In the last article, we looked at vocabulary questions from previous CAT papers. We will solve a few more vocabulary questions in this article.
Try solving the questions first before heading to the answers:
Directions for Q. 1-4: Each of the following questions has a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most APPROPRIATE replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.
- Intelligent design derives from an early 19th-century explanation of the natural world given by an English clergyman, William Paley. Paley was the populariser of the famous watchmaker analogy. Proponents of intelligent design are crupping Paley’s argument with a new gloss from molecular biology.
1] destroying 2] testing 3] resurrecting 4] questioning
- Women squat, heads covered, beside huge piles of limp fodder and blunk oil lamps, and just about all the cows in the three towns converge upon this spot. Sinners, supplicants and yes, even scallywags hand over a few coins for a crack at redemption and a handful of grass.
1] shining 2] bright 3] sputtering 4] effulgent
- It is klang to a sensitive traveler who walks through this great town, when he sees the streets, the roads, and cabin doors crowded with beggars, mostly women, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for alms.
1] amusing 2] irritating 3] disgusting 4] distressing
- Or there is the most fingummy diplomatic note on record: when Philip of Macedon wrote to the Spartans that, if he came within their borders, he would leave not one stone of their city, they wrote back the one word – “If”.
1] witty 2] rude 3] simple 4] terse
DIRECTIONS for Q. 5 to 8: There are two gaps in each of the following sentences. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately. The first word in the pair should fill the first gap.
- The British retailer, M&S, today formally _____ defeat in its attempt to _____ King’s, its US subsidiary, since no potential purchasers were ready to cough up the necessary cash.
1] admitted, acquire 2] conceded, offload 3] announced, dispose 4] ratified, auction
- Early _____ of maladjustment to college culture is _____ by the tendency to develop friendship networks outside college which mask signals of maladjustment.
1] treatment, compounded 2] detection, facilitated 3] identification, complicated 4] prevention, helped
- A growing number of these expert professionals _____ having to train foreigners as the students end up _____ the teachers who have to then unhappily contend with no jobs at all or new jobs with drastically reduced pay packets.
1] resent, replacing 2] resist, challenging 3] welcome, assisting 4] are, supplanting
- Companies that try to improve employees’ performance by _____ rewards encourage negative kinds of behaviour instead of _____ a genuine interest in doing the work well.
1 ] giving, seeking 2] bestowing, discouraging 3] conferring, discrediting 4] withholding, fostering
Answers:
- Intelligent design derives from an early 19th-century explanation of the natural world given by an English clergyman, William Paley. Paley was the populariser of the famous watchmaker analogy. Proponents of intelligent design are crupping Paley’s argument with a new gloss from molecular biology.
1] destroying 2] testing 3] resurrecting 4] questioning
Answer: The word ‘proponents’ in the last line indicates that they are in support of the theory. Hence, they will not destroy, test or question Paley’s argument. Hence, the answer has to be 3.
- Women squat, heads covered, beside huge piles of limp fodder and blunk oil lamps, and just about all the cows in the three towns converge upon this spot. Sinners, supplicants and yes, even scallywags hand over a few coins for a crack at redemption and a handful of grass.
1] shining 2] bright 3] sputtering 4] effulgent
Answer: ‘Limp fodder’ presents a bleak picture of the place. Hence, maintaining the parallel structure, the oil lamps cannot be shining, bright or effulgent. Hence, the answer is 3.
- It is klang to a sensitive traveler who walks through this great town, when he sees the streets, the roads, and cabin doors crowded with beggars, mostly women, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for alms.
1] amusing 2] irritating 3] disgusting 4] distressing
Answer: Because the traveler is sensitive, he will clearly be ‘distressed’ when he sees the streets of the town.
- Or there is the most fingummy diplomatic note on record: when Philip of Macedon wrote to the Spartans that, if he came within their borders, he would leave not one stone of their city, they wrote back the one word – “If”.
1] witty 2] rude 3] simple 4] terse
Answer: Since, the return note contained only word, it is brief in nature. Only ‘terse’ fits this idea.
Thoughts on solving these vocabulary questions: Read each word in the given sentences carefully and try and understand the context in which the italicized word is used. Eliminate the options which convey the same meaning. For example in Q.2, ‘shining’, ‘bright’ and ‘effulgent’ all convey almost the same meaning. So all of them can be eliminated to figure out the right answer.
- The British retailer, M&S, today formally _____ defeat in its attempt to _____ King’s, its US subsidiary, since no potential purchasers were ready to cough up the necessary cash.
1] admitted, acquire 2] conceded, offload 3] announced, dispose 4] ratified, auction
Answer: Since King’s is the subsidiary of M&S, it doesn’t make any sense to acquire it. This eliminates 1. ‘Ratified defeat’ doesn’t make sense and neither does ‘dispose King’s’. ‘concede defeat’ is the proper idiomatic usage and hence 2 is the answer.
- Early _____ of maladjustment to college culture is _____ by the tendency to develop friendship networks outside college which mask signals of maladjustment.
1] treatment, compounded 2] detection, facilitated 3] identification, complicated 4] prevention, helped
Answer: The sentence mentions that developing friendship networks outside college ‘masks’ signals of maladjustment. It doesn’t treat or cure it. Hence, only 3 presents this idea.
- A growing number of these expert professionals _____ having to train foreigners as the students end up _____ the teachers who have to then unhappily contend with no jobs at all or new jobs with drastically reduced pay packets.
1] resent, replacing 2] resist, challenging 3] welcome, assisting 4] are, supplanting
Answer: The word ‘unhappily’ indicates that the teachers are getting a raw deal. Resent and replacing clearly indicate this idea. Hence, the answer is 1.
- Companies that try to improve employees’ performance by _____ rewards encourage negative kinds of behaviour instead of _____ a genuine interest in doing the work well.
1 ] giving, seeking 2] bestowing, discouraging 3] conferring, discrediting 4] withholding, fostering
Answer: Giving rewards would encourage positive behavior from the employees. Hence, the word in the first blank should be ‘withholding’. Hence, the answer is 4.
Thoughts on solving these vocabulary questions: Again, read each word in the question carefully and figure out the context in which the word is used. For example, in Q.8. the word ‘negative’ indicates that the first blank is something which will hinder good employee behavior. Use this logic to eliminate options which don’t fit the idea and then mark the best answer.
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