Free Verbal Practice Test - CAT
Question 1
According to the passage, Apocalypse Now Redux differed from Apocalypse Now in which of the following ways?
The added footage made it less appealing to a more culturally diverse audience.
The added footage made its portrayal of war less glorified and more ambiguous.
The added footage made its portrayal of war less harsh and more glorified.
The added footage made it more similar in tone to other war movies.
SOLUTION
Solution : B
Apocalypse Now Redux and Apocalypse Now were discussed in the final two paragraphs. In the third paragraph, Apocalypse Now is described as a film that was released years after the conflict it portrayed and had a more complex view of the war. In the last paragraph, Apocalypse Now Redux is presented as further evidence that the pattern discussed in this passage continues. That pattern is that war movies presented less glorified and more layered portrayals when the conflict was further in the past. Thus, the correct answer will note that its perspective was more complex and morally ambiguous.
(A) This choice distorts the meaning of the passage. While the last paragraph notes that film audiences are more diverse, this is not connected to the information provided about Apocalypse Now Redux.
(B) CORRECT. The last paragraph notes that the extra footage was not originally included because it might repel audiences. Thus, the updated film's portrayal of war must be less appealing and more ambiguous than that of the original.
(C) This choice indicates a change in the opposite direction; the last paragraph indicates that the additional footage made the film's perspective on war harsher as opposed to more glorified.
(D) The passage indicates that not all war movies had the same tone, and the answer choice does not specify which "other movies" are referred to. Therefore, this choice is incorrect.
Question 2
The passage implies that the combat depicted in 'All Quiet on the Western Front' least resembles the depiction of combat in which of the following?
Apocalypse Now
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Platoon
Guadalcanal Diary
SOLUTION
Solution : D
The theme of the passage is that the glory of war was emphasized in films made during the conflict but questioned in those made years afterward. In the second paragraph, All Quiet on the Western Front is cited as an example from the latter category. Therefore, its portrayal of combat would have the least in common with a film made during a conflict.
(A) In the third paragraph, Apocalypse Now is listed as a film that was made years after the conflict it portrayed and had an ambivalent attitude to its topic. Thus, it can be inferred that it would resemble All Quiet on the Western Front.
(B) In the second paragraph, The Bridge on the River Kwai is described as a film that was made years after the conflict it portrayed and showed the moral confusion of war. Thus, it can be inferred that it would resemble All Quiet on the Western Front.
(C) In the third paragraph, Platoon is described as a film that was made years after the conflict it portrayed and had an ambivalent attitude to its topic. Thus, it can be inferred that it would resemble All Quiet on the Western Front.
(D) CORRECT. In both the second and third paragraphs, Guadalcanal Diary is mentioned as a film made in wartime. In the second paragraph, it is listed as an example of a film that portrayed the “’the ultimate sacrifice’ as a noble and undoubted good.” In contrast, the first paragraph states that “All Quiet on the Western Front put forth an anti-war message by displaying the horrors of combat.”
Thus, Guadalcanal Diary must be the portrayal of combat that least resembles that in All Quiet on the Western Front.
Question 3
In the second paragraph, "the Hun” refers to which of the following?
The Huns
The Hungarians
The Austro-Hungarians
The Germans
SOLUTION
Solution : D
The second sentence of the second paragraph reads “After America declared war against Germany during World War I, the still infant film industry glorified the fight against “the Hun.” Thus, it must follow that the Germans are referred to by that name.
(A) There is no direct evidence in the passage that indicates this meaning for "the Hun." Furthermore, the use of quotation marks indicates that the reference is not literal.
(B) There is no direct evidence in the passage that indicates this meaning for "the Hun."
(C) There is no direct evidence in the passage that indicates this meaning for "the Hun." The fact that the Hungarians were then part of Austro-Hungary is outside knowledge which cannot be deduced from the passage.
(D) CORRECT. Since the passage states that America declared war on Germany, it must follow that the Germans were “the Hun” against whom America was fighting.
Question 4
What is the main point made by the author?
Hollywood has never fully supported America's armed conflicts.
In the last century, the film industry has become more culturally diverse.
An established cultural pattern is more durable than was thought during a time of social upheaval.
The film industry has only supported American military efforts during the actual conflict.
SOLUTION
Solution : C
The passage clearly enunciates in the first paragraph that it plans to illustrate the cyclical pattern of the tone of Hollywood war movies. The second and third paragraphs trace the pattern's history through the last century, and then the passage ends by returning to the resilience of that cycle. Thus, the main point of the passage must reference establishing and describing the recurring pattern over time.
(A) This choice does not address the cyclical pattern; instead, it suggests a point not made in the passage.
(B) This is a minor detail mentioned in the last paragraph, not the main point. Furthermore, this choice ignores the issue of a cyclical pattern.
