After successfully completing the CAT 2016 sprint series and the SNAP 2016 sprint series, we are back with the XAT 2017 sprint preparation series – Decision making 10 to boost your prep. This series will consist of 10 sets of questions from past year XAT papers, leading to XAT 2017 and covered almost all the question types that you needed to know come the 8th of January.
XAT 2017 sprint preparation series – Decision making 10
Directions for questions 1 to 4: Answer questions on the basis of information given in the following case.
The Disciplinary Committee of Nation Political Party (NPP) is meeting today to decide on the future of two of their party members, Mr. Loyal and his son Mr. Prodigal. Mr. Prodigal is the prime accused in the brutal murder of Mr. Victim, an opposition party leader. Mr. Prodigal is in police custody and his appeal for bail has got rejected. Mr. Loyal claims that his son is innocent and Mr. Victim’s death was the result of internal rivalry in the opposition party. Though Mr.
Loyal is not accused in this case, his weakness for his son is well known. The media is blaming him for influencing key witnesses to protect his son. Severe criticism of his father-son duo, both by the media and some social activists, is damaging the image of the party. However, Mr. Loyal has significant followers within the party and is considered an asset to the party. Any harsh decision against Mr. Loyal would adversely affect the future of NPP and could even lead to a split in the party. This would benefit the opposition.
1. Which of the following actions would adversely affect both NPP and Mr. Loyal, the most?
(1) Take no action against Mr. Loyal.
(2) Suspend Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect.
(3) Expel Mr. Loyal from the party with immediate effect.
(4) Ban Mr. Loyal from entering party premises till completion of court proceedings.
(5) Initiate an internal inquiry to find the truth.
2. At the Disciplinary Committee meeting, members came up with the following suggestions.
Which of the following suggestions would harm the party, the least?
(1) Maintain status-quo
(2) Expel Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect to maintain party’s clean image
(3) Initiate an internal inquiry to find the truth.
(4) Suspend Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect but announce that he will be taken back if the court declares him innocent.
(5) Suspend both Mr. Loyal and Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect.
3. Mr. Opportunist, a veteran member of NPP, stakes his claims to be nominated as an NPP candidate in the upcoming election. Mr. Opportunist presented the following arguments in favour of his candidature to the NPP Executive Committee.
I. Mr. Loyal’s candidature in the upcoming election will adversely impact NPP’s chances. Hence, the party should not nominate him.
II. The party should call a press conference to disown Mr. Loyal. This would enhance the party’s image.
III. The party would not be able to take any strong disciplinary action against Mr. Loyal, if he gets re-elected.
IV. I have a lot of goodwill and significant followers in the constituency,
V. None of my close relatives are into active politics.
Which of the following combinations would best strengthen the claim of Mr. Opportunist?
(1) I & III
(2) I &IV
(3) II & III
(4) III & V
(5) IV & V
4. The Disciplinary Committee has decided to suspend Mr. Loyal from the party because they felt he was influencing the judicial process. However, Mr. Loyal feels that the committee is biased and he is being framed. Now, election has been announced. The last time. Mr. Loyal had won with a majority on account of his good work. Which of the following options is most likely to resurrect Mr. Loyal’s immediate political career?
(1) The main opposition party has invited Mr. Loyal to join the party and contest the election Chance of winning is high.
(2) Not participation in the campaign and instructing his followers to stay away from the campaigning process.
(3) Ask his followers to support the NPP nominated candidate and display his loyalty to NPP.
(4) Mr. Loyal should contest as an independent candidate. But because of a split in votes, his chances of winning would be low.
(5) Influence the nomination process through his followers within NPP, to get one of his close associates nominated.
5. Innovative Institute of Business (IIB) has decided to be the first green campus in India. IIB Administration has advised all campus residents to reduce carbon footprints. IIB faculty members did a brainstorming and came up with the following suggestions:
I. Replacing electricity source for street lights with solar panels.
II. Replacing the existing buildings with environment friendly buildings.
III. Organizing a seminar on ‘Towards a Sustainable Future’ involving all students, staff, and experts from around the country.
IV. Introducing a compulsory course on sustainability to increase awareness among students.
V. Conducting an initial energy audit to explore where IIB can reduce carbon footprints.
Which of the following options would be the most preferred sequence of actions to reduce carbon footprints on campus?
