Instructions
Read the passage carefully and answer the 5 associated questions:
The magic of squatter cities is that they are improved steadily and gradually by their residents. To a planner’s eye, these cities look chaotic. I trained as a biologist and to my eye, they look organic. Squatter cities are also unexpectedly green. They have maximum density—1 million people per square mile in some areas of Mumbai—and have minimum energy and material use. People get around by foot, bicycle, rickshaw, or the universal shared taxi.
Not everything is efficient in the slums, though. In the Brazilian favelas where electricity is stolen and therefore free, people leave their lights on all day. But in most slums recycling is literally a way of life. The Dharavi slum in Mumbai has 400 recycling units and 30,000 ragpickers. Six thousand tons of rubbish are sorted every day. In 2007, the Economist reported that in Vietnam and Mozambique, “Waves of gleaners sift the sweepings of Hanoi’s streets, just as Mozambican children pick over the rubbish of Maputo’s main tip. Every city in Asia and Latin America has an industry based on gathering up old cardboard boxes.” . . .
In his 1985 article, Architect Peter Calthorpe made a statement that still jars with most people: “The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.” “Green Manhattan” was the inflammatory title of a 2004 New Yorker article by David Owen. “By the most significant measures,” he wrote, “New York is the greenest community in the United States and one of the greenest cities in the world . . . The key to New York’s relative environmental benignity is its extreme compactness. . . . Placing one and a half million people on a twenty - three-square-mile island sharply reduces their opportunities to be wasteful.” He went on to note that this very compactness forces people to live in the world’s most energy-efficient apartment buildings. . . .
Urban density allows half of humanity to live on 2.8 per cent of the land. . . . Consider just the infrastructure efficiencies. According to a 2004 UN report: “The concentration of population and enterprises in urban areas greatly reduces the unit cost of piped water, sewers, drains,roads, electricity, garbage collection, transport, health care, and schools.” . . . [T]he nationally subsidised city of Manaus in northern Brazil “answers the question” of how to stop deforestation: give people decent jobs. Then they can afford houses, and gain security. One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions. . . .
Of course, fast-growing cities are far from an unmitigated good. They concentrate crime, pollution, disease and injustice as much as business, innovation, education and entertainment. . . . But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative: in the slums, as well as the office towers and leafy suburbs, the progress is from hick to metropolitan to cosmopolitan . . .
Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:We can infer that Calthorpe’s statement “still jars” with most people because most people:
Explanation
"The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.”
Calthrope's major contention is that cites are eco-friendly as they consume less resources than people living in places that have lower population densities.
Options B,C,D does not directly contradict Calthrope's statement. Hence , they cannot be the reason why the statement that jars with most people.
Option A is directly opposed to Calthrope's viewpoints. Hence, this option is most likely to jar with most people. Option A i the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:In the context of the passage, the author refers to Manaus in order to:
Explanation
The author gives the example of Manaus to show how an entire community of people whose major job was deforestation of the jungle have now been able to prosper by making things such as mobile phones and televisions.
Option A is the correct answer. It is the major reason for the author giving out the example of Manaus.
Options D is incorrect and is not mentioned in the passage.
Option B and C are the pros of being in a squatter city, but it is not the reason why the author gives the example of Manaus. Option A is the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:According to the passage, squatter cities are environment-friendly for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
Explanation
Option A would help keep squatter cities environment friendly, as recycling material would reduce the amount of non-biodegradable materials present in the environment.
Option B would also help squatter cities be more environment friendly by reducing pollution.
Option D would also help squatter cities be more environment friendly as sorting garbage and treating them would go a long way in preventing soil and water pollution.
Option C is incorrect. This is because, keeping the streets clean would mean that the wastes are somewhere in dumped in the environment near the local community.
Hence, option C cannot be inferred from the passage and is the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:Which one of the following statements would undermine the author’s stand regarding the greenness of cities?
Explanation
The rapid spread of diseases in the slum would only affect the people in the slums and not the greenness of the cities. Hence it is incorrect.
Option C is incorrect as the incidence of crime in the West would not impact the greenness of the cities. Increasing cost of utilities , in the same way would not affect the flora of the cities.
An increase in carbon-di-oxide and global warming, however, would contribute greatly to the change in climate. A change in climate would adversely affect the greenery in the cities. Hence, this would greatly undermine the author's stand that cities are indeed green.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:From the passage it can be inferred that cities are good places to live in for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they:
Explanation
From the sentence, "One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions" given in the passage, option A can be inferred.
"But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative" From this line, option B can be inferred.
The entire second paragraph of the passage mentions how multiple people have got jobs in squatter cities. Hence, option C can be inferred.
Option D is not a reason for cities being a good place to live in. Hence, this option cannot be inferred and is the correct answer.
