This article is part of the ‘CAT 2016 Sprint Preparation Series’. We will be posting questions from previous year CAT papers, forums, mock tests, and other entrances that are on par with the level of difficulty you can expect in CAT 2016. We will be posting the solutions and traps/things to look at while solving similar questions so that you are avoid making silly mistakes during the test.
VARC | Set 1
CAT 2016 Sprint Preparation Series
Reading Comprehension
Passage 1:
A game of strategy, as currently conceived in game theory, is a situation in which two or more “players” make choices among available alternatives (moves). The totality of choices determines the outcomes of the game, and it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different players. Thus the “interests” of the players are generally in conflict. Whether these interests are diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of game.
Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident and partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner conflicts within the players. Each is torn between a tendency to cooperate, so as to promote the common interests, and a tendency to compete, so as to enhance his own individual interests.
Internal conflicts are always psychologically interesting. What we vaguely call “interesting” psychology is in very great measure the psychology of inner conflict. Inner conflict is also held to be an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres. The classical tragedy, as well as the serious novel reveals the inner conflict of central figures. The superficial adventure story on the other hand, depicts only external conflict; that is, the threats to the person with whom the reader (or viewer) identifies stem in these stories exclusively from external obstacles and from the adversaries who create them. On the most primitive level this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty. In the fisticuffs between the protagonists of good and evil, no psychological problems are involved or, at any rate, none are depicted in juvenile representations of conflict.
The detective story, the “adult” analogue of a juvenile adventure tale, has at times been described as a glorification of intellectualized conflict. However, a great deal of the interest in the plots of these stories is sustained by withholding the unraveling of a solution to a problem. The effort of solving the problem is in itself not a conflict if the adversary (the unknown criminal) remains passive, like Nature, whose secrets the scientist supposedly unravels by deduction. If the adversary actively puts obstacles in the detective’s path toward the solution, there is genuine conflict. But the conflict is psychologically interesting only to the extent that it contains irrational components such as a tactical error on the criminal’s part or the detective’s insight into some psychological quirk of the criminal or something of this sort. Conflict conducted in a perfectly rational manner is psychologically no more interesting than a standard Western. For example, Tic-tac-toe, played perfectly by both players, is completely devoid of psychological interest. Chess may be psychologically interesting but only to the extent that it is played not quite rationally. Played completely rationally, chess would not be different from Tic-tac-toe.
In short, a pure conflict of interest (what is called a zero-sum game) although it offers a wealth of interesting conceptual problems, is not interesting psychologically, except to the extent that its conduct departs from rational norms.
1. According to the passage, internal conflicts are psychologically more interesting than external conflicts because
(1) internal conflicts, rather than external conflicts, form an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres.
(2) only juveniles or very few “adults” actually experience external conflict, while internal conflict is more widely prevalent in society.
(3) in situations of internal conflict, individuals experience a dilemma in resolving their own preferences for different outcomes.
(4) there are no threats to the reader (or viewer) in case of external conflicts
2. Which, according to the author, would qualify as interesting psychology?
(1) A statistician’s dilemma over choosing the best method to solve an optimization problem.
(2) A chess player’s predicament over adopting a defensive strategy against an aggressive opponent.
(3) A mountaineer’s choice of the best path to Mt. Everest from the base camp.
(4) A finance manager’s quandary over the best way of raising money from the market
3. According to the passage, which of the following options about the application of game theory to a conflict-of-interest situation is true?
(1) Assuming that the rank order of preferences for options is different for different players.
(2) Accepting that the interests of different players are often in conflict.
(3) Not assuming that the interests are in complete disagreement.
(4) All of the above.
4. The problem solving process of a scientist is different from that of a detective because
(1) scientists study inanimate objects, while detectives deal with living criminals or law offenders.
(2) scientists study known objects, while detectives have to deal with unknown criminals or law offenders.
(3) scientists study phenomena that are not actively altered, while detectives deal with phenomena that have been deliberately influenced to mislead.
(4) scientists study psychologically interesting phenomena, while detectives deal with “adult” analogues of juvenile adventure tales.
Passage 2:
Alone—he was alone again—again condemned to silence—again face to face with nothingness! Alone!—never again to see the face, never again to hear the voice of the only human being who united him to earth! Was not Faria’s fate the better, after all—to solve the problem of life at its source, even at the risk of horrible suffering? The idea of suicide, which his friend had driven away and kept away by his cheerful presence, now hovered like a phantom over the abbe’s dead body.
