Reading Comprehension - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions
You can practice all previous year CAT questions from the topic Reading Comprehension. 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.
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Stoicism was founded in 300 BC by the Greek philosopher Zeno and survived into the Roman era until about AD 300. According to the Stoics, emotions consist of two movements. The first movement is the immediate feeling and other reactions (e.g., physiological response) that occur when a stimulus or event occurs. For instance, consider what could have happened if an army general accused Marcus Aurelius of treason in front of other officers. The first movement for Marcus may have been (internal) surprise and anger in response to this insult, accompanied perhaps by some involuntary physiological and expressive responses such as face flushing and a movement of the eyebrows. The second movement is what one does next about the emotion. Second movement behaviors occur after thinking and are under one’s control. Examples of second movements for Marcus might have included a plot to seek revenge, actions signifying deference and appeasement, or perhaps proceeding as he would have proceeded whether or not this event occurred: continuing to lead the Romans in a way that Marcus Aurelius believed best benefited them. In the Stoic view, choosing a reasoned, unemotional response as the second movement is the only appropriate response.
The Stoics believed that to live the good life and be a good person, we need to free ourselves of nearly all desires such as too much desire for money, power, or sexual gratification. Prior to second movements, we can consider what is important in life. Money, power, and excessive sexual gratification are not important. Character, rationality, and kindness are important. The Epicureans, first associated with the Greek philosopher Epicurus . . . held a similar view, believing that people should enjoy simple pleasures, such as good conversation, friendship, food, and wine, but not be indulgent in these pursuits and not follow passion for those things that hold no real value like power and money. As Oatley (2004) states, “the Epicureans articulated a view—enjoyment of relationship with friends, of things that are real rather than illusory, simple rather than artificially inflated, possible rather than vanishingly unlikely—that is certainly relevant today” . . . In sum, these ancient Greek and Roman philosophers saw emotions, especially strong ones, as potentially dangerous. They viewed emotions as experiences that needed to be [reined] in and controlled.
As Oatley (2004) points out, the Stoic idea bears some similarity to Buddhism. Buddha, living in India in the 6th century BC, argued for cultivating a certain attitude that decreases the probability of (in Stoic terms) destructive second movements. Through meditation and the right attitude, one allows emotions to happen to oneself (it is impossible to prevent this), but one is advised to observe the emotions without necessarily acting on them; one achieves some distance and decides what has value and what does not have value. Additionally, the Stoic idea of developing virtue in oneself, of becoming a good person, which the Stoics believed we could do because we have a touch of the divine, laid the foundation for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam . . . As with Stoicism, tenets of these religions include controlling our emotions lest we engage in sinful behavior.
On the basis of the passage, which one of the following statements can be regarded as true?
- A.
There were no Stoics in India at the time of the Roman civilisation.
- B.
The Stoics valorised the pursuit of money, power, and sexual gratification.
- C.
The Stoic influences can be seen in multiple religions.
- D.
The Epicureans believed in controlling all emotions.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements, if false, could be seen as contradicting the facts/arguments in the passage?
- A.
The Greek philosopher Zeno survived into the Roman era until about AD 300.
- B.
Despite practising meditation and cultivating the right attitude, emotions cannot ever be controlled.
- C.
In the Stoic view, choosing a reasoned, unemotional response as the first movement is an appropriate response to emotional situations.
- D.
In the Epicurean view, indulging in simple pleasures is not desirable.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Workspace:
“Through meditation and the right attitude, one allows emotions to happen to oneself (it is impossible to prevent this), but one is advised to observe the emotions without necessarily acting on them; one achieves some distance and decides what has value and what does not have value.” In the context of the passage, which one of the following is not a possible implication of the quoted statement?
- A.
Meditation allows certain out-of-body experiences that permit us to gain the distance necessary to control our emotions.
- B.
“Meditation and the right attitude”, in this instance, implies an initially passive reception of all experiences.
- C.
The observation of emotions in a distant manner corresponds to the second movement referred to earlier in the passage.