(C) CORRECT. This choice reiterates the theme that a pattern is durable, despite the doubts of some during "those days of social change" -- i.e., the late 1960's. This choice exactly mirrors the structure of the passage, which makes this point, provides historical evidence, and then reiterates that the pattern continues to endure.
(D) Besides its extreme quality, this choice is incorrect because it distorts the meaning. The passage's assertion that a more nuanced view of America’s conflicts emerges in movies made years later cannot automatically be equated with a lack of support.
Question 5
What is the function of the last paragraph of the passage?
It shows that, despite changes in the industry and audience, the pattern discussed still exists.
It points out that the film industry never changes.
It shows that changes in the film industry and its audience have made the pattern previously discussed obsolete.
It discusses how Jarhead and Apocalypse Now Redux are fundamentally different from all the war movies that preceded them.
SOLUTION
Solution : A
The last paragraph begins by noting that the changes in the industry and audience have not changed the pattern discussed. The paragraph ends by stating that this aspect of the film industry, that is, the pattern discussed, remains intact. The correct answer should reflect this point.
(A) CORRECT. This choice correctly summarizes the point made in the first and last sentences of the last paragraph: that this pattern continues despite changes in the industry and audience.
(B) This choice is too extreme. The passage merely says that one pattern of the film industry has not changed. The last paragraph acknowledges that changes in the industry have occurred.
(C) This choice is incorrect as the last paragraph explicitly states that the pattern discussed largely continues.
(D) In the last paragraph, Jarhead and Apocalypse Now Redux are mentioned as examples proving that the discussed pattern continues. Thus, they cannot be fundamentally different from other war movies.
Question 6
A. In every democratic and more-or-less secular countries,
B. similar questions arise about precise extent to which religious sub-cultures
C. should be allowed to live on their own rules and laws.
D. One set of questions emerge when believers demand, and often get,
E. an opt-out from the law of the land.
C & E
C only
E only
B, C & E
SOLUTION
Solution : C
All statements are grammatically incorrect except for statement E. Statement B is wrong as it should be "the precise extent”. Statement C should be "live by their own rules and laws”. Statement D should be "one set of questions emerges”. A is wrong by all options. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
Question 7
A. What lies in this loss of faith?
B. One cause is the feeling that an overly loose monetary policy got the economy into this mess.
C. Repeated cuts in interest rates during the last downturn, while in 2000-03, fuelled the
D. housing and credit bubbles that are now bursting to such damaging affect.
E. The legacies of that boom--falling asset prices, high consumer debt and bank losses--may now hamper the ability of central banks to prop the spending.
A & B
B, C & E
C & D
B only
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Option: (D)
Statement A is incorrect due to the usage of the phrase "lies in this loss of faith”. This phrase does not make any sense. Statement C is wrong as it should be, "last downturn, in 2000-2003”. Statement D is incorrect as in should be "effect” and not "affect”. Statement E is wrong because the phrase "prop the spending” does not make sense. Hence only B is correct.
Question 8
A. The warm January weather may have
B. melted the snow in Davos, but the growing prospect of catastrophic wars
C. over water shortages were this year's biggest climate-change related worry.
D. Special mention: Coca-Cola, which is doing its bit for creative capitalism with an
E. extensive programme to protect water supplies to the developing world.
A, B & D
B, C & D
B only
D only
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Option: (A)
The phrase "biggest climate change related worry” in statement C makes it wrong. This phrase is not right in written English. In statement E it should be "in the developing world”. Hence only A, B and D are correct.
Question 9
A. The charming headwaiter answered our questions very politely.
B. There were so many young long-legged waiters that they were in danger of running into each other as my companion and I considered the overheads.
C. These boys have taken the place of the middle-aged women in white overalls with a lot of Nanny about them who used to serve the excellent plain English nursery food in a plain English nursery way.
D. We enquired about the number of covers, the existence of a private room and many other questions about the cuisine and service.
E. He may have smelt a rat and guessed that we were from one of the many magazines which describe places to eat, or perhaps he just thought we were naturally curious country bumpkins on an outing.
F. Bread-and-butter pudding and raspberry crumble came as naturally to them as they do to the customers brought up on such no-frills fare.
ADEBCF
AEDCBF
ADECBF
ABCDEF
BCADFE
SOLUTION
Solution : A
option (a) This paragraph deals with visiting a restaurant and presents an account of what transpires. The first sentence mentions how the headwaiter answered a lot of questions. Out of the options, sentence D mentions what some of those questions were. Sentence E describes what could be a possible perception by "him” - which is the headwaiter and hence sentence E is next. Sentence B is one of the observations regarding the waiters and sentence C describes whom they have replaced. Sentence F finishes the author's perception of these new waiters. This makes choice (a) correct.
