Verbal For CAT 2018 ( Slot - I) - CAT MCQ

We can infer that the author adopts a cautionary tone in the passage. He warns that quantification of happiness might be useful in certain contexts but making measuring happiness the primary goal can lead to unwanted consequences. He warns that happiness will become a personal project if we take the metrics too seriously. Therefore, the author is likely to recommend economists to incorporate the research findings cautiously and hence, option B is the right answer.

In the penultimate paragraph, the author mentions "Where happiness indicators were once used as a basis to reform society, challenging the obsession with money that G.D.P. measurement entrenches, they are increasingly used as a basis to transform or discipline individuals". He states that wearable technologies shift the onus on the person for his depression. In the last paragraph, the author mentions how these technologies are helping in disciplining individuals to be happy rather than addressing the cause of depression.

Therefore, option C is the right answer.

In the last paragraph, the author mentions that since the 1970s, depression is viewed as the defect of the individual rather than as the effect of his circumstances. He feels that this approach puts the person under pressure since being depressed is being viewed as the fault of the individual. The author does not view the shift in a positive light. Only option C captures the fact that the development was a detrimental step and hence, option C is the right answer.

The primary intention of the author is to warn about the trend of collecting data to monitor emotions and in turn promote happiness as an overarching goal. He says that such a practice will lead to adoption of intrusive methods and make happiness a personal project to be worked on. If it is proved that less data is being collected than earlier, it will weaken the very basis of the author's arguments.

Options B and C indicate a trend that the author is warning about. Therefore, we can eliminate these 2 options.

Option D states that individuals worldwide are using technologies to monitor their well-being. The author's argument is not that such technologies should not be used. He just states that proliferation of such technologies, especially when used by external parties like nations and corporations, might put people under greater stress. Therefore, we can eliminate option D as well.

Option A states that stakeholders are moving away from collecting data. This statement goes against the warning issued by the author.

Therefore, option A will undermine the author's arguments the most and hence, option A is the right answer.

The author does not consider happiness indicators to be the gold standard of happiness. Therefore, we cannot say that Dubai is on its way to becoming one of the happiest cities in the world just because it tries to discipline its citizens to be happy.

Nowhere has it been mentioned that Dubai collaborates with Facebook or incentivises companies that promote worker welfare. 

'Cities such as Dubai, which has pledged to become the "happiest city in the world," dream up ever-more elaborate and intrusive ways of collecting data on well-being — to the point where there is now talk of using CCTV cameras to monitor facial expressions in public spaces'.

We can infer that Dubai comes up with new intrusive ways of collecting data on the well-being of its citizens. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

Through the passage, the author explains how the ways elephants behave is similar to the trauma related response evoked in individuals.

He explains how the elephant society is affected by the human activity and the impact of the same on the brain development of young elephants.

The primary purpose of the passage is not to draw an analogy between elephants and humans in any way. Therefore, we can eliminate options A and D. Option C states that the relationship between elephants and humans has changed from one of coexistence to one of hostility. Though this point is true, it is not the central theme of the passage. The author places much emphasis on how elephant behaviour can be explained as a species-wide trauma response and hence, option B is the right answer.

The author uses strong comparison in the given line. The author has not mentioned that the elephant society, which is like a fabric, is frayed by human activities. He uses the term 'the fabric of elephant society' and this comparison is called a metaphor.

We can eliminate option A since it fails to capture the fact that a comparison has been used.

Option D states that the line is an ode to the fragility of elephant society today. Option D fails to capture the fact that human activities are wrecking the social structure of elephants.

Option C states that the line is an exaggeration to bolster Bradshaw's claims. The author is not exaggerating the facts to substantiate Bradshaw's claims. He tries to capture the effects of human activities on the elephant society metaphorically. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

The author explains how elephants are profoundly social creatures like humans and how human activities are putting elephants under stress. Then, he explains how the recent elephant behaviour is similar to post traumatic stress syndrome observed in humans. Options A, B, and C can be inferred.

The author expresses apprehension that young calves are raised by inexperienced elephant mothers and this, in turn, affects the brain development of the calves. Nowhere has it been mentioned that elephant mothers are developing newer ways of rearing their calves.

Therefore, option D is the right answer.

In the first paragraph of the passage, the author uses the line "Now, I use the term ‘violence’ because of the intentionality associated with it". Therefore, we can infer that the author specifically uses the term violence to emphasize that the actions of the elephants on humans are deliberate just like those of humans on elephants. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

The author tries to establish that the elephant behaviour is similar to stress related responses induced in humans. From the tone of the passage, we can infer that the author is concerned about the elephants. He does not adopt a detached view point. The passage tries to evoke empathy from the audience and has not been written as a science research paper.