- D.
Emotional responses can make it difficult to distinguish valuable experiences from valueless experiences.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements would be an accurate inference from the example of Marcus Aurelius?
- A.
Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic whose philosophy survived into the Roman era.
- B.
Marcus Aurelius was one of the leaders of the Roman army.
- C.
Marcus Aurelius was humiliated by the accusation of treason in front of the other officers.
- D.
Marcus Aurelius plotted revenge in his quest for justice.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Stories concerning the Undead have always been with us. From out of the primal darkness of Mankind’s earliest years, come whispers of eerie creatures, not quite alive (or alive in a way which we can understand), yet not quite dead either. These may have been ancient and primitive deities who dwelt deep in the surrounding forests and in remote places, or simply those deceased who refused to remain in their tombs and who wandered about the countryside, physically tormenting and frightening those who were still alive. Mostly they were ill-defined—strange sounds in the night beyond the comforting glow of the fire, or a shape, half-glimpsed in the twilight along the edge of an encampment. They were vague and indistinct, but they were always there with the power to terrify and disturb. They had the power to touch the minds of our early ancestors and to fill them with dread. Such fear formed the basis of the earliest tales although the source and exact nature of such terrors still remained very vague.
And as Mankind became more sophisticated, leaving the gloom of their caves and forming themselves into recognizable communities—towns, cities, whole cultures—so the Undead travelled with them, nhabiting their folklore just as they had in former times. Now they began to take on more definite shapes. They became walking cadavers; the physical embodiment of former deities and things which had existed alongside Man since the Creation. Some still remained vague and ill-defined but, as Mankind strove to explain the horror which it felt towards them, such creatures emerged more readily into the light.
In order to confirm their abnormal status, many of the Undead were often accorded attributes, which defied the natural order of things—the power to transform themselves into other shapes, the ability to sustain themselves by drinking human blood, and the ability to influence human minds across a distance. Such powers—described as supernatural—only [lent] an added dimension to the terror that humans felt regarding them.
And it was only natural, too, that the Undead should become connected with the practice of magic. From very early times, Shamans and witchdoctors had claimed at least some power and control over the spirits of departed ancestors, and this has continued down into more “civilized” times. Formerly, the invisible spirits and forces that thronged around men’s earliest encampments, had spoken “through” the tribal Shamans but now, as entities in their own right, they were subject to magical control and could be physically summoned by a competent sorcerer. However, the relationship between the magician and an Undead creature was often a very tenuous and uncertain one. Some sorcerers might have even become Undead entities once they died, but they might also have been susceptible to the powers of other magicians when they did.
From the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment, theories of the Undead continued to grow and develop. Their names became more familiar—werewolf, vampire, ghoul—each one certain to strike fear into the hearts of ordinary humans.
Which one of the following statements best describes what the passage is about?
- A.
The passage discusses the evolution of theories of the Undead from primitive thinking to the Age of Enlightenment.
- B.
The passage describes the failure of human beings to fully comprehend their environment.
- C.
The writer describes the ways in which the Undead come to be associated with Shamans and the practice of magic.
- D.
The writer discusses the transition from primitive thinking to the Age of Enlightenment.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
All of the following statements, if false, could be seen as being in accordance with the passage, EXCEPT:
- A.
the Undead remained vague and ill-defined, even as Mankind strove to understand the horror they inspired.
- B.
the transition from the Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment saw new theories of the Undead.
- C.
the growing sophistication of Mankind meant that humans stopped believing in the Undead.
- D.
the relationship between Shamans and the Undead was believed to be a strong and stable one.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
“In order to confirm their abnormal status, many of the Undead were often accorded attributes, which defied the natural order of things . . .” Which one of the following best expresses the claim made in this statement?
- A.
The natural attributes of the Undead are rendered abnormal by changing their status.
- B.
According the Undead an abnormal status is to reject the natural order of things.
- C.
Human beings conceptualise the Undead as possessing abnormal features.
- D.
