CAT 2017 Slot 1: Previous Year Question Paper with Solutions

 Page 1


CAT 2017 Shift-1
VARC
Instructions [1 - 6 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Understanding where you are in the world is a basic survival skill, which is why we, like most species come hard-wired with specialised brain areas to create cognitive maps of our
surroundings. Where humans are unique, though, with the possible exception of honeybees, is that we try to communicate this understanding of the world with others. We have a long
history of doing this by drawing maps — the earliest versions yet discovered were scrawled on cave walls 14,000 years ago. Human cultures have been drawing them on stone tablets,
papyrus, paper and now computer screens ever since.
Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top, according to Jerry Brotton, a map historian... "North was rarely put at the top for the simple fact that north is
where darkness comes from," he says. "West is also very unlikely to be put at the top because west is where the sun disappears."
Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn't the reason that they placed north at the top. Early
Chinese compasses were actually oriented to point south, which was considered to be more desirable than deepest darkest north. But in Chinese maps, the Emperor, who lived in the
north of the country was always put at the top of the map, with everyone else, his loyal subjects, looking up towards him. "In Chinese culture the Emperor looks south because it's where
the winds come from, it's a good direction. North is not very good but you are in a position of subjection to the emperor, so you look up to him," says Brotton.
Given that each culture has a very different idea of who, or what, they should look up to it's perhaps not surprising that there is very little consistency in which way early maps pointed. In
ancient Egyptian times the top of the world was east, the position of sunrise. Early Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of
Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it. Christian maps from the same era (called Mappa Mundi) put east at the top, towards the Garden of Eden and with Jerusalem in
the centre.
So when did everyone get together and decide that north was the top? It's tempting to put it down to European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Megellan, who were
navigating by the North Star. But Brotton argues that these early explorers didn't think of the world like that at all. "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being
at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality is from a medieval mappa mundi." We've got to remember, adds Brotton, that at the time, "no one
knows what they are doing and where they are going."
1. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?
A    It questions an explanation about how maps are designed.
B    It corrects the misconception about the way maps are designed.
C    It critiques a methodology used to create maps.
D    It explores some myths about maps.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Option A: He gives explanation/reasoning behind the various methods adopted in history but does not question them.  
Option C: The author doesnt discuss about the merits/ demirits or evaluate a method of map-making. It is involved more with the history of the method.
Option D speaks about myth. While most of the data are quoted from history, they cannot be misrepresented as a myth.
The author starts the passage by talking about the history of map making. The author then mentions how north was never put at the top in ancient times. 
"Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top".
He implicitly means that people have a preemptive notion of maps facing the north. He goes on to mention that it was considered a bad direction. He says that north being put at the top
is a fairly recent phenomenon. He then goes on to discuss why different people started putting north at the top. He mentions that the reasons for different people putting north at the top
were different from what people think now. 
He cites various examples to show that north' s presence in top is more recent and due to varied factors.
Hence, he is trying to clear certain misconceptions about why north is put at the top in the maps. Thus, option B is the most suitable answer.
    
2. Early maps did NOT put north at the top for all the following reasons EXCEPT
A    North was the source of darkness.
B    South was favoured by some emperors.
C    East and south were more important for religious reasons for some civilisations.
D    East was considered by some civilisations to be a more positive direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The passage mentions that the Chinese put North at the top of the map because the emperor would live in the North and he preferred to look towards South. Hence, the fact that South
was preferred by some emperors is not a reason why North was put at the top. Hence, option B is false. All other options are mentioned in the passage.
3. According to the passage, early Chinese maps placed north at the top because
A    the Chinese invented the compass and were aware of magnetic north.
  
.
Page 2


CAT 2017 Shift-1
VARC
Instructions [1 - 6 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Understanding where you are in the world is a basic survival skill, which is why we, like most species come hard-wired with specialised brain areas to create cognitive maps of our
surroundings. Where humans are unique, though, with the possible exception of honeybees, is that we try to communicate this understanding of the world with others. We have a long
history of doing this by drawing maps — the earliest versions yet discovered were scrawled on cave walls 14,000 years ago. Human cultures have been drawing them on stone tablets,
papyrus, paper and now computer screens ever since.
Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top, according to Jerry Brotton, a map historian... "North was rarely put at the top for the simple fact that north is
where darkness comes from," he says. "West is also very unlikely to be put at the top because west is where the sun disappears."
Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn't the reason that they placed north at the top. Early
Chinese compasses were actually oriented to point south, which was considered to be more desirable than deepest darkest north. But in Chinese maps, the Emperor, who lived in the
north of the country was always put at the top of the map, with everyone else, his loyal subjects, looking up towards him. "In Chinese culture the Emperor looks south because it's where
the winds come from, it's a good direction. North is not very good but you are in a position of subjection to the emperor, so you look up to him," says Brotton.
Given that each culture has a very different idea of who, or what, they should look up to it's perhaps not surprising that there is very little consistency in which way early maps pointed. In
ancient Egyptian times the top of the world was east, the position of sunrise. Early Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of
Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it. Christian maps from the same era (called Mappa Mundi) put east at the top, towards the Garden of Eden and with Jerusalem in
the centre.
So when did everyone get together and decide that north was the top? It's tempting to put it down to European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Megellan, who were
navigating by the North Star. But Brotton argues that these early explorers didn't think of the world like that at all. "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being
at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality is from a medieval mappa mundi." We've got to remember, adds Brotton, that at the time, "no one
knows what they are doing and where they are going."
1. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?
A    It questions an explanation about how maps are designed.
B    It corrects the misconception about the way maps are designed.
C    It critiques a methodology used to create maps.
D    It explores some myths about maps.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Option A: He gives explanation/reasoning behind the various methods adopted in history but does not question them.  
Option C: The author doesnt discuss about the merits/ demirits or evaluate a method of map-making. It is involved more with the history of the method.
Option D speaks about myth. While most of the data are quoted from history, they cannot be misrepresented as a myth.
The author starts the passage by talking about the history of map making. The author then mentions how north was never put at the top in ancient times. 
"Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top".
He implicitly means that people have a preemptive notion of maps facing the north. He goes on to mention that it was considered a bad direction. He says that north being put at the top
is a fairly recent phenomenon. He then goes on to discuss why different people started putting north at the top. He mentions that the reasons for different people putting north at the top
were different from what people think now. 
He cites various examples to show that north' s presence in top is more recent and due to varied factors.
Hence, he is trying to clear certain misconceptions about why north is put at the top in the maps. Thus, option B is the most suitable answer.
    
