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XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - CAT MCQ


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30 Questions MCQ Test Mock Test Series for XAT - XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern)

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) for CAT 2024 is part of Mock Test Series for XAT preparation. The XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) questions and answers have been prepared according to the CAT exam syllabus.The XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) MCQs are made for CAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, notes, meanings, examples, exercises, MCQs and online tests for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) below.
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XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 1

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow

As Xenophanes recognized as long ago as the sixth century before Christ, whether or not God made man in His own image, it is certain that man makes gods in his. The gods of Greek mythology first appear in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, and, from the character and actions of these picturesque and, for the most part, friendly beings, we get some idea of the men who made them and brought them to Greece.

But ritual is more fundamental than mythology, and the study of Greek ritual during recent years has shown that, beneath the belief or skepticism with which the Olympians were regarded, lay an older magic, with traditional rites for the promotion of fertility by the celebration of the annual cycle of life and death, and the propitiation of unfriendly ghosts, gods or demons. Some such survivals were doubtless widespread, and, prolonged into classical times, probably made the substance of Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries. Against this dark and dangerous background arose Olympic mythology on the one hand and early philosophy and science on the other.

In classical times the need of a creed higher than the Olympian was felt, and Aeschylus, Sophocles and Plato finally evolved from the pleasant but crude polytheism the idea of a single, supreme and righteous Zeus. But the decay of Olympus led to a revival of old and the invasion of new magic cults among the people, while some philosophers were looking to a vision of the uniformity of nature under divine and universal law.

The main idea of the passage is that

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 1

Most main idea questions are rather easy. This one is not—mainly, because the passage itself is not an easy read. Recall that to find the main idea of a passage, we check the last sentence of the first paragraph; if it’s not there, we check the closing of the passage. Reviewing the last sentence of the first paragraph, we see that it hardly presents a statement, let alone the main idea. Turning to the closing line of the passage, however, we find the key to this question. The passage describes a struggle for ascendancy amongst four opposing philosophies: (magic and traditional rites) vs. (Olympic mythology) vs. (monotheism [Zeus]) vs. (early philosophy and science). The closing lines of the passage summarize this and add that Olympic mythology lost out to monotheism (Zeus), while magical cults enjoyed a revival and the germ of universal law was planted. Thus the answer is (B).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 2

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow

As Xenophanes recognized as long ago as the sixth century before Christ, whether or not God made man in His own image, it is certain that man makes gods in his. The gods of Greek mythology first appear in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, and, from the character and actions of these picturesque and, for the most part, friendly beings, we get some idea of the men who made them and brought them to Greece.

But ritual is more fundamental than mythology, and the study of Greek ritual during recent years has shown that, beneath the belief or skepticism with which the Olympians were regarded, lay an older magic, with traditional rites for the promotion of fertility by the celebration of the annual cycle of life and death, and the propitiation of unfriendly ghosts, gods or demons. Some such survivals were doubtless widespread, and, prolonged into classical times, probably made the substance of Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries. Against this dark and dangerous background arose Olympic mythology on the one hand and early philosophy and science on the other.

In classical times the need of a creed higher than the Olympian was felt, and Aeschylus, Sophocles and Plato finally evolved from the pleasant but crude polytheism the idea of a single, supreme and righteous Zeus. But the decay of Olympus led to a revival of old and the invasion of new magic cults among the people, while some philosophers were looking to a vision of the uniformity of nature under divine and universal law.

All the following are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 2

The problem is best solved by elimination

Choice (A) is mentioned in the passage: "In classical times the need of a creed higher than the Olympian was felt..."

Choice (B) is mentioned in the passage: "The gods of Greek mythology first appear in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, and, from the character and actions of these picturesque and, for the most part, friendly beings..."

Choice (C) is mentioned in the passage: "...whether or not God made man in His own image, it is certain that man makes gods in his."

Choice (E) is mentioned in the passage: "But the decay of Olympus led to a revival of old and the invasion of new magic cults..."

Hence, by the process of elimination, the answer is (D).

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XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 3

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow

As Xenophanes recognized as long ago as the sixth century before Christ, whether or not God made man in His own image, it is certain that man makes gods in his. The gods of Greek mythology first appear in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, and, from the character and actions of these picturesque and, for the most part, friendly beings, we get some idea of the men who made them and brought them to Greece.

But ritual is more fundamental than mythology, and the study of Greek ritual during recent years has shown that, beneath the belief or skepticism with which the Olympians were regarded, lay an older magic, with traditional rites for the promotion of fertility by the celebration of the annual cycle of life and death, and the propitiation of unfriendly ghosts, gods or demons. Some such survivals were doubtless widespread, and, prolonged into classical times, probably made the substance of Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries. Against this dark and dangerous background arose Olympic mythology on the one hand and early philosophy and science on the other.

