In the last article, we solved 5 questions pertaining to critical reasoning. Let’s solve 5 more in this article. As always, try attempting the questions before you head over to the answers.
Q.1. The company’s coffee crop for 1998-99 totalled 8079 tonnes, an all time record. The increase over the previous year’s production of 5830 tonnes was 38.58%. The previous highest crop was 6089 tonnes in 1970-71. The company had fixed a target of 8000 tonnes to be realized by the year 2000-01, and this has been achieved two years earlier, thanks to the emphasis laid on the key areas of irrigation, replacement of unproductive coffee bushes, intensive refilling and improved agricultural practices. It is now our endeavour to reach the target of 10,000 tonnes in the year 2001-02.
Which one of the following would contribute most to making the target of 10,000 tonnes in 2001-02 unrealistic? (CAT 1999)
- The potential of the productivity enhancing measures implemented up to now has been exhausted.
- The total company land under coffee has remained constant since 1969 when an estate in the Nilgiri Hills was acquired.
- The sensitivity of the crop to climatic factors makes prediction about production uncertain.
- The target-setting procedures in the company have been proved to the sound by the achievement of the 8000 tonnes target.
Q.2. Animals in general are shrewd in proportion as they cultivate society. Elephants and beavers show the greatest signs of this sagacity when they are together in large numbers, but when man invades their communities they lose all their spirit of industry. Among insects, the labours of the bee and the ant have attracted the attention and admiration of naturalists, but all their sagacity seems to be lost upon separation and a single bee or ant seems destitute of every degree of industry. It becomes the most stupid insect imaginable, and it languishes and soon dies.
Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage? (CAT 1999)
- Humankind is responsible for the destruction of the natural habitat of animals and insects.
- Animals in general, are unable to function effectively outside their normal social environment.
- Naturalists have great admiration for bees and ants, despite their lack of industry upon separation.
- Elephants and beavers are smarter than bees and ants in the presence of human beings.
Q.3. Efficiency is all right in its place, in the shop, the factory, the store. The trouble with efficiency is that it wants to rule our play as well as our work; it won’t be content to reign in the shop, it follows us home.
It can be inferred from the above passage that (CAT 1998)
- efficiency can become all-pervading.
- efficiency does not always pay.
- efficiency can be more of a torture than a blessing.
- None of these
Q.4. The company encourages its managers to interact regularly, without a pre-set agenda, to discuss issues concerning the company and society. This idea has been borrowed from the ancient Indian concept of religious congregation, called satsang. Designations are forgotten during these meetings; hence, it is not uncommon in these meetings to find a sales engineer questioning the CEO on some corporate policy or his knowledge of customers.
Based on the information provided in the above passage, it can be inferred that (CAT 1998)
- the company is concerned about its reputation with its employees.
- the company believes in fostering the spirit of dialogue without degenerating it into a positioning based debate.
- the company had some inter-personnel problems in the past due to which it felt the need for these corporate satsangs.
- All of these
Q.5. From Cochin to Shimla, the new culture vultures are tearing down acres of India’s architectural treasures. Ancestral owners are often fobbed off with a few hundred rupees for an exquisitely carved door or window, which fetches fifty times that much from foreign dealers, and yet more from the drawing room sophisticates of Europe and the US. The reason for such shameless rape of the Indian architectural wealth can perhaps, not wrongly, be attributed to the unfortunate blend of activist disunity and the local indifference.
It can be inferred from the above passage that (CAT 1998)
- the environment created by the meeting between activist disunity and local indifference is ideal for antique dealers to strive in India.
- only Indians are not proud of their cultural heritage and are hungry for the foreign currency that is easily available in return of artifacts.
- most Indian families have heirlooms which can be sold at high prices to Europeans and Americans.
- India provides a rich market for unscrupulous antique dealers.
Answers:
Q.1. The company’s coffee crop for 1998-99 totalled 8079 tonnes, an all time record. The increase over the previous year’s production of 5830 tonnes was 38.58%. The previous highest crop was 6089 tonnes in 1970-71. The company had fixed a target of 8000 tonnes to be realized by the year 2000-01, and this has been achieved two years earlier, thanks to the emphasis laid on the key areas of irrigation, replacement of unproductive coffee bushes, intensive refilling and improved agricultural practices. It is now our endeavour to reach the target of 10,000 tonnes in the year 2001-02.
Which one of the following would contribute most to making the target of 10,000 tonnes in 2001-02 unrealistic?
- The potential of the productivity enhancing measures implemented up to now has been exhausted.
- The total company land under coffee has remained constant since 1969 when an estate in the Nilgiri Hills was acquired.
- The sensitivity of the crop to climatic factors makes prediction about production uncertain.
- The target-setting procedures in the company have been proved to the sound by the achievement of the 8000 tonnes target.
Answer: We need to weaken the argument that the company will reach 10000 tonnes in 2001-02.
