Para Completion - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions
You can practice all previous year CAT questions from the topic Para Completion. This will help you understand the type of questions asked in CAT. It would be best if you clear your concepts before you practice previous year CAT questions.
There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: Most were first-time users of a tablet and a digital app.
Paragraph: Aage Badhein’s USP lies in the ethnographic research that constituted the foundation of its development process. Customizations based on learning directly from potential users were critical to making this self-paced app suitable for both a literate and non-literate audience. ___(1)___ The user interface caters to a Hindi-speaking audience who have minimal to no experience with digital services and devices. ___(2)___ The content and functionality of the app are suitable for a wide audience. This includes youth preparing for an independent role in life or a student ready to create a strong foundation of financial management early in her life. ___(3)___ Household members desirous of improving their family’s financial strength to reach their aspirations can also benefit. We piloted Aage Badhein in early 2021 with over 400 women from rural areas. ___(4)___ The digital solution generated a large amount of interest in the communities.
- A.
1
- B.
2
- C.
3
- D.
4
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Workspace:
There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: This was years in the making but fast-tracked during the pandemic, when "people started being more mindful about their food", he explained.
Paragraph: For millennia, ghee has been a venerated staple of the subcontinental diet, but it fell out of favour a few decades ago when saturated fats were largely considered to be unhealthy. ___(1)___ But more recently, as the thinking around saturated fats is shifting globally, Indians are finding their own way back to this ingredient that is so integral to their cuisine. ___(2)___ For Karmakar, a renewed interest in ghee is emblematic of a return-to-basics movement in India. ___(3)___ This movement is also part of an overall trend towards "slow food". In keeping with the movement's philosophy, ghee can be produced locally (even at home) and has inextricable cultural ties. ___(4)___ At a basic level, ghee is a type of clarified butter believed to have originated in India as a way to preserve butter from going rancid in the hot climate.
- A.
1
- B.
2
- C.
3
- D.
4
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Most people at their first consultation take a furtive look at the surgeon’s hands in the hope of reassurance. Prospective patients look for delicacy, sensitivity, steadiness, perhaps unblemished pallor. On this basis, Henry Perowne loses a number of cases each year. Generally, he knows it’s about to happen before the patient does: the downward glance repeated, the prepared questions beginning to falter, the overemphatic thanks during the retreat to the door.
- A.
Other people do not communicate due to their poor observation.
- B.
Other patients don’t like what they see but are ignorant of their right to go elsewhere.
- C.
But Perowne himself is not concerned.
- D.
But others will take their place, he thought.
- E.
These hands are steady enough, but they are large.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
The main sentence of the paragraph that decides the ending is “On this basis, Henry Perowne loses a number of cases each year.” Option 1 moves away from the core of the paragraph - losing patients.
Option 5 does not complete the paragraph and leaves one wanting for more data to explain the importance of hands being large.
Option 4 loses out on the sentence structure and style. There is no logical continuity to the paragraph.
Option 3 provides a logical finish to the paragraph by showing that inspite of the losing patients, Perowne is not concerned.
Option 2 brings in a disconnect to the idea from the paragraph. It states that other patients’ observations are also negative and those who stay with Perowne do so out of ignorance of available alternatives. This is not in continuation of the main idea expressed in the paragraph.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Trade protectionism, disguised as concern for the climate, is raising its head. Citing competitiveness concerns, powerful industrialized countries are holding out threats of a levy on imports of energy-intensive products from developing countries that refuse to accept their demands. The actual source of protectionist sentiment in the OECD countries is, of course, their current lacklustre economic performance, combined with the challenges posed by the rapid economic rise of China and India - in that order.
- A.
Climate change is evoked to bring trade protectionism through the back door.
- B.
OECD countries are taking refuge in climate change issues to erect trade barriers against these two countries.
- C.
Climate change concerns have come as a convenient stick to beat the rising trade power of China and India.
- D.
Defenders of the global economic status quo are posing as climate change champions.
- E.
