CAT Previous Year Questions 2019: Reading Comprehension | Topic-wise Past Year Questions for CAT PDF Download

" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative." From this sentence, 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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

 ".....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 can 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.

".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarianor 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.

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.

Theoretically, because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this pattern of change." From the given lines it can be understood that the general endogeneous method of the process of transition could not be accepted to British colonialisation of India, because modernity did not occur naturally but was externally introduced. The passage only states that initiatives for modernity were introduced to India through external sources. It does not state that all colonised societies cannot be changed by logic. Hence this option is incorrect. In the case of India, the transformational agents themselves are inorganic external forces. Hence, option C cannot be inferred. The passage nowhere states that Indian society is exogamous. Hence option D is incorrect. Option B best describes the conclusion that can be drawn from the author's statement. Hence it is the correct answer.

"In the post-colonial fervour of the 20th century, coastal capitals picked by trade-focused empires were spurned for “regionally neutral” new ones". From these lines, it can be inferred that the colonial empires had their capitals in the coasts as the empires were mostly focused on trade. It goes on to say that, post - colonisation, empires had their capitals changed to regionally neutral areas.Hence, it can be directly inferred that colonies had capitals in coasts to promote their trading interests.Option B is the correct answer.

Option B is a problem of relocating government agencies and it can be inferred from this line " Pick small, poor towns, and areas of high unemployment get new jobs, but it is hard to attract the most qualified workers". Hence, option B is incorrect. Option C is true with respect to the passage. It can be inferred from the line " Others contend that decentralisation begets corruption by making government agencies less accountable ." Hence it is incorrect. Option D is also mentioned in the passage. Qualified workers do not want to live in smaller cities. Hence, it is also a reason for relocation not being a success.Option A is not mentioned in the passage and hence it is the correct answer.

The word pedigree has a meaning, " history of an idea or an activity". The term long pedigree indicates that the idea has been touted with a lot of times in the past. Option D is the only option that conveys this meaning and hence it is the correct answer.

The passage states that regulators perform best if they are far from the lobbying of a big city. Hence, the people who support decentralizing central government functions are likely to cite the above reason for their view. Option B and C are incorrect for this reason. Option D is incorrect as the passage states that infrastructure costs and salaries would become lower in smaller cities. The argument is used in the passage. Hence it is correct.The nexus between bureaucrats and media is not mentioned in the passage. Hence the argument is least likely to be used by people who support the decentralising of central government functions.Option A is the correct answer.

"The dilemma is obvious. Pick small, poor towns, and areas of high unemployment get new jobs, but it is hard to attract the most qualified workers; opt for larger cities with infrastructure and better-qualified residents, and the country’s most deprived areas see little benefit" Option A is incorrect. The passage makes no mention of having the government agencies in the "largest" city. It talks about having them in "larger cities". Hence it is incorrect. Option C talks about the relocation of private enterprises. This is not mentioned in the passage as the passage is primarily about the relocation of government bureaucrats. Option D makes no mention of decongesting large cities. Hence it is incorrect. Option B makes the right comparison. It compares the hard task of relocating qualified workers to smaller towns, to allocating workers to larger cities, which would result in smaller towns receiving little benefit. Option B is the correct answer.

• This question can be answered from context. It is already given that the sentence can be found in the 3rd para last part. Let’s see the context:
• As the cold Antarctic air cycles around their bodies, slightly warmer air comes into contact with the plumage and donates minute amounts of heat back to the penguins, then cycles away at a slightly colder temperature.
• We know the cold Antarctic air’s temperature is higher than that of the plumage, so the slightly warmer has that comes in contact with the plumage has to be the Antarctic air, after all the air is coming from outside (the cold Antarctic air is cycling around their bodies, so the air has to be outside). Both option 1 and 3 talk about air inside the plumage, while the sentence talks about air outside, thus options 1 and 3 go out.
• We are left with 4 and 2. Option 4 goes out because the cold Antarctic air is already warmer than the penguins’ plumage. The cold Antarctic air is not becoming warmer because of the heat radiated from the penguins’ bodies. Thus option 4 goes out. Option 2 is the best choice and the right answer

