CAT 2019 Slot 2: Past Year Question Paper with Solutions | CAT Mock Test Series 2024 PDF Download

 Page 1


CAT 2019 Slot 2
Verbal Ability
Instructions [1 - 4 ]
Comprehension:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where
Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t
gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese
use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers,
who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie
dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with
topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so
orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper,
Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better
insight.” . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and
they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to
outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense
of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and
local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of
voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me
because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words
that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy
to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and
change who you are.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
A    The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
B    Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
C    The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
D    Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably
transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
" After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
"You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or
your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible
for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.
    
  
.
Page 2


CAT 2019 Slot 2
Verbal Ability
Instructions [1 - 4 ]
Comprehension:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where
Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t
gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese
use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers,
who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie
dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with
topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so
orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper,
Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better
insight.” . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and
they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to
outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense
of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and
local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of
voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me
because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words
that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy
to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and
change who you are.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
A    The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
B    Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
C    The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
D    Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably
transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
" After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
"You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or
your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible
for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.
    
  
.
2. A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the
author of the passage?
A    
The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better
understand the tribe.
B    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he
wishes to study.
C    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in
the process.
D    
The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of
holding interviews.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The author is of the opinion that learning the language of local cultures would help bridge cultural barriers. 
Option D is against the author's point of view. Hence it is definitely incorrect. 
Option A is incorrect. The author is of the opinion that the ability to communicate is far more important than the racial divide between two
people. Hence it is unlikely to be the view of the author.
Option C is incorrect as the author, in the passage is much more concerned about the ability to communicate that racial and gender
identity of the person. 
Option B falls in line with the viewpoint of the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”
A    Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.
B    Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.
C    Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.
D    Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
"And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?"
From the above passage, it is clear that the author consider the word Orientalist an easily lobbied word that does not capture the complex
nature of interactions between people of different cultures. The author is of the opinion that if people in different parts of the world all
speak in tongues that all of them understand, then the east west divide would be broken. 
The author is of the opinion that learning new languages would help bridge the east west divide. There is no information provided in the
passage that globalization has enabled people learn more languages and thereby mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers. Hence,
option A is incorrect. 
Option B is incorrect. The author never makes the claim that Orientalism has disappeared for the most part.
The author makes no claim about goodwill. Hence option C is incorrect.
Option D correctly encapsulates the arguments made by the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
4. The author’s critics would argue that:
  
.
Page 3


CAT 2019 Slot 2
Verbal Ability
Instructions [1 - 4 ]
Comprehension:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where
Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t
gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese
use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers,
who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie
dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with
topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so
orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper,
Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better
insight.” . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and
they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to
outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense
of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and
local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of
voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me
because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words
that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy
to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and
change who you are.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
A    The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
B    Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
C    The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
D    Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably
transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
" After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
"You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or
your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible
for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.
    
  
.
2. A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the
author of the passage?
A    
The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better
understand the tribe.
B    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he
wishes to study.
C    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in
the process.
D    
The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of
holding interviews.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The author is of the opinion that learning the language of local cultures would help bridge cultural barriers. 
Option D is against the author's point of view. Hence it is definitely incorrect. 
Option A is incorrect. The author is of the opinion that the ability to communicate is far more important than the racial divide between two
people. Hence it is unlikely to be the view of the author.
Option C is incorrect as the author, in the passage is much more concerned about the ability to communicate that racial and gender
identity of the person. 
Option B falls in line with the viewpoint of the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”
A    Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.
B    Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.
C    Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.
D    Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
"And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?"
From the above passage, it is clear that the author consider the word Orientalist an easily lobbied word that does not capture the complex
nature of interactions between people of different cultures. The author is of the opinion that if people in different parts of the world all
speak in tongues that all of them understand, then the east west divide would be broken. 
The author is of the opinion that learning new languages would help bridge the east west divide. There is no information provided in the
passage that globalization has enabled people learn more languages and thereby mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers. Hence,
option A is incorrect. 
Option B is incorrect. The author never makes the claim that Orientalism has disappeared for the most part.
The author makes no claim about goodwill. Hence option C is incorrect.
Option D correctly encapsulates the arguments made by the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
4. The author’s critics would argue that:
  