(1) II, IV, V
(2) IV, V, III
(3) V, I, II
(4) V, I, III
(5) V, III, I
6. Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants has been temporarily stored on-site, but this is not a satisfactory kind of place for long-range storage. Since no suitable plan of safe permanent storage of such waste from the nation’s existing and planned nuclear plants has been devised, some people propose that we should stop trying to develop such a plan and instead should shut down all present nuclear plants and build no new nuclear plants.
The proposal mentioned above falls short of offering a complete solution to the problem it addresses because
(A) it would prevent the development of safe technologies for producing electric power
(B) it does not distinguish between nuclear plants that have, and plants that do not have, a reputation for operating safely
(C) it does not provide for the permanent storage of already-existing waste
(D) the generation of electric power from fossil fuels is relatively safe
(E) the risks of unsafe disposal of waste from nuclear power plants lie in the future, but the benefits from such plants are in the present
7. Only 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies exist worldwide. Nowhere in the world are fruit flies more taxonomically diverse than in the Hawaiian islands, which host some 500 species. A subset of fruit flies called the picture-winged drosophilids is represented in Hawaii by 106 species. All of the fruit fly species now present in the Hawaiian archipelago are thought to be the descendants of the same one or two ancestral females.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) All of the picture-winged drosophilids in Hawaii are believed to be the descendants of the same one or two ancestral female fruit flies.
(B) Picture-winged drosophilids are found only in the Hawaiian islands.
(C) All of the 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies worldwide are believed to be the descendants of one or two females.
(D) If 500 new species of fruit flies were discovered, then Hawaiian fruit flies would no longer be the most taxonomically diverse population.
(E) Some fruit flies originated in Hawaii and spread from there to other parts of the world.
8. In 1860 Bavarian quarry workers discovered the impression of a feather in a limestone slab dating to the Mesozoic era. It had previously been assumed that birds developed only after the close of the Mesozoic era and after the disappearance of pterosaurs, a species characteristic of that era. But there in limestone lay the imprint of a fully aerodynamic, three-inch-long feather. This, therefore, must have been the earliest bird—certainly, the earliest found to that date.
The argument assumes which one of the following?
(A) The creature to which the feather belonged was a descendant of the pterosaurs.
(B) Birds with such feathers were preceded by species of birds with less-developed feathers.
(C) In the Mesozoic era, no creatures other than birds had such feathers.
(D) The feather belonged to a Mesozoic creature that was neither a pterosaur nor a bird, but an intermediate between them.
(E) The earliest bird flew in an awkward manner.
9. State researchers have found that since the oil price increases of the 1970s, there has been a decline in home energy consumption. They concluded that almost all of the decline has been achieved through reduced standards of living and changes in the way people spend their time.
Each of the following, if true, would support the conclusion above EXCEPT:
(A) Sales of portable heaters rose as families concentrated their winter activities in a limited number of rooms.
(B) During the winter months, more people frequented public places such as libraries and community centers and, on the average, spent considerably longer periods in them than they had previously.
(C) More than 39 percent of households were able to decrease energy costs substantially by having relatively inexpensive work done to improve the efficiency of their existing heating systems.
(D) At least 59 percent of households maintained a lower indoor temperature than they had been accustomed to maintain on very cold days.
(E) Members of at least 60 percent of households showered for shorter periods of time than they had previously.
10. Senator Strongwood reported that, contrary to a study cited by the administration, a thorough study by his own party concluded that a reduction in the capital gains tax would lead to an increase in the federal deficit. “Hooray for common sense,” he said. “Everyone knows that when you cut taxes you lose revenue.” He concluded that the administration’s plan for reducing the capital gains tax was now dead, because he could not imagine any senator voting to increase the deficit.
Which one of the following accurately describes something Senator Strongwood does in advancing his argument?
(A) He implies that increasing the capital gains tax would decrease the federal deficit.
(B) He assumes senators will believe his party’s report instead of the administration’s.
(C) He resorts to name-calling by expressly stating that his opponents lack common sense.
(D) He assumes that senators will rarely vote for unpopular legislation.
(E) He assumes that a study commissioned by his party must be more objective than one commissioned by the administration.
Solutions:
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. C
7. A
8. C
9. C
10. B
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You can follow the entire sprint series here: XAT 2017 Sprint Preparation Series by Learningroots
