Practice Doc: XAT 2019 For English | Additional Study Material for CAT PDF Download

Instructions
For the following questions answer them individually
1. Choose the option that would fill in the blanks meaningfully in the sentence(s) below:
______ the importance of ‘horizontal stratification’ ______ higher education is widely acknowledged, ______ attention has been applied to horizontal stratification ______ compulsory schooling.
(A) Whereas; with: too less; to
(B) While; within: far less; within
(C) While; without: further less; within
(D) While; on: far fewer; about
(E) Whereas; about: for less; of
Ans. (B)
Solution: 
From an initial reading, we can understand that the two parts of the sentence are contrasting each other. So the perfect fir for the first blank is "while".
Since in the first case the importance is widely acknowledged, in the second case it has to be the opposite, so the best fit for the third blank would be "far less".
In the second and fourth blank, we need an apt preposition, and the correct one would be "within".
So the correct option is B.

2. Please study the paragraph given below: 
In 1942, the French writer Albert Camus composed an essay, ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. It draws on the Greek fable of a man condemned to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down under its own weight, a ______ that lasts for eternity. Camus argues that this image ______ the human condition in a world where we can no longer make sense of events; but instead of committing suicide, we should ______ ourselves to this ‘elusive feeling of absurdity’ and bear it as best we can. In this sense, Sisyphus is the ideal hero.
Consider the following words:
1. surrender
2. choice
3. symbolises
4. quandary
5. attune 

6. option 

7. reconcile
8. depicts
Which of the following options is the most appropriate sequence that best fits the blanks in the above paragraph?
(A) 4, 2, 6
(B) 2, 3, 1
(C) 4, 5, 1
(D) 2, 5, 7
(E) 4, 3, 7

Ans. (E)
Solution: 
In the first blank we are looking for a word that signifies a dilemma, quandary(4) is a word that goes well here as it means "state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation".
The second blank requires a word that goes with the essence of depicting an image, symbolizes(3) is the perfect fit for this blank as there is no option which has the word depict(8) in it.
The third blank requires a word that means to accept or come to terms with something, while attune(5) is a good choice, reconcile(7) is the best choice and is also available in the options.
Hence the answer is 437.

3. Study the first sentence and then identify from among the options given the closest antonym of the underline word in the second sentence:
It’s conventional wisdom that procreation between first cousins is unhealthy. But what are the actual genetic risks?
(A) tangible
(B) relative
(C) abstract
(D) hard
(E) unfounded
Ans. (E)
Solution: 
The highlighted word is conventional which here means common knowledge, known by all. The perfect antonym would be unfounded which means having no foundation or not based on truth.

4. Carefully read the following paragraph: 
Who could resist the idea of remembering everything they wanted to, without trying? Learning would be made easy, exams a ______ and you would never forget where you left your keys. And memory-related disorders like Alzheimer’s would have met their match. So, it is of little surprise that scientists have turned their attention to ways of ______ human memory using techniques that ______, supplement or even mimic parts of the brain. The immediate goal is to treat memory disorders, but the idea of a memory ______ for everyday life is gaining ground.
Fill in the blanks in the above paragraph, with the best option from among the following:
(A) joy; augmenting; awaken; crutch
(B) routine; expanding; invigorate; crutch
(C) breeze; enhancing; stimulate; prosthesis
(D) routine; expanding; trigger; support
(E) breeze; exploring; simulate; aid
Ans. (C)
Solution:
The first blank requires a word that conveys the idea of something which is easy to do. Joy is a word that conveys the expression, but we have a better choice which is a breeze (a thing that is easy to accomplish). Hence we have eliminated Options A B and D.
The second blank requires a word that goes with the idea of increasing or improving, enhancing is a perfect fit.
So we can conclude that the correct option is C as the other two words stimulate (encourage or increase activity) and prosthesis (artificially created or modified body part) match for the respective blanks.