The Undead are deified in nature’s order by giving them divine attributes.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the statement, “From out of the primal darkness of Mankind’s earliest years, come whispers of eerie creatures, not quite alive (or alive in a way which we can understand), yet not quite dead either.”?
- A.
Mankind’s early years were marked by a belief in the existence of eerie creatures that were neither quite alive nor dead.
- B.
We can understand the lives of the eerie creatures in Mankind’s early years through their whispers in the darkness.
- C.
Mankind’s primal years were marked by creatures alive with eerie whispers, but seen only in the darkness.
- D.
Long ago, eerie creatures used to whisper in the primal darkness that they were not quite dead.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Critical theory of technology is a political theory of modernity with a normative dimension. It belongs to a tradition extending from Marx to Foucault and Habermas according to which advances in the formal claims of human rights take center stage while in the background centralization of ever more powerful public institutions and private organizations imposes an authoritarian social order.
Marx attributed this trajectory to the capitalist rationalization of production. Today it marks many institutions besides the factory and every modern political system, including so-called socialist systems. This trajectory arose from the problems of command over a disempowered and deskilled labor force; but everywhere [that] masses are organized – whether it be Foucault’s prisons or Habermas’s public sphere – the same pattern prevails. Technological design and development is shaped by this pattern as the material base of a distinctive social order. Marcuse would later point to a “project” as the basis of what he called rather confusingly “technological rationality.” Releasing technology from this project is a emocratic political task.
In accordance with this general line of thought, critical theory of technology regards technologies as an environment rather than as a collection of tools. We live today with and even within technologies that determine our way of life. Along with the constant pressures to build centers of power, many other social values and meanings are inscribed in technological design. A hermeneutics of technology must make explicit the meanings implicit in the devices we use and the rituals they script. Social histories of technologies such as the bicycle, artificial lighting or firearms have made important contributions to this type of analysis. Critical theory of technology attempts to build a methodological approach on the lessons of these histories.
As an environment, technologies shape their inhabitants. In this respect, they are comparable to laws and customs. Each of these institutions can be said to represent those who live under their sway through privileging certain dimensions of their human nature. Laws of property represent the interest in ownership and control. Customs such as parental authority represent the interest of childhood in safety and growth. Similarly, the automobile represents its users in so far as they are interested in mobility. Interests such as these constitute the version of human nature sanctioned by society.
This notion of representation does not imply an eternal human nature. The concept of nature as non-identity in the Frankfurt School suggests an alternative. On these terms, nature is what lies at the limit of history, at the point at which society loses the capacity to imprint its meanings on things and control them effectively. The reference here is, of course, not to the nature of natural science, but to the lived nature in which we find ourselves and which we are. This nature reveals itself as that which cannot be totally encompassed by the machinery of society. For the Frankfurt School, human nature, in all its transcending force, emerges out of a historical context as that context is [depicted] in illicit joys, struggles and pathologies. We can perhaps admit a less romantic . . . conception in which those dimensions of human nature recognized by society are also granted theoretical legitimacy.
Which one of the following statements contradicts the arguments of the passage?
- A.
Marx’s understanding of the capitalist rationalisation of production and Marcuse’s understanding of a “project” of “technological rationality” share theoretical inclinations.
- B.
The problems of command over a disempowered and deskilled labour force gave riseto similar patterns of the capitalist rationalisation of production wherever masses were organised.
- C.
Masses are organised in patterns set by Foucault’s prisons and Habermas’ public sphere.
- D.
Paradoxically, the capitalist rationalisation of production is a mark of so-called socialist systems as well.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements could be inferred as supporting the arguments of the passage?
- A.
Nature decides the point at which society loses its capacity to control history.
- B.
Technologies form the environmental context and shape the contours of human society.
- C.
It is not human nature, but human culture that is represented by institutions such as law and custom.
- D.
The romantic conception of nature referred to by the passage is the one that requires theoretical legitimacy.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements best reflects the main argument of the fourth paragraph of the passage?
- A.