Today’s climate change champions are the perpetrators of global economic inequity.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Option 1 has already been mentioned in the first statement of the paragraph. This does not make it an effective paragraph ending.
Option 2 mentions only OECD countries while the paragraph mentions “powerful industrialized countries” of which the OECD countries are only a part. Furthermore, the option is again a repetition of ideas presented in the paragraph.
The focus of option 3 is on ‘China’ and ‘India’, while the focus of the paragraph is not.
Option 5 brings in ‘global economic inequity’ which is an opinion not expressed or implied in the passage.
Option 4 addresses the gist of the paragraph. Powerful countries, including the OECD countries are posing as climate change champions due to their lacklustre economic performance as compared to China and India which are growing rapidly. ‘Climate change champions’ in this option completes the paragraph, and addresses the point raised in the first sentence.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Mattancherry is Indian Jewry’s most famous settlement. Its pretty streets of pastel coloured houses, connected by first-floor passages and home to the last twelve saree-and-sarong-wearing, white-skinned Indian Jews are visited by thousands of tourists each year. Its synagogue, built in 1568, with a floor of blue-and-white Chinese tiles, a carpet given by Haile Selassie and the frosty Yaheh selling tickets at the door, stands as an image of religious tolerance.
- A.
Mattancherry represents, therefore, the perfect picture of peaceful co-existence.
- B.
India’s Jews have almost never suffered discrimination, except for European colonizers and each other.
- C.
Jews in India were always tolerant.
- D.
Religious tolerance has always been only a façade and nothing more.
- E.
The pretty pastel streets are, thus, very popular with the tourists.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE The paragraph starts with a location (as a backdrop) and moves on to describe things associated with the location. While various things are described about the location, we are looking for a sentence that completes the ideas stated in the paragraph. The paragraph juxtaposes various disparate ideas and cultures together: note the saree and sarong, the Indian Jews, and the image of religious tolerance.
Option 2 is a disconnect from the main idea of the paragraph – it talks about religious discrimination which is not an idea found in the paragraph.
Option 1 is about Matancherry, which the whole paragraph is about. It brings together the ideas in the paragraph to a logical, cohesive whole.
Option 5, with ‘thus’ for pretty pastel streets is disconnected. No reason is provided in the paragraph for pastel streets being popular.
It is the majority community which has to show tolerance towards a minority group, not the other way round. The paragraph clearly states “home to the last twelve....” indicating the Indian Jews to be very few in numbers. Option 3 can be eliminated.
Option 4 is contrary to the data provided in the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Given the cultural and intellectual interconnections, the question of what is ‘Western’ and what is ‘Eastern’ (or ‘Indian’) is often hard to decide, and the issue can be discussed only in more dialectical terms. The diagnosis of a thought as ‘purely Western’ or ‘purely Indian’ can be very illusory.
- A.
Thoughts are not the kind of things that can be easily categorized.
- B.
Though ‘occidentalism’ and ‘orientalism’ as dichotomous concepts have found many adherents.
- C.
‘East is East and West is West’ has been a discredited notion for a long time now.
- D.
Compartmentalizing thoughts is often desirable.
- E.
The origin of a thought is not the kind of thing to which ‘purity’ happens easily.
Answer: Option E
Explanation :
The essence of the paragraph is the difficulty in differentiating between “Western” and “Eastern” thoughts.
The paragraph starts with a difference between “Western” and “Eastern” and moves on to “thoughts”.
The logical completion of the paragraph needs to be in that vein.
Option 2 is logically inconsistent due to the word “dichotomous” between “occidentalism” and “orientalism” whereas the paragraph states that this dichotomy is “illusory”.
Option 3 moves back again to the broad idea of “Western” and “Eastern”.
Option 4 is contrary to the paragraph.
Option 5 completes the paragraph logically. The usage of the words, ‘thought’ and ‘purity’ (pure) in a slightly different manner makes it the ideal choice as it resonates with the paragraph in that “given the intellectual and intellectual interconnections” that exist today the origin of a thought can no longer be classified as purely “Western” or purely “Indian.” Therefore the origin of a thought cannot be pure in terms of origin.