.
A    Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.
B    Empathy can overcome identity politics.
C    Linguistic politics can be erased.
D    Orientalism cannot be practiced by Egyptians.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
The major idea put forth by the author is that cultural barriers can be broken down and an outsider can ingrain himself with the local
culture by learning the language of the culture.
The author himself says that an individual who wrestles with a difficult language would learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders. He
also says that empathy is not tied to gender and race, and therefore a individual who learns languages is usually empathetic to different
races in the world. Thus option B can be inferred from the passage and is incorrect.
The passage makes no mention of linguistic politics. Also he is of the opinion that a person's characteristics can be changed for the good
by learning another language. Hence option C can be inferred from the author's argument and is incorrect.
The word orientalism itself means looking down upon middle eastern countries by the US and European countries. Hence, option D does
not make sense.
Option A is directly in conflict with the author's main point and that would be the major criticism by the author's critics. Hence it is the
correct answer.
       
Instructions [5 - 9 ]
Comprehension:
British colonial policy . . . went through two policy phases, or at least there were two strategies between which its policies actually
oscillated, sometimes to its great advantage. At first, the new colonial apparatus exercised caution and occupied India by a mix of military
power and subtle diplomacy, the high ground in the middle of the circle of circles. This, however, pushed them into contradictions. For,
whatever their sense of the strangeness of the country and the thinness of colonial presence, the British colonial state represented the
great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. As
inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a
self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive
orders—and would do the same in India, particularly as some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a
massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments. Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it
began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. But this modernity did not enter a passive society.
Sometimes, its initiatives were resisted by pre-existing structural forms. At times, there was a more direct form of collective resistance.
Therefore the map of continuity and discontinuity that this state left behind at the time of independence was rather complex and has to
be traced with care.
Most significantly, of course, initiatives for modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be
connected, ineradicably, with subjection. This again points to two different problems, one theoretical, the other political. Theoretically,
because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this
pattern of change. Such a logical format would be wrong on two counts. First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to
be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not
like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.) But, more fundamentally, the logical structure of endogenous change does not
apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force. This externality is not something that can be casually mentioned
and forgotten. It is inscribed on every move, every object, every proposal, every legislative act, each line of causality. It comes to be
marked on the epoch itself. This repetitive emphasis on externality should not be seen as a nationalist initiative that is so well-rehearsed
in Indian social science. . . .
Quite apart from the externality of the entire historical proposal of modernity, some of its contents were remarkable. . . . Economic
reforms, or rather alterations . . . did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on
extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency
theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’.
  
.
Page 4


CAT 2019 Slot 2
Verbal Ability
Instructions [1 - 4 ]
Comprehension:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where
Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t
gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese
use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers,
who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie
dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with
topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so
orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper,
Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better
insight.” . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and
they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to
outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense
of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and
local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of
voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me
because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words
that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy
to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and
change who you are.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
A    The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
B    Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
C    The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
D    Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably
transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
" After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
"You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or
your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible
for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.
    
  
.
2. A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the
author of the passage?
A    
The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better
understand the tribe.
B    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he
wishes to study.
C    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in
the process.
D    
The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of
holding interviews.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The author is of the opinion that learning the language of local cultures would help bridge cultural barriers. 
Option D is against the author's point of view. Hence it is definitely incorrect. 
Option A is incorrect. The author is of the opinion that the ability to communicate is far more important than the racial divide between two
people. Hence it is unlikely to be the view of the author.
Option C is incorrect as the author, in the passage is much more concerned about the ability to communicate that racial and gender
identity of the person. 
Option B falls in line with the viewpoint of the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”
A    Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.
B    Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.
C    Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.
D    Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
"And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?"
From the above passage, it is clear that the author consider the word Orientalist an easily lobbied word that does not capture the complex
nature of interactions between people of different cultures. The author is of the opinion that if people in different parts of the world all
speak in tongues that all of them understand, then the east west divide would be broken. 
The author is of the opinion that learning new languages would help bridge the east west divide. There is no information provided in the
passage that globalization has enabled people learn more languages and thereby mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers. Hence,
option A is incorrect. 
Option B is incorrect. The author never makes the claim that Orientalism has disappeared for the most part.
The author makes no claim about goodwill. Hence option C is incorrect.
Option D correctly encapsulates the arguments made by the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
4. The author’s critics would argue that:
  
.
A    Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.
B    Empathy can overcome identity politics.
C    Linguistic politics can be erased.
D    Orientalism cannot be practiced by Egyptians.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
The major idea put forth by the author is that cultural barriers can be broken down and an outsider can ingrain himself with the local
culture by learning the language of the culture.
The author himself says that an individual who wrestles with a difficult language would learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders. He
also says that empathy is not tied to gender and race, and therefore a individual who learns languages is usually empathetic to different
races in the world. Thus option B can be inferred from the passage and is incorrect.
The passage makes no mention of linguistic politics. Also he is of the opinion that a person's characteristics can be changed for the good
by learning another language. Hence option C can be inferred from the author's argument and is incorrect.
The word orientalism itself means looking down upon middle eastern countries by the US and European countries. Hence, option D does
not make sense.
Option A is directly in conflict with the author's main point and that would be the major criticism by the author's critics. Hence it is the
correct answer.
       