Question 10
A. As if being embroiled in a murderous conspiracy was not enough, there is further sadness for Harrods owner Mohammed Fayed.
B. This accusation comes from the fact that Mr. Fayed's tinned mince-pie programme has been infiltrated by a batch of rogue Bakewell tarts.
C. He has been forced to issue a product-recall notice in top people's paper the Times that may permanently damage his standing as a purveyor of culinary fancies to the aristocracy
D. What is irksome about this fact is that Bakewell tarts are a rather common form of sugary comestible; not quite the thing the purchasers of Harrods finest mince pies expect to find for pudding.
E. This news came in a full month and a bit after Christmas with the information - Bakewell tarts may contain nuts.
F. The obvious implication: that a Traditional Mince Pie with Harrods Brandy and these proletarian old Bakewell tarts are, in fact, made in the same factory.
ACBEDF
ABDECF
AEDCBF
ACEDBF
BCADEF
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Option (a) The first statement mentions a new problem that is plaguing Mohammed Fayed. Out of the options, sentence C is the most apt as it describes what this possibly could be. Sentence B starts off the accusation but doesn't describe what it is. Sentence B should follow sentence C. Sentence E then, explicates upon it by mentioning the import of the accusation. Sentence D then goes on to mention why this would irritate the Harrods customer who prides himself on being a connoisseur. Sentence F then describes it exactly.
This makes choice (a) correct.
Question 11
A. Ethnography has long been used in the academic world, and was first employed in commercial research in the 70s.
B. "I spent time with different consumers while they were shopping, cooking and eating in their own home”.
C. "Perhaps the difference now is that a great deal of market research is not conducted solely at a single point in time.”
D. Anne-Marie McDermott, managing director of Quaestor Research, points to a project 13 years ago, which looked at a new chicken-burger product.
E. "This method of conducting research was revolutionary at the time”.
F. "Researchers spend a lot of time with respondents, living in their environment - even to the point of moving in with them and sharing the experience being researched”, she says.
AEDCBF
ACDEBF
ADECBF
ADBECF
BCDFEA
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Mainstream research. Sentence D then takes it a step forward and mentions a research person who talks about how she first used it 13 years ago. The rest of the sentences are quotes made by her and are easier to understand in terms of the sequence. Sentence B then talks about her approach and sentence E is a comment on how this was perceived at the time. Sentence C is a reflective comment on how the times have changed with the last sentence F describing specific instances of the same. This makes choice (d) correct.
Question 12
The fundamental sea change in this decade is the opening of developed economies' markets to the commoditizing influence of developing economies like India and China. In response, companies jumped to innovation. But what you really have to do to fight commoditization is create sustainable differentiation, which means your competitors cannot or will not copy you. Innovation, which creates sustainable differentiation, is what you want. What most companies do, and why you have the feeling that they're just talking about it, is they innovate but they do not achieve sustainable differentiation.
Yes, they're spending a lot on research and development, but at the end of the day, they are not substantially differentiated from their competitors.
The issue has to do with, are you innovating for something that's core or context to your business model?
Instead of concentrating on a few bold ideas that could revolutionize their companies, most firms put their resources in too many places, often creating product enhancements that don't actually enhance the bottom line.
They don't drive a particular dimension of their business so far down the road that their competitors cannot or will not follow--and that is the gold standard
Enhancing the bottom line requires a market driven approach to innovation.
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Option (b) talks about innovating something core to your business model. But this is not the main issue. Hence option (b) is eliminated. Option (c) is irrelevant. It does not address the main issue. Option (d) is out of scope. Option (e) is just a general statement. It has nothing to do with the question. Option (a) addresses the main issue perfectly and says that even though the companies are spending a lot on r&d, they are not successful because they do not have substantial differentiation. Hence option (a )is the correct answer. The last sentence states that the companies do not achieve differentiation despite innovating. The correct option takes it further emphasizing the same that is, the companies spend a lot on R&D but they do not achieve differentiation.
Question 13
And you know what? Life will go on. More people may be drawn to malls nowadays. Bangaloreans lament the loss of the historic names that defined South Parade shopping for 100 years--but not enough of them have been going there. They've been going to Spencer's or Reliance or any of the other specialty and big-box retailers that don't have famous addresses and landmark status, but have been chipping away at department store sales for years. If you've lived in Bangalore for any period of time, especially if you grew up here, chances are you have a favorite memory of shopping on South Parade. You're probably thinking of homes at Diwali right now
It's a sad day for those who love Bangalore's history, and particularly for those who will lose jobs at Nature Fresh.
But times and tastes and habits change.
South Parade is a fun place to hang out again.
Two names that embodied Bangalore retailing for more than a century will disappear.
The big-box retailers are quite aggressive as compared to the departmental stores.