Both, options 1 and 5, state the idea of thoughts not being easily classified. However, option 5 continues the idea of purity mentioned in the final part of the paragraph whereas option 1 does not. In this context, 1 is generic and 5 is specific.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Characters are also part of deep structure. Characters tie events in a story together and provide a thread of continuity and meaning. Stories can be about individuals, groups, projects or whole organizations, so from an organizational studies perspective, the focal actor(s) determine the level and unit of analysis used in a study. Stories of mergers and acquisitions, for example, are common place. In these stories whole organizations are personified as actors. But these macro-level stories usually are not told from the perspective of the macro-level participants, because whole organizations cannot narrate their experiences in the first person.
- A.
More generally, data concerning the identities and relationships of the characters in the story are required, if one is to understand role structure and social networks in which that process is embedded.
- B.
Personification of a whole organization abstracts away from the particular actors and from traditional notions of level of analysis.
- C.
The personification of a whole organization is important because stories differ depending on who is enacting various events.
- D.
Every story is told from a particular point of view, with a particular narrative voice, which is not regarded as part of the deep structure.
- E.
The personification of a whole organization is a textual device we use to make macro-level theories more comprehensible.
Answer: Option E
Explanation :
The paragraph briefly is about why stories are structured around focal characters. And why in stories of organizations, organizations have to be personified and focal characters as organizations cannot narrate their experiences. Option 5 concludes this chain of thoughts by saying that this kind of personification is a textual device resorted to bring coherence.
Option 1 is incorrect as it continues the first part of the paragraph and is unrelated the second part.
Option 2 is incorrect as it talks about abstracting away from the particular whereas the paragraph is talking about particularizing.
Options 3 and 4 talk about different points of view, which is irrelevant to the paragraph.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Nevertheless, photographs still retain some of the magical allure that the earliest daguerreotypes inspired. As objects, our photographs have changed; they have become physically flimsier as they have become more technologically sophisticated. Daguerre produced pictures on copper plates; today many of our photographs never become tangible thins, but instead remain filed away on computers and cameras, part of the digital ether that envelops the modern world. At the same time, our patience for the creation of images has also eroded. Children today are used to being tracked from birth by digital cameras and video recorders and they expect to see the results of their poses and performances instantly. The space between life as it is being lived and life as it is being displayed shrinks to a mere second. ______________________
- A.
Yet, despite these technical developments, photographs still remain powerful because they are reminders of the people and things we care about.
- B.
Images, after all, are surrogates carried into battle by a soldier or by a traveller on holiday.
- C.
Photographs, be they digital or traditional, exist to remind us of the absent, the beloved, and the dead.
- D.
In the new era of the digital image, the images also have a greater potential for fostering falsehood and trickery, perpetuating fictions that seem so real we cannot tell the difference.
- E.
Anyway, human nature being what it is, little time has passed after photography’s inventions became means of living life through images.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
‘Nevertheless ‘ at the beginning of the paragraph, and “yet’ at the beginning of option 1 make the paragraph logically complete.
Option 1 is the reason why the paragraph is written - to communicate that ‘photographs are still powerful’.
The traveler in option 2, the beloved and the dead in option 3, falsehood and trickery in option 4, and the invention and means of living in option 5 do not help conclude the paragraph.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot of Kgale Hill. These were its assets: a tiny white van, two desks, two chairs, a telephone, and an old typewriter. Then there was a teapot, in which Mma Ramotswe - the only private lady detective in Botswana - brewed red bush tea. And three mugs - one for herself, one for her secretary and one for the client. What else does a detective agency really need? Detective agencies rely on human intuition and intelligence, both of which Mma Ramotswe had in abundance. ___________________
- A.
But there was also the view, which again would appear on no inventory.
- B.
No inventory would ever include those, of course.
- C.
She had an intelligent secretary too.
- D.
She was a good detective and a good woman.
- E.