Instructions [5 - 9 ]
Comprehension:
British colonial policy . . . went through two policy phases, or at least there were two strategies between which its policies actually
oscillated, sometimes to its great advantage. At first, the new colonial apparatus exercised caution and occupied India by a mix of military
power and subtle diplomacy, the high ground in the middle of the circle of circles. This, however, pushed them into contradictions. For,
whatever their sense of the strangeness of the country and the thinness of colonial presence, the British colonial state represented the
great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. As
inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a
self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive
orders—and would do the same in India, particularly as some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a
massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments. Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it
began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. But this modernity did not enter a passive society.
Sometimes, its initiatives were resisted by pre-existing structural forms. At times, there was a more direct form of collective resistance.
Therefore the map of continuity and discontinuity that this state left behind at the time of independence was rather complex and has to
be traced with care.
Most significantly, of course, initiatives for modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be
connected, ineradicably, with subjection. This again points to two different problems, one theoretical, the other political. Theoretically,
because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this
pattern of change. Such a logical format would be wrong on two counts. First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to
be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not
like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.) But, more fundamentally, the logical structure of endogenous change does not
apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force. This externality is not something that can be casually mentioned
and forgotten. It is inscribed on every move, every object, every proposal, every legislative act, each line of causality. It comes to be
marked on the epoch itself. This repetitive emphasis on externality should not be seen as a nationalist initiative that is so well-rehearsed
in Indian social science. . . .
Quite apart from the externality of the entire historical proposal of modernity, some of its contents were remarkable. . . . Economic
reforms, or rather alterations . . . did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on
extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency
theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’.
  
.
5. “Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to
introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.” Which of the following best captures the sense of this statement?
A    
The cost of the colonial state’s eminence was not settled; therefore, it took the initiative of introducing modernity
into Indian society.
B    
The colonial enterprise was a costly one; so to justify the cost it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of
modernity into Indian society.
C    
The colonial state’s eminence was unsettled by its marginal position; therefore, it developed Indian society by
modernising it.
D    
The colonial state felt marginalised from Indian society because of its own modernity; therefore, it sought to address
that marginalisation by bringing its modernity to change Indian society.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
From the passage it can be inferred that though the British enjoyed political eminence in India, they felt that they were still marginalised
from Indian society, and hence, to bring the Indian state to the same footing, they sought to introduce modernity, which they felt was the
next logical step into Indian society.
It cannot be inferred from the passage that the British introduced modernity because they believed that the cost of their eminence was
not settled. Hence, option A is incorrect.
The colonial enterprise tried to introduce the logic of modernity because it felt marginalized, rather than to justify the cost of colonization.
Hence option B is incorrect.
Option C states that the introduction of modernity developed Indian society. However, the last paragraph states that the exercise proved
counterproductive, and there was a development of underdevelopment. Option C is incorrect.
Option D best explains the reason for the author introducing the statement mentioned in the question. Hence, option D is the correct
answer.
6. All of the following statements, if true, could be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:
A    throughout the history of colonial conquest, natives have often been experimented on by the colonisers.
B    modernity was imposed upon India by the British and, therefore, led to underdevelopment.
C    the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society.
D    the introduction of capitalism in India was not through the transformation of feudalism, as happened in Europe.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments." From the aforementioned lines, option A can be inferred.
"What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency theorists called the ‘development of
underdevelopment’." From these lines it can be inferred that, because modernity was imposed upon India by the British, it led to the
development of underdevelopment. Option B ca be inferred.
From the passage, it can be understood that feudalism underwent a transformative process into capitalism, unlike the Indian transition
which happened inorganically through external factors. Hence, option D can be inferred as well.
The change in British colonial policy was not induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society, but due to the perception that the
British were marginalised in the context of the Indian society. Hence, option C, which cannot be inferred is the correct answer.
7. All of the following statements about British colonialism can be inferred from the first paragraph, EXCEPT that it:
  
.
Page 5


CAT 2019 Slot 2
Verbal Ability
Instructions [1 - 4 ]
Comprehension:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where
Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t
gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese
use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers,
who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie
dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with
topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so
orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper,
Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better
insight.” . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and
they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to
outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense
of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and
local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of
voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me
because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words
that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy
to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and
change who you are.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
A    The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
B    Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
C    The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
D    Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably
transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
" After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
"You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or
your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible
for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.
    