SOLUTION
Solution : B
Option (a) talks about losing jobs in Nature Fresh which is not mentioned in the para, so there is no logical flow. Option (c) mentions South Parade as a fun place to hang out again but the para is talking about the loss of South Parade. Options (d) an (e) are very vague and will not end the para coherently.
Hence option (b) is the correct answer. It is in keeping with the flow of the para that describes how people's taste has changed over the years from South Parade to Reliance and the like.
Question 14
Nonprofit organizations depend on two resources to fulfill their missions. One, of course, is money.The other resource - just as vital but perhaps even more scarce - is leadership. Indeed, qualified leadership candidates may be even rarer than six-figure donors.
Today, many nonprofit organizations struggle to attract and retain the talented senior executives they need to convert dollars into social impact.
During the next 10 years, the nonprofit leadership deficit will become impossible to ignore
As one highly respected executive director recently observed, "If I have the choice between spending time with a $100,000 donor or a potential candidate for a senior role, hands down it's the candidate.”
Searches for chief executive, operating, and financial officers often turn up only one to threequalified candidates, compared with four to six for comparable private-sector positions.
Many donors are least bothered where their donations are used
SOLUTION
Solution : C
The passage is talking about getting new leadership candidates whereas option (a) is talking about retaining the old ones. Option (a) is hence ruled out. Option (b) is not doing anything to take the issue presented in the paragraph further. Option (d) is irrelevant here. Option (e) talks about donations, whereas we need an answer that talks about the problem of hiring people for leadership roles. Only option (c) is relevant to the question asked. It explains through an example that leadership is more difficult to obtain than donors.
Question 15
Over the past seven years, private college tuition rates have increased, resulting in a large decrease in private college attendance across the country. Private college revenues, however, have progressively increased in each of the seven years during this period, and researches predict further increases in the years to come.
Which of the following, if true, offers the best explanation for the situation described above?
Most private colleges increase tuition rates approximately once every two years.
Attendance to vocational schools generally exceeds attendance at private colleges in most cities.
The increase in tuition rates at private colleges has influenced many prospective students to seek a state scholarship to attend a public university.
The decrease in students attending private colleges over the last seven years has been more than offset by the increase in tuition.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Here we have a specific and common kind of number question: an increase/decrease problem. The author discusses two simultaneous trends that might seem to contradict one another. Tuition has increased at private universities, leading to a decrease in enrollment - so far that's logical. However, revenue at these universities has continued to increase despite the decreased enrollment. The correct answer must offer some source of revenue that more than compensates for the decrease in revenue created by the lower enrollment. That's where (D), the correct answer, fits in: If the tuition hikes have brought in more revenue than the loss of enrollment has taken away, then it's easy to see how both trends discussed in the stimulus can simultaneously exist.
Option (A): The frequency with which private schools increase tuition doesn't seem to explain the revenue situation in the stimulus. The relevant fact is that tuitions are increasing, which triggers the rest of the argument. In what specific manner they're increasing is irrelevant.
Option (B) offers an irrelevant distinction between vocational schools and private colleges that doesn't contribute any new information to the stimulus. Vocational schools are outside the scope, which focuses only on the situation related to the decrease in enrollment at private colleges.
Option (C) tellsus what happens to some students who can no longer afford private universities. Their fate, sorry to say, doesn't matter, and again it doesn't add any new information to the scenario. We already know that enrollment decreased; this choice just gives us a human-interest story when we really know that enrollment decreased; this choice just gives us a human-interest story when we really want to know more how it's possible under these circumstances for revenues to actually increase.
Question 16
A certain laboratory is studying the incidence of fatal liver damage in rats. Sixty-five percent of all rats whose environments exposed them to low levels of the toxin sulfur dioxide died of liver disorder. Ninety percent of all rats who died of liver disorder, however, were not exposed to any environmental toxins.
Which of the following would provide a feasible explanation for the statistics above?
Environmental and non environmental causes of liver disease in rats are mutually exclusive.
There is only one cause of fatal liver disease in rats.
Environmental toxins are not particularly dangerous to the livers of rats.
Only a small portion of the entire group of rats studied was exposed to environmental sulfur dioxide.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Here's another study to ponder, and the stem alerts us to the fact that we need to find a plausible explanation for the statistics cited. The last sentence alone suggests that the stats are puzzling, or at least a bit unusual, which is reinforced by the contrast keyword however in the final sentence. So what's going on in this one? We have a significant number of rats dying of liver disorder after being exposed to sulfur dioxide, but most of the rats which died of liver disorder were not exposed to any environmental toxins. This is not unlike what we've seen previously: a situation in which what seems like the same groups are actually not. Specifically, you should have realized immediately that the 65% and the 90% figures refer to two different groups, and thus that there is no discrepancy in the statistics. The 65% figure represents all rats exposed to sulfur dioxide; 90% represents the percentage of all rats that died of liver disorder. (D) points this out. If only a small number of rats were exposed to sulfur dioxide, then it's not surprising that 90% of the rats that died of liver damage died of something other than sulfur dioxide exposure. After all, only a small number of them were exposed to sulfur dioxide in the first place. (D) wins.