What she lacked in possessions was more than made up by a natural shrewdness.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
The paragraph mentions the tangible parts of the inventory that Mma Ramotswe had at the agency, and ‘human intuition and intelligence’, option 2 concludes the paragraph by stating that ‘no inventory would ever be able to include those.
Options 3, 4 and 5 are eliminated in comparison to options 1 and 2 which continue the idea of the inventory.
Option 1, though continuing the idea of inventory is far inferior to option 2. The ‘those’ in option 2 scores over option 1.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
I am sometimes attacked for imposing 'rules‘. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hate rules. All I do is report on how consumers react to different stimuli. I may say to a copywriter, “research shows that commercials with celebrities are below average in persuading people to buy products. Are you sure you want to use a celebrity?” Call that a rule? Or I may say to an art director, “research suggests that if you set the copy in black type on a white background, more people will read it than if you set it in white type on a black background.”_____________________
- A.
Guidance based on applied research can hardly qualify as ‘rules’.
- B.
Thus, all my so called ‘rules’ are rooted in applied research.
- C.
A suggestion perhaps, but scarcely a rule.
- D.
Such principles are unavoidable if one wants to be systematic about consumer behaviour.
- E.
Fundamentally it is about consumer behaviour- not about celebrities or type settings.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
It is not a difficult choice, when one understands that the concluding sentence of a paragraph should fulfill the purpose for which the paragraph is written, leaving no loose ends that may require further clarification. The first three sentences of the paragraph establish this purpose. Then the writer provides certain example situations.
Option 3 concludes the paragraph smoothly – the writer tells us what his ‘alleged’ rules are. In consistence with the conversational tone of the paragraph, the writer does not assert even his explanation with undue vigor in the last sentence.
Option 1 is contrary to the purpose of the paragraph because ‘guidance based on applied research’ makes his actions more binding on others than are rules.
Options 2 and 4 are also eliminated for the same reason.
Option 5 talks about one of the examples and not related to the purpose of the paragraph.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Relations between the factory and the dealer are distant and usually strained as the factory tries to force cars on the dealers to smooth out production. Relations between the dealer and the customer are equally strained because dealers continuously adjust prices - make deals - to adjust demand with supply while maximizing profits. This becomes a system marked by a lack of long- term commitment on either side, which maximize feelings of mistrust. In order to maximize their bargaining positions, everyone holds back information- the dealer about the product and the consumer about his true desires.______________________
- A.
As a result, ‘deal making’ becomes rampant, without concern for customer satisfaction.
- B.
As a result, inefficiencies creep into the supply chain.
- C.
As a result, everyone treats the other as an adversary, rather than as an ally.
- D.
As a result, fundamental innovations are becoming scarce in the automobile industry.
- E.
As a result, everyone loses in the long run.
Answer: Option E
Explanation :
All options begin with “as a result”. One has the freedom to ignore this or to work intensely on this phrase. ‘As a result’ indicates that one needs to discover the immediate consequence of the details given in the paragraph. Option 4 is the first to get eliminated as it is not a consequence at all.
Options 1 and 2 are not consequences but what may currently exist in the industry; as explained in the paragraph.
Option 3 brings in ‘adversary’ and ‘ally’. This is hardly sustained by the data in the paragraph, unless one justifies them. If one justifies them, the option gets eliminated, because again, it is not a consequence, but what exists there.
The direct consequence is stated briefly in option 5 bringing the paragraph to a smooth closure as no further clarification is required. “As a result” has to be worked upon and not ignored.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
In the evolving world order, the comparative advantage of the United States lies in its military force. Diplomacy and international law have always been regarded as annoying encumbrances, unless they can be used to advantage against an enemy. Every active player in world affairs professes to seek only peace and to prefer negotiation to violence and coercion._______________
- A.
However, diplomacy has often been used as a mask by nations which intended to use force.
- B.
However, when the veil is lifted, we commonly see that diplomacy is understood as a disguise for the rule of force.
- C.
However, history has shown that many of these nations do not practice what they profess.
- D.
However, history tells us that peace is professed by those who intend to use violence.
- E.