Technological environments privilege certain dimensions of human nature as effectively as laws and customs.
- B.
Technology, laws, and customs are not unlike each other if considered as institutions.
- C.
Automobiles represent the interest in mobility present in human nature.
- D.
Technology, laws, and customs are comparable, but dissimilar phenomena.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
All of the following claims can be inferred from the passage, EXCEPT:
- A.
analyses of technologies must engage with their social histories to be able to reveal their implicit and explicit meanings for us.
- B.
the critical theory of technology argues that, as issues of human rights become moreprominent, we lose sight of the ways in which the social order becomes more authoritarian.
- C.
the significance of parental authority to children’s safety does not therefore imply that parental authority is a permanent aspect of human nature.
- D.
technologies seek to privilege certain dimensions of human nature at a high cost to lived nature.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
The Chinese have two different concepts of a copy. Fangzhipin . . . are imitations where the difference from the original is obvious. These are small models or copies that can be purchased in a museum shop, for example. The second concept for a copy is fuzhipin . . . They are exact reproductions of the original, which, for the Chinese, are of equal value to the original. It has absolutely no negative connotations. The discrepancy with regard to the understanding of what a copy is has often led to misunderstandings and arguments between China and Western museums. The Chinese often send copies abroad instead of originals, in the firm belief that they are not essentially different from the originals. The rejection that then
comes from the Western museums is perceived by the Chinese as an insult. . . .
The Far Eastern notion of identity is also very confusing to the Western observer. The Ise Grand Shrine [in Japan] is 1,300 years old for the millions of Japanese people who go there on pilgrimage every year. But in reality this temple complex is completely rebuilt from scratch every 20 years. . . .
The cathedral of Freiburg Minster in southwest Germany is covered in scaffolding almost all year round. The sandstone from which it is built is a very soft, porous material that does not withstand natural erosion by rain and wind. After a while, it crumbles. As a result, the cathedral is continually being examined for damage, and eroded stones are replaced. And in the cathedral’s dedicated workshop, copies of the damaged sandstone figures are constantly being produced. Of course, attempts are made to preserve the stones from the Middle Ages for as long as possible. But at some point they, too, are removed and replaced with new stones.
Fundamentally, this is the same operation as with the Japanese shrine, except in this case the production of a replica takes place very slowly and over long periods of time. . . . In the field of art as well, the idea of an unassailable original developed historically in the Western world. Back in the 17th century [in the West], excavated artworks from antiquity were treated quite differently from today. They were not restored in a way that was faithful to the original. Instead, there was massive intervention in these works, changing their appearance. . . .
It is probably this intellectual position that explains why Asians have far fewer scruples about cloning than Europeans. The South Korean cloning researcher Hwang Woo-suk, who attracted worldwide attention with his cloning experiments in 2004, is a Buddhist. He found a great deal of support and followers among Buddhists, while Christians called for a ban on human cloning. . . . Hwang legitimised his cloning experiments with his religious affiliation: ‘I am Buddhist, and I have no philosophical problem with cloning. And as you know, the basis of Buddhism is that life is recycled through reincarnation. In some ways, I think, therapeutic cloning restarts the circle of life.’
Based on the passage, which one of the following copies would a Chinese museum be unlikely to consider as having less value than the original?
- A.
Pablo Picasso’s painting of Vincent van Gogh’s original painting, identical in every respect.
- B.
Pablo Picasso’s painting of Vincent van Gogh’s original painting, bearing Picasso’s signature.
- C.
Pablo Picasso’s miniaturised, but otherwise faithful and accurate painting of Vincent van Gogh’s original painting.
- D.
Pablo Picasso’s photograph of Vincent van Gogh’s original painting, printed to exactly the same scale.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements does not correctly express the similarity between the Ise Grand Shrine and the cathedral of Freiburg Minster?
- A.
Both are continually undergoing restoration.
- B.
Both will one day be completely rebuilt.
- C.
Both were built as places of worship.
- D.
