroreceptorsto locate the nesting chambers”.

Question 12

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the hypothesis mentioned in lines of the passage indicated by : (**)?

A. Researchers are able to train anteaters to break into an underground chamber that is emitting a strong electrical signal.
B. Researchers are able to detect a weak electrical signal emanating from the nesting chamber of an ant colony.
C. Anteaters are observed taking increasingly longer amounts of time to locate the nesting chambers of ants.
D. Anteaters are observed using the same angle used with nests of ants to break into the nests of other types of prey.

SOLUTION

Solution : B

The best answer is B. The researchers’ hypothesis is “that anteaters use electroreceptors to detect electrical signals given off by prey.” Evidence that electrical signals emanate from the nesting chamber of an ant colony-on which anteaters are known to prey-would strengthen the hypothesis.
Choice C may actually weaken the hypothesis: the passage implies that the rapidity with which anteaters were able to locate ants’ nesting chambers suggested to researchers that anteaters were using electroreceptors to locate prey.
Choice A and D provide evidence that does not strengthen the hypothesis.