However, when unmasked, such nations reveal a penchant for the use of force.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
The word 'professes' towards the end is significant. ‘However’ is constant in the options. One needs to pick out the best contrast.
Options 3 and 4 get easily eliminated as they contain ‘history’, which will require a lot of explanation in the context. The last sentence will not contain any new ideas requiring further clarification.
Option 5 is eliminated because of ‘penchant’ – the paragraph does not make such assertions.
For the same reason, the ‘intention’ in option 1 gets it eliminated.
The word 'professes’ in the paragraph directly leads to the ‘veil’ and ‘understood’ in option 2.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Age has a curvilinear relationship with the exploitation of opportunity. Initially, age will increase the likelihood that a person will exploit an entrepreneurial opportunity because people gather much of the knowledge necessary to exploit opportunities over the course of their lives, and because age provides credibility in transmitting that information to others. However, as people become older, their willingness to bear risks declines, their opportunity costs rise, and they become less receptive to new information.____________________________
- A.
As a result, people transmit more information rather than experiment with new ideas as they reach an advanced age.
- B.
As a result, people are reluctant to experiment with new ideas as they reach an advanced age.
- C.
As a result, only people with lower opportunity costs exploit opportunity when they reach an advanced age.
- D.
As a result, people become reluctant to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities when they reach an advanced age.
- E.
As a result, people depend on credibility rather than on novelty as they reach an advanced age.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
'As a result' is a constant in the options. One needs to identify the direct consequence of what is stated in the paragraph. Also establish the purpose of the paragraph by looking at the first and the last sentences given to you. ('Age has …' and 'however, as people become older...').
Options 3 and 5 get eliminated most easily. Neither of these options is a consequence of the curvilinear relationship between age and exploitation of opportunity.
The reluctance to “experiment with new ideas” (options 1 and 2) does not necessarily translate into ‘entrepreneurial opportunity” given in the paragraph.
Option 4 includes all this and is specific to the ideas presented in the paragraph and is a direct consequence.
Hence, the correxct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
We can usefully think of theoretical models as maps, which help us navigate unfamiliar territory. The most accurate map that it is possible to construct would be of no practical use whatsoever, for it would be an exact replica, on exactly the same scale, of the place where we were. Good maps pull out the most important features and throw away a huge amount of much less valuable information. Of course, maps can be bad as well as good- witness the attempts by medieval Europe to produce a map of the world. In the same way, a bad theory, no matter how impressive it may seem in principle, does little or nothing to help us understand a problem.__________________________
- A.
But good theories, just like good maps, are invaluable, even if they are simplified.
- B.
But good theories, just like good maps, will never represent unfamiliar concepts in detail.
- C.
But good theories, just like good maps, need to balance detail and feasibility of representation.
- D.
But good theories, just like good maps, are accurate only at a certain level of abstraction.
- E.
But good theories, just like good maps, are useful in the hands of a user who knows their limitations.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
'We can usefully think of theoretical models as maps.' The first sentence has established the purpose of the paragraph which is to understand the usefulness of theoretical models using the comparison of maps. This purpose is fulfilled in option 1 that they are invaluable.
That theoretical models ‘will never represent' (option 2), ‘need to balance” (option 3), ‘are accurate only' (option 4) do not fulfill this purpose.
Option 5 is a generalization that the paragraph does not support.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
The audiences for crosswords and sudoku, understandably, overlap greatly, but there are differences, too. A crossword attracts a more literary person, while sudoku appeals to a keenly logical mind. Some crossword enthusiasts turn up their noses at sudoku because they feel it lacks depth. A good crossword requires vocabulary, knowledge, mental flexibility and sometimes even a sense of humor to complete. It touches numerous areas of life and provides an "Aha!" or two along the way.
- A.
Sudoku, on the other hand, is just a logical exercise, each one similar to the last.
- B.
Sudoku, incidentally, is growing faster in popularity than crosswords, even among the literati.
- C.
Sudoku, on the other hand, can be attempted and enjoyed even by children.
- D.
Sudoku, however, is not exciting in any sense of the term.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Elimination is an important process to find the correct answer in these questions.