Both can be regarded as very old structures.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following scenarios is unlikely to follow from the arguments in the passage?
- A.
A 20th century Japanese Buddhist monk would value a reconstructed shrine as the original.
- B.
A 21st century Christian scientist is likely to oppose cloning because of his philosophical orientation.
- C.
A 17th century British painter would have no problem adding personal touches when restoring an ancient Roman painting.
- D.
A 17th century French artist who adhered to a Christian worldview would need to be completely true to the original intent of a painting when restoring it.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Workspace:
The value that the modern West assigns to “an unassailable original” has resulted in all of the following EXCEPT:
- A.
it discourages them from carrying out human cloning.
- B.
it discourages them from simultaneous displays of multiple copies of a painting.
- C.
it discourages them from making interventions in ancient art.
- D.
it allows regular employment for certain craftsmen.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
[Octopuses are] misfits in their own extended families . . . They belong to the Mollusca class Cephalopoda. But they don’t look like their cousins at all. Other molluscs include sea snails, sea slugs, bivalves – most are shelled invertebrates with a dorsal foot. Cephalopods are all arms, and can be as tiny as 1 centimetre and as large at 30 feet. Some of them have brains the size of a walnut, which is large for an invertebrate. . . .
It makes sense for these molluscs to have added protection in the form of a higher cognition; they don’t have a shell covering them, and pretty much everything feeds on cephalopods, including humans. But how did cephalopods manage to secure their own invisibility cloak? Cephalopods fire from multiple cylinders to achieve this in varying degrees from species to species. There are four main catalysts – chromatophores, iridophores, papillae and leucophores. . . .
[Chromatophores] are organs on their bodies that contain pigment sacs, which have red, yellow and brown pigment granules. These sacs have a network of radial muscles, meaning muscles arranged in a circle radiating outwards. These are connected to the brain by a nerve. When the cephalopod wants to change colour, the brain carries an electrical impulse through the nerve to the muscles that expand outwards, pulling open the sacs to display the colours on the skin. Why these three colours? Because these are the colours the light reflects at the depths they live in (the rest is absorbed before it reaches those depths). . . .
Well, what about other colours? Cue the iridophores. Think of a second level of skin that has thin stacks of cells. These can reflect light back at different wavelengths. . . . It’s using the same properties that we’ve seen in hologram stickers, or rainbows on puddles of oil. You move your head and you see a different colour. The sticker isn’t doing anything but reflecting light – it’s your movement that’s changing the appearance of the colour. This property of holograms, oil and other such surfaces is called “iridescence”. . . .
Papillae are sections of the skin that can be deformed to make a texture bumpy. Even humans possess them (goosebumps) but cannot use them in the manner that cephalopods can. For instance, the use of these cells is how an octopus can wrap itself over a rock and appear jagged or how a squid or cuttlefish can imitate the look of a coral reef by growing miniature towers on its skin. It actually matches the texture of the substrate it chooses.
Finally, the leucophores: According to a paper, published in Nature, cuttlefish and octopuses possess an additional type of reflector cell called a leucophore. They are cells that scatter full spectrum light so that they appear white in a similar way that a polar bear’s fur appears white. Leucophores will also reflect any filtered light shown on them . . . If the water appears blue at a certain depth, the octopuses and cuttlefish can appear blue; if the water appears green, they appear green, and so on and so forth.
Based on the passage, we can infer that all of the following statements, if true, would weaken the camouflaging adeptness of Cephalopods EXCEPT:
- A.
the number of chromatophores in Cephalopods is half the number of iridophores and leucophores.
- B.
the temperature of water at the depths at which Cephalopods reside renders the transmission of neural signals difficult.
- C.
the hydrostatic pressure at the depths at which Cephalopods reside renders radial muscle movements difficult.
- D.
light reflects the colours red, green, and yellow at the depths at which Cephalopods reside.
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
All of the following are reasons for octopuses being “misfits” EXCEPT that they:
- A.
exhibit higher intelligence than other molluscs.
- B.
are consumed by humans and other animals.