Options B, C, and D do not address the issue at hand. They are not steps towards addressing elephant aggression. Only option A proposes a method to treat the elephants and hence, option A is the right answer.

In the penultimate paragraph, the author uses the line "[T]he greatest success of Keep America Beautiful has been to shift the onus of environmental responsibility onto the public while simultaneously becoming a trusted name in the environmental movement". From the tone of the line, we can infer that the author believes that the sole purpose of 'Keep America Beautiful' was to shift the blame on the consumers. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

The author believes that the corporates are responsible for the plastic menace. He states that recycling the plastics or targeting the consumers are ineffective to tackle the problem. 

'Encouraging individuals to recycle more will never solve the problem of a massive production of single-use plastic that should have been avoided in the first place'.

In the last paragraph, the author recommends responsible use of plastics. Therefore, he is unlikely to support a complete ban on single use plastics as well.

The author holds the corporates squarely responsible for the plastic menace. Therefore, the author is most likely to suggest passing regulations targeted at the producers rather than at the consumers. Therefore, option C is the right answer.

In the third paragraph, the author mentions that plastics get absorbed in the water and some animals mistake plastic for their natural food and consume them. Therefore, we can infer options B and C. In the same paragraph, the author explains how plastics we use for a few minutes will stay on the planet for millions of years. 

Therefore, we can infer option D as well.

The author has not mentioned air pollution caused while recycling the plastics anywhere in the passage. Therefore, option A is the right answer.

The author believes that plastic production should be restricted. He finds asking consumers to stop using plastics or recycling plastics to be inadequate measures.

The author uses the analogy to drive home the point that focusing on consumer behaviour will be totally incommensurate to tackle plastic pollution. Therefore, option D is the right answer.

The author uses the term 'lie' to emphasize the fact that the consumers are made to believe that they are responsible for the plastic menace. Throughout the passage, the author explains how the corporates tricked people into believing that the blame lies on them for using the plastics. Therefore, option C is the right answer.

The author mentions "All these tugs represent the influence of developmental factors, including epigenetics, antibodies and hormones passed on by parents, as well as the ecological legacies and culture they bequeath".

Option A misses 'developmental factors' and 'antibodies'.

Option C misses 'ecological legacies'.

Option D misses 'developmental factors'.

Option B is the most comprehensive one among the given options and hence, it is the right answer.

The primary purpose of the passage is not to establish the scientific superiority of Wilson's theory over that of Darwin's and Mendel's theories. The author begins the passage with an example that the theory of natural selection fails to explain. Then, he explains about 'Epigenetic inheritance' and elaborates on how epigenetic inheritance explains the transmission of acquired characteristics. Therefore, the author's main argument is that Darwin's theory cannot fully explain evolution and hence, option B is the right answer.

The main message of the passage is that natural selection cannot fully explain evolution. Therefore, any argument that attacks this message is most likely to weaken the author's arguments. A study indicating the sole influence of natural selection and inheritance on evolution will question the legitimacy of the theory of 'epigenetic inheritance' and hence, option A is the right answer.

The author uses the Emory University experiment to show that acquired characteristics can be passed on from one generation to another. In the second paragraph, the author explains how the acquired characteristics (fear in this case) should not have been passed according to the theory of natural selection.

Option A is too narrow in scope. The author uses fear as an example of acquired characteristics. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

By the term "mood music", the author intends to convey that the war set the stage for the Independence and partition of the country. He does not mean that the war was an allied effort and India's contribution to the war was merely supportive.

The author mentions that the political trajectory in both the countries has been against the popular remembrance of war. He states that the countries were focused on building a non-colonial identity and the war narrative did not fit in well in the picture.

The author uses the phrase "mood music" to indicate that (the contribution of Indians to) the Second World War is not given the importance it deserves. The author does not state that the war led to the rivalry. Though he mentions the ill-effects of the war on India, he does not refer to them when he uses the term "mood music". He feels that the war is largely seen as a warmer to the Independence and partition of the country. Therefore, option D is the right answer.

In the fourth paragraph, the author states "This led the United States to take considerable interest in the country’s future". We can infer that India's strategic location led to US's interests towards India and hence, we can eliminate option A.