2. Early maps did NOT put north at the top for all the following reasons EXCEPT
A    North was the source of darkness.
B    South was favoured by some emperors.
C    East and south were more important for religious reasons for some civilisations.
D    East was considered by some civilisations to be a more positive direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The passage mentions that the Chinese put North at the top of the map because the emperor would live in the North and he preferred to look towards South. Hence, the fact that South
was preferred by some emperors is not a reason why North was put at the top. Hence, option B is false. All other options are mentioned in the passage.
3. According to the passage, early Chinese maps placed north at the top because
A    the Chinese invented the compass and were aware of magnetic north.
  
.
B    
they wanted to show respect to the emperor.
C    the Chinese emperor appreciated the winds from the south.
D    north was considered the most desirable direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate options A and D. The passage states that the Chinese compasses pointed to magnetic south and that south was considered a more desirable direction.
While option C is true, that is not the reason why North was placed at the top. 
The passage states that the emperor lived in the north and hence maps depicted him as above his subjects. Thus, north was placed at the top of the map to show respect for the
emperor. Thus, option B is correct.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that European explorers like Columbus and Megellan
A    set the precedent for north-up maps
B    navigated by the compass
C    used an eastward orientation for religious reasons
D    navigated with the help of early maps
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate option A. The author says that though one might think that the trend of north-up maps was set by these explorers, this is in fact not true. Options B and D
are also incorrect. The passage says that the explorers navigated with the help of the North Star. 
In the passage, it is given that "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality
is from a medieval mappa mundi." Hence, we can infer that statement C is true. 
       
5. Which one of the following about the northern orientation of modern maps is asserted in the passage?
A    The biggest contributory factor was the understanding of magnetic north.
B    The biggest contributory factor was the role of European explorers.
C    The biggest contributory factor was the influence of Christian maps.
D    The biggest contributory factor is not stated in the passage.
A n s w e r : D
  
In the passage, the author discusses how North was traditionally not put on the top of early maps. The author explicitly refutes the role of the compass and of European explorers in
placing North at the top of maps. Hence, we can eliminate options A and B. The author says that East was placed at the top of Christian maps. Hence, option C is also incorrect. Thought
the author counters all known explanations as to why North was placed on the top, he does not offer any explanation of his own. Hence, option D is correct.
6. The role of natural phenomena in influencing map-making conventions is seen most clearly in
A    early Egyptian maps
B    early Islamic maps
C    early Chinese maps
D    early Christian maps
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
According to the passage, early Egyptian maps placed the East at the top because that was the position of sunrise. Hence, we can say that natural phenomena dictated the map-making
convention in this case. Thus, option A is correct.
Options B and D are incorrect as the conventions were decided by religious factors and not natural phenomena. Option C also can be eliminated as the orientation was a result of their
desire to honour their emperor. Hence, the answer is option A.
Instructions [7 - 12 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva's Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention.
  
.
Page 3


CAT 2017 Shift-1
VARC
Instructions [1 - 6 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Understanding where you are in the world is a basic survival skill, which is why we, like most species come hard-wired with specialised brain areas to create cognitive maps of our
surroundings. Where humans are unique, though, with the possible exception of honeybees, is that we try to communicate this understanding of the world with others. We have a long
history of doing this by drawing maps — the earliest versions yet discovered were scrawled on cave walls 14,000 years ago. Human cultures have been drawing them on stone tablets,
papyrus, paper and now computer screens ever since.
Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top, according to Jerry Brotton, a map historian... "North was rarely put at the top for the simple fact that north is
where darkness comes from," he says. "West is also very unlikely to be put at the top because west is where the sun disappears."
Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn't the reason that they placed north at the top. Early
Chinese compasses were actually oriented to point south, which was considered to be more desirable than deepest darkest north. But in Chinese maps, the Emperor, who lived in the
north of the country was always put at the top of the map, with everyone else, his loyal subjects, looking up towards him. "In Chinese culture the Emperor looks south because it's where
the winds come from, it's a good direction. North is not very good but you are in a position of subjection to the emperor, so you look up to him," says Brotton.
Given that each culture has a very different idea of who, or what, they should look up to it's perhaps not surprising that there is very little consistency in which way early maps pointed. In
ancient Egyptian times the top of the world was east, the position of sunrise. Early Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of
Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it. Christian maps from the same era (called Mappa Mundi) put east at the top, towards the Garden of Eden and with Jerusalem in
the centre.
So when did everyone get together and decide that north was the top? It's tempting to put it down to European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Megellan, who were
navigating by the North Star. But Brotton argues that these early explorers didn't think of the world like that at all. "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being
at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality is from a medieval mappa mundi." We've got to remember, adds Brotton, that at the time, "no one
knows what they are doing and where they are going."
1. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?
A    It questions an explanation about how maps are designed.
B    It corrects the misconception about the way maps are designed.
C    It critiques a methodology used to create maps.
D    It explores some myths about maps.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Option A: He gives explanation/reasoning behind the various methods adopted in history but does not question them.  
Option C: The author doesnt discuss about the merits/ demirits or evaluate a method of map-making. It is involved more with the history of the method.
Option D speaks about myth. While most of the data are quoted from history, they cannot be misrepresented as a myth.
The author starts the passage by talking about the history of map making. The author then mentions how north was never put at the top in ancient times. 
"Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top".
He implicitly means that people have a preemptive notion of maps facing the north. He goes on to mention that it was considered a bad direction. He says that north being put at the top
is a fairly recent phenomenon. He then goes on to discuss why different people started putting north at the top. He mentions that the reasons for different people putting north at the top
were different from what people think now. 
He cites various examples to show that north' s presence in top is more recent and due to varied factors.
Hence, he is trying to clear certain misconceptions about why north is put at the top in the maps. Thus, option B is the most suitable answer.
    