- C.
do not possess an outer protective shell.
- D.
have several arms.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
Which one of the following statements is not true about the camouflaging ability of Cephalopods?
- A.
Cephalopods can change their texture.
- B.
Cephalopods can change their colour.
- C.
Cephalopods can take on the colour of their predator.
- D.
Cephalopods can blend into the colour of their surroundings.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
Based on the passage, it can be inferred that camouflaging techniques in an octopus are most dissimilar to those in:
Answer: 3
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
When we teach engineering problems now, we ask students to come to a single “best” solution defined by technical ideals like low cost, speed to build, and ability to scale. This way of teaching primes students to believe that their decision-making is purely objective, as it is grounded in math and science. This is known as technical-social dualism, the idea that the technical and social dimensions of engineering problems are readily separable and remain distinct throughout the problem-definition and solution process.
Nontechnical parameters such as access to a technology, cultural relevancy or potential harms are deemed political and invalid in this way of learning. But those technical ideals are at their core social and political choices determined by a dominant culture focused on economic growth for the most privileged segments of society. By choosing to downplay public welfare as a critical parameter for engineering design, we risk creating a culture of disengagement from societal concerns amongst engineers that is antithetical to the ethical code of engineering.
In my field of medical devices, ignoring social dimensions has real consequences. . . . Most FDA-approved drugs are incorrectly dosed for people assigned female at birth, leading to unexpected adverse reactions. This is because they have been inadequately represented in clinical trials.
Beyond physical failings, subjective beliefs treated as facts by those in decision-making roles can encode social inequities. For example, spirometers, routinely used devices that measure lung capacity, still have correction factors that automatically assume smaller lung capacity in Black and Asian individuals. These racially based adjustments are derived from research done by eugenicists who thought these racial differences were biologically determined and who considered nonwhite people as inferior. These machines ignore the influence of social and environmental factors on lung capacity.
Many technologies for systemically marginalized people have not been built because they were not deemed important such as better early diagnostics and treatment for diseases like endometriosis, a disease that afflicts 10 percent of people with uteruses. And we hardly question whether devices are built sustainably, which has led to a crisis of medical waste and health care accounting for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Social justice must be made core to the way engineers are trained. Some universities are working on this. . . . Engineers taught this way will be prepared to think critically about what problems we choose to solve, how we do so responsibly and how we build teams that challenge our ways of thinking.
Individual engineering professors are also working to embed societal needs in their pedagogy. Darshan Karwat at the University of Arizona developed activist engineering to challenge engineers to acknowledge their full moral and social responsibility through practical self-reflection. Khalid Kadir at the University of California, Berkeley, created the popular course Engineering, Environment, and Society that teaches engineers how to engage in place-based knowledge, an understanding of the people, context and history, to design better technical approaches in collaboration with communities. When we design and build with equity and justice in mind, we craft better solutions that respond to the complexities of entrenched systemic problems.
In this passage, the author is making the claim that:
- A.
the objective of best solutions in engineering has shifted the focus of pedagogy from humanism and social obligations to technological perfection.
- B.
engineering students today are taught to focus on objective technical outcomes, independent of the social dimensions of their work.
- C.
engineering students today are trained to be non-subjective in their reasoning as this best enables them to develop much-needed universal solutions.
- D.
technical-social dualism has emerged as a technique for engineering students to incorporate social considerations into their technical problem-solving processes.
Answer: Option B
Explanation :
Workspace:
All of the following are examples of the negative outcomes of focusing on technical ideals in the medical sphere EXCEPT the:
- A.
exclusion of non-privileged groups in clinical trials which leads to incorrect drug dosages.
- B.
neglect of research and development of medical technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that typically afflict marginalised communities.
- C.
incorrect assignment of people as female at birth which has resulted in faulty drug interventions.
- D.
continuing calibration of medical devices based on past racial biases that have remained unadjusted for changes.
Answer: Option C
Explanation :
Workspace:
The author gives all of the following reasons for why marginalised people are systematically discriminated against in technology-related interventions EXCEPT:
- A.