In classical times the need of a creed higher than the Olympian was felt, and Aeschylus, Sophocles and Plato finally evolved from the pleasant but crude polytheism the idea of a single, supreme and righteous Zeus. But the decay of Olympus led to a revival of old and the invasion of new magic cults among the people, while some philosophers were looking to a vision of the uniformity of nature under divine and universal law.

The passage implies which of the following

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 3

"...the study of Greek ritual during recent years has shown that, beneath the belief or skepticism with which the Olympians were regarded, lay an older magic, with traditional rites for the promotion of fertility by the celebration of the annual cycle of life and death.... Some such survivals were doubtless widespread, and, prolonged into classical times, probably made the substance of Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries."

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 4

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Most students arrive at [college] using “discrete, concrete, and absolute categories to understand people, knowledge, and values.” These students live with a dualistic view, seeing “the world in polar terms of we-right-good vs. other-wrong-bad.” These students cannot acknowledge the existence of more than one point of view toward any issue. There is one “right” way. And because these absolutes are assumed by or imposed on the individual from external authority, they cannot be personally substantiated or authenticated by experience. These students are slaves to the generalizations of their authorities. An eye for an eye! Capital punishment is apt justice for murder. The Bible says so.

Most students break through the dualistic stage to another equally frustrating stage—multiplicity. Within this stage, students see a variety of ways to deal with any given topic or problem. However, while these students accept multiple points of view, they are unable to evaluate or justify them. To have an opinion is everyone’s right. While students in the dualistic stage are unable to produce evidence to support what they consider to be self-evident absolutes, students in the multiplistic stage are unable to connect instances into coherent generalizations. Every assertion, every point, is valid. In their democracy they are directionless. Capital punishment? What sense is there in answering one murder with another?

The third stage of development finds students living in a world of relativism. Knowledge is relative: right and wrong depend on the context. No longer recognizing the validity of each individual idea or action, relativists examine everything to find its place in an overall framework. While the multiplist views the world as unconnected, almost random, the relativist seeks always to place phenomena into coherent larger patterns. Students in this stage view the world analytically. They appreciate authority for its expertise, using it to defend their own generalizations. In addition, they accept or reject ostensible authority after systematically evaluating its validity. In this stage, however, students resist decision making. Suffering the ambivalence of finding several consistent and acceptable alternatives, they are almost overwhelmed by diversity and need means for managing it. Capital punishment is appropriate justice—in some instances.

In the final stage students manage diversity through individual commitment. Students do not deny relativism. Rather they assert an identity by forming commitments and assuming responsibility for them. They gather personal experience into a coherent framework, abstract principles to guide their actions, and use these principles to discipline and govern their thoughts and actions. The individual has chosen to join a particular community and agrees to live by its tenets. The accused has had the benefit of due process to guard his civil rights, a jury of peers has found him guilty, and the state has the right to end his life. This is a principle my community and I endorse

Students who are “dualistic” thinkers may not be able to support their beliefs convincingly because

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 4

This is another extension question. Dualistic thinkers probably cannot give cogent arguments for their beliefs since they have adopted them unquestioningly from authority figures; dualistic thinkers do not know (have never thought of) the reasons for which their beliefs are right or wrong. Hence the answer is (B).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 5

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Most students arrive at [college] using “discrete, concrete, and absolute categories to understand people, knowledge, and values.” These students live with a dualistic view, seeing “the world in polar terms of we-right-good vs. other-wrong-bad.” These students cannot acknowledge the existence of more than one point of view toward any issue. There is one “right” way. And because these absolutes are assumed by or imposed on the individual from external authority, they cannot be personally substantiated or authenticated by experience. These students are slaves to the generalizations of their authorities. An eye for an eye! Capital punishment is apt justice for murder. The Bible says so.

Most students break through the dualistic stage to another equally frustrating stage—multiplicity. Within this stage, students see a variety of ways to deal with any given topic or problem. However, while these students accept multiple points of view, they are unable to evaluate or justify them. To have an opinion is everyone’s right. While students in the dualistic stage are unable to produce evidence to support what they consider to be self-evident absolutes, students in the multiplistic stage are unable to connect instances into coherent generalizations. Every assertion, every point, is valid. In their democracy they are directionless. Capital punishment? What sense is there in answering one murder with another?