2. Early maps did NOT put north at the top for all the following reasons EXCEPT
A    North was the source of darkness.
B    South was favoured by some emperors.
C    East and south were more important for religious reasons for some civilisations.
D    East was considered by some civilisations to be a more positive direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The passage mentions that the Chinese put North at the top of the map because the emperor would live in the North and he preferred to look towards South. Hence, the fact that South
was preferred by some emperors is not a reason why North was put at the top. Hence, option B is false. All other options are mentioned in the passage.
3. According to the passage, early Chinese maps placed north at the top because
A    the Chinese invented the compass and were aware of magnetic north.
  
.
B    
they wanted to show respect to the emperor.
C    the Chinese emperor appreciated the winds from the south.
D    north was considered the most desirable direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate options A and D. The passage states that the Chinese compasses pointed to magnetic south and that south was considered a more desirable direction.
While option C is true, that is not the reason why North was placed at the top. 
The passage states that the emperor lived in the north and hence maps depicted him as above his subjects. Thus, north was placed at the top of the map to show respect for the
emperor. Thus, option B is correct.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that European explorers like Columbus and Megellan
A    set the precedent for north-up maps
B    navigated by the compass
C    used an eastward orientation for religious reasons
D    navigated with the help of early maps
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate option A. The author says that though one might think that the trend of north-up maps was set by these explorers, this is in fact not true. Options B and D
are also incorrect. The passage says that the explorers navigated with the help of the North Star. 
In the passage, it is given that "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality
is from a medieval mappa mundi." Hence, we can infer that statement C is true. 
       
5. Which one of the following about the northern orientation of modern maps is asserted in the passage?
A    The biggest contributory factor was the understanding of magnetic north.
B    The biggest contributory factor was the role of European explorers.
C    The biggest contributory factor was the influence of Christian maps.
D    The biggest contributory factor is not stated in the passage.
A n s w e r : D
  
In the passage, the author discusses how North was traditionally not put on the top of early maps. The author explicitly refutes the role of the compass and of European explorers in
placing North at the top of maps. Hence, we can eliminate options A and B. The author says that East was placed at the top of Christian maps. Hence, option C is also incorrect. Thought
the author counters all known explanations as to why North was placed on the top, he does not offer any explanation of his own. Hence, option D is correct.
6. The role of natural phenomena in influencing map-making conventions is seen most clearly in
A    early Egyptian maps
B    early Islamic maps
C    early Chinese maps
D    early Christian maps
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
According to the passage, early Egyptian maps placed the East at the top because that was the position of sunrise. Hence, we can say that natural phenomena dictated the map-making
convention in this case. Thus, option A is correct.
Options B and D are incorrect as the conventions were decided by religious factors and not natural phenomena. Option C also can be eliminated as the orientation was a result of their
desire to honour their emperor. Hence, the answer is option A.
Instructions [7 - 12 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva's Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention.
  
.
Near a 13th-century cathedral in this Swiss city on the shores of a lovely lake, I found what I was looking for: a Gutenberg printing press. "This was the Internet of its day — at least as
influential as the iPhone," said Gabriel de Montmollin, the director of the Museum of the Reformation, toying with the replica of Johann Gutenberg's great invention.
Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one press could
crank out 3,000 pages a day. Before long, average people could travel to places that used to be unknown to them — with maps! Medical information passed more freely and quickly,
diminishing the sway of quacks. The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea. Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly
that clerics had on scripture. And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation.
So, a question in the summer of this 10th anniversary of the iPhone: has the device that is perhaps the most revolutionary of all time given us a single magnificent idea? Nearly every
advancement of the written word through new technology has also advanced humankind. Sure, you can say the iPhone changed everything. By putting the world's recorded knowledge in
the palm of a hand, it revolutionized work, dining, travel and socializing. It made us more narcissistic — here's more of me doing cool stuff! — and it unleashed an army of awful trolls. We
no longer have the patience to sit through a baseball game without that reach to the pocket. And one more casualty of Apple selling more than a billion phones in a decade's time:
daydreaming has become a lost art.
For all of that, I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy...the Geneva museum makes a strong case that the printing press
opened more minds than anything else...it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print...
Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic. Not so fast. After a period of rapid growth in e-books, something closer
to the medium for Chaucer's volumes has made a great comeback
The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies. But the failure of the Arab Spring, and the continued suppression of ideas in North
Korea, China and Iran, has not borne that out. The iPhone is still young. It has certainly been "one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in. history," as Apple
C.E.O. Tim Cook said. But I'm not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone — as it did with the printing press — or merely changed.
7. The printing press has been likened to the Internet for which one of the following reasons?
A    It enabled rapid access to new information and the sharing of new ideas.
B    It represented new and revolutionary technology compared to the past.
C    It encouraged reading among people by giving them access to thousands of books.
D    It gave people access to pamphlets and literature in several languages.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
In the first passage, the author mentions printing press as the internet of its day. Immediately, in the next paragraph he elucidates how printing press helped in spreading ideas and
information. Thus, the author likened the printing press to the internet because it enabled access to new information and sharing of ideas.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.
    