“And we hardly question whether devices are built sustainably, which has led to a crisis of medical waste and health care accounting for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”
- B.
“But those technical ideals are at their core social and political choices determined by a dominant culture focused on economic growth for the most privileged segments of society.”
- C.
“These racially based adjustments are derived from research done by eugenicists who thought these racial differences were biologically determined and who considered nonwhite people as inferior.”
- D.
“Beyond physical failings, subjective beliefs treated as facts by those in decision-making roles can encode social inequities.”
Answer: Option A
Explanation :
Workspace:
We can infer that the author would approve of a more evolved engineering pedagogy that includes all of the following EXCEPT:
- A.
making considerations of environmental sustainability intrinsic to the development of technological solutions.
- B.
design that is based on the needs of communities using local knowledge and responding to local priorities.
- C.
a more responsible approach to technical design and problem-solving than a focus on speed in developing and bringing to scale.
- D.
moving towards technical-social dualism where social community needs are incorporated in problem-definition and solutions.
Answer: Option D
Explanation :
Workspace:
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Humans today make music. Think beyond all the qualifications that might trail after this bald statement: that only certain humans make music, that extensive training is involved, that many societies distinguish musical specialists from nonmusicians, that in today’s societies most listen to music rather than making it, and so forth. These qualifications, whatever their local merit, are moot in the face of the overarching truth that making music, considered from a cognitive and psychological vantage, is the province of all those who perceive and experience what is made. We are, almost all of us, musicians — everyone who can entrain (not necessarily dance) to a beat, who can recognize a repeated tune (not necessarily sing it), who can distinguish one instrument or one singing voice from another. I will often use an antique word, recently revived, to name this broader musical experience. Humans are musicking creatures. . . .
The set of capacities that enables musicking is a principal marker of modern humanity. There is nothing polemical in this assertion except a certain insistence, which will figure often in what follows, that musicking be included in our thinking about fundamental human commonalities. Capacities involved in musicking are many and take shape in complicated ways, arising from innate dispositions . . . Most of these capacities overlap with nonmusical ones, though a few may be distinct and dedicated to musical perception and production. In the area of overlap, linguistic capacities seem to be particularly important, and humans are (in principle) language-makers in addition to music-makers — speaking creatures as well as musicking ones.
Humans are symbol-makers too, a feature tightly bound up with language, not so tightly with music. The species Cassirer dubbed Homo symbolicus cannot help but tangle musicking in webs of symbolic thought and expression, habitually making it a component of behavioral complexes that form such expression. But in fundamental features musicking is neither language-like nor symbol-like, and from these differences come many clues to its ancient emergence.
If musicking is a primary, shared trait of modern humans, then to describe its emergence must be to detail the coalescing of that modernity. This took place, archaeologists are clear, over a very long durée: at least 50,000 years or so, more likely something closer to 200,000, depending in part on what that coalescence is taken to comprise. If we look back 20,000 years, a small portion of this long period, we reach the lives of humans whose musical capacities were probably little different from our own. As we look farther back we reach horizons where this similarity can no longer hold — perhaps 40,000 years ago, perhaps 70,000, perhaps 100,000. But we never cross a line before which all the cognitive capacities recruited in modern musicking abruptly disappear. Unless we embrace the incredible notion that music sprang forth in full-blown glory, its emergence will have to be tracked in gradualist terms across a long period.
This is one general feature of a history of music’s emergence . . . The history was at once sociocultural and biological . . . The capacities recruited in musicking are many, so describing its emergence involves following several or many separate strands.
Based on the passage, which one of the following statements is a valid argument about the emergence of music/musicking?
- A.
Anyone who can perceive and experience music must be considered capable of musicking.
- B.
20,000 years ago, human musical capacities were not very different from what they are today.
- C.
All musical work is located in the overlap between linguistic capacity and music production.
- D.
Although musicking is not language-like, it shares the quality of being a form of expression.
Answer: Option B
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