The exclusively of causes of liver damage is irrelevant to this study. Any of the rats could have had both causes, but only one seriously enough to cause death.
(B) explains nothing. If there is only one cause of liver disease in rats, then what killed the rats that were not exposed?
As for this one, why did 65% of the exposed rats die, if environmental toxins are not very dangerous? This seems counterintuitive, and so it can't possibly help to explain the statistics.
(C)It's wrong for the same reason namely, that it contradicts the evidence. If 65% of the rats exposed to low levels of sulfur dioxide died, then most rats probably will suffer from such exposure.
Question 17
Membership in the Bangalore Club is easily obtained by those who have previously had strong social connections with existing club members before college. However, one must have attended high school with one or more of the members in order to forge such strong social connections. People who lack these social connections because they have not attended high school with one or more current club members will therefore find it difficult to join the club. This argument displays flawed reasoning because it neglects to consider the possibility that
Many of those who went to high school with Bangalore Club members did not themselves become members of the club.
It is more important in the long run to socialize with non-club members than to develop strong connections with club members.
It is more difficult to forge social connections with club members than with non-club members
One may easily obtain membership in the club through means other than having strong social connections with existing club members.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
The argument begins by offering one route through which a student can gain a coveted membership to the Bangalore club. For those aspirants who attended high school with a current member of the house and developed a strong social connection with that member before college, entrance into the club is easy. People who didn't attend high school with a current member can't easily attain membership through this route, but we were never told that his was the only way to easily get in to the club. The author concludes that the unconnected individuals will have difficulty joining the club, but that's only valid if the route the author describes is the only possible easy route. But the author never says that. (D) gets the major point the author fails to consider in issuing the conclusion: the possibility that there might be other ways to easily get into the club.
Option (a) First of all, those who attended high school with club members are not necessarily the same people who have forged strong social connections with them. So, the "many” referred to here may not even be relevant to the argument. Secondly, even assuming these guys are good high school buddies of the members, the author argues only about what conditions make for easy entry into the club, and need not consider the possibility that many high school classmates of the members would choose not to join.
Option (b) Associations with non-club members are not relevant to the argument and fall outside of its scope. Additionally, this Option discusses the long term benefits of such connections; which we are now worried about
Option (c) The relative difficulty of building these connections has nothing to do with their necessity for membership. This Option also shares with (B) an interest in non-club members, whom the author never mentions.
Question 18
Before the advent of writing, each of the isolated clans of the X tribe had master story tellers whose function was to orally transmit the clan's tradition from one generation to the next. When writing was developed within certain clans of the tribe, their master story tellers disappeared within a few generations. This stands to reason, since the availability of written records obviated the need for masterful oral communicators to keep the tradition of literate clans alive. What has puzzled anthropologists, however, is the total lack of masterful storytellers in modern illiterate X clans. Which of the following, if true, best helps to explain the puzzling situation mentioned above?
Modern illiterate X clan members display personality characteristics that resemble their ancestors more closely than they resemble the characteristics of modern literate X clan members.
Modern illiterate X clans participate in more ritual gatherings than most modern literate X clans do, but they participate in fewer ritual gatherings than did their common ancestors.
Modern illiterate X clans are recently descended from long time literate clans that failed to pass on the skills of reading and writing due to a devastating 75-year war.
The celebrations of modern illiterate X clans involve a great deal of singing and dancing, and children are taught clan songs and dances from a very young age.
SOLUTION
Solution : C
Option (c)
Option (a) does nothing to explain why the modern literate clans lack storytellers. Personality similarities don't have any clear relationship to literacy and storytellers.
Option (b) A comparison of the frequency of clan gatherings also does not in any way explain why the current illiterate tribes lack storytellers.
Option (c)would explain the discrepancy. If it were true, then the storytellers did disappear when the clans became literate, but they subsequently lost that literacy. Thus the modern tribes could both be illiterate and storytellers, as is the case in the questions statement, and they could have lost their storytellers during an earlier literate period. The answer to the discrepancy is found in this answer option; thus option (C) is correct.
Option (d) Talks about the rituals of the moderate clans without any focus on the "literacy”. This is a junk option.
Question 19
An economic or political crisis in a poor country can lead to a lack of faith in the country's leaders, which is often followed by violent behavior, dissent, and even revolt among specific segments of the population. In many cases, propaganda is immediately issued from media outlets that quell such reactions by downplaying the extent of the recent crisis, thereby helping to restore belief in the efficacy of the government. However, the habitual violence exhibited by certain groups of disaffected youths in their leaders, but rather is the consequence of an endemic boredom and lack of any vision of a positive future for themselves.