8. According to the passage, the invention of the printing press did all of the following EXCEPT
A    promoted the spread of enlightened political views across countries.
B    gave people direct access to authentic medical information and religious texts.
C    shortened the time taken to produce books and pamphlets.
D    enabled people to perform various tasks simultaneously.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
From the lines "Medical information passed more freely and quickly, diminishing the sway of quacks" and "Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly that clerics had on scripture" , we
can infer that option B is true. 
From the lines "And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation" and "it's hard to imagine the
French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print", we can infer option A is true.
From the lines "Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one
press could crank out 3,000 pages a day", we can infer that option C is true.
Option D has not been stated nor implied anywhere in the passage.
9. Steve Jobs predicted which one of the following with the introduction of the iPhone?
A    People would switch from reading on the Internet to reading on their iPhones.
B    People would lose interest in historical and traditional classics.
C    Reading printed books would become a thing of the past.
D    The production of e-books would eventually fall.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
  
.
Page 4


CAT 2017 Shift-1
VARC
Instructions [1 - 6 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Understanding where you are in the world is a basic survival skill, which is why we, like most species come hard-wired with specialised brain areas to create cognitive maps of our
surroundings. Where humans are unique, though, with the possible exception of honeybees, is that we try to communicate this understanding of the world with others. We have a long
history of doing this by drawing maps — the earliest versions yet discovered were scrawled on cave walls 14,000 years ago. Human cultures have been drawing them on stone tablets,
papyrus, paper and now computer screens ever since.
Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top, according to Jerry Brotton, a map historian... "North was rarely put at the top for the simple fact that north is
where darkness comes from," he says. "West is also very unlikely to be put at the top because west is where the sun disappears."
Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn't the reason that they placed north at the top. Early
Chinese compasses were actually oriented to point south, which was considered to be more desirable than deepest darkest north. But in Chinese maps, the Emperor, who lived in the
north of the country was always put at the top of the map, with everyone else, his loyal subjects, looking up towards him. "In Chinese culture the Emperor looks south because it's where
the winds come from, it's a good direction. North is not very good but you are in a position of subjection to the emperor, so you look up to him," says Brotton.
Given that each culture has a very different idea of who, or what, they should look up to it's perhaps not surprising that there is very little consistency in which way early maps pointed. In
ancient Egyptian times the top of the world was east, the position of sunrise. Early Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of
Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it. Christian maps from the same era (called Mappa Mundi) put east at the top, towards the Garden of Eden and with Jerusalem in
the centre.
So when did everyone get together and decide that north was the top? It's tempting to put it down to European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Megellan, who were
navigating by the North Star. But Brotton argues that these early explorers didn't think of the world like that at all. "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being
at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality is from a medieval mappa mundi." We've got to remember, adds Brotton, that at the time, "no one
knows what they are doing and where they are going."
1. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?
A    It questions an explanation about how maps are designed.
B    It corrects the misconception about the way maps are designed.
C    It critiques a methodology used to create maps.
D    It explores some myths about maps.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Option A: He gives explanation/reasoning behind the various methods adopted in history but does not question them.  
Option C: The author doesnt discuss about the merits/ demirits or evaluate a method of map-making. It is involved more with the history of the method.
Option D speaks about myth. While most of the data are quoted from history, they cannot be misrepresented as a myth.
The author starts the passage by talking about the history of map making. The author then mentions how north was never put at the top in ancient times. 
"Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top".
He implicitly means that people have a preemptive notion of maps facing the north. He goes on to mention that it was considered a bad direction. He says that north being put at the top
is a fairly recent phenomenon. He then goes on to discuss why different people started putting north at the top. He mentions that the reasons for different people putting north at the top
were different from what people think now. 
He cites various examples to show that north' s presence in top is more recent and due to varied factors.
Hence, he is trying to clear certain misconceptions about why north is put at the top in the maps. Thus, option B is the most suitable answer.
    
2. Early maps did NOT put north at the top for all the following reasons EXCEPT
A    North was the source of darkness.
B    South was favoured by some emperors.
C    East and south were more important for religious reasons for some civilisations.
D    East was considered by some civilisations to be a more positive direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The passage mentions that the Chinese put North at the top of the map because the emperor would live in the North and he preferred to look towards South. Hence, the fact that South
was preferred by some emperors is not a reason why North was put at the top. Hence, option B is false. All other options are mentioned in the passage.
3. According to the passage, early Chinese maps placed north at the top because
A    the Chinese invented the compass and were aware of magnetic north.
  
.
B    
they wanted to show respect to the emperor.
C    the Chinese emperor appreciated the winds from the south.
D    north was considered the most desirable direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate options A and D. The passage states that the Chinese compasses pointed to magnetic south and that south was considered a more desirable direction.
While option C is true, that is not the reason why North was placed at the top. 
The passage states that the emperor lived in the north and hence maps depicted him as above his subjects. Thus, north was placed at the top of the map to show respect for the
emperor. Thus, option B is correct.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that European explorers like Columbus and Megellan
A    set the precedent for north-up maps
B    navigated by the compass
C    used an eastward orientation for religious reasons
D    navigated with the help of early maps
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate option A. The author says that though one might think that the trend of north-up maps was set by these explorers, this is in fact not true. Options B and D
are also incorrect. The passage says that the explorers navigated with the help of the North Star. 
In the passage, it is given that "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality
is from a medieval mappa mundi." Hence, we can infer that statement C is true. 
       
5. Which one of the following about the northern orientation of modern maps is asserted in the passage?
A    The biggest contributory factor was the understanding of magnetic north.
B    The biggest contributory factor was the role of European explorers.
C    The biggest contributory factor was the influence of Christian maps.
D    The biggest contributory factor is not stated in the passage.
A n s w e r : D
  
In the passage, the author discusses how North was traditionally not put on the top of early maps. The author explicitly refutes the role of the compass and of European explorers in
placing North at the top of maps. Hence, we can eliminate options A and B. The author says that East was placed at the top of Christian maps. Hence, option C is also incorrect. Thought
the author counters all known explanations as to why North was placed on the top, he does not offer any explanation of his own. Hence, option D is correct.
6. The role of natural phenomena in influencing map-making conventions is seen most clearly in
A    early Egyptian maps
B    early Islamic maps
C    early Chinese maps
D    early Christian maps
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
According to the passage, early Egyptian maps placed the East at the top because that was the position of sunrise. Hence, we can say that natural phenomena dictated the map-making
convention in this case. Thus, option A is correct.
Options B and D are incorrect as the conventions were decided by religious factors and not natural phenomena. Option C also can be eliminated as the orientation was a result of their
desire to honour their emperor. Hence, the answer is option A.
Instructions [7 - 12 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva's Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention.
  