The third stage of development finds students living in a world of relativism. Knowledge is relative: right and wrong depend on the context. No longer recognizing the validity of each individual idea or action, relativists examine everything to find its place in an overall framework. While the multiplist views the world as unconnected, almost random, the relativist seeks always to place phenomena into coherent larger patterns. Students in this stage view the world analytically. They appreciate authority for its expertise, using it to defend their own generalizations. In addition, they accept or reject ostensible authority after systematically evaluating its validity. In this stage, however, students resist decision making. Suffering the ambivalence of finding several consistent and acceptable alternatives, they are almost overwhelmed by diversity and need means for managing it. Capital punishment is appropriate justice—in some instances.

In the final stage students manage diversity through individual commitment. Students do not deny relativism. Rather they assert an identity by forming commitments and assuming responsibility for them. They gather personal experience into a coherent framework, abstract principles to guide their actions, and use these principles to discipline and govern their thoughts and actions. The individual has chosen to join a particular community and agrees to live by its tenets. The accused has had the benefit of due process to guard his civil rights, a jury of peers has found him guilty, and the state has the right to end his life. This is a principle my community and I endorse

In paragraph two, the author states that in their “democracy” students in the multiplicity stage are directionless. The writer describes multiplicity students as being in a “democracy” because

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 5

This is an extension question. Multiplicity students view all opinions as equally valid. They have yet to learn how to rank opinions (truths)—all votes (thoughts) count equally. The answer is (B).

Note, (C) is offered to humor Republicans. The test-makers sometimes run out of tempting wrong choices. Don’t dwell on such humorous nonsense.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 6

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Most students arrive at [college] using “discrete, concrete, and absolute categories to understand people, knowledge, and values.” These students live with a dualistic view, seeing “the world in polar terms of we-right-good vs. other-wrong-bad.” These students cannot acknowledge the existence of more than one point of view toward any issue. There is one “right” way. And because these absolutes are assumed by or imposed on the individual from external authority, they cannot be personally substantiated or authenticated by experience. These students are slaves to the generalizations of their authorities. An eye for an eye! Capital punishment is apt justice for murder. The Bible says so.

Most students break through the dualistic stage to another equally frustrating stage—multiplicity. Within this stage, students see a variety of ways to deal with any given topic or problem. However, while these students accept multiple points of view, they are unable to evaluate or justify them. To have an opinion is everyone’s right. While students in the dualistic stage are unable to produce evidence to support what they consider to be self-evident absolutes, students in the multiplistic stage are unable to connect instances into coherent generalizations. Every assertion, every point, is valid. In their democracy they are directionless. Capital punishment? What sense is there in answering one murder with another?

The third stage of development finds students living in a world of relativism. Knowledge is relative: right and wrong depend on the context. No longer recognizing the validity of each individual idea or action, relativists examine everything to find its place in an overall framework. While the multiplist views the world as unconnected, almost random, the relativist seeks always to place phenomena into coherent larger patterns. Students in this stage view the world analytically. They appreciate authority for its expertise, using it to defend their own generalizations. In addition, they accept or reject ostensible authority after systematically evaluating its validity. In this stage, however, students resist decision making. Suffering the ambivalence of finding several consistent and acceptable alternatives, they are almost overwhelmed by diversity and need means for managing it. Capital punishment is appropriate justice—in some instances.

In the final stage students manage diversity through individual commitment. Students do not deny relativism. Rather they assert an identity by forming commitments and assuming responsibility for them. They gather personal experience into a coherent framework, abstract principles to guide their actions, and use these principles to discipline and govern their thoughts and actions. The individual has chosen to join a particular community and agrees to live by its tenets. The accused has had the benefit of due process to guard his civil rights, a jury of peers has found him guilty, and the state has the right to end his life. This is a principle my community and I endorse

Which one of the following kinds of thinking is NOT described in the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 6

This is another description question. (A): No, these are the Multiplists. (B): No, Dualists think this way. (C): No, this describes Relativists. Don’t confuse (A) and (C).): No, Committed thinkers fit this description rather nicely. Hence, by process of elimination, we have learned the answer is (D).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 7

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Most students arrive at [college] using “discrete, concrete, and absolute categories to understand people, knowledge, and values.” These students live with a dualistic view, seeing “the world in polar terms of we-right-good vs. other-wrong-bad.” These students cannot acknowledge the existence of more than one point of view toward any issue. There is one “right” way. And because these absolutes are assumed by or imposed on the individual from external authority, they cannot be personally substantiated or authenticated by experience. These students are slaves to the generalizations of their authorities. An eye for an eye! Capital punishment is apt justice for murder. The Bible says so.