In the first line of the second paragraph, the author mentions that the Second World War played a crucial role in the independence of India.

In the sixth paragraph, the author mentions that the war was achieved at great human cost. He states that the Bengal famine was the most extreme manifestation of the human costs of the war.

In the fifth paragraph, the author states "In a stunning reversal of its long-standing financial relationship with Britain, India finished the war as one of the largest creditors to the imperial power". From this line, we can infer that India lent its resources to Britain, not the other way around. Therefore, option B is an incorrect interpretation of the given sentence and hence, option B is the right answer.

In the second paragraph, the author mentions "Rather, it accurately reflected the fact that both academic history and popular memory have yet to come to terms with India’s Second World War". The author states that the act was not merely absent-minded. Therefore, the author considers the omission to be reflective of India's academic and popular views and hence, option D is the right answer.

The author states that the new war memorial to commemorate various soldiers who lost their lives since independence will be built near India gate, a World War I memorial. The author regrets the fact that the contribution of Indian soldiers to World War II is being airbrushed out of existence. The author laments the fact that the nation fails to recognize the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers who served in World War II and hence, option B is the right answer.

Professions-approach structures and institutionalizes knowledge but knowledge production is restricted to the select members of the community. It prevents the non-professional actors from offering their ideas.

Options A, B, and C do not capture the negative aspects of the professions-approach at all. They just focus on the advantages offered by the approach but the given paragraph places a huge emphasis on the limitations of the approach as well. Only option D captures both the advantage offered by the approach and its limitations. Therefore, option D is the right answer.

Identify the ODD ONE out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in. 

1) Translators are like bumblebees. 

2) Though long since scientifically disproved, this factoid is still routinely trotted out. 

3) Similar pronouncements about the impossibility of translation have dogged practitioners since Leonardo Bruni’s De interpretatione recta, published in 1424. 

4) Bees, unaware of these deliberations, have continued to flit from flower to flower, and translators continue to translate. 

5) In 1934, the French entomologist August Magnan pronounced the flight of the bumblebee to be aerodynamically impossible.

Sentence 4 is definitely a part of the paragraph since it fits well with both the sentences. Also, it states an important detail - the displacement is spread out over a period of time and hence, remains invisible. Since the displacement is not rapid, its magnitude is not significant. Sentences 4 and 1 form a pair and hence, sentence 5 is the one out of context.

The given paragraph describes how the study of landscape gained prominence and became an independent genre. Renaissance artists facilitated the development of the field as an independent genre.

Let us evaluate the options one by one.

Option A states that understanding of the organism in Europe led to a similar approach towards the understanding of landscape. Though this option is true, it fails to capture the fact that the field evolved as an independent genre with the help of Renaissance artists.

Option B states that Landscape became a major subject of art at the turn of the sixteenth century. Again, option B fails to capture the role played by the Renaissance artists.

Option D states that Renaissance artists were responsible for the study of landscape as a subject of art. The paragraph mentions that the artists facilitated in the transformation of the field into an independent genre. Option D establishes a strong relationship and holds Renaissance artists 'responsible' for the study of landscape 'as a subject of art'. The parts within the quotes disregard the fact that the artists just aided the process. They were not solely responsible for the development. Therefore, we can eliminate option D.

Only option C captures the fact that the renaissance artists 'aided' in the development of the study of landscape as an independent genre and hence, option C is the right answer.

Sentence 3 states that Twitter's website says that the algorithm shows tweets that are likely to suit the taste of the user and much more.

Sentence 2 continues sentence 3 by stating that the catch lies in the term 'much more'. Also, it criticizes how catering to the taste of the user forces him into a bubble. Sentence 2 should be followed by sentence 4 since it states the implications of the term 'much more' and how it makes believing in the impartiality and objectivity of twitter hard.

Sentences 324 form a group. The entire group has been provided as an illustration to explain how hard it is to implement impartiality and objectively. Therefore, sentence 1 should be the opening sentence.

Sentences 1324 form a coherent paragraph. Hence, 1324 is the correct answer.

1 should be the opening sentence since it is a general statement introducing time inconsistency. Sentence 1 should be followed by sentence 3 since it explains how time inconsistency, in itself, acts as a deterrent in the specific case of immunization. Sentences 2 and 5 form a pair. Sentence 2 states how people should be fooling themselves to postpone their child's immunization. Sentence 5 explains how they should be fooling themselves to not get their child immunized.

Sentences 1325 can be put together into a coherent paragraph. Therefore, 4 is the correct answer.