• This is one of the simplest question of the paper. You just have to read the lines where the phrase has come, and it is enough to help you find the right answer.
• The passage says: “…by keeping their outer surface below air temperature, the birds might paradoxically be able to draw very slight amounts of heat from the air around them…”
• Isn’t it a paradox that by keeping your outer surface cold, you are trying to draw slight amounts of heat from the air around your body…Option 1 precisely says that.
• You should always try to find the answers from the context. If the author has used the term ‘paradoxically’ with respect to outer surface temperature and drawing heat from the air around them, then the right answer must also have the same context. None, except 1, have this context.

We know that the plumage is responsible for maintaining body heat; it is the central idea of the passage. Food metabolism, too, helps generate heat, the passage says that clearly. We are left with two choices, thermal convection and reproduction process, but the passage says that thermal convection helps them gain heat (the passage says “the simulation showed that they might gain back a little of this heat through thermal convection”). Thus we see that thermal convection, food metabolism, and plumage all are responsible for heat gain, not heat loss. We are left with choice 1 as the right answer.

Choice 1 can be inferred from the following lines of the passage: “And given the Emperors’ unusually demanding breeding cycle, every bit of warmth counts...”. This suggests that the reproduction process results in heat loss.

• The passage says that the outer air temperature is warmer than the plumage temperature, but if the outer air temperature becomes colder than the plumage temperature, as option 1 says, the author’s argument would be invalidated, because the heat transfer from the outer colder air to the relatively warmer plumage will not happen.
• Since we have to mark the option that is not invalidating the author’s argument, we can safely rule out choice 1 because it is weakening the author’s argument.
• The plumage has to be colder than the outer Antarctic air, but in choice 3 the plumage is warmer than the outer Antarctic air, so this too would weaken the author’s argument in the passage.
• Take choice 4; thermal convection helps the penguins get some heat, if the plumage is not allowing thermal convection to take place, there would be no gain of warmth, thus this too weakens the argument.
• Only option 2 does not weaken the argument. The passage says that the feet is warmest part of the body, if you make it a little more warmer, it will still remain the warmest part of the body. Thus 2 is not weakening the argument in any way.

• We can correctly mark the answer by reading three different parts of the paragraphs and combine them together.
• “Casper (mattresses), Glossier (makeup), Away (suitcases), and many others have sprouted up to offer consumers freedom from choice”
• “For start-ups that promise accessible simplicity, their very structure still might eventually push them toward overwhelming variety.”
• “Casper has expanded into bedroom furniture and bed linens. Glossier, after years of marketing itself as no-makeup makeup that requires little skill to apply, recently launched a full line of glittering color cosmetics.”
• The two companies started by offering simplicity in choices, but they might eventually push to overwhelming variety…Casper and Glossier both have done that. Thus 2 is the right choice.

• The author is in favour of two things: not too much variety, and mid-range pricing. Choice 2 and 3 provide less variety and out of the two only choice 2 provides mid-range pricing. Thus 2 is the right choice.
• The companies have a few aesthetically pleasing and supposedly highly functional options, usually at mid-range prices”. The author has praised this in the passage.

Since this is an inference question, we have to derive the answer from what is given.

The passage says:

• “Casper (mattresses), Glossier (makeup), Away (suitcases), and many others have sprouted up to offer consumers freedom from choice: The companies have a few aesthetically pleasing and supposedly highly functional options, usually at mid-range prices.
• They’re selling nice things, but maybe more importantly, they’re selling a confidence in those things, and an ability to opt out of the stuff rat race. . . .”
• Thus we know that customers prefer fewer choices, and that in turn builds trust or confidence. Thus 1 and 3 can be inferred and will not be the right choice, as we have to pick the one that cannot be inferred.
• “choice fatigue is one reason so many people gravitate toward lifestyle influencers on Instagram—the relentlessly chic young moms and perpetually vacationing 20-somethings—who present an aspirational worldview, and then recommend the products and services that help achieve it. . . .”
• This extract from the passage suggests that customers are susceptible (influenced by) to marketing images on the social media (Instagram)
• Choice 2 is the right answer because we have no evidence for it.