Which of the following statements follow most logically from the statements in the passage above?
It is easier to quell periodic revolts in poor countries than it is to solve the habitual problem of youth violence.
In all poor countries, propaganda alone cannot entirely diffuse dissent stemming from an economic and political crisis.
Economic and political crises do not lead to any instance of youth violence in poor countries.
To the extent that propaganda may help to decrease youth violence in a poor country. It is probably not the result of restoring the youths' faith in their country's leadership.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Option (d)
(A)While the author offers us one potential antidote to the first type of violence without making any such reference in regards to the second, that doesn't meant that there is no solution for the second type. Because something isn't mentioned, that doesn't mean it doesn't exit, so we have no way of inferring which type of violence is easier to quell.
(B)For all we know, propaganda alone may be enough to entirely diffuse dissent in some poor countries, possibly those without disaffected youth, or even those with disaffected youth who are not driven to dissent by such crises.
(C)is too extreme and distorts the argument. The author writes that economic and political crises lead to violence among "specific segments of the population,” which may include youth; the author certainly doesn't rule out the possibility. Further, because boredom and lack of vision lead to habitual youth violence, that doesn't mean that only boredom and lack of vision lead to youth violence. The two explanations aren't mutually exclusive.
(D)Is the best option. Since the author does not directly link habitual youth violence to economic or political crises, or to the decrease in faith which such crises create, propaganda probably doesn't decrease that violence by restoring faith in the country's leaders. The author specifically says that habitual youth violence is not cause by a loss of such faith, so restoring the faith probably wouldn't help matters any. It propaganda to quell habitual youth violence, then it probably does it in some other way.
Question 20
As a result of the Black Death, the plague that afflicted Europe in 1348-49, as many as half the population died and less than half the work force remained in certain cities.
as many as half the population died and less than half the work force remained
as much as half the population died and fewer than half the work force remained
as many as half the people died and less than that remained in the work force
as much as half the population died and less than half the work force remained
SOLUTION
Solution : D
First of all, population is not a quantity than can be counted so as many as needs to be changed to as much as. Eliminate (A).
Option (C) survives this particular comparison because it changes the subject from population to the countable people and therefore uses as many as correctly. As for the second quantity in the underlined portion, work force is, like population, not countable and therefore less than rather than fewer than is correct. Eliminate (B). (C) is wrong because less than that remained distorts the meaning of the sentence and isunclear in its own right. What exactly is that? Half of those who died? Who survived? Thus, option (D) is correct.
Question 21
Scientists have created a new substance that is so transparent as to be almost invisible.
so transparent as to be
so transparent it has been
so transparent that it was
transparent enough that it is
SOLUTION
Solution : B
While the standard idiom is so . . . that, so . . . as can also be used in certain situations but so . . . it is never correct. Eliminate (B). Eliminate (C) for a verb tense error: The sentence begins in the present tense (is . . . transparent) and has no reason to switch from is to the past tense was at the end. (D) is not idiomatic; transparent enough has to be followed by to be in this situation and transparent enough so as to be combines incompatible idioms. Even though the original sentence is rather clumsy, (A) is still the best option of the ones you're given.
Question 22
Having lost his sight to sustained eyestrain, John Milton nevertheless composed Paradise Lost, considered by many to be the greatest English epic.
Having lost his sight to sustained eyestrain
With his sight lost to sustained eyestrain
Blinded by sustained eyestrain
Having been blinded by excessive eyestrain
SOLUTION
Solution : C
None of the Options is overtly wrong in terms of grammar, so focus on expression. Having lost his sight, with his sight lost, and having been blinded are far wordier than blinded. Since blinded accurately captures the same idea, you can eliminate (A), (B) and (D).
Option (C) is the answer.
Question 23
(A) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as well as his cabinets colleagues, have [A] / has [B] indicated that there would [A] / will [B] be no elections this year.
(B) Yami, the number two in command of the once underground guerrilla party, along with active members of the annual Maoist movement, was [A] / were [B] arrested.
(C) Just like the railways pioneered online ticketing in India, public sector enterprises is [A] / are [B] championing the cause of e-procurement.
(D) The Maharashtra Bank with the state Bank of India has [A] / have [B] disbursed around Rs. 7 crore as farm loans.
The correct sequence is
SOLUTION
Solution :When 'as well as' joins a singular subject to a plural subject, the verb remains singular. Hence 'has' is correct in the first sentence. "Will” being the present form go with it similarly in sentence B and E.
The connectives 'along with' and 'with' take a singular verb.
Hence 'was' and 'has' are correct. In sentence "C” the verb 'are' goes with 'enterprises' which is plural.
Hence BBABA is the right Option.
