CAT Exam  >  CAT Questions  >  Directions: Read the following passage carefu... Start Learning for Free
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.
The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.
For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.
Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.
This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.
Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?
  • a)
    Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.
  • b)
    Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.
  • c)
    Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.
  • d)
    Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given ...
The author is trying to focus on resources other than 'hard' or tangible resources, by highlighting the importance of art, religion and science (which are intangible) in helping us cope up with our fragility.
(1) - No such view is mentioned or inferable. Current resources may be capable, but so are the imaginative resources.
(2) - This correctly explains the inference as seen from the explanation.
(3) - Instead of current resources, imaginative resources are a different group that must be viewed as such. Their relation to existing resources is neither mentioned nor inferable.
(4) - Again, imaginative resources are needed in addition to existing resources, not as a substitute.
View all questions of this test
Most Upvoted Answer
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given ...
Understanding the Fragility of Humanity
The statement, "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it," implies several key ideas regarding human fragility and the need for resources.
Current Reality of Human Fragility
- The author suggests that the current state of humanity is one of increased fragility, which contrasts with past beliefs of stability and progress.
- This fragility is not just a temporary phase but is expected to persist into the foreseeable future, indicating a long-term challenge.
Need for Imaginative Resources
- The phrase "considerable imaginative resources" highlights the necessity for mental and emotional tools to navigate this fragility.
- It implies that as we face heightened vulnerabilities, we will require enhanced creative and innovative approaches to cope with these challenges.
Growing Fragility and Resource Demand
- The choice of option 'B' aligns with the notion that as humans become more fragile, the demand for robust imaginative resources increases.
- This reflects a belief that our ability to engage with and understand our fragile condition will be critical in fostering resilience and connection.
Conclusion
In essence, the author is emphasizing that the fragility of the human condition is a significant aspect of our future reality. As such, it will necessitate greater imaginative resources to help us navigate and make sense of our experiences, fostering deeper connections among individuals as we face this shared fragility.
Explore Courses for CAT exam

Similar CAT Doubts

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. From the statement "we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think", which of the following can be inferred?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. Which of the following most accurately describes the role of science as mentioned in the passage in tackling the fragility that we experience?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. It can be inferred that the author of the passage is most likely to agree with each of the following statementsEXCEPT

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering the question.Technological change is recognised as one of the main drivers of long-term growth. In the coming decades, radical innovations such as mobile internet and cloud computing are likely to revolutionise production processes, particularly in developing countries.It is undebatable that technology makes production processes more efficient, thereby increasing the competitiveness of countries and reducing their vulnerability to market fluctuations. Structural change, i.e. the transition from a labour-intensive to a technology-intensive economy, drives economic upgrading. Low income countries thus acquire the necessary capabilities to catch up and reduce the gap with per capita incomes in high income countries.Catching up, unfortunately, does not occur frequently. In the last 50 years, only a few countries were successful in rapidly industrialising and achieving sustained economic growth. Technology was always a key driver in these cases and they successfully developed an advanced technology-intensive industry.Though technology is linked to sustainable growth, it is uncertain whether it can simultaneously create social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. Technological change also requires the labour force to be prepared to use increasingly complex machinery and equipment, which widens the inequality between highly skilled and unskilled workers in terms of wage distribution. Industrialisation has historically been accompanied by increasing pollution and the depletion of natural resources. Economic growth also entails a rise in the use of inputs, materials and fossil fuels, which generate environmental pollution and degradation, especially in low income countries.From an economic point of view, globalisation and the fragmentation of production at international level have facilitated the diffusion of new technologies through the intensification of trade in sophisticated manufacturing goods. However, this diffusion of technology has in many cases not translated into concrete growth opportunities due to the lack of technological capabilities and the capacity of countries to promote innovation systems. Innovation needs to be supported by appropriate interventions that strengthen the process from technology invention to adoption by firms as was the case in benchmark countries such as China and the Republic of Korea.Even though technology and automation generally improve people's working conditions, the number of jobs may decrease as a result, with workers being replaced by machines. But, the technological change itself can mitigate this effect. New technologies also generate new markets, for example the waste and recycling industry, reduce the prices of consumer goods and provide opportunities for new investments with higher levels of profitability. Most importantly, the expansion of new technologically-intensive industries absorbs those workers who have lost their jobs to machines.Despite these positive dynamics, the current trend of technological change does not guarantee that we will follow a sustainable path in the future.Q. According to the passage, which of the following is a key benefit of adopting technology?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering the question.Technological change is recognised as one of the main drivers of long-term growth. In the coming decades, radical innovations such as mobile internet and cloud computing are likely to revolutionise production processes, particularly in developing countries.It is undebatable that technology makes production processes more efficient, thereby increasing the competitiveness of countries and reducing their vulnerability to market fluctuations. Structural change, i.e. the transition from a labour-intensive to a technology-intensive economy, drives economic upgrading. Low income countries thus acquire the necessary capabilities to catch up and reduce the gap with per capita incomes in high income countries.Catching up, unfortunately, does not occur frequently. In the last 50 years, only a few countries were successful in rapidly industrialising and achieving sustained economic growth. Technology was always a key driver in these cases and they successfully developed an advanced technology-intensive industry.Though technology is linked to sustainable growth, it is uncertain whether it can simultaneously create social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. Technological change also requires the labour force to be prepared to use increasingly complex machinery and equipment, which widens the inequality between highly skilled and unskilled workers in terms of wage distribution. Industrialisation has historically been accompanied by increasing pollution and the depletion of natural resources. Economic growth also entails a rise in the use of inputs, materials and fossil fuels, which generate environmental pollution and degradation, especially in low income countries.From an economic point of view, globalisation and the fragmentation of production at international level have facilitated the diffusion of new technologies through the intensification of trade in sophisticated manufacturing goods. However, this diffusion of technology has in many cases not translated into concrete growth opportunities due to the lack of technological capabilities and the capacity of countries to promote innovation systems. Innovation needs to be supported by appropriate interventions that strengthen the process from technology invention to adoption by firms as was the case in benchmark countries such as China and the Republic of Korea.Even though technology and automation generally improve people's working conditions, the number of jobs may decrease as a result, with workers being replaced by machines. But, the technological change itself can mitigate this effect. New technologies also generate new markets, for example the waste and recycling industry, reduce the prices of consumer goods and provide opportunities for new investments with higher levels of profitability. Most importantly, the expansion of new technologically-intensive industries absorbs those workers who have lost their jobs to machines.Despite these positive dynamics, the current trend of technological change does not guarantee that we will follow a sustainable path in the future.Q. In many countries, the desired results of technology could not be achieved due to