Option 1: The company could increase production because of productivity enhancing measures. However, if this has been exhausted, then the company cannot increase production. Hence, this is the answer.
Option 2: The land may be same but if the company can increase producticity then the size of the land doesn’t matter. Hence this is not correct.
Option 3: It is not certain that climatic factors will lead to decrease in production. Hence, this is not correct.
Option 4: The achievement of 8000 tonnes target does not prove that the company can achieve 10000 tonnes also. Hence, this is incorrect.
Q.2. Animals in general are shrewd in proportion as they cultivate society. Elephants and beavers show the greatest signs of this sagacity when they are together in large numbers, but when man invades their communities they lose all their spirit of industry. Among insects, the labours of the bee and the ant have attracted the attention and admiration of naturalists, but all their sagacity seems to be lost upon separation and a single bee or ant seems destitute of every degree of industry. It becomes the most stupid insect imaginable, and it languishes and soon dies.
Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?
- Humankind is responsible for the destruction of the natural habitat of animals and insects.
- Animals in general, are unable to function effectively outside their normal social environment.
- Naturalists have great admiration for bees and ants, despite their lack of industry upon separation.
- Elephants and beavers are smarter than bees and ants in the presence of human beings.
Answer:
Option 1: This is true only for the first part of the passage. The second part (bees,ants) does not talk about this. Hence, this is not correct.
Option 2: Both the examples clearly indicate that once the animals/insects are out of their normal environment, they are unable to function effectively. Hence, this is correct.
Option 3: This point is irrelevant and cannot be inferred from the passage.
Option 4: Nowhere is the comparison made between ‘elephants and beavers’ and ‘bees and ants’.
Q.3. Efficiency is all right in its place, in the shop, the factory, the store. The trouble with efficiency is that it wants to rule our play as well as our work; it won’t be content to reign in the shop, it follows us home.
It can be inferred from the above passage that
- efficiency can become all-pervading.
- efficiency does not always pay.
- efficiency can be more of a torture than a blessing.
- None of these
Answer:
Option 1: It is mentioned in the passage that efficiency rules play as well as work, follows us home. From this, it is obvious that efficiency can become all pervading. Hence, this option is correct.
Option 2: Nowhere is the concept of reward mentioned in the passage.
Option 3: We are not comparing the advantages vs disadvantages of efficiency. We are simply saying that it can enter into all aspects of our life. Hence, this option is incorrect.
Q.4. The company encourages its managers to interact regularly, without a pre-set agenda, to discuss issues concerning the company and society. This idea has been borrowed from the ancient Indian concept of religious congregation, called satsang. Designations are forgotten during these meetings; hence, it is not uncommon in these meetings to find a sales engineer questioning the CEO on some corporate policy or his knowledge of customers.
Based on the information provided in the above passage, it can be inferred that
- the company is concerned about its reputation with its employees.
- the company believes in fostering the spirit of dialogue without degenerating it into a positioning based debate.
- the company had some inter-personnel problems in the past due to which it felt the need for these corporate satsangs.
- All of these
Answer:
Option 1: This option talks about the company being concerned about its reputation. However, we are not given any idea about the company having a problem with its reputation. Hence, this is incorrect.
Option 2: It is clearly mentioned that in the meetings, designations are forgotten. Hence, this option is correct.
Option 3: Again, nowhere is it mentioned that the company had any inter-personal problems. Hence, this option is incorrect.
Q.5. From Cochin to Shimla, the new culture vultures are tearing down acres of India’s architectural treasures. Ancestral owners are often fobbed off with a few hundred rupees for an exquisitely carved door or window, which fetches fifty times that much from foreign dealers, and yet more from the drawing room sophisticates of Europe and the US. The reason for such shameless rape of the Indian architectural wealth can perhaps, not wrongly, be attributed to the unfortunate blend of activist disunity and the local indifference.
It can be inferred from the above passage that
- the environment created by the meeting between activist disunity and local indifference is ideal for antique dealers to strive in India.
- only Indians are not proud of their cultural heritage and are hungry for the foreign currency that is easily available in return of artifacts.
- most Indian families have heirlooms which can be sold at high prices to Europeans and Americans.
- India provides a rich market for unscrupulous antique dealers.
Answer:
Option 1: The last line clearly states activist disunity and local indifference as reasons for the rape of Indian architectural wealth. Hence, the environment created by this is ideal for antique dealers to strive in India. Hence, this is the correct option.
Option 2: The passage is not comparing Indians with other nationalities. Hence, this option is incorrect.
Option 3: The word ‘most’ is the problem in this option. We do not know whether most have heirlooms or whether only a few do. Hence, this option is incorrect.
Option 4: This is clearly mentioned in the passage and hence is not an inference.
Hope this has helped! As always, feel free to shoot your comments/queries in the comments below.