“If I could die,” he said, “I should go where he goes, and should assuredly find him again. But how to die? It is very easy,” he went on with a smile; “I will remain here, rush on the first person that opens the door, strangle him, and then they will guillotine me.” But excessive grief is like a storm at sea, where the frail bark is tossed from the depths to the top of the wave. Dantes recoiled from the idea of so infamous a death, and passed suddenly from despair to an ardent desire for life and liberty.
“Die? oh, no,” he exclaimed—”not die now, after having lived and suffered so long and so much! Die? yes, had I died years ago; but now to die would be, indeed, to give way to the sarcasm of destiny. No, I want to live; I shall struggle to the very last; I will yet win back the happiness of which I have been deprived. Before I die I must not forget that I have my executioners to punish, and perhaps, too, who knows, some friends to reward. Yet they will forget me here, and I shall die in my dungeon like Faria.” As he said this, he became silent and gazed straight before him like one overwhelmed with a strange and amazing thought. Suddenly he arose, lifted his hand to his brow as if his brain wore giddy, paced twice or thrice round the dungeon, and then paused abruptly by the bed.
“Just God!” he muttered, “whence comes this thought? Is it from thee? Since none but the dead pass freely from this dungeon, let me take the place of the dead!” Without giving himself time to reconsider his decision, and, indeed, that he might not allow his thoughts to be distracted from his desperate resolution, he bent over the appalling shroud, opened it with the knife which Faria had made, drew the corpse from the sack, and bore it along the tunnel to his own chamber, laid it on his couch, tied around its head the rag he wore at night around his own, covered it with his counterpane, once again kissed the ice–cold brow, and tried vainly to close the resisting eyes, which glared horribly, turned the head towards the wall, so that the jailer might, when he brought the evening meal, believe that he was asleep, as was his frequent custom; entered the tunnel again, drew the bed against the wall, returned to the other cell, took from the hiding–place the needle and thread, flung off his rags, that they might feel only naked flesh beneath the coarse canvas, and getting inside the sack, placed himself in the posture in which the dead body had been laid, and sewed up the mouth of the sack from the inside.
1. How was the protagonist planning to resolve his problem?
(1) To give up and surrender.
(2) To commit suicide in the dungeon.
(3) To fight the jailor and escape.
(4) To kill those who came to carry the corpse.
(5) To exchange places with the dead.
2. Which one of the following options is nearest in meaning to that implied by the phrase ‘sarcasm of destiny’ in this passage?
(1) Destiny makes one a laughing stock.
(2) Destiny ultimately asserts itself.
(3) Triumph of the struggles gone through.
(4) A mockery of the forces of destiny.
(5) Let the enemy have the last laugh
3. Among the options given below, which phrase specifically captures the change of mood of the protagonist?
(1) To be or not to be
(2) Despair and hope
(3) Depression to daring
(4) Darkness to light
(5) Loathing to yearning
4. Words Related Words
i. Counterpane a. Burial
ii. Dungeon b. Bed
iii. Guillotine c. Execution
iv. Shroud d. Cell
Which of the above ‘related words’ on the right – hand side are correctly matched with ‘words’ on the left – hand side?
(1) i – b, ii – d, iii – c, iv –a
(2) i – a, ii – d, iii – b, iv – c
(3) i – a, ii – d, iii – c, iv –b
(4) i – d, ii – b, iii – a, iv – c
(5) i – b, ii – a, iii – c, iv –d
Verbal Ability
Q.1. Media are not just passive channels of information. Not only do they supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the internet seems to be doing is chipping away our capacity for concentration.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument presented above?
1. Nietzsche was forced to use a typewriter when he started losing his vision. After he mastered the machine, he could type with his eyes closed. It was later found that under the effect of the machine, Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style”.
2. One of the effects of the timekeeping instruments has been that we have started deciding on our daily activities based on the clock and not based on our senses.
3. Studies have shown that the essay writing skills of an average 15-20 year old, who spends a lot of time browsing the internet, is comparable to what it was among the average 15-20 year old, throughout the 1980s and the 1990s.
4. A recent study has shown that the number of people who fall asleep while reading a printed book has increased in the last five years.
5. The ability of the younger judges, who have grown up with ready access to internet, to judge complex and intricate cases, has, on an average, become better as compared to what it was for judges of comparable age profile during the 1920s.
Q.2. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument presented in the previous question?
1. Nietzsche was forced to use a typewriter when he started losing his vision. After he mastered the machine, he could type with his eyes closed. It was later found that under the effect of the machine, Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style”.