.
Near a 13th-century cathedral in this Swiss city on the shores of a lovely lake, I found what I was looking for: a Gutenberg printing press. "This was the Internet of its day — at least as
influential as the iPhone," said Gabriel de Montmollin, the director of the Museum of the Reformation, toying with the replica of Johann Gutenberg's great invention.
Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one press could
crank out 3,000 pages a day. Before long, average people could travel to places that used to be unknown to them — with maps! Medical information passed more freely and quickly,
diminishing the sway of quacks. The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea. Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly
that clerics had on scripture. And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation.
So, a question in the summer of this 10th anniversary of the iPhone: has the device that is perhaps the most revolutionary of all time given us a single magnificent idea? Nearly every
advancement of the written word through new technology has also advanced humankind. Sure, you can say the iPhone changed everything. By putting the world's recorded knowledge in
the palm of a hand, it revolutionized work, dining, travel and socializing. It made us more narcissistic — here's more of me doing cool stuff! — and it unleashed an army of awful trolls. We
no longer have the patience to sit through a baseball game without that reach to the pocket. And one more casualty of Apple selling more than a billion phones in a decade's time:
daydreaming has become a lost art.
For all of that, I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy...the Geneva museum makes a strong case that the printing press
opened more minds than anything else...it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print...
Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic. Not so fast. After a period of rapid growth in e-books, something closer
to the medium for Chaucer's volumes has made a great comeback
The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies. But the failure of the Arab Spring, and the continued suppression of ideas in North
Korea, China and Iran, has not borne that out. The iPhone is still young. It has certainly been "one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in. history," as Apple
C.E.O. Tim Cook said. But I'm not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone — as it did with the printing press — or merely changed.
7. The printing press has been likened to the Internet for which one of the following reasons?
A    It enabled rapid access to new information and the sharing of new ideas.
B    It represented new and revolutionary technology compared to the past.
C    It encouraged reading among people by giving them access to thousands of books.
D    It gave people access to pamphlets and literature in several languages.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
In the first passage, the author mentions printing press as the internet of its day. Immediately, in the next paragraph he elucidates how printing press helped in spreading ideas and
information. Thus, the author likened the printing press to the internet because it enabled access to new information and sharing of ideas.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.
    
8. According to the passage, the invention of the printing press did all of the following EXCEPT
A    promoted the spread of enlightened political views across countries.
B    gave people direct access to authentic medical information and religious texts.
C    shortened the time taken to produce books and pamphlets.
D    enabled people to perform various tasks simultaneously.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
From the lines "Medical information passed more freely and quickly, diminishing the sway of quacks" and "Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly that clerics had on scripture" , we
can infer that option B is true. 
From the lines "And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation" and "it's hard to imagine the
French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print", we can infer option A is true.
From the lines "Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one
press could crank out 3,000 pages a day", we can infer that option C is true.
Option D has not been stated nor implied anywhere in the passage.
9. Steve Jobs predicted which one of the following with the introduction of the iPhone?
A    People would switch from reading on the Internet to reading on their iPhones.
B    People would lose interest in historical and traditional classics.
C    Reading printed books would become a thing of the past.
D    The production of e-books would eventually fall.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
  
.
Refer to the following lines - "Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic". Thus, we can infer that Steve Jobs
predicted that reading printed books would become a thing of the past. Hence, option C is the right answer.
10. "I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy." The author uses which one of the following to indicate his uncertainty?
A    The rise of religious groups in many parts of the world.
B    The expansion in trolling and narcissism among users of the Internet.
C    The continued suppression of free speech in closed societies.
D    The decline in reading habits among those who use the device.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
The author says that the iPhone has not fulfilled its potential as a piece of revolutionary technology. He goes on to say that the hope was that the iPhone could help in liberating people in
closed societies. However, the failure of the Arab spring and continued suppression in places like North Korea shows that this has not happened. Hence, the author uses the continued
suppression of free speech in closed societies to indicate why he is still uncertain about the potential of the iPhone. Hence, option C is correct.
    
11. The author attributes the French and American revolutions to the invention of the printing press because
A    maps enabled large numbers of Europeans to travel and settle in the American continent.
B    the rapid spread of information exposed people to new ideas on freedom and democracy.
C    it encouraged religious freedom among the people by destroying the monopoly of religious leaders on the scriptures.
D    it made available revolutionary strategies and opinions to the people.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Refer to the line "it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print". Hence, from this we can straightaway eliminate options A and C.
Between options B and D, B correctly captures the point made by the author. The printing press allowed the spread of enlightened voices and as a result people were exposed to new
ideas on freedom and democracy. 
Option D slightly distorts what is given in the passage. The passage does not mention any revolutionary "strategies". Hence, we can eliminate this option.
Thus, the answer is option B.
12. The main conclusion of the passage is that the new technology has
A    some advantages, but these are outweighed by its disadvantages.
B    so far not proved as successful as the printing press in opening people's minds.
C    been disappointing because it has changed society too rapidly.
D    been more wasteful than the printing press because people spend more time daydreaming or surfing.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The main point of the passage is that unlike the Gutenberg printing press, the iPhone has in comparison done nothing to make the society more liberated or enlightened. This point has
been accurately captured by option B.
The author is not weighing the advantages or disadvantages of new technology. Hence, we can eliminate option A. 
The author does not say that the society has rapidly changed as a result of new technology. In fact, he says that nothing really has changed as a result of it.
The author says that people are no longer daydreaming as a result of new technology. Hence, option D, which contradicts what is given in the passage, can be eliminated.
Instructions [13 - 18 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
This year alone, more than 8,600 stores could close, according to industry estimates, many of them the brand-name anchor outlets that real estate developers once stumbled over
themselves to court. Already there have been 5,300 retail closings this year... Sears Holdings — which owns Kmart — said in March that there's "substantial doubt" it can stay in business
altogether, and will close 300 stores this year. So far this year, nine national retail chains have filed for bankruptcy.
Local jobs are a major casualty of what analysts are calling, with only a hint of hyperbole, the retail apocalypse. Since 2002, department stores have lost 448,000 jobs, a 25% decline,
while the number of store closures this year is on pace to surpass the worst depths of the Great Recession. The growth of online retailers, meanwhile, has failed to offset those losses,
with the e-commerce sector adding just 178,000 jobs over the past 15 years. Some of those jobs can be found in the massive distribution centers Amazon has opened across the
country, often not too far from malls the company helped shutter.
But those are workplaces, not gathering places. The mall is both. And in the 61 years since the first enclosed one opened in suburban Minneapolis, the shopping mall has been where a
huge swath of middle-class America went for far more than shopping. It was the home of first jobs and blind dates, the place for family photos and ear piercings, where goths and
grandmothers could somehow walk through the same doors and find something they all liked. Sure, the food was lousy for you and the oceans of parking lots encouraged car- heavy
development, something now scorned by contemporary planners. But for better or worse, the mall has been America's public square for the last 60 years.
  