Most students break through the dualistic stage to another equally frustrating stage—multiplicity. Within this stage, students see a variety of ways to deal with any given topic or problem. However, while these students accept multiple points of view, they are unable to evaluate or justify them. To have an opinion is everyone’s right. While students in the dualistic stage are unable to produce evidence to support what they consider to be self-evident absolutes, students in the multiplistic stage are unable to connect instances into coherent generalizations. Every assertion, every point, is valid. In their democracy they are directionless. Capital punishment? What sense is there in answering one murder with another?

The third stage of development finds students living in a world of relativism. Knowledge is relative: right and wrong depend on the context. No longer recognizing the validity of each individual idea or action, relativists examine everything to find its place in an overall framework. While the multiplist views the world as unconnected, almost random, the relativist seeks always to place phenomena into coherent larger patterns. Students in this stage view the world analytically. They appreciate authority for its expertise, using it to defend their own generalizations. In addition, they accept or reject ostensible authority after systematically evaluating its validity. In this stage, however, students resist decision making. Suffering the ambivalence of finding several consistent and acceptable alternatives, they are almost overwhelmed by diversity and need means for managing it. Capital punishment is appropriate justice—in some instances.

In the final stage students manage diversity through individual commitment. Students do not deny relativism. Rather they assert an identity by forming commitments and assuming responsibility for them. They gather personal experience into a coherent framework, abstract principles to guide their actions, and use these principles to discipline and govern their thoughts and actions. The individual has chosen to join a particular community and agrees to live by its tenets. The accused has had the benefit of due process to guard his civil rights, a jury of peers has found him guilty, and the state has the right to end his life. This is a principle my community and I endorse

Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 7

This is a writing technique question. In each paragraph the author shows how a stage of thought evolved from a previous stage—except the dualistic stage, which starts the analysis. Further, the thought process in each stage is illustrated by how it views capital punishment. Hence the answer is (d).

Be careful not to choose (D). Although dualistic thinking certainly is simplistic and provincial, and committed thinking seems to be considered and cosmopolitan, neither of these judgments is stated nor implied by the passage.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 8

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

A growing taste for shark steaks and shark-fin soup has for the first time in 400 million years put the scourge of the sea at the wrong end of the food chain. Commercial landings of this toothsome fish have doubled every year since 1986, and shark populations are plunging. It is hardly a case of good riddance. Sharks do for gentler fish what lions do for the wildebeest: they check populations by feeding on the weak. Also, sharks apparently do not get cancer and may therefore harbor clues to the nature of that disease.

Finally, there is the issue of motherhood. Sharks are viviparous. That is, they bear their young alive and swimming (not sealed in eggs) after gestation periods lasting from nine months to two years. Shark mothers generally give birth to litters of from eight to twelve pups and bear only one litter every other year.

This is why sharks have one of the lowest fecundity rates in the ocean. The female cod, for example, spawns annually and lays a few million eggs at a time. If three quarters of the cod were to be fished this year, they could be back in full force in a few years. But if humans took that big of a bite out of the sharks, the population would not recover for 15 years.

So, late this summer, if all goes according to plan, the shark will join the bald eagle and the buffalo on the list of managed species. The federal government will cap the U.S. commercial catch at 5,800 metric tons, about half of the 1989 level, and limit sportsmen to two sharks per boat. Another provision discourages finning, the harvesting of shark fins alone, by limiting the weight of fins to 7 percent of that of all the carcasses.

Finning got under the skin of environmentalists, and the resulting anger helped to mobilize support for the new regulations. Finning itself is a fairly recent innovation. Shark fins contain noodle-like cartilaginous tissues that Chinese chefs have traditionally used to thicken and flavor soup. Over the past few years rising demand in Hong Kong has made the fins as valuable as the rest of the fish. Long strands are prized, so unusually large fins can be worth considerably more to the fisherman than the average price of about $10 a pound.

But can U.S. quotas save shark species that wander the whole Atlantic? The blue shark, for example, migrates into the waters of something like 23 countries. John G. Casey, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service Research Center in Narragansett, R.I., admits that international co-ordination will eventually be necessary. But he supports U.S. quotas as a first step in mobilizing other nations. Meanwhile the commercial fishermen are not waiting for the new rules to take effect. “There’s a pre-quota rush on sharks,” Casey says, “and it’s going on as we speak.”

According to the passage, shark populations are at greater risk than cod populations because

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 8

This is a description question. Paragraph 3 contains the information needed to answer it. There it is stated that the cod population can replenish itself in a few years, but the shark population would take 15 years. Hence the answer is (B).