2. One of the effects of the timekeeping instruments has been that we have started deciding on our daily activities based on the clock and not based on our senses.
3. Studies have shown that the essay writing skills of an average 15 – 20 year old, who spends a lot of time browsing the internet, is comparable to what it was among the average 15-20 year old, throughout the 1980s and the 1990s.
4. A recent study has shown that the number of people who fall asleep while reading a printed book has increased in the last five years.
5.The ability of the younger judges, who have grown up with ready access to internet, to judge complex and intricate cases, has, on an average, become better as compared to what it was during the 1920s.
Q.3.Randomness has to be dealt with successfully to ensure a better control over one’s life. Before one can deal effectively with randomness, one must acknowledge its existence.
The above statement implies the following except:
1. Randomness can be dealt with effectively.
2. If one acknowledges the existence of randomness, one will be able to deal with it effectively.
3. One can deal effectively with randomness if and only if one acknowledges its existence.
4. Everyone lives in a random world.
5. If one does not acknowledge the existence of randomness, one cannot deal with it effectively.
Q.4. Read the following sentences and choose the option that best arranges them in a logical order.
1. In law a fiduciary individual is someone who is entrusted with the power to act on behalf of and for the benefit of another.
2. Following the weight of corporate law and legal precedent, the director primacy model positions directors as autonomous fiduciaries, not agents.
3. The term fiduciary derives from the Latin fiducia, or trust, and the fiduciary is expected to act in good faith and honesty for the beneficiary’s interests.
4. A person who accepts the role of fiduciary in law must single-mindedly pursue the interests of his or her beneficiary, in this case the corporation, even when the latter cannot monitor or control the fiduciary’s behaviour.
Q.5. Travelling is my hobby. Today in the Himalayas, as I drag my feet through the ___________, I cannot but think of the same time last year when I was negotiating the thick ____________of the Ganges delta or for that matter the time I spent with my children _____________ about in the waters of the Arabian Sea.
The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be:
- slush, sludge, sloshing
- sludge, slosh, slushing
- slush, slosh, sludging
- slosh, sludge, slushing
- sludge, slush, sloshing
Q.6.In spite of being perceived as _______ by all, the club members decided to _________ Arun, a skinny teenage with prominent ___________, as the member of the year, so that the whole affair would be __________ to Arun’s father who was recuperating after a serious illness.
The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be:
- felon, felicitate, freckles, febrile
- feral, facilitate, feckless, felicific
- federate, facilitate, freckles, feral
- febrile, felicitate, feckless, feral
- feckless, felicitate, freckles, felicific
Q.7. Complete the paragraph:
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. _______________________
- Sudoku, on the other hand, is just a logical exercise, each one similar to the last.
- Sudoku, incidentally, is growing faster in popularity than crosswords, even among the literati.
- Sudoku, on the other hand, can be attempted and enjoyed even by children.
- Sudoku, however, is not exciting in any sense of the term.
Q.8. Complete the paragraph:
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. _______________________
- The result, however, is disastrous.
- The result is mediocrity.
- The result is creation of experts who then become elitists.
- Naturally, they drive innovations.
Q.9.Paragraph Summary:
Try before you buy. We use this memorable saying to urge you to experience the consequences of an alternative before you choose it, whenever this is feasible. If you are considering buying a van after having always owned sedans, rent one for a week or borrow a friend’s. By experiencing the consequences first hand, they become more meaningful. In addition, you are likely to identify consequences you had not even thought of before. May be you will discover that it is difficult to park the van in your small parking space at work, but that, on the other hand, your elderly father has a much easier time getting in and out of it.
- If you are planning to buy a van after being used to sedans, borrow a van or rent it and try it before deciding to buy it. Then you may realize that parking a van is difficult while it is easier for your elderly father to get in and out of it.
- Before choosing an alternative, experience its consequences if feasible. If, for example, you want to change from sedans to a van, try one before buying it. You will discover aspects you may never have thought of.
- Always try before you buy anything. You are bound to discover many consequences. One of the consequences of going in for a van is that it is more difficult to park than sedans at the office car park.
- We urge you to try products such as vans before buying them. Then you can experience consequences you have not thought of such as parking problems. But your father may find vans more comfortable than cars.
Q.10. Paragraph Summary:
It is important for shipping companies to be clear about the objectives for maintenance and materials management – as to whether the primary focus is on service level improvement or cost minimization. Often when certain systems are set in place, the cost minimization objective and associated procedure become more important than the flexibility required for service level improvement. The problem really arises since cost minimization tends to focus on out of pocket costs which are visible, while the opportunity costs, often greater in value, are lost sight of.