.
Page 5


CAT 2017 Shift-1
VARC
Instructions [1 - 6 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Understanding where you are in the world is a basic survival skill, which is why we, like most species come hard-wired with specialised brain areas to create cognitive maps of our
surroundings. Where humans are unique, though, with the possible exception of honeybees, is that we try to communicate this understanding of the world with others. We have a long
history of doing this by drawing maps — the earliest versions yet discovered were scrawled on cave walls 14,000 years ago. Human cultures have been drawing them on stone tablets,
papyrus, paper and now computer screens ever since.
Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top, according to Jerry Brotton, a map historian... "North was rarely put at the top for the simple fact that north is
where darkness comes from," he says. "West is also very unlikely to be put at the top because west is where the sun disappears."
Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn't the reason that they placed north at the top. Early
Chinese compasses were actually oriented to point south, which was considered to be more desirable than deepest darkest north. But in Chinese maps, the Emperor, who lived in the
north of the country was always put at the top of the map, with everyone else, his loyal subjects, looking up towards him. "In Chinese culture the Emperor looks south because it's where
the winds come from, it's a good direction. North is not very good but you are in a position of subjection to the emperor, so you look up to him," says Brotton.
Given that each culture has a very different idea of who, or what, they should look up to it's perhaps not surprising that there is very little consistency in which way early maps pointed. In
ancient Egyptian times the top of the world was east, the position of sunrise. Early Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of
Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it. Christian maps from the same era (called Mappa Mundi) put east at the top, towards the Garden of Eden and with Jerusalem in
the centre.
So when did everyone get together and decide that north was the top? It's tempting to put it down to European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Megellan, who were
navigating by the North Star. But Brotton argues that these early explorers didn't think of the world like that at all. "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being
at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality is from a medieval mappa mundi." We've got to remember, adds Brotton, that at the time, "no one
knows what they are doing and where they are going."
1. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is trying to do?
A    It questions an explanation about how maps are designed.
B    It corrects the misconception about the way maps are designed.
C    It critiques a methodology used to create maps.
D    It explores some myths about maps.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Option A: He gives explanation/reasoning behind the various methods adopted in history but does not question them.  
Option C: The author doesnt discuss about the merits/ demirits or evaluate a method of map-making. It is involved more with the history of the method.
Option D speaks about myth. While most of the data are quoted from history, they cannot be misrepresented as a myth.
The author starts the passage by talking about the history of map making. The author then mentions how north was never put at the top in ancient times. 
"Given such a long history of human map-making, it is perhaps surprising that it is only within the last few hundred years that north has been consistently considered to be at the top. In
fact, for much of human history, north almost never appeared at the top".
He implicitly means that people have a preemptive notion of maps facing the north. He goes on to mention that it was considered a bad direction. He says that north being put at the top
is a fairly recent phenomenon. He then goes on to discuss why different people started putting north at the top. He mentions that the reasons for different people putting north at the top
were different from what people think now. 
He cites various examples to show that north' s presence in top is more recent and due to varied factors.
Hence, he is trying to clear certain misconceptions about why north is put at the top in the maps. Thus, option B is the most suitable answer.
    
2. Early maps did NOT put north at the top for all the following reasons EXCEPT
A    North was the source of darkness.
B    South was favoured by some emperors.
C    East and south were more important for religious reasons for some civilisations.
D    East was considered by some civilisations to be a more positive direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The passage mentions that the Chinese put North at the top of the map because the emperor would live in the North and he preferred to look towards South. Hence, the fact that South
was preferred by some emperors is not a reason why North was put at the top. Hence, option B is false. All other options are mentioned in the passage.
3. According to the passage, early Chinese maps placed north at the top because
A    the Chinese invented the compass and were aware of magnetic north.
  
.
B    
they wanted to show respect to the emperor.
C    the Chinese emperor appreciated the winds from the south.
D    north was considered the most desirable direction.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate options A and D. The passage states that the Chinese compasses pointed to magnetic south and that south was considered a more desirable direction.
While option C is true, that is not the reason why North was placed at the top. 
The passage states that the emperor lived in the north and hence maps depicted him as above his subjects. Thus, north was placed at the top of the map to show respect for the
emperor. Thus, option B is correct.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that European explorers like Columbus and Megellan
A    set the precedent for north-up maps
B    navigated by the compass
C    used an eastward orientation for religious reasons
D    navigated with the help of early maps
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
We can straightaway eliminate option A. The author says that though one might think that the trend of north-up maps was set by these explorers, this is in fact not true. Options B and D
are also incorrect. The passage says that the explorers navigated with the help of the North Star. 
In the passage, it is given that "When Columbus describes the world it is in accordance with east being at the top, he says. "Columbus says he is going towards paradise, so his mentality
is from a medieval mappa mundi." Hence, we can infer that statement C is true. 
       