Question 24
(A) The Russians demonstrated [A] had demonstrated [B]their support for Mr. Putin's policies when they re-elected him on [A] / for [B]a second term.
(B) We may have to quarantine environmental [A] / environment [B] water and take total control of how we use it.
(C) The west Australian government responded by sinking new bores into the layered [A] / layer [B] aquifers beneath the city.
(D) When you don't know what's confronting you, the ability of your systems to adapt to change [A] / changing [B]conditions is essential.
BBAAB
BBBBA
BABAA
ABABA
SOLUTION
Solution : A
When two actions are in the past, the action that goes before should be in the past perfect. Hence 'had demonstrated' is correct. 'For' is the suitable preposition here.
In sentence 2 'environmental' is the adjective hence it is correct. Similarly in sentence
3 'layered' is the adjective hence it is suitable.To have parallelism in construction
'changing' gels with 'confronting.' Hence BBAAB.
Shortcut- always keep an eye out for elimination of answer options. In sentence D, you can see that "changing” is the correct usage. This is a relatively simpler sentence to start with as well. There is only answer option ending with "B”. You can directly eliminate all the other options.
Question 25
1. The Prime Minister's visit to Dabwali was greeted with protests and demonstrations by groups of people who demanded the setting up of a medical college.
A. There was perceptible tension in the air as people were agitated over the beautification being carried out in the town.
B. The tension further mounted as youth gathered in the main bazaar, near the venue of the condolence meeting shouting slogans.
C. A mob had even demolished the boundary wall of the civil hospital in protest against whitewashing it.
D. They also demanded the immediate suspension of the Deputy Commissioner.
6. What stood out very clearly was that the local participation at the meeting was barely discernible.
DACB
DCBA
BDAC
BACD
SOLUTION
Solution : C
Only B can follow 1 because tension in B refers to the situation mentioned in 1. Statement B should be followed by D because 'they' in D refers to 'youth' in B. C should follow A because the word 'beautification' mentioned in A is explained in C. Hence, the answer is option (c)
Question 26
1. The ethnic Chinese Community in the city number a few thousand.
A. They stayed on as their home country was wrecked by rebellion, famine and pestilence.
B. Some set up cottage industries in the swampy outer edges of the city to set up scores of tanneries.
C. Their main occupation was in the laundry, food, beauty salon and shoe making trades.
D. They drifted into the city in the last century on the coat-tails of the silk and opium trade.
6. Today there exist 567 registered tanneries, producing over Rs. 1200 crore worth of leather with 400 crore of exports.
DACB
CBAD
BADC
ABDC
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Only sentence D can follow 1 because 'They' in D refers to the Chinese in 1. A follows D since 'stayed on' should come after 'drifted in'. The best sentence before the concluding one is B, because the note on the tanneries is continued in sentence 6.
Question 27
The author of the passage develops her points about Johnson primarily by:
contrasting Johnson's critical methods with those of his contemporaries
citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson's work
alluding to contemporary comments about Johnson's theories
quoting Johnson's remarks about the critical approaches prevalent in his own day
SOLUTION
Solution : B
The author develops her points by citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson’s work.
Look at these lines Second Paragraph: “That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism,” Johnson wrote, “will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal from criticism to nature.”
Third Paragraph: “is damned with faint praise by Johnson: “Cato affords a splendid exhibition of artificial and fictitious manners, and delivers just and noble sentiments, in diction easy, elevated, and harmonious, but its hopes and fears communicate no vibration to the heart.”
Fourth Paragraph: “In his Life of Dryden, he defends the use of a special diction in poetry, it is true; but his reasons are all-important. For Johnson, poetic diction should serve the ends of direct emotional impact and ease of comprehension, not those of false profundity or grandiosity. “Words too familiar,” he wrote, “or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things.”
We have lines in all the paragraphs to support option (b).
Question 28
The passage implies that the judging of literary works according to preconceived rules:
characterizes examples of the worst neoclassical criticism
is the primary distinguishing mark of the neoclassical critic
was the primary neoclassical technique against which the Romantics rebelled
is the underlying basis of much of Johnson's critical work
SOLUTION
Solution : A
The answer to this question lies in the second paragraph. Look at these lines “Johnson was well aware, for example, of the sterility of literary criticism that is legalistic orpedantic, as was the case with the worst products of the neoclassical school” and these lines, “That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism”.
From these lines we can conclude that option (A) is the correct answer.
Question 29
According to the author, Johnson's defense of Shakespeare's latest plays illustrates Johnson's reliance on which of the following in his criticism?
The sentiments endorsed by the Romantics
The criteria set forth by Wordsworth in his 1800 preface to the Lyrical Ballads
His own experience and judgment
The principles followed by the neoclassical school of criticism
SOLUTION
Solution : C
The two answer options which are close to being correct are (A) and (C).