Don’t make the mistake of choosing (C). Although it is certainly supported by the passage, it does not state how this relates to cod—they too may be decreasing in number. (C) uses the true-but-irrelevant ploy.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 9

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

A growing taste for shark steaks and shark-fin soup has for the first time in 400 million years put the scourge of the sea at the wrong end of the food chain. Commercial landings of this toothsome fish have doubled every year since 1986, and shark populations are plunging. It is hardly a case of good riddance. Sharks do for gentler fish what lions do for the wildebeest: they check populations by feeding on the weak. Also, sharks apparently do not get cancer and may therefore harbor clues to the nature of that disease.

Finally, there is the issue of motherhood. Sharks are viviparous. That is, they bear their young alive and swimming (not sealed in eggs) after gestation periods lasting from nine months to two years. Shark mothers generally give birth to litters of from eight to twelve pups and bear only one litter every other year.

This is why sharks have one of the lowest fecundity rates in the ocean. The female cod, for example, spawns annually and lays a few million eggs at a time. If three quarters of the cod were to be fished this year, they could be back in full force in a few years. But if humans took that big of a bite out of the sharks, the population would not recover for 15 years.

So, late this summer, if all goes according to plan, the shark will join the bald eagle and the buffalo on the list of managed species. The federal government will cap the U.S. commercial catch at 5,800 metric tons, about half of the 1989 level, and limit sportsmen to two sharks per boat. Another provision discourages finning, the harvesting of shark fins alone, by limiting the weight of fins to 7 percent of that of all the carcasses.

Finning got under the skin of environmentalists, and the resulting anger helped to mobilize support for the new regulations. Finning itself is a fairly recent innovation. Shark fins contain noodle-like cartilaginous tissues that Chinese chefs have traditionally used to thicken and flavor soup. Over the past few years rising demand in Hong Kong has made the fins as valuable as the rest of the fish. Long strands are prized, so unusually large fins can be worth considerably more to the fisherman than the average price of about $10 a pound.

But can U.S. quotas save shark species that wander the whole Atlantic? The blue shark, for example, migrates into the waters of something like 23 countries. John G. Casey, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service Research Center in Narragansett, R.I., admits that international co-ordination will eventually be necessary. But he supports U.S. quotas as a first step in mobilizing other nations. Meanwhile the commercial fishermen are not waiting for the new rules to take effect. “There’s a pre-quota rush on sharks,” Casey says, “and it’s going on as we speak.”

If the species Homo logicus was determined to be viviparous and to have extremely low fecundity rates on land, we might expect that

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 9

This is an application question; we are asked to apply what we have learned in the passage to a hypothetical situation. A review of the passage shows that only (B) and (d) have any real merit. But sharks have survived for 400 million years with an extremely low fecundity rate. This eliminates (B). Hence the answer is (d).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 10

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

A growing taste for shark steaks and shark-fin soup has for the first time in 400 million years put the scourge of the sea at the wrong end of the food chain. Commercial landings of this toothsome fish have doubled every year since 1986, and shark populations are plunging. It is hardly a case of good riddance. Sharks do for gentler fish what lions do for the wildebeest: they check populations by feeding on the weak. Also, sharks apparently do not get cancer and may therefore harbor clues to the nature of that disease.

Finally, there is the issue of motherhood. Sharks are viviparous. That is, they bear their young alive and swimming (not sealed in eggs) after gestation periods lasting from nine months to two years. Shark mothers generally give birth to litters of from eight to twelve pups and bear only one litter every other year.

This is why sharks have one of the lowest fecundity rates in the ocean. The female cod, for example, spawns annually and lays a few million eggs at a time. If three quarters of the cod were to be fished this year, they could be back in full force in a few years. But if humans took that big of a bite out of the sharks, the population would not recover for 15 years.

So, late this summer, if all goes according to plan, the shark will join the bald eagle and the buffalo on the list of managed species. The federal government will cap the U.S. commercial catch at 5,800 metric tons, about half of the 1989 level, and limit sportsmen to two sharks per boat. Another provision discourages finning, the harvesting of shark fins alone, by limiting the weight of fins to 7 percent of that of all the carcasses.

Finning got under the skin of environmentalists, and the resulting anger helped to mobilize support for the new regulations. Finning itself is a fairly recent innovation. Shark fins contain noodle-like cartilaginous tissues that Chinese chefs have traditionally used to thicken and flavor soup. Over the past few years rising demand in Hong Kong has made the fins as valuable as the rest of the fish. Long strands are prized, so unusually large fins can be worth considerably more to the fisherman than the average price of about $10 a pound.