5. Which one of the following about the northern orientation of modern maps is asserted in the passage?
A    The biggest contributory factor was the understanding of magnetic north.
B    The biggest contributory factor was the role of European explorers.
C    The biggest contributory factor was the influence of Christian maps.
D    The biggest contributory factor is not stated in the passage.
A n s w e r : D
  
In the passage, the author discusses how North was traditionally not put on the top of early maps. The author explicitly refutes the role of the compass and of European explorers in
placing North at the top of maps. Hence, we can eliminate options A and B. The author says that East was placed at the top of Christian maps. Hence, option C is also incorrect. Thought
the author counters all known explanations as to why North was placed on the top, he does not offer any explanation of his own. Hence, option D is correct.
6. The role of natural phenomena in influencing map-making conventions is seen most clearly in
A    early Egyptian maps
B    early Islamic maps
C    early Chinese maps
D    early Christian maps
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
According to the passage, early Egyptian maps placed the East at the top because that was the position of sunrise. Hence, we can say that natural phenomena dictated the map-making
convention in this case. Thus, option A is correct.
Options B and D are incorrect as the conventions were decided by religious factors and not natural phenomena. Option C also can be eliminated as the orientation was a result of their
desire to honour their emperor. Hence, the answer is option A.
Instructions [7 - 12 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva's Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention.
  
.
Near a 13th-century cathedral in this Swiss city on the shores of a lovely lake, I found what I was looking for: a Gutenberg printing press. "This was the Internet of its day — at least as
influential as the iPhone," said Gabriel de Montmollin, the director of the Museum of the Reformation, toying with the replica of Johann Gutenberg's great invention.
Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one press could
crank out 3,000 pages a day. Before long, average people could travel to places that used to be unknown to them — with maps! Medical information passed more freely and quickly,
diminishing the sway of quacks. The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea. Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly
that clerics had on scripture. And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation.
So, a question in the summer of this 10th anniversary of the iPhone: has the device that is perhaps the most revolutionary of all time given us a single magnificent idea? Nearly every
advancement of the written word through new technology has also advanced humankind. Sure, you can say the iPhone changed everything. By putting the world's recorded knowledge in
the palm of a hand, it revolutionized work, dining, travel and socializing. It made us more narcissistic — here's more of me doing cool stuff! — and it unleashed an army of awful trolls. We
no longer have the patience to sit through a baseball game without that reach to the pocket. And one more casualty of Apple selling more than a billion phones in a decade's time:
daydreaming has become a lost art.
For all of that, I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy...the Geneva museum makes a strong case that the printing press
opened more minds than anything else...it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print...
Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic. Not so fast. After a period of rapid growth in e-books, something closer
to the medium for Chaucer's volumes has made a great comeback
The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies. But the failure of the Arab Spring, and the continued suppression of ideas in North
Korea, China and Iran, has not borne that out. The iPhone is still young. It has certainly been "one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in. history," as Apple
C.E.O. Tim Cook said. But I'm not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone — as it did with the printing press — or merely changed.
7. The printing press has been likened to the Internet for which one of the following reasons?
A    It enabled rapid access to new information and the sharing of new ideas.
B    It represented new and revolutionary technology compared to the past.
C    It encouraged reading among people by giving them access to thousands of books.
D    It gave people access to pamphlets and literature in several languages.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
In the first passage, the author mentions printing press as the internet of its day. Immediately, in the next paragraph he elucidates how printing press helped in spreading ideas and
information. Thus, the author likened the printing press to the internet because it enabled access to new information and sharing of ideas.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.
    
8. According to the passage, the invention of the printing press did all of the following EXCEPT
A    promoted the spread of enlightened political views across countries.
B    gave people direct access to authentic medical information and religious texts.
C    shortened the time taken to produce books and pamphlets.
D    enabled people to perform various tasks simultaneously.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
From the lines "Medical information passed more freely and quickly, diminishing the sway of quacks" and "Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly that clerics had on scripture" , we
can infer that option B is true. 
From the lines "And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation" and "it's hard to imagine the
French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print", we can infer option A is true.
From the lines "Before the invention of the printing press, it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one
press could crank out 3,000 pages a day", we can infer that option C is true.
Option D has not been stated nor implied anywhere in the passage.
9. Steve Jobs predicted which one of the following with the introduction of the iPhone?
A    People would switch from reading on the Internet to reading on their iPhones.
B    People would lose interest in historical and traditional classics.
C    Reading printed books would become a thing of the past.
D    The production of e-books would eventually fall.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
  
.
Refer to the following lines - "Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic". Thus, we can infer that Steve Jobs
predicted that reading printed books would become a thing of the past. Hence, option C is the right answer.
10. "I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy." The author uses which one of the following to indicate his uncertainty?
A    The rise of religious groups in many parts of the world.
B    The expansion in trolling and narcissism among users of the Internet.
C    The continued suppression of free speech in closed societies.
D    The decline in reading habits among those who use the device.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
The author says that the iPhone has not fulfilled its potential as a piece of revolutionary technology. He goes on to say that the hope was that the iPhone could help in liberating people in
closed societies. However, the failure of the Arab spring and continued suppression in places like North Korea shows that this has not happened. Hence, the author uses the continued
suppression of free speech in closed societies to indicate why he is still uncertain about the potential of the iPhone. Hence, option C is correct.
    