Option 2 gets eliminated because of the idea of ‘popularity’ in it. This is a new idea and will require some reader intervention to support it. Reader intervention is not required in the last sentence of a paragraph.
Option 3 gets eliminated because of ‘even by children’- we need to assume that children lack ‘vocabulary’ etc. mentioned in the paragraph.
Option 4 contradicts the paragraph. The paragraph says it appeals to a logical mind.
In option 1, the comparison between Crossword and Sudoku is completed and the purpose of the paragraph is fulfilled. Note “sudoku appeals to a keenly logical mind.”
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Most firms consider expert individuals to be too elitist, temperamental, egocentric, and difficult to work with. Force such people to collaborate on a high- stakes project and they just might come to fisticuffs. Even the very notion of managing such a group seems unimaginable. So most organizations fall into default mode, setting up project teams of people who get along nicely.__________________________
- A.
The result, however, is disastrous.
- B.
The result is mediocrity.
- C.
The result is creation of experts who then become elitists.
- D.
Naturally, they drive innovations.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Option 1 is eliminated for ‘disastrous’ – the passage does not justify it – because they get along well.
Option 3 is eliminated since there is no evidence to suggest that experts are created from “project teams who get along nicely”.
Option 4 is eliminated because there is no evidence in the passage to suggest that “they drive innovation”.
Option 2 talks about the result of this ‘default mode’ where expert individuals are excluded and the selection is on the basis of conformity which is mediocrity.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Federer's fifth grand slam win prompted a reporter to ask whether he was the best ever. Federer is certainly not lacking in confidence, but he wasn't about to proclaim himself the best ever. "The best player of this generation, yes", he said, "But nowhere close to ever. Just look at the records that some guys have. I'm a minnow".___________________________________
- A.
His win against Agassi, a genius from the previous generation, contradicts that.
- B.
Sampras, the king of an earlier generation, was as humble.
- C.
He is more than a minnow to his contemporaries.
- D.
The difference between ‘the best of this generation' and ‘the best ever' is a matter of perception.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
The passage is written to show how great Federer’s achievements are and how modest he is. The answer option concludes the paragraph by stating that – his contemporaries rate him much greater than Federer’s own modest assessment of himself.
Options 1 and 2 are thus eliminated. Though useful in continuing the passage they do not close the paragraph.
Rather than leaving it to the reader to decide about Federer (option 4, which then gets eliminated) option 3 brings the paragraph to a close in keeping with its purpose.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Thus the end of knowledge and the closing of the frontier that it symbolizes is not a looming crisis at all, but merely one of many embarrassing fits of hubris in civilization's long industry. In the end, it will pass away and be forgotten. Ours is not the first generation to struggle to understand the organizational laws of the frontier, deceive itself that it has succeeded, and go to its grave having failed.________________________
- A.
One would be wise to be humble.
- B.
But we might be the first generation to actually reach the frontier.
- C.
But we might be the first generation to deal with the crisis.
- D.
However, this time the success is not illusory.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
The passage talks about the ‘hubris’ (exaggerated pride or self-confidence) of civilization.
All options other than option 1 are in line with this hubris. But the passage also talks about how the civilization ‘deceives’ itself. Hence the purpose of the paragraph is to put this self deception in perspective. Option 1 fulfils this purpose by asking one to show humility as ‘ours is not the first generation’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Each question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the four choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically.
Many of us live one-eyed lives. We rely largely on the eye of the mind to form our images of reality. It is a mechanical world based on fact and reason. (_______). So today more and more of us are opening the other eye, the eye of the heart, looking for realities to which the mind’s eye is blind. This is a world warmed and transformed by the power of love, a vision of community beyond the mind’s capacity to see. Either eye alone is not enough. We need “wholesight”, a vision of the world in which mind and heart unite.
- A.
It had led to unprecedented scientific growth and material well – being.
- B.
In the nuclear age, our mind-made world has been found flawed and dangerous, even lethal,
- C.