- Shipping companies have to either minimize costs or maximize service quality. If they focus on cost minimization, they will reduce quality. They should focus on service level improvement, or else opportunity costs will be lost sight of.
- Shipping companies should determine the primary focus of their maintenance and materials management. Focus on cost minimization may reduce visible costs, but ignore greater invisible costs and impair service quality.
- Any cost minimization program in shipping is bound to lower the quality of service. Therefore, shipping companies must be clear about the primary focus of their maintenance and materials management before embarking on cost minimization.
- Shipping companies should focus on quality level improvement rather than cost cutting. Cost cutting will lead to untold opportunity costs. Companies should have systems in place to make the service level flexible.
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Solutions:
Reading Comprehension
Q.1) 3. From the third paragraph “…On the most primitive level this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty…”Also from the second paragraph “..Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident and partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner conflicts within the players…”. From this, 3 can be inferred.
Q.2) 2. In the passage the author states that conflict is psychologically interesting only to the extent that it contains irrational components. Thus, the answer has to be something which is not completely rational. Best way to find the answer is to eliminate options:
Option 1 – The statistician will choose the best method possible and hence he is acting rationally.
Option 3 – The mountaineer will again choose whatever is the best path available. Hence, he acts rationally.
Option 4 – Again in this case, the finance manager will choose the best option available to raise money. Hence, this option is incorrect.
Q.3) 4. All of the options are mentioned in the first paragraph.
Q.4) 3. From the fourth paragraph “..The effort of solving the problem is in itself not a conflict if the adversary (the unknown criminal) remains passive, like Nature, whose secrets the scientist supposedly unravels by deduction. If the adversary actively puts obstacles in the detective’s path toward the solution, there is genuine conflict..”
Q.5) 5. This is straight from the passage (refer the last line of the passage).
Q.6)
Option C conveys that ‘someone’ (in this case ‘destiny’) has struggled and become successful. Destiny is not like a human being that struggle. Struggle is possible for the protagonist. But, there is no mention that protagonist has been successful in the struggle.
Option D is also wrong as nowhere the protagonist has made ‘mockery of destiny’.
Option E is also not the correct answer because it is not the protagonist versus the enemy but it is the protagonist versus ‘his destiny’ (destiny need not be enemy, but it can be powerful). In other words, destiny is not an enemy but something beyond the control of a person/something very powerful.
Option A can be close as destiny can make a person a laughing stock as it is very powerful. But it is not always true.
Option B is true all the time. The phrase ‘sarcasm of destiny’ in the passage means that life chances of the protagonist is not’ his choice’, rather external force like destiny control the chances. However, even if a person succumbs to external force like destiny that might not make him a laughing stock (Option A). Hence, Option B is the correct answer.
Q.7) Question is about ‘change of mood of the protagonist’.
Option A is a generic mood swing and not specific.
Option B talks about two mental states and there is no swing (despair and hope NOT despair to hope) ‘from one to other’. Moreover, ‘hope’ fails to capture the determination.
Option D is close but it fails to capture the state of mind of the protagonist. Moreover, it is also generic like Option A.
Option E captures the mood swing but not in sync with the passage.
Hence, Option C is the correct answer.
Q.8)
Answer: Counterpane – cover
– Dungeon – Jail/prison
– Guillotine – an equipment for beheading
– Shroud – Burial garment
Hence, Option A is the correct answer.
Verbal Ability
Q.1) D. A and B are irrelevant. C and E weaken the argument.
Q.2) E. Both C and E weaken the argument. However, E is a better option as it says that the ability has become better as compared to C which says that the ability is the same.
Q.3) B. The passage only says that ‘Before one can deal effectively with randomness, one must acknowledge its existence’. There is no surety that even if one acknowledges its existence one will be able to deal with it effectively.
Q.4) 3142
Q.5) A.
slush – partially melted snow or ice
Sludge – muddy deposit
Slosh – splashing through water
Q.6) E
Feckless – lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible.
Felicific – relating to or promoting increased happiness.
Q.7) 1. 1 provides the best contrast with crossword.
Q.8) 2. The answer is clearly between 1 and 2. Between these, 2 is clearly the milder and the better answer
Q.9) B is the best summary. Other options focus either only on the example or take the example at face value and leave out the idea behind it.
Q.10) B provides the best summary and covers all the points mentioned in the passage.