5. Read the following statements and answer the question that follows: 
1. They subjected the residues from sherds of the rhyta- vessels to radiocarbon dating to determine their ages and chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS) - to identify their structure and isotopic composition and found that the vessels were used to store cheese.
2. In many Neolithic sites near the Adriatic Sea, researchers unearthed cone-shaped clay vessels, known as rhyta, with four legs on the bottom and a round opening on the side.
3. Fresh milk couldn’t be kept for long without going bad; cheese, on the other hand, could be stored for months at a time, providing much-needed calories to early farmers between harvests.
4. Archaeologists who used to assume animals such as cows and goats were mainly used for meat early in their domestication history are thus forced to admit that humans might have been using animals for dairy quite early in their domestication history.
5. “If you kill one cow, you eat meat for about a week until it goes off; but by milking the animals, the farmer would be spreading the food gain from that animal over several months rather than just one week”
Rank the above five statements so as to make it a logical sequence:

(A) 2, 1, 5, 4, 3
(B) 4, 5, 2, 1, 3
(C) 4, 2, 1, 3, 5
(D) 2, 1, 3, 5, 4
(E) 4, 1, 2, 5, 3
Ans. (D)
Solution: 
2 introduces us to an archaeological discovery of clay vessels. 1 takes it forward by telling about the studies carried out on the finds which conclude that the vessels were used to store cheese. 3 explains why cheese was stored instead of milk. At the same time, 5 elaborates why cows were domesticated for milk rather than for meat. 4 states the changes in views of several archaeologists as a result of the discovery.

Hence the correct order of the sentences is 21354.

6. Read the following statements and answer the question that follows: 
1. An in-depth exploration of the Indian case and case studies of early adopters of mobile technology will provide spectrum managers a pragmatic and modern approach whereby they could utilize their resources efficiently and optimally.
2. Even as spectrum management regimes are moving from a command and control regime to a flexible use regime, new technological developments are suggesting that there are significant opportunities in managing large swathes of spectrum as a common property resource, in addition to flexible use.
3. Political legacies and market realities in different regimes pose unique challenges for spectrum managers who must negotiate a tricky path to the land promised by technological possibility.
4. On the other hand, supply of spectrum is restricted due to competing nature of uses and vested interests of incumbent holders.
5. The demand for spectrum has never been so acute as today's communication services extend beyond simple voice to complex data and video, augmented by evolving technologies such as peer-to-peer sharing, social networking, Fourth and Fifth Generation networks, Big Data, and cloud computing.
Rank the above five statements so as to make it a logical sequence:
(A) 1, 2, 4, 5, 3
(B) 5, 2, 3, 1, 4
(C) 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
(D) 3, 4, 5, 2, 1
(E) 2, 5, 4, 3, 1
Ans. (E)
Solution: 
2 is introducing a scenario where, despite a shift in the regime of spectrum management, new technological developments are suggesting that there are significant opportunities in managing large swathes of the spectrum as a common property resource. 5 elaborates the opportunities mentioned earlier. 4 presents a potential problem to 5 due to the supply of spectrum being restricted. 3 elaborates the problem mentioned in 4. 1 provides a solution to the presented problem.
Hence the correct order of the sentences is 25431.

Instructions
Read the poem given below and answer the question that follows it:
Black lake, black boat, two black, cut-paper people.
Where do the black trees go that drink here?
Their shadows must cover Canada.
A little light is filtering from the water flowers
Their leaves do not wish us to hurry:
They are round and flat and full of dark advice.
Cold words shake from the oar.
The spirit of blackness is in us, it is in the fishes.
A snag is lifting a valedictory, pale hand; Stars opening among the lilies.
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?

This is the silence of abandoned souls.

7. Which of the following options best explains the effect of the images in Line 1?
(A) The first line encapsulates the theme of the poem.
(B) The images are suffused with an overpowering sense of rebellion.
(C) The atmosphere indicates a cyclical nature of life and death.
(D) The black lake lacks regenerative potential; ‘black boat’ connotes the funerary boat; cut-paper people are unreal.
(E) The repeated use of black suggests evil.

Ans. (D)
Solution: The speaker tersely describes an ominous setting: "Black lake, black boat, two black, cut-paper people."
Though this line describes the setting of the poem, it does not convey the theme, nor does it imply an overpowering sense of rebellion or cyclical nature of life and death.