The question is irrelevant, whether or not they can be seen and reasoned.
- D.
We have built our lives based on it because it seemed predictable and safe.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
What follows the blank shows that what has been happening till now has led to some undesirable things and hence a change is now coming in. b. is the only choice that shows what wrong has happened.
Workspace:
Each question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the four choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically.
People arguing for a position have been known to cast the opposite in an unnecessarily feeble light. (______). People who indulge in this fallacy may be fearful or ignorant of a strong counter argument. Detecting this fallacy often depends on having already heard a better refutation, or having information with which to construct one.
- A.
Casting the opposite as weaker than it really is, is a very effective strategy.
- B.
This portrayal of a refutation as weaker than it really is, is a sure way of proving your point.
- C.
Casting the opposite as weaker than it really is, is not a very effective strategy.
- D.
This portrayal of refutation as weaker than it really is, is unwarranted.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
c. suggests that the strategy adopted by some people is not very effective, and the idea is continued with in the passage when the author refers to it as ‘this fallacy’.
Workspace:
Each question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the four choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically.
The question of what rights animals should enjoy is a vexatious one, Hundreds of millions of animals are put to death for human use each year. Contrariwise, it can be argued that slowing down scientific research would retard discovery of antidotes to diseases such as cancer which kill humans and animals alike. (_________). What if super intelligent beings from Alpha Centauri landed on earth and decided to use us for their experiments, arguing that they could save far more of their and our lives by so doing?
- A.
It will benefit both in the long run.
- B.
Is the argument truly fair to animals?
- C.
But the progress of human civilization cannot be made contingent on some hypothetical rights of animals.
- D.
There is no question of equating human rights with those of animals.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
What follows the blank shows that the author is against the argument projected in the beginning of the passage. B. is the only choice which would support this.
Workspace:
Each question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the four choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically.
A deliberation is a form of discussion in which two people begin on different sides of an issue. (_______) Then each decides, in the light of the other argument whether to adopt the other position, to change his or her position somewhat, or to maintain the same position. Both sides realize that to modify one’s position is not to lose; the point is to get closer to the truth of the matter.
- A.
Each person argues his or her position most sincerely.
- B.
The prerequisite for deliberation to be productive is that persons involved must keep an open mind.
- C.
The purpose is to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of both parties.
- D.
The trick is to state your viewpoint from a position of strength.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
The passage begins with the situation of two people on two different sides of the issue. Each gets a chance to argue his or her position and after listening to each other they decide whether they wish to change their position or not. The use of ‘then’ after the blank shows that some action has taken place before it, and a. is the only choice showing an action.
Workspace:
Each of these questions contains a sentence followed by four choices. Select from among these choices the one which most logically completes the idea contained in the given sentence.
Particularly today, when so many difficult and complex problems face the human species, the development of broad
- A.
and powerful shoulders is necessary.
- B.
plans of action is not possible.
- C.
moral values is required.
- D.
and powerful thinking is desperately needed.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Broad and powerful thinking is needed to solve the problems.
Hence, option 4.
Workspace:
Each of these questions contains a sentence followed by four choices. Select from among these choices the one which most logically completes the idea contained in the given sentence.
In the European Community countries there has been talk of an energy tax to raise funds
- A.
by burdening the rich who can afford higher taxes.
- B.
to penalise heavy users of energy.
- C.
by raising the price of energy-intensive implements.
- D.
to search for alternative sources of energy.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
The funds are being ‘raised’ for the purpose of having money to spend on the search of alternative sources
of energy.
Hence, option 4.
Workspace:
Each of these questions contains a sentence followed by four choices. Select from among these choices the one which most logically completes the idea contained in the given sentence.
“Look before you leap” reflects an attitude expressed in such a saying as
- A.
‘Forewarned is forearmed.’
- B.
‘A stitch in time saves nine.’
- C.
‘No risk no gain.’
- D.
‘Fools rush where the angels fear to tread.’
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
If you look before you leap you will be forewarned and thus can be forearmed.
Hence, option 1.
Workspace:
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