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Instructions
Read the passage carefully and answer the 5 associated questions:
Comprehension:
War, natural disasters and climate change are destroying some of the world's most precious cultural sites. Google is trying to help preserve these archaeological wonders by allowing users access to 3D images of these treasures through its site. But the project is raising questions about Google's motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of "digital colonialism." When it comes to archaeological treasures, the losses have been mounting. ISIS blew up parts of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and an earthquake hit Bagan, an ancient city in Myanmar, damaging dozens of temples, in 2016. In the past, all archaeologists and historians had for restoration and research were photos, drawings, remnants and intuition. But that's changing. Before the earthquake at Bagan, many of the temples on the site were
scanned. . . . [These] scans . . . are on Google's Arts & Culture site. The digital renditions allow viewers to virtually wander the halls of the temple, look up-close at paintings and turn the building over, to look up at its chambers. . . . [Google Arts & Culture] works with museums and other nonprofits . . . to put high-quality images online. The images of the temples in Bagan are part of a collaboration with CyArk, a nonprofit that creates the 3D scanning of historic sites. . . . Google . . . says [it] doesn't make money off this website, but it fits in with Google's mission to make the world's information available and useful.
Critics say the collaboration could be an attempt by a large corporation to wrap itself in the sheen of culture. Ethan Watrall, an archaeologist, professor at Michigan State University and a member of the Society for American Archaeology, says he's not comfortable with the
arrangement between CyArk and Google. . . . Watrall says this project is just a way for Google to promote Google. "They want to make this material accessible so people will browse it and be filled with wonder by it," he says. "But at its core, it's all about advertisements and driving traffic." Watrall says these images belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission. . . . [There's] another issue for some archaeologists and art historians. CyArk owns the copyrights of the scans — not the countries where these sites are located. That means the countries need CyArk's permission to use these images for commercial purposes.
Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it's the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture, a centuries-long battle. . . . CyArk says it copyrights the scans so no one can use them in an
inappropriate way. The company says it works closely with authorities during the process, even training local people to help. But critics like Thompson are not persuaded. . . . She would prefer the scans to be owned by the countries and people where these sites are located.
Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:Which of the following, if true, would most strongly invalidate Dr. Watrall’s objections?
Explanation
"They want to make this material accessible so people will browse it and be filled with wonder by it," he says. "But at its core, it's all about advertisements and
driving traffic." Watrall says these images belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission".
From the above mentioned lines it can be reasonably inferred that Dr. Watrall is not critical if the digitally scanned images are on official museum websites and archaeological sites.
Watrall's objections do not touch upon the ownership of the copyright of the scanned images. His objections are mainly about the uneasy relationship between Cyark and Google, and the profit based motive of Google. Hence, option D is incorrect.
Option C mentions the case when CyArk uploads the scanned images on museum sites only. This would invalidate the arguments made by Dr.Watrall.
Option A is incorrect as Dr. Watrall considers the venture as a medium to promote Google itself. Just taking down advertisements would not invalidate the professor's claim.
Option B is incorrect as a ban in certain locations would certainly not prevent promotion of and commercialization by Google. The same reason can be attributed to option D. CyArk not owning the copyright of the archaeological sites would not prevent using it for commercial purposes.
Hence, option C is the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:By “digital colonialism”, critics of the CyArk-Google project are referring to the fact that:
Explanation
From the lines, " [There's] another issue for some archaeologists and art historians. CyArk owns the copyrights of the scans — not the countries where these sites are located. That means the countries need CyArk's permission to use these images for commercial purposes", it can be seen that critics view the Google-CyArk project as one that appropriates the copyrights of the digital scans in such a way even the countries in which the sites are located need CyArk's permission to use the images.
Option A, D , B are not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
Option C is describes perfectly why the critics of the Google-CyArk project term it as digital colonialism and hence it is the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:Of the following arguments, which one is LEAST likely to be used by the companies that digitally scan cultural sites?
Explanation
The option that would not help a company that digitally scans cultural sites would be the given answer.
Option A is incorrect as preserving images of sites in case they are damaged would be one of the foremost arguments made by these companies.
Option B and C would surely help the cause of companies that scan cultural sites. Hence,they are incorrect.
Option D is the correct answer. A company that digitally scans cultural sites would not give the reason of being able to project itself as a protector of culture as a reason to scan the cultural sites. This is a self centered goal such a company and hence is the least likely of the arguments that would be used in this case.
Hence, option D is the correct answer.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:Based on his views mentioned in the passage, one could best characterise Dr. Watrall as being:
Explanation
From the passage, it can be inferred that Dr. Watrall is not comfortable with the arrangement between Cyark and Google. He is of the opinion that though the material is promoted as a means for people to view the artifacts, the ulterior motive is for advertisements and commercial purposes.
Option A is incorrect. The professor is uneasy about the arrangement between a non-profit organisation and a commercial organisation, whose values are, in reality, different from what they portray.
Option B is incorrect. The professor is not in dismissive of laypeople's access to specialist images and such information is not given in the passage.
Option D is incorrect. The professor is only dismissive of the commercial agreement between two organisations that portray themselves to be involved in non-profit work. He is not against the use of digital technology in archaeological and cultural sites in developing countries.
Option C is correct and it correctly represents the views of professor Dr. Watrall.
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Question for CAT PYQ 2019: Reading Comprehension - 3
Try yourself:In Dr. Thompson’s view, CyArk owning the copyright of its digital scans of archaeological sites is akin to:
Explanation
After reading the lines, "Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it's the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture, a centuries-long battle." it can be inferred that professor accuses CyArk of appropriating a foreign culture.
The only option present that is an example of a western nation appropriating a foreign culture would be the seizing of ancient Egyptian artefacts by a Western museum. Hence, option B is the correct answer.
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