While it does suggest evil as a whole, each element of the first line conveys a distinct image.
Such an essence is is conveyed only in option D.

8. Which of the following options presents a convincing evaluation of the line, ‘Stars opening among the lilies’?
(A) The stars are flowers in the sky and the flowers in the lake are stars in water.
(B) The ethereal light of the stars gets reflected among the lilies.
(C) The spirit of blackness does not hinder the appearance of beauty in nature which is symbolic of hope blossoming in the soul.
(D) The mirror images, the worlds above and overlap.
(E) Lilies purify the ‘dark’ into ‘light’ as symbolized in and by stars.

Ans. (C)
Solution: So far, the poem was conveying the image of engulfing blackness; suddenly, the speaker notices, "Stars open among the lilies".
The light that now appears along with the newly formed visible "lilies" stuns the speaker as it is not held back by the darkness around, but rather it blossoms hope.
In option C, this evaluation is well expressed.
Therefore, the correct answer is C.

Instructions
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow it: 
Does having a mood disorder make you more creative? That’s the most frequent question I hear about the relationship. But because we cannot control the instance of a mood disorder (that is, we can’t turn it on and off, and measure that person’s creativity under both conditions), the question should really be: Do individuals with a mood disorder exhibit greater creativity than those without? Studies that attempt to answer this question by comparing the creativity of individuals with a mood disorder against those without, have been well, mixed.
Studies that ask participants to complete surveys of creative personality, behavior or accomplishment, or to complete divergent thinking measures (where they are asked to generate lots of ideas) often find that individuals with mood disorders do not differ from those without. However, studies using “creative occupation” as an indicator of creativity (based on the assumption that those employed in these occupations are relatively more creative than others) have found that people with bipolar disorders are overrepresented in these occupations. These studies do not measure the creativity of participants directly, rather they use external records (such as censuses and medical registries) to tally the number of people with a history of mood disorders (compared with those without) who report being employed in a creative occupation at some time. These studies incorporate an enormous number of people and provide solid evidence that people who have sought treatment for mood disorders are engaged in creative occupations to a greater extent than those who have not. But can creative occupations serve as a proxy for creative ability?
The creative occupations considered in these studies are overwhelmingly in the arts, which frequently provide greater autonomy and less rigid structure than the average nine-to-five job. This makes these jobs more conducive to the success of individuals who struggle with performance consistency as the result of a mood disorder. The American psychiatrist Arnold Ludwig has suggested that the level of emotional expressiveness required to be successful in various occupations creates an occupational drift and demonstrated that the pattern of expressive occupations being associated with a greater incidence of psychopathology is a self-repeating pattern. For example, professions in the creative arts are associated with greater psychopathology than professions in the sciences whereas, within creative arts professions, architects exhibit a lower lifetime prevalence rate of psychopathology than visual artists and, within the visual arts, abstract artists exhibit lower rates of psychopathology than expressive artists. Therefore, it is possible that many people who suffer from mood disorders gravitate towards these types of professions, regardless of creative ability or inclination.

9. Go through the following:
1. Mood disorders do not lead to creativity
2. The flexibility of creative occupations makes them more appealing to people with mood disorder
3. Mood swings in creative professions is less prevalent than in non-creative professions Which of the following would undermine the passage’s main argument?

(A) 2 & 3

(B) 1 & 2
(C) 3 only
(D) 2 only
(E) 1, 2 & 3

Ans. (C)
Solution: 
The idea conveyed in the passage is that while people with mood swings generally do better in creative profiles as compared to nine to five jobs, hence there is the possibility of mood swings being more prevalent in creative jobs as compared to other ones.
There is no direct indication of mood swings leading to increased creativity (1) or the flexibility factor of creative jobs making it more appealing for the more creative people (2).
However, if mood swings in creative professions are less prevalent than in non-creative occupations (3), then it would undermine the idea of the passage.
Hence C is the only option that contradicts the passage's main argument.

10. All of the following can be inferred from the passage except:
(A) Individuals with mood disorder often do better in creative job profiles than in regular nine-to-five jobs.
(B) In creative professions, people with mood disorder are more creative than those without mood disorder.
(C) Mood disorder is more prevalent among people in creative occupations than in non-creative occupations.