11. The author attributes the French and American revolutions to the invention of the printing press because
A    maps enabled large numbers of Europeans to travel and settle in the American continent.
B    the rapid spread of information exposed people to new ideas on freedom and democracy.
C    it encouraged religious freedom among the people by destroying the monopoly of religious leaders on the scriptures.
D    it made available revolutionary strategies and opinions to the people.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
Refer to the line "it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print". Hence, from this we can straightaway eliminate options A and C.
Between options B and D, B correctly captures the point made by the author. The printing press allowed the spread of enlightened voices and as a result people were exposed to new
ideas on freedom and democracy. 
Option D slightly distorts what is given in the passage. The passage does not mention any revolutionary "strategies". Hence, we can eliminate this option.
Thus, the answer is option B.
12. The main conclusion of the passage is that the new technology has
A    some advantages, but these are outweighed by its disadvantages.
B    so far not proved as successful as the printing press in opening people's minds.
C    been disappointing because it has changed society too rapidly.
D    been more wasteful than the printing press because people spend more time daydreaming or surfing.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The main point of the passage is that unlike the Gutenberg printing press, the iPhone has in comparison done nothing to make the society more liberated or enlightened. This point has
been accurately captured by option B.
The author is not weighing the advantages or disadvantages of new technology. Hence, we can eliminate option A. 
The author does not say that the society has rapidly changed as a result of new technology. In fact, he says that nothing really has changed as a result of it.
The author says that people are no longer daydreaming as a result of new technology. Hence, option D, which contradicts what is given in the passage, can be eliminated.
Instructions [13 - 18 ]
The passage below is accompanied by a set of six questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
This year alone, more than 8,600 stores could close, according to industry estimates, many of them the brand-name anchor outlets that real estate developers once stumbled over
themselves to court. Already there have been 5,300 retail closings this year... Sears Holdings — which owns Kmart — said in March that there's "substantial doubt" it can stay in business
altogether, and will close 300 stores this year. So far this year, nine national retail chains have filed for bankruptcy.
Local jobs are a major casualty of what analysts are calling, with only a hint of hyperbole, the retail apocalypse. Since 2002, department stores have lost 448,000 jobs, a 25% decline,
while the number of store closures this year is on pace to surpass the worst depths of the Great Recession. The growth of online retailers, meanwhile, has failed to offset those losses,
with the e-commerce sector adding just 178,000 jobs over the past 15 years. Some of those jobs can be found in the massive distribution centers Amazon has opened across the
country, often not too far from malls the company helped shutter.
But those are workplaces, not gathering places. The mall is both. And in the 61 years since the first enclosed one opened in suburban Minneapolis, the shopping mall has been where a
huge swath of middle-class America went for far more than shopping. It was the home of first jobs and blind dates, the place for family photos and ear piercings, where goths and
grandmothers could somehow walk through the same doors and find something they all liked. Sure, the food was lousy for you and the oceans of parking lots encouraged car- heavy
development, something now scorned by contemporary planners. But for better or worse, the mall has been America's public square for the last 60 years.
  
.
So what happens when it disappears?
Think of your mall. Or think of the one you went to as a kid. Think of the perfume clouds in the department stores. The fountains splashing below the skylights. The cinnamon wafting
from the food court. As far back as ancient Greece, societies have congregated around a central marketplace. In medieval Europe, they were outside cathedrals. For half of the 20th
century and almost 20 years into the new one, much of America has found their agora on the terrazzo between Orange Julius and Sbarro, Waldenbooks and the Gap, Sunglass Hut and
Hot Topic.
That mall was an ecosystem unto itself, a combination. of community and commercialism peddling everything you needed and everything you didn' t: Magic Eye posters, wind catchers,
Air Jordans....
A growing number of Americans, however, don't see the need to go to any Macy's at all. Our digital lives are frictionless and ruthlessly efficient, with retail and romance available at a
click. Malls were designed for leisure, abundance, ambling. You parked and planned to spend some time. Today, much of that time has been given over to busier lives and second jobs
and apps that let you swipe right instead of haunt the food court. Malls, says Harvard business professor Leonard Schlesinger, "were built for patterns of social interaction that
increasingly don't exist."
13. The central idea of this passage is that:
A    the closure of malls has affected the economic and social life of middle-class America.
B    Is the advantages of malls outweigh their disadvantages.
C    malls used to perform a social function that has been lost.
D    malls are closing down because people have found alternate ways to shop.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
The author argues that malls were more than just shopping places. Towards the end of the passage, the author tries to invoke a sense of nostalgia by stating how malls used to play an
important role in everyone's life and how that function is getting lost. 
Let us evaluate the options.
Option B states that the advantages of the malls outweigh the disadvantages. The author has not mentioned anything about the disadvantages of the malls. Therefore, we can easily
eliminate option B. 
Option D states that malls are closing down since people have found an alternate way to shop. Though the option is true, the main point of the author is not that malls are closing down.
The author is concerned about the fact that malls were places of congregation and the closure of malls takes a social function away with them. Therefore, we can eliminate option D as
well. 
Options A and C are close. Option A states that the closure of malls has affected the social and economic life of America. However, the author states that the closure of malls is
reflective of the changing social structure of America. Option A gets the relationship backwards and hence, option A can be eliminated. 
Option C states that malls used to perform a social function that has been lost. This seems to be the main point that the author is trying to emphasize through the paragraph. The author
states how malls used to be places of congregation and how the new generation finds no need to go to malls. Therefore, option C is the right answer.
    
14. Why does the author say in paragraph 2, 'the massive distribution centers Amazon has opened across the country, often not too far from malls the company helped shutter'?
A    To highlight the irony of the situation.
B    To indicate that malls and distribution centres are located in the same area.
C    To show that Amazon is helping certain brands go online.
D    
To indicate that the shopping habits of the American middle class have changed.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
No where has it been mentioned that Amazon is helping brands go online. Therefore, we can eliminate option C. 
Option D states that the purpose of the line is to indicate that the shopping habits of the middle class America has changed. However, the author talks about shopping habits towards
the end of the passage. The author has not introduced the topic of 'shopping habits' when the given line has been mentioned. Therefore, we can eliminate option D as well. 
Option B states that the author uses the line to indicate that the malls and distribution centres are located in the same area. However, the author states that the distribution centres are
replacing the malls. He does not intend to convey that they co-exist. Therefore, we can eliminate option B as well. 
Option A states that the author uses the line to indicate the irony of the situation. Option A captures the fact that the author finds it ironic that distribution centres are springing up near
the places where the malls once existed. Therefore, option A is the right answer. 
15. In paragraph 1, the phrase "real estate developers once stumbled over themselves to court suggests that they
A    took brand-name anchor outlets to court.
B    no longer pursue brand-name anchor outlets.
C    collaborated with one another to get brand-name anchor outlets.
  
.