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? for CAT 2025 is part of CAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the CAT exam syllabus. Information about Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for CAT 2025 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for CAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for CAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.The human story is not looking much like a smooth record of upward progress just now. We are more fragile than we had been led to assume. And this means that we are also less different from our ancestors than we normally like to think – and that the more secure and prosperous members of the human race are less different from their fellow-human beings than they find comfortable. Our ancestors, right up to the modern age, knew they were fragile. A brief period of dazzling technological achievement combined with the absence of any major global war produced the belief that fragility was on the retreat and that making our global environment lastingly secure or controllable was within reach. But the same technical achievements that had generated this belief turned out to be among the major destabilizing influences in the material environment. And the absence of major global conflict sat alongside the proliferation of bitter and vicious local struggles, often civil wars that trailed on for decades.For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it. In the past, people have found resources like this in art and religion. Today it is crucial to learn to see the sciences as a resource and not a threat or a rival to what these older elements offer. Belittling the imaginative inspiration of authentic science is as fatuous as the view that sees the arts as just a pleasant extra in human life, or religion as an outdated kind of scientific explanation. Just because inflated claims are made for science, and unrealistic hopes are raised, it is dangerously easy to forget why and how it matters, and to be lured into the bizarre world in which the minority report in science is given inflated importance just because we have been disappointed about the utterly unqualified certainty that we thought we had been promised.Science helps us live with our fragility by giving us a way of connecting with each other, recognising that it is the same world that we all live in. But what science alone does not do is build the motivation for a deeper level of connection.This is where art comes in. Like the sciences, it makes us shelve our self-oriented habits for a bit. If science helps us discover that there are things to talk about that are not determined just by the self-interest of the people talking, art opens us up to how the stranger feels, uncovering connections where we had not expected them. What religion adds to this is a further level of motivation. Being more deeply connected will not take away the fragility of our condition, but it will help us see that we can actually learn from and with each other.Q. "For the foreseeable future, we shall have to get used to this fragility; and we are going to need considerable imaginative resources to cope with it." What does the author try to imply when he says this?a)Current resources are not sufficient to assuage the fragility that people are experiencing because of deteriorating conditions.b)Since we humans will become more fragile in the future, we will need even greater resources to engage us mentally.c)Current resources must be viewed imaginatively to realise their true potential in helping us manage our supposed fragility.d)Imaginative resources are needed in contrast to technical advancements because technical advancements are responsible for our fragility.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice CAT tests.
Explore Courses for CAT exam

Top Courses for CAT

Explore Courses
Signup for Free!
Signup to see your scores go up within 7 days! Learn & Practice with 1000+ FREE Notes, Videos & Tests.
10M+ students study on EduRev