(D) An architect is more likely to have mood disorder than a botanist.
(E) An abstract painter is less likely to have mood disorder than an interpretive dance performer.
Ans. (B)
Solution: 
According to the passage, people with mood disorders do better in creative jobs as compared to nine to five jobs.
Options A, C, D&E all agree to this idea.
However, there is no evidence showing that within creative jobs people with mood disorders are more creative than those without.
Hence the correct option is B.

11. Which of the following will make the authors contention in the passage fallacious?
(A) Everyone in a mental asylum is potentially a great artist.
(B) Patients in mental asylums prefer time-bound repetitive jobs.
(C) Creative geniuses never end up in mental asylum.
(D) Those with a creative spark will land up in a mental asylum.
(E) Creativity is a form of bipolar disorder.
Ans. (B)
Solution: The author is trying to assert the idea that people who suffer from mood disorders may gravitate towards creative professions.

Option A goes with this idea.
Option C may seem like the right choice, but the author does not believe that all creative people are bound to end up with mental health issues.
Option D is the direct contrast of Option C and goes somewhat in line with the author's ideas.
In option E, if creativity is a form of bipolar disorder, then it does not go against the author's beliefs.
But if patients in mental asylums prefer time-bound repetitive jobs, then the author's contention would be rendered fallacious because time-bound repetitive tasks are considered mundane and uncreative.
Hence the correct option is B.

Instructions
Lately it seems everyone’s got an opinion about women’s speech. Everybody has been getting his two cents in about vocal fry, upspeak, and women’s allegedly over-liberal use of apologies. The ways women live and move in the world are subject to relentless scrutiny, their modes of speech are assessed against a (usually) masculine standard. This is increasingly true as women have entered previously male-dominated fields like industry and politics.
In his essay “On Speech and Public Release,” Joshua Gunn highlights the field of public address as an important arena where social roles and norms are contested, reshaped, and upheld. Gunn argues that the field of public address is an important symbolic arena where we harbor an “[ideological] bias against the feminine voice,” a bias, that is rooted in positive primal associations with masculinity (and the corresponding devaluation of femininity, the voice that constrains and nags—the mother, the droning Charlie Brown schoolteacher, the wife).
Gunn contends that masculine speech is the cultural standard. It’s what we value and respect. The low pitch and assertive demeanor that characterize the adult male voice signify reason, control, and authority, suitable for the public domain. Women’s voices are higher pitched, like those of immature boys, and their characteristic speech patterns have a distinctive cadence that exhibits a wider range of emotional expression. In Western cultures, this is bad because it comes across as uncontrolled. We associate uncontrolled speech -“the cry, the grunt, the scream, and the yawp” - with things that happen in the private, domestic spheres (both coded as feminine). Men are expected to repress passionate, emotional speech, Gunn explains, precisely because it threatens norms of masculine control and order.
The notion of control also relates to the cultural ideal of eloquence. Language ideologies in the U.S. are complex and highly prescriptive, but not formal or explicit. They are internalized by osmosis, from early observations of adult language use, criticism from teachers (i.e., telling little girls not to “be so bossy” and boys to “act like gentlemen”), and sanctions imposed by peers. These norms become most obvious when they are violated. When men fall off the “control and reason” wagon, they suffer for it. Gunn recalls Howard Dean’s infamous 2004 “I Have a Scream” speech, in which Dean emitted a spontaneous high-pitched screech of joy after he rattled off a list of planned campaign stops. The rest, as they say, is history. Women face a different dilemma—how to please like a woman and impress like a man. Women in the public sphere have, historically, been expected to “perform” femininity and they usually do this by adopting a personal tone, giving anecdotal evidence, using domestic metaphors, and making emotional appeals to ideals of wifely virtue and motherhood.
Gunn arrives at the conclusion that “eloquence” is, essentially, code for values associated with masculinity, saying, “Performances of femininity are principally vocal and related, not to arguments, but to tone; not to appearance, but to speech; not to good reasons, but to sound. This implies that the ideology of sexism is much more insidious, much more deeply ingrained than many might suppose.”