  
.
2. A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the
author of the passage?
A    
The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better
understand the tribe.
B    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he
wishes to study.
C    
The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in
the process.
D    
The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of
holding interviews.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
The author is of the opinion that learning the language of local cultures would help bridge cultural barriers. 
Option D is against the author's point of view. Hence it is definitely incorrect. 
Option A is incorrect. The author is of the opinion that the ability to communicate is far more important than the racial divide between two
people. Hence it is unlikely to be the view of the author.
Option C is incorrect as the author, in the passage is much more concerned about the ability to communicate that racial and gender
identity of the person. 
Option B falls in line with the viewpoint of the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”
A    Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.
B    Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.
C    Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.
D    Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
"And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man
from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river,
speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?"
From the above passage, it is clear that the author consider the word Orientalist an easily lobbied word that does not capture the complex
nature of interactions between people of different cultures. The author is of the opinion that if people in different parts of the world all
speak in tongues that all of them understand, then the east west divide would be broken. 
The author is of the opinion that learning new languages would help bridge the east west divide. There is no information provided in the
passage that globalization has enabled people learn more languages and thereby mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers. Hence,
option A is incorrect. 
Option B is incorrect. The author never makes the claim that Orientalism has disappeared for the most part.
The author makes no claim about goodwill. Hence option C is incorrect.
Option D correctly encapsulates the arguments made by the author. Hence it is the correct answer.
4. The author’s critics would argue that:
  
.
A    Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.
B    Empathy can overcome identity politics.
C    Linguistic politics can be erased.
D    Orientalism cannot be practiced by Egyptians.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
The major idea put forth by the author is that cultural barriers can be broken down and an outsider can ingrain himself with the local
culture by learning the language of the culture.
The author himself says that an individual who wrestles with a difficult language would learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders. He
also says that empathy is not tied to gender and race, and therefore a individual who learns languages is usually empathetic to different
races in the world. Thus option B can be inferred from the passage and is incorrect.
The passage makes no mention of linguistic politics. Also he is of the opinion that a person's characteristics can be changed for the good
by learning another language. Hence option C can be inferred from the author's argument and is incorrect.
The word orientalism itself means looking down upon middle eastern countries by the US and European countries. Hence, option D does
not make sense.
Option A is directly in conflict with the author's main point and that would be the major criticism by the author's critics. Hence it is the
correct answer.
       
Instructions [5 - 9 ]
Comprehension:
British colonial policy . . . went through two policy phases, or at least there were two strategies between which its policies actually
oscillated, sometimes to its great advantage. At first, the new colonial apparatus exercised caution and occupied India by a mix of military
power and subtle diplomacy, the high ground in the middle of the circle of circles. This, however, pushed them into contradictions. For,
whatever their sense of the strangeness of the country and the thinness of colonial presence, the British colonial state represented the
great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. As
inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a
self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive
orders—and would do the same in India, particularly as some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a
massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments. Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it
began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. But this modernity did not enter a passive society.
Sometimes, its initiatives were resisted by pre-existing structural forms. At times, there was a more direct form of collective resistance.
Therefore the map of continuity and discontinuity that this state left behind at the time of independence was rather complex and has to
be traced with care.
Most significantly, of course, initiatives for modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be
connected, ineradicably, with subjection. This again points to two different problems, one theoretical, the other political. Theoretically,
because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this
pattern of change. Such a logical format would be wrong on two counts. First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to
be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not
like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.) But, more fundamentally, the logical structure of endogenous change does not
apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force. This externality is not something that can be casually mentioned
and forgotten. It is inscribed on every move, every object, every proposal, every legislative act, each line of causality. It comes to be
marked on the epoch itself. This repetitive emphasis on externality should not be seen as a nationalist initiative that is so well-rehearsed
in Indian social science. . . .
Quite apart from the externality of the entire historical proposal of modernity, some of its contents were remarkable. . . . Economic
reforms, or rather alterations . . . did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on
extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency
theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’.
  