But can U.S. quotas save shark species that wander the whole Atlantic? The blue shark, for example, migrates into the waters of something like 23 countries. John G. Casey, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service Research Center in Narragansett, R.I., admits that international co-ordination will eventually be necessary. But he supports U.S. quotas as a first step in mobilizing other nations. Meanwhile the commercial fishermen are not waiting for the new rules to take effect. “There’s a pre-quota rush on sharks,” Casey says, “and it’s going on as we speak.”

Which one of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward the efforts to protect shark populations?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 10

This is a rather easy tone question. The passage has a matter-of-fact or journalistic tone to it. So the answer is (E).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 11

Direction: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

A growing taste for shark steaks and shark-fin soup has for the first time in 400 million years put the scourge of the sea at the wrong end of the food chain. Commercial landings of this toothsome fish have doubled every year since 1986, and shark populations are plunging. It is hardly a case of good riddance. Sharks do for gentler fish what lions do for the wildebeest: they check populations by feeding on the weak. Also, sharks apparently do not get cancer and may therefore harbor clues to the nature of that disease.

Finally, there is the issue of motherhood. Sharks are viviparous. That is, they bear their young alive and swimming (not sealed in eggs) after gestation periods lasting from nine months to two years. Shark mothers generally give birth to litters of from eight to twelve pups and bear only one litter every other year.

This is why sharks have one of the lowest fecundity rates in the ocean. The female cod, for example, spawns annually and lays a few million eggs at a time. If three quarters of the cod were to be fished this year, they could be back in full force in a few years. But if humans took that big of a bite out of the sharks, the population would not recover for 15 years.

So, late this summer, if all goes according to plan, the shark will join the bald eagle and the buffalo on the list of managed species. The federal government will cap the U.S. commercial catch at 5,800 metric tons, about half of the 1989 level, and limit sportsmen to two sharks per boat. Another provision discourages finning, the harvesting of shark fins alone, by limiting the weight of fins to 7 percent of that of all the carcasses.

Finning got under the skin of environmentalists, and the resulting anger helped to mobilize support for the new regulations. Finning itself is a fairly recent innovation. Shark fins contain noodle-like cartilaginous tissues that Chinese chefs have traditionally used to thicken and flavor soup. Over the past few years rising demand in Hong Kong has made the fins as valuable as the rest of the fish. Long strands are prized, so unusually large fins can be worth considerably more to the fisherman than the average price of about $10 a pound.

But can U.S. quotas save shark species that wander the whole Atlantic? The blue shark, for example, migrates into the waters of something like 23 countries. John G. Casey, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service Research Center in Narragansett, R.I., admits that international co-ordination will eventually be necessary. But he supports U.S. quotas as a first step in mobilizing other nations. Meanwhile the commercial fishermen are not waiting for the new rules to take effect. “There’s a pre-quota rush on sharks,” Casey says, “and it’s going on as we speak.”

An irony resulting from the announcement that sharks will be placed on the managed list is

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 11

By announcing the impending classification, the federal government ironically encourages fishermen to kill as many sharks as they can before the regulations go into effect—stimulating the opposite of what was intended, i.e., the saving of sharks. The answer is (D).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 12

Read the following sentences and choose the one the option that best arranges them in a logical order.

1. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference.

2. The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences.

3. Thus to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.

4. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience—of an observation or the result of an experiment—can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 12

Sentences 2 and 4 have a cause and effect relationship. ‘For’ in sentence 4 has been used not as a preposition but as a conjunction and in the given context means ‘because’. That’s leaves us with options B and D. Statement 1 is a further extension of statement 4 and statement 3 is clearly a concluding statement. So the answer is option D.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 13

Read the following sentences and choose the one the option that best arranges them in a logical order.

1. Then, as the marsh winds made the fire glow and flare, I thought I heard the voice outside, of the man with the iron on his leg who had sworn me to secrecy, declaring that he couldn't and wouldn't starve until to-morrow, but must be fed now.

2. The guilty knowledge that I was going to rob Mrs. Joe—I never thought I was going to rob Joe, for I never thought of any of the housekeeping property as his—united to the necessity of always keeping one hand on my bread and butter as I sat, or when I was ordered about the kitchen on any small errand, almost drove me out of my mind.

3. Conscience is a dreadful thing when it accuses man or boy; but when, in the case of a boy, that secret burden co-operates with another secret burden down the leg of his trousers, it is (as I can testify) a great punishment.

4. If ever anybody's hair stood on end with terror, mine must have done so then. But, perhaps, nobody's ever did?

5. At other times, I thought, What if the young man who was with so much difficulty restrained from imbruing his hands in me should yield to a constitutional impatience, or should mistake the time, and should think himself accredited to my heart and liver to-night, instead of to-morrow!