• Option 2 definitely supports what the author has to say; right from the start he is in favour of offering limited choices to customers. This option shows that offering fewer product can bring positive results. Thus 2 is not weakening. It becomes the right choice.
• Choice 4 goes out because people go to Instagram because they are overwhelmed with choices. If that fails (as the sales are 40 percent less) it will weaken the author’s argument.
• Choice 1 too speaks in favour of giving greater product options to customers. Choice 3 too does the same thing.

• The author says towards the end that start-ups have the pressure of revenue, and they too will start offering greater number of choices to customers, as Casper and Glossier have done.
• Option 1 adds depth to that prediction. So it goes out.
• Option 2 says start-ups are no exception, so there is nothing unique about them. They are bound to fail or will have to change.
• Option 3 adds least depth because it brings out a point that will not lead start-ups to offer more product varieties, after all they are experiencing a surge in revenue without expanding their product catalogue.
• Option 4 also predicts that start-ups are likely to fail, adding weight to author’s argument about their fate mentioned in the last para.

• This passage was the simplest of all the passages. The answer to the first question can be found in the passage itself in the last sentence, where the author introduces the idea of ‘topophobia’.
• “And just as a beloved landscape is suddenly revealed, so too may landscapes of fear cast a dark shadow over a place that makes one feel a sense of dread or anxiety—or topophobia.”
• Option 1 is thus the right choice.

• This is a slightly difficult question. We have to read the options carefully and look for the one that is not against what the author has to say, the ones that are against what the author has to say, will contradict the author’s argument. But we have to mark the choice that is not contradicting what the author has to say.’
• Option 1 contradicts because the author says that olfactory response is the third most important factor, while the option says that it is the most important factor.
• Option 2 also can be ruled out because the author says in the first paragraph: the emotive ties with the material environment vary greatly from person to person and in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. The author says ‘vary greatly’, while the option says ‘vary little’
• Option 3 can be seen in the last paragraph, and is parallel to what the author has to say. This is not contradicting the author’s argument, and hence it is the right choice.
• Option 4 can be ruled out because it too goes against what the author has to say.
• “Most notably, new urbanism seeks to counter the perceived placelessness of modern suburbs and the decline of central cities through neo-traditional design motifs. Although motivated by good intentions, such attempts to create places rich in meaning are perhaps bound to disappoint”
• The author says the New Urbanism is bound to disappoint, but the options says that it is successful as the client’s demand for it.

• This question can be answered only by understanding the context in which the phrase has come. It reads as follows:
• “Residents of upscale residential developments have disclosed how important it is to maintain their community’s distinct identity, often by casting themselves in a superior social position and by reinforcing class and racial differences. “
• Option 2 becomes the right answer, without any doubt. This was a very simple question.

• We can answer the question by reading the sentence that follows this sentence. Let’s see what follows this sentence in the passage.
• “Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify, and its most articulate interpreters have been self-reflective philosophers such as Henry David Thoreau, evoking a marvelously intricate sense of place at Walden Pond, and Tuan, describing his deep affinity for the desert.”
• Henry David liked the pond, while Tuan liked the desert. Thus there is subjectiveness. Option 1 is the right choice.

Topophilia means love for a particular place. The choice must reflect love. Option 2 goes out because in the option we have "least affinity for the place". Option 3 says that the French are not patriotic, so it too goes out because topophilia will bring patriotism. Topography has nothing to do with love, topography means understanding of the topology of a particular place. Thus only 1 fits the meaning of topophilia.

"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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.