12. Which of the following statements if true, is contrary to the ideas developed in the passage?

(A) Women in their communicative behavior are said to prefer a high-involvement style and men a high-considerate style.

(B) Women who use the lowest frequency of women's vocal traits have an unusually high status and are well educated professionals with middle class backgrounds.

(C) In certain hierarchically organized Indian political parties, women can participate in discussions as long as they appeal, persuade, and support others, and not initiate new ones.

(D) The linguistic ideology in vogue in ancient North India allowed only men of higher-castes and ruling dynasties to use Sanskrit; women and servants spoke Prakrit or Pali.

(E) Studies show that male followers of powerful women political leaders in Indian states imitate their leaders’ cadence, rhetoric and rhythm.
Ans. (E)
Solution:
Throughout the passage, the underlying idea is that women are forced to adapt to masculine traits to gain public acceptance.
Here we are looking for an option in which the idea that women do not have to follow masculine traits or even better, men have to adapt characteristics of women to gain acceptance.
If the male followers of powerful women political leaders in India imitate their leaders' (women politicians') traits, then the whole idea of the passage is invalid.
Hence the option we are looking for is E.

13. An American female politician might not be expected to exhibit the features of public discourse discussed in the passage while ______.
(A) addressing her colleagues
(B) chatting with intimate colleagues
(C) speaking to members of a congregation
(D) giving testimony
(E) conversing with members of her community
Ans. (B)
Solution:
An American female politician is expected to exhibit features of public discourse while talking publicly or in a professional capacity.
However, she is doesn't have to maintain this charade in private. So we are looking for an option in which the public is not watching her or hearing her interaction.
Chatting with an intimate colleague is a private event, and hence, she can be herself.
Therefore, the correct choice is B.

14. Which one of the following, if true, would make the core argument of the passage irrelevant?
(A) Men seek to gain upper hand in conversation as they consider themselves competitive, while women use them as a way to gain confirmation and support.
(B) When a wife tells her husband that she's unwell, he normally offers to take her to a doctor. Invariably, she is disappointed, as what she looks for is sympathy.

(C) Unlike men who use and prefer to hear direct imperatives, women prefer 'indirections.'

(D) Where a management decision seems unattractive, men will often resist it vocally, while women may appear to accede, but complain subsequently.

(E) Today, sharing of emotions and elaborations is more important than sharing information and being brief.

Ans. (E)
Solution: In the passage, it is discussed that women face a challenge in today's world as the expected standards are all set to masculine values.

So if sharing of emotions and elaboration, both considered as feminine traits, is more important than sharing information and being brief, which are considered masculine traits, then the core argument of the passage that women are having trouble getting the world to accept their qualities as a standard would be irrelevant.
Therefore the option we are looking for is E.

Instructions

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow it: 
There are no Commandments in art and no easy axioms for art appreciation. “Do I like this?” is the question anyone should ask themselves at the moment of confrontation with the picture. But if “yes,” why “yes”? and if “no,” why “no”? The obvious direct emotional response is never simple, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the “yes” or “no” has nothing at all to do with the picture in its own right. “I don’t understand this poem” and “I don’t like this picture” are statements that tell us something about the speaker. That should be obvious, but in fact, such statements are offered as criticisms of art, as evidence against, not least because the ignorant, the lazy, or the plain confused are not likely to want to admit themselves as such. We hear a lot about the arrogance of the artist but nothing about the arrogance of the audience. The audience, who have given no thought to the medium or the method, will glance up, flick through, chatter over the opening chords, then snap their fingers and walk away like some monstrous Roman tyrant. This is not arrogance; of course, they can absorb in a few moments, and without any effort, the sum of the artist and the art.
Admire me is the sub-text of so much of our looking; the demand put on art that it should reflect the reality of the viewer. The true painting, in its stubborn independence, cannot do this, except coincidentally. Its reality is imaginative not mundane.
When the thick curtain of protection is taken away; protection of prejudice, protection of authority, protection of trivia, even the most familiar of paintings can begin to work its power. There are very few people who could manage an hour alone with the Mona Lisa. Our poor art-lover in his aesthetic laboratory has not succeeded in freeing himself from the protection of assumption. What he has found is that the painting objects to his lack of concentration; his failure to meet intensity with intensity. He still has not discovered anything about the painting, but the painting has discovered a lot about him. He is inadequate, and the painting has told him so.
When you say “This work is boring/ pointless/silly/obscure/élitist etc.,” you might be right, because you are looking at a fad, or you might be wrong because the work falls so outside of the safety of your own experience that in order to keep your own world intact, you must deny the other world of the painting. This denial of imaginative experience happens at a deeper level than our affirmation of our daily world. Every day, in countless ways, you and I convince ourselves about ourselves. True art, when it happens to us, challenges the “I” that we are and you say, “This work has nothing to do with me.”
Art is not a little bit of evolution that late-twentieth-century city dwellers can safely do without. Strictly, art does not belong to our evolutionary pattern at all. It has no biological necessity. Time taken up with it was time lost to hunting, gathering, mating, exploring, building, surviving, thriving. We say we have no time for art. If we say that art, all art. is no longer relevant to our lives, then we might at least risk the question “What has happened to our lives?” The usual question, “What has happened to art?” is too easy an escape route.