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 13

The first pair that you establish in this question is the one between statements 3 and 2. Statement 3 mentions the conscience, and statement 2 mentions the guilt associated with it. The next pair of related statements is 1-5-4. Statement 1 explains what the boy is thinking, statement 5 and 4 take those forward. Now that we have the two pairs, all you need to see is where these two pairs fit without being torn apart. We find that only in option c.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 14

Direction: Read the following passage and answer the question.

Trade fairs are among the most memorable events that take place periodically with the purpose of promoting sales, launching new products, bringing together manufacturers of a particular line of products and educating the public. They are held at all levels-international, national, state and district. The most prominent among them are the India International Trade Fair, World Book Fair, Information Technology fair, Electronic Trade and Technology Fair, Textile Fair, Auto Expo, state-level book fairs, district level exhibitions etc. India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which was incorporated in 1992 by the merger of Trade Development Authority (TDA) with the Trade Fair Authority of India (TFAI), has been playing a commendable role in this respect.

It can be said without a doubt that sales promotion is the most important purpose of these fairs. Bringing together the largest possible number of manufacturers, suppliers, existing and potential buyers under the same roof helps to promote the products in an effective way. All these people come together on a single platform for a fixed period of time. This offers a unique opportunity to manufacturers and suppliers to display their best products and services and the buyers get a chance to see a wide range of products and services.

Conferences, seminars, live product demonstrations and presentations are regular features of these fairs and exhibitions. Besides these, colourful cultural programmes are also important features of such fairs. These fairs give a good opportunity to the artists to showcase their skills and talent at such specially organized programmes.

ITPO stands for:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 14

From the line given in the passage: India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which was incorporated in 1992 by the merger of Trade Development Authority (TDA) with the Trade Fair Authority of India (TFAI), has been playing a commendable role in this respect.

So, ITPO stands for India Trade Promotion Organisation.

Hence, the correct option is (B).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 15

Direction: Read the following passage and answer the question.

Trade fairs are among the most memorable events that take place periodically with the purpose of promoting sales, launching new products, bringing together manufacturers of a particular line of products and educating the public. They are held at all levels-international, national, state and district. The most prominent among them are the India International Trade Fair, World Book Fair, Information Technology fair, Electronic Trade and Technology Fair, Textile Fair, Auto Expo, state-level book fairs, district level exhibitions etc. India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which was incorporated in 1992 by the merger of Trade Development Authority (TDA) with the Trade Fair Authority of India (TFAI), has been playing a commendable role in this respect.

It can be said without a doubt that sales promotion is the most important purpose of these fairs. Bringing together the largest possible number of manufacturers, suppliers, existing and potential buyers under the same roof helps to promote the products in an effective way. All these people come together on a single platform for a fixed period of time. This offers a unique opportunity to manufacturers and suppliers to display their best products and services and the buyers get a chance to see a wide range of products and services.

Conferences, seminars, live product demonstrations and presentations are regular features of these fairs and exhibitions. Besides these, colourful cultural programmes are also important features of such fairs. These fairs give a good opportunity to the artists to showcase their skills and talent at such specially organized programmes.

What are some of the regular features of such trade fairs?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 15

From the line given in the passage: Conferences, seminars, live product demonstrations, and presentations are regular features of these fairs and exhibitions.

Hence, the correct option is (D).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 16

Direction: Read the following passage and answer the question.

Trade fairs are among the most memorable events that take place periodically with the purpose of promoting sales, launching new products, bringing together manufacturers of a particular line of products and educating the public. They are held at all levels-international, national, state and district. The most prominent among them are the India International Trade Fair, World Book Fair, Information Technology fair, Electronic Trade and Technology Fair, Textile Fair, Auto Expo, state-level book fairs, district level exhibitions etc. India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which was incorporated in 1992 by the merger of Trade Development Authority (TDA) with the Trade Fair Authority of India (TFAI), has been playing a commendable role in this respect.

It can be said without a doubt that sales promotion is the most important purpose of these fairs. Bringing together the largest possible number of manufacturers, suppliers, existing and potential buyers under the same roof helps to promote the products in an effective way. All these people come together on a single platform for a fixed period of time. This offers a unique opportunity to manufacturers and suppliers to display their best products and services and the buyers get a chance to see a wide range of products and services.

Conferences, seminars, live product demonstrations and presentations are regular features of these fairs and exhibitions. Besides these, colourful cultural programmes are also important features of such fairs. These fairs give a good opportunity to the artists to showcase their skills and talent at such specially organized programmes.

