Free Reading Comprehension Set II - 06 Practice Test - CAT 

Question 1

The New York bankers counted on

A. Current market value
B. Confidence
C. The number of sell orders
D. Their own reputation

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The answer is D. The passage says ,“they were counting on their reputations to restore the confidence”, making option D the obvious choice.

Question 2

The cause of downfall of share market was

A. Inexperienced investors
B. Phenomenal decrease
C. Lack of confidence in stock market’s ability
D. Panic amongst investors.

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The answer is C. The passage starts off saying that traders experienced a lack of confidence in the stock market’s ability to continue its phenomenal rise which leads to a fall in prices. Hence C is the best option.D is wrong as panic was the result of fall in prices.

Question 3

Choose the word in the passage that is an antonym of “minimal”

A. negligible
B. minimum
C. maximal
D. significant

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The answer is D.
Minimal as in “the buy orders were minimal” means not so significant or adequate. Hence significant is the best fit. Maximal means the “maximum possible”, which is not suitable here

Question 4

According to the author, sex selection is

A. higher in India when compared to that of China
B. higher in richer areas than in poorer areas
C. is well controlled in China
D. higher in Tibet than in Shanghai

SOLUTION

Solution : B

Option (b).

The author says “richer areas have more sex selection than poorer ones and sex selection tends to rise as countries get richer”. He then gives the example of Shanghai and Tibet in support of his stand. Hence option (b).

Question 5

  The main theme of the passage is

A. Despite efforts to control sex-selective abortion, results have not been favourable in Asian countries, especially India and China
B. India and China are the only countries where the practice of sex selection still prevails
C. Sex-selective abortion depends on the economic prosperity
D. China has been able to handle the issue of sex-selective abortion better than India

SOLUTION

Solution : A

Option (a).

The author starts of the passage saying “the march of sex-selective abortion in Asia seems relentless”. He then moves on to tell that economic prosperity in fact has not resulted in improvement of sex ratio. In the last paragraph, he says “Both countries have been campaigning against sex-selective abortion for years. All, it seems, to no avail”. Hence option (a). The author does not state that sex- selective abortion is prevalent only in India and China.

Question 6

In the context, “abysmal” most nearly means 

A. very deep
B. encouraging
C. appalling
D. excellent

SOLUTION

Solution : C

Option (c)

Abysmal, its meaning is very deep or extremely bad. The author talks about the sex ratio being abysmal. So the meaning- ‘very deep’ does not fit in this case . ‘Appalling’ means causing dismay or shock. This is synonymous with abysmal and also fits in meaning wise. Hence option (c)

Question 7

Opportunity offered to Subwood ltd. is primarily on account of

A. the state-of-art technology from Sweden
B. environmental protection gaining momentum
C. the usage of agro-based raw material
D. wide usage of MDF in all sectors

SOLUTION

Solution : B

Option (b). The answer is based on the first line of the paragraph. Because of this, usage of natural wood is decreasing leaving a wide space for MDF boards

Question 8

The strength of Subwood MDF is primarily

A. its contribution to control deforestation
B. its wide usage
C. its effectiveness in being a substitute of wood
D. its great potential

SOLUTION

Solution : C

Option (c). refer first sentence of the second paragraph

Question 9

The most promising consumer for Subwood ltd. is the

A. building industry
B. middle income class
C. high income class
D. low income strata

SOLUTION

Solution : A

Option (a).Refer the fourth sentence of the last paragraph.

Question 10

According to the passage, which of the following statements is/are true?
I) The clock is people’s oldest invention.
II) Sundials were the first kind of clock that people invented.
III) Mechanical clocks contain gears.

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D. I and II only

SOLUTION

Solution : C

 The correct answer is C.

I) Incorrect-the author says “The clock is a very old invention,” he does not state that the clock is people’s oldest invention.

II) Incorrect. While the para states that “Sundials were used in ancient times,” there is no mention of whether it was the oldest type of clock.

III) Correct. The author states that “Mechanical clocks appeared in the 13th century in Europe. They work with a system of moving gears.”

Question 11

What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

A. Why clocks are used
B. How sundials work
C. How hourglasses are similar to candle clocks
D. What types of clocks have been invented

SOLUTION

Solution : D

The correct answer is D. The paragraph is a listing of various types of clocks and how they work.

Question 12

 “Auditory clocks use language to tell the time aloud”, auditory most closely means

A. related to machines
B. related to numbers
C. related to hearing
D. related to moving parts

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The correct answer is C.The passage states that “Auditory clocks use language to tell the time aloud,”and hearing the sense which would be associated with time told aloud, it is very likely that the word auditory is related to hearing.We can easily eliminate all the other options

Question 13

The passage is primarily concerned with

A. describing the effects of human activities on algae in coral reefs
B. explaining how human activities are posing a threat to coral reef communities
C. discussing the process by which coral reefs deteriorate in nutrient-poor waters
D. explaining how coral reefs produce food for themselves

SOLUTION

Solution : B

 Option B

“Unfortunately for coral reefs, however, a variety of human activities are causing worldwide degradation of shallow marine habitats by adding nutrients to the water….” The author’s views are clear in the above lines where he tries to cite out the human activities which have resulted to be a threat for the corals as slash-and-burn land clearing and sewage disposal. Although the author mentions how coral reefs produce food for themselves, that is not the central idea and hence option D is wrong. The author does not discuss deterioration about algae, option A is eliminated. Coral reefs do not deteriorate in nutrient poor waters. Option C is incorrect.

Question 14

The passage suggests which of the following about coral reef communities?

A. Coral reef communities may actually be more likely to thrive in waters that are relatively low in nutrients.
B. The nutrients on which coral reef communities thrive are only found in shallow waters.
C. Human population growth has led to changing ocean temperatures, which threatens coral reef communities.
D. The growth of coral reef communities tends to destabilize underwater herbivore populations.

SOLUTION

Solution : A

 Option A

“How do clear, and thus nutrient-poor, waters support such prolific and productive communities?” This is the first question that arises in the author’s mind when he thinks about the corals. On his intent to find out the answer, he discovered that the corals produce food for themselves through the zooxanthellae algae using the metabolic wastes of themselves and hence they actually thrive in water that are relatively low in nutrients. He also explains that human activities increase nutrient content in these waters and degradation of shallow waters and hence cause deterioration of coral reefs. So we can conclude that coral reef communities may actually be more likely to thrive in waters that are relatively low in nutrients.

Question 15

According to the passage, which of the following is a factor that is threatening the survival of coral reef communities?

A. The waters they inhabit contain few nutrient resources
B. A decline in nutrient input is disrupting their symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae.
C. The degraded waters of their marine habitats have reduced their ability to carry out photosynthesis.
D. Waste by-products result in an increase in nutrient input to reef communities.

SOLUTION

Solution : D

 Option D

The author says that human activities such as agriculture, slash-and-burn land clearing, sewage disposal and manufacturing create waste by-products and increase nutrient loads in these waters thereby threatening reef communities sensitive to subtle changes in nutrient input to their waters. Option (D) is the obvious choice