Both B and D are out of scope.
But the problem in A is that it states that -
“Johnson relied on the sentiments endorsed by romantics is wrong.”
Johnson was a neo classic critic but his ideas were similar to the romantics. But he did not rely on their sentiments.
Question 30
It can be inferred from the passage that in addition to being a literary critic, Johnson was also a:
surprisingly modern poet
poet in the Augustan mode
dramatist
biographer
SOLUTION
Solution : D
It is a very good question. It is an inference question. Please refer to these lines “In his Life of Dryden, he defends the use of a special diction in poetry, it is true; but his reasons are all-important”. This shows that he could be a biographer.
Question 31
A. 'The Lord of the files' which came out in 1954 however was welcomed as "a most absorbing and instructive tale".
B. During the World War II(1939-45) he joined the Royal Navy and was present at the sinking of the Bismarck.
C. He returned to teaching in 1945, gave it up in 1952, and subsequently became a full time writer.
D. In 1939, he married and started teaching at Vishop Wordsworth school in Salisbury.
E. At first his novels were not accepted.
F. In 1934, William Golding published a small volume of poems.
SOLUTION
Solution :This is an easy para-jumble question as the sentences can be readily arranged in a chronological order. So sentences F-D-B-C follow each other chronologically. Sentence E mentions what happened after Golding became a writer. Sentence A concludes the paragraph by mentioning that he eventually met with literary success when 'The Lord of the files' was published in 1954.
So the logical sequence of the sentences is FDBCEA.
Question 32
A. Since the sixties there has been an increasing interest in neurophysiology, which deals with the neural bases of mental activity and behaviour.
B. It has format which is very similar to that of Brain and Language, a sister journal.
C. Since then, a number of journals devoted entirely to this area of research have appeared.
D. Before the 1960's when this field was the concern of a small number of investigators, research articles were scattered in various neurological journals.
E. Brain and cognition is one such journal.
F. So far the journal has published the mixture of articles including reports and investigations.
SOLUTION
Solution :Out of the six sentences, sentence A is best suited to begin the paragraph as it introduces the topic of 'an increasing interest in the field of neurophysiology'. Sentence D follows A as it describes what was happening in the field before the 1960's. Sentence C states that a number of journals devoted to this domain have appeared since that time. Sentence E gives a specific example of such a journal. While E can be followed by both B or F, B is more appropriate here as it contains the pronoun 'It' that refers to the journal 'Brain and Cognition'. Sentence F finally describes the similar structure of both the journals.
So the answer is ADCEBF.
Question 33
A. When at its brightest, it is easily seen with the naked eye in broad daylight.
B. When at its farthest from the Earth, Venus is 160 million away.
C. With such a wide range between its greatest and least distances it is natural that at sometimes Venus appears much brighter than at others.
D. No other body ever comes so near the Earth, with the exception of the Moon and occasional comet or asteroid.
E. When Venus is at its nearest to the earth it is only 26 million miles away.
F. The path of Venus lies inside the path of the Earth.
SOLUTION
Solution :The sentences F, E and D form a continuous pair and they are all related to the theme of the proximity of Venus to the Earth. Similarly, B,C and A also form a continuous pair. The sentence B follows D as it introduces the new topic of the furthest distance of Venus from the Earth. C then introduces a topic of the relative brightness of Venus as compared to other celestial bodies and A follows C as it refers to what happens when Venus is at its brightest.
So the logical sequence of the sentences is FEDBCA.
Question 34
The Dean claimed that, as a result of continued cutbacks in the budget for pure science research, fewer students are choosing a career in physics, and therefore the number of postgraduate students studying physics is likely to decline. Which two of the following sentences, if true, cast most doubt on the Dean's conclusion?
A. The number of students majoring in physics at the undergraduate level has been increasing steadily over the years, a trend that is expected to continue.
B. The number of students studying chemistry declined even before cutbacks in research funding were noted.
C. Most postgraduate students of physics move to careers in computer science and engineering.
D. The Dean's own university has recently increased the number of staff members teaching postgraduate physics.
E. Most of the postgraduate students are not interested to pursue a career in basic physics research after their postgraduate study.
SOLUTION
Solution :The Dean's argument follows the logic that students choose to study physics because they want to pursue a career in basic research and since the funding for pure science research is decreasing, the number of postgraduate students studying physics is likely to decline.
Sentences C and E provide direct evidence to oppose the Dean's claim and hence are the right choices.
Sentence A talks about undergraduate students and hence is unrelated to the point of discussion. Similarly, sentence B talks about the number of undergraduate students studying Chemistry and hence is again is not related to the Dean's argument. If D is true, this means that there is an increase in interest in students to study Physics which counters the Dean's argument. However, it does not talk about the career motivations of students and hence does not weaken the Dean's argument seriously.