How is the trade fair an effective way of promoting products?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 16

The second sentence of the second paragraph of the passage clearly states, "Bringing together the largest possible number of manufacturers, suppliers, existing and potential buyers under the same roof helps to promote the products in an effective way".

Hence, the correct option is (A).

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 17

Direction: Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Why is the poet addressing triumph and disaster as imposters?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 17

(a)- if triumph and disaster show a man's true character, they cannot be considered or addressed as imposters; (c) and (d)- they are incorrect as per the poem; (b)- Since triumph and disaster are extremes situations and do not paint the real picture of our lives. Both are fleeting in nature as neither of these two lasts forever. That's why, they are addressed as imposters (pretenders); hence, (b) is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 18

Direction: Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

What is the poet's attitude in the entire poem?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 18

The entire poem revolves around the theme of being stoic, calm in any given situation be it adversity or in good times. Options (b) and (c) convey exactly this while (a) is mentioned only in the last stanza of the paragraph and is quite specific to a particular situation; hence, (E) is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 19

Fill the blanks with most appropriate option.

Dismissing _____ bunch of appeals where _____ Development Authority had changed _____ civic amenity site in HRBR Layout from the purpose of ______ park to _____ bank and finally to ______petrol pump, _____ apex court ruled that even though a petrol pump is also a 'civic amenity,' as per DA rules, the use from one civic amenity to another is not possible unless _______ original development plan is changed

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 19

Indefinite article ‘a’ implies one and is used before consonants, therefore would be used for the first blank. Indefinite article ‘an’ is also used to imply ‘one’ and is used before vowels. In the given context, a park, a bank, a petrol pump, all of them would take indefinite article ‘a’ because ‘a’ here conveys a singular object or introduction to the subject.

Definite article 'the' is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. 'The' signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a government body in this context. So definite article 'the' will be used in the second, third and seventh blank.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 20

Over the past two decades, a wide gap in pay has arisen between medical professionals who practice in the public health arena as opposed to those who practice privately. As a result, many doctors, nurses and other health professionals employed by public and nonprofit agencies have left their public health jobs in favor of private clinics and hospitals. Public and nonprofit agencies will be able to entice these professionals to return to public health jobs if salaries are made commensurate with those paid in the private sector. The quality of medical care provided by public and nonprofit agencies will thus be improved.

Which one of the following is presumed in the position stated above?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 20

Don’t ponder too long over this question. The answer is fairly simple. The question presumes that medical professionals who left their jobs in the public health sector for higher paying private jobs would return to the public health sector if salaries go up enough. (D) is the correct choice.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 21

Which Sikh Guru gave his followers the idea of setting up self-government within the Mughal empire?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 21

Guru Arjan Dev gave his followers the idea of setting up self-government within the Mughal empire.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 22

What is the primary difference in precipitation between the Southern and Northern slopes of the Himalayas?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 22

The Southern slopes of the Himalayas receive more precipitation as they are in the rain shadow region, leading to thicker vegetation compared to the generally barren Northern slopes.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 23

Who was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 23

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, emerged victorious in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, leading to the establishment of the Mughal rule.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 24

What invention caused many deaths while testing it?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 24

Many people who tried to test the first parachutes died by jumping from high places. One attempt was a parachute hat, but the inventor broke his neck while testing it. The first successful parachute was tested from a hot air balloon in 1797, in France, by Jacques Garnerin.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 25

Who was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 25

Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the 10m air rifle shooting event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian to achieve this feat.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 26

Which city is the capital of Afghanistan?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 26

The correct answer is Option A: Kabul. Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan. Differentiate it from other cities like Beijing, Islamabad, or New Delhi, which are capitals of different countries.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 27

What is the official scripture of Buddhism?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 27

The correct answer is Option B: The Tipitaka (Tripitaka). The Tipitaka is the primary sacred scripture of Buddhism, containing teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 28

What was the primary focus of reformist movements during the socio-religious transformations in India in the 19th century?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 28

Reformist movements, such as the Brahmo Samaj and Aligarh Movement, aimed to reform and modernize existing religious practices, emphasizing the restoration of lost religious purity. Leaders like Raja Ram Mohan Roy sought to eliminate practices like idolatry and social inequalities.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 29

On which date is World Leprosy Day marked in 2024?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 29

World Leprosy Day is observed annually on the last Sunday of January. In 2024, it falls on January 28, highlighting the importance of raising awareness about leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, and understanding its impact.

XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 30

In which city was the first modern Olympics held in 1896?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 8 (New Pattern) - Question 30

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.

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