15.  A young man visits a critically acclaimed modern art exhibition in his city and finds that he doesn’t like any of the exhibits. If he were to share his experience with the author of the passage, which of the following is most likely to be the author’s response?

(A) “Your feelings about art are totally insignificant because they are definitely prejudiced.”
(B) “Don’t deny the other world of art to hide your inadequacies."
(C) “You are as arrogant as the artists who produced those modern art exhibits.”
(D) “Modern art is, indeed, distasteful because of its abstract nature, and because it shows us up.”
(E) “You didn’t like modern art, that’s fine, but maybe you will like classical art forms.”
Ans. (B)
Solution: 
The author is of the view that the reason viewers are unable to appreciate art is because of their arrogance which makes them unworthy or inadequate of the art. The author has a condescension towards the people who are unable to appreciate art.
Of the options, in D&E, the idea is being supportive of the views of the young man.
Whereas, in A&C, the tone is that of insult.
Only in B, we can find a tone of condescension.
Hence, the choice that most reflects this view of the author Option B.

16. What according to the passage is the prerequisite to appreciate art?

(A) Prior knowledge of the art in question
(B) Participation with an open-mind
(C) Protection of assumption
(D) Preconceived notions of how we would be affected
(E) Participation of the artist
Ans. (B)
Solution: In the passage, the author mentions "Our poor art-lover in his aesthetic laboratory has not succeeded in freeing himself from the protection of assumption".
From this, it is clear that in order to truly appreciate art, one must be free of assumptions and should be open-minded.
Hence the correct option is B.

17. When the writer observes, ‘This is not arrogance; of course, they can absorb in a few moments, and without any effort, the sum of the artist and the art’, he is being _____.
(A) ironical
(B) sarcastic
(C) objective
(D) hyperbolic
(E) naive
Ans. (B)
Solution: 
The author is criticising the audience for their arrogance, so when he says "This is not arrogance; of course, they can absorb in a few moments, and without any effort, the sum of the artist and the art" he is clearly being sarcastic.
Hence the correct answer is B.