.
5. “Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to
introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.” Which of the following best captures the sense of this statement?
A    
The cost of the colonial state’s eminence was not settled; therefore, it took the initiative of introducing modernity
into Indian society.
B    
The colonial enterprise was a costly one; so to justify the cost it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of
modernity into Indian society.
C    
The colonial state’s eminence was unsettled by its marginal position; therefore, it developed Indian society by
modernising it.
D    
The colonial state felt marginalised from Indian society because of its own modernity; therefore, it sought to address
that marginalisation by bringing its modernity to change Indian society.
A n s w e r : D
  
Explanation:
From the passage it can be inferred that though the British enjoyed political eminence in India, they felt that they were still marginalised
from Indian society, and hence, to bring the Indian state to the same footing, they sought to introduce modernity, which they felt was the
next logical step into Indian society.
It cannot be inferred from the passage that the British introduced modernity because they believed that the cost of their eminence was
not settled. Hence, option A is incorrect.
The colonial enterprise tried to introduce the logic of modernity because it felt marginalized, rather than to justify the cost of colonization.
Hence option B is incorrect.
Option C states that the introduction of modernity developed Indian society. However, the last paragraph states that the exercise proved
counterproductive, and there was a development of underdevelopment. Option C is incorrect.
Option D best explains the reason for the author introducing the statement mentioned in the question. Hence, option D is the correct
answer.
6. All of the following statements, if true, could be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:
A    throughout the history of colonial conquest, natives have often been experimented on by the colonisers.
B    modernity was imposed upon India by the British and, therefore, led to underdevelopment.
C    the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society.
D    the introduction of capitalism in India was not through the transformation of feudalism, as happened in Europe.
A n s w e r : C
  
Explanation:
".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments." From the aforementioned lines, option A can be inferred.
"What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency theorists called the ‘development of
underdevelopment’." From these lines it can be inferred that, because modernity was imposed upon India by the British, it led to the
development of underdevelopment. Option B ca be inferred.
From the passage, it can be understood that feudalism underwent a transformative process into capitalism, unlike the Indian transition
which happened inorganically through external factors. Hence, option D can be inferred as well.
The change in British colonial policy was not induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society, but due to the perception that the
British were marginalised in the context of the Indian society. Hence, option C, which cannot be inferred is the correct answer.
7. All of the following statements about British colonialism can be inferred from the first paragraph, EXCEPT that it:
  
.
A    allowed some to consider the colonies as experimental sites.
B    faced resistance from existing structural forms of Indian modernity.
C    was at least partly an outcome of Enlightenment rationalism.
D    was at least partly shaped by the project of European modernity.
A n s w e r : B
  
Explanation:
".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian
or other theoretical experiments" From these lines option A can be inferred.
Consider the lines, "e British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India
precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. . As inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried
everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude." Option C can be inferred from it. 
Consider the lines , " It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive orders
—and would do the same in India, " Option D can be inferred from these lines.
It is nowhere mentioned in the passage, that British colonialism faces resistence from the existing structural forms of Indian modernity.
Hence , option B is the correct answer.
    
8. Which one of the following 5-word sequences best captures the flow of the arguments in the passage?
A    Colonial policy—Enlightenment—external modernity—subjection — underdevelopment.
B    Military power—colonialism—restructuring—feudalism—capitalism.
C    Military power—arrogance—laboratory—modernity—capitalism.
D    Colonial policy—arrogant rationality—resistance—independence—development.
A n s w e r : A
  
Explanation:
The first part of the passage talks about British colonial policy, which went through two policy phases.
Hence, the options B and C which have military power as the introductory idea are incorrect.
The second idea mentioned in the passage is about Enlightenment rationalism, of which the British colonizers were inheritors and
representatives of.
The subsequent ideas are about how  modernity was inorganically injected into India by subjecting it to external forces. The passage
further talks about how these economic alterations did not give rise to the construction of a classical capitalist economy, but rather led to
the development of underdevelopment.
Option A mentions all the ideas correctly and hence it is the correct answer.
9. Which of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the author’s statement that “the logical structure of
endogenous change does not apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force”?
A    Colonised societies cannot be changed through logic; they need to be transformed with external force.
B    The transformation of Indian society did not happen organically, but was forced by colonial agendas.
C    The endogenous logic of colonialism can only bring change if it attacks and transforms external forces.
  
.