Instructions
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow it: 
Elevation has always existed but has just moved out of the realm of philosophy and religion and been recognized as a distinct emotional state and a subject for psychological study. Psychology has long focused on what goes wrong, but in the past decade there has been an explosion of interest in “positive psychology”—what makes us feel good and why. University of Virginia moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who coined the term elevation, writes, “Powerful moments of elevation sometimes seem to push a mental ‘reset button,’ wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, and optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration.”
Haidt quotes first-century Greek philosopher Longinus on great oratory: “The effect of elevated language upon an audience is not persuasion but transport.” Such feeling was once a part of our public discourse. After hearing Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, former slave Frederick Douglass said it was a “sacred effort.” But uplifting rhetoric came to sound anachronistic, except as practiced by the occasional master like Martin Luther King Jr.
It was while looking through the letters of Thomas Jefferson that Haidt first found a description of elevation. Jefferson wrote of the physical sensation that comes from witnessing goodness in others: It is to “dilate [the] breast and elevate [the] sentiments … and privately covenant to copy the fair example.” Haidt took this description as a mandate.
Elevation can so often give us chills or a tingling feeling in the chest. This noticeable, physiological response is important. In fact, this physical reaction is what can tell us most surely that we have been moved. This reaction, and the prosocial inclinations it seems to inspire, has been linked with a specific hormone, oxytocin, emitted from Vagus nerve which works with oxytocin, the hormone of connection. The nerve’s activities can only be studied indirectly.
Elevation is part of a family of self-transcending emotions. Some others are awe, that sense of the vastness of the universe and smallness of self that is often invoked by nature; another is admiration, that goose-bump-making thrill that comes from seeing exceptional skill in action. While there is very little lab work on the elevating emotions, there is quite a bit on its counterpart, disgust. It started as a survival strategy: Early humans needed to figure out when food was spoiled by contact with bacteria or parasites. From there disgust expanded to the social realm—people became repelled by the idea of contact with the defiled or by behaviors that seemed to belong to lower people. “Disgust is probably the most powerful emotion that separates your group from other groups.” Haidt says disgust is the bottom floor of a vertical continuum of emotion; hit the up button, and you arrive at elevation. Another response to something extraordinary in another person can be envy, with all its downsides. Envy is unlikely, however, when the extraordinary aspect of another person is a moral virtue (such as acting in a just way, bravery and self-sacrifice, and caring for others).
18. Which of the options below is false according to the passage?

(A) Elevated language is highly persuasive.
(B) Elevation results in a sense of moral inspiration of and purges us of negative emotions.
(C) Reactions to extraordinary external stimuli inevitably purge us of evil.
(D) Admiration is a more appropriate antonym of disgust than elevation.
(E) Elevation is admiration of virtue; admiration for skill is known as admiration: awe inheres in admiration and is generally caused by the majesty of nature.
Ans. (C)
Solution: 
From the passage, we understand that "Another response to something extraordinary in another person can be envy, with all its downsides". However, Option C suggests that an extraordinary stimuli will definitely rid us of all evil; this is false.
We have to keep in mind that we cannot make assumptions unless asked in the question.

Hence, we have to select an option such that the passage can justify the fallacy of the idea.
Therefore the correct answer is C.

19. Which of the options will complete the statement given below meaningfully and appropriately, according to the passage?
Disgust is not a self-transcending emotion because it ________.
(A) is the antonym of elevation
(B) springs from love
(C) is linked to invocation of nature
(D) it creates 'us versus them' divide based on group identities
(E) is about experiencing a moment when the ‘self’ reigns supreme
Ans. (D)
Solution: 
Transcend is the exhilarating experience of something beyond normal or rather an experience of something higher.
Disgust is not the antonym of elevation, and neither does it spring from love.
There is no indication in the passage that disgust invokes nature, nor does it mention anything about a moment when self-reign prevails. While these characteristics of disgust may be true, we have to select an answer based on the passage.
Disgust is a negative emotion that creates the feeling of separation and the same is given in the passage.
So the correct answer is D.

20. Which of the options below correctly identifies the function of elevation?
(A) It helps us in creating national identities.
(B) It helps leaders to attract followers.
(C) It helps us become religious.
(D) It helps to enforce moral and ethical values in a society.
(E) It helps transcendence to a higher plane.

Ans. (E)
Solution:
From the passage, we get the phrase "Elevation is part of a family of self-transcending emotions", transcending is the experience of something beyond natural or physical. The closest we have to this definition is Option E.

Instructions
For the following questions answer them individually 
21. Which of the statements below is least fallacious?

(A) Cheating in examinations is wrong because God will punish you.

(B) Mitigating risks often comes with costs.

(C) The snake in the temple likes milk because devotees offer it milk.

(D) Educated people do not oppose sale of hard drinks by governments. So drinking cannot be illegal.

(E) Marlon Brando was such a great actor because everyone liked him.

Ans. B
Solution: 
Let's examine each option.
A. Cheating in an examination is wrong not because God will punish us, rather because cheating is morally wrong and is so with or without the fear of punishment.
B. Mitigating risks may or may not come with a cost and the use of the word "often" keeps this sentence from being fallacious.
C. The snake may like milk irrespective of what the devotees offer.
D. A government which is liable to listen to the people cannot discriminate on the basis of educational qualification of the people.
E. Marlon Brando was a great actor irrespective of his fan following.
Hence the answer that is least fallacious is B.

22. Which option does not reflect the relationship implicit in ‘Emendation : Editor’?
(A) Injunction : Judge
(B) Examination : Doctor
(C) Discipline : Coach
(D) Illumination : Usher
(E) Renunciation : Saint
Ans. (D)
Solution:
Emendation is the process of correcting a judgement, which is an action performed by a judge.
In Option D we have illumination (to illuminate or light up) and Usher (a person who directs people to their designated seats at a wedding or in a cinema), the two words don't establish a relationship like the one in the example while all the other options do.
Hence the correct answer is D.

23. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows: 
Empirical observation told us years ago that goats were slowly becoming the new dog, and according to a new study, they are truly qualified to be man’s best friend. The Royal Society released heart-warming research showing that just like humans, goats have no desire to interact with people who come off as angry or upset, and that they’re much more attracted to those with big smiles plastered across their faces. When 12 males and 8 females were released into a pen decorated with images of happy and angry humans, the scientists learned that goats can “distinguish between happy and angry images of the same person,” and in general, they prefer their humans to be happy.
Which of the following statements is definitely true according to the passage?
(A) When they look at a smiling person, the goats are happy.
(B) When they look at a frowning person, goats are afraid of him.
(C) When they look at a straight-faced person, goats remain passive.
(D) When they look at a frowning person, the goats are sad.
(E) When they look at a smiling person, goats run towards him.
Ans. (A)
Solution: 
Let's consider two instances from the passage, "they’re much more attracted to those with big smiles plastered across their faces" & "they prefer their humans to be happy".
We can infer from these that goats become happy when they are looking at a smiling person because naturally, they will be happy to see something they are attracted to.
Hence A is definitely true. But similar reactions based on emotions or situations cannot be clearly determined from the given passage.

24. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows: 
An accurate measure of drug efficacy would require comparing the response of patients taking it with that of patients taking placebos; the drug effect could then be calculated by subtracting the placebo response from the overall response, much as a delicounter worker subtracts the weight of the container to determine how much lobster salad you’re getting. In the last half of the 1950s, this calculus gave rise to a new way to evaluate drugs: the double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, in which neither patient nor clinician knew who was getting the active drug and who the placebo.
Which of the options is a wrong answer to this Question How does a double-blind ensure a better trial of a new drug?

(A) It increases the overall response to the drug.

(B) The patient does not know whether he/she is getting a placebo.

(C) It reflects the calculus exemplified by the deli-counter episode.

(D) The clinician cannot pick and choose patients to whom placebos can be administered.

(E) It gives rise to an unbiased testing of drugs.

Ans. (A)
Solution:
From the passage, it is clear the that double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial is unbiased, gives no chance for the clinician to choose patients nor does the patient know if he is getting the drug or the placebo and moreover it reflects the calculus exemplified by the deli-counter episode. In no way does this trial increase the overall efficiency of the drug. So the correct answer is A.

25. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows: 
Alligators are freshwater reptiles. However, people have come face to face with them in mud in a salt marsh in Georgia. Finding alligators in the salt marsh is not a mystery or a miracle. At least 23 species of predator have been spotted living in surprising habitats. Predators such as alligators, otters, mountain lions, wolves and raptors are thriving in places they shouldn't, revealing some serious misunderstandings about their behaviour and how to protect them. Scientific literature divulges that these creatures are actually returning to places they once occupied. It gives us astonishing insights into the lives of animals and helps conservationists improve the old stomping grounds of these creatures.
Which of the following statements provides the most plausible explanation of the predators' behaviour?

(A) Predators prefer to occupy different habitats, depending on the season and prevailing weather.

(B) Predators migrate to a habitat different from where they were born.

(C) Predators are fully aware of where they were born.

(D) Predators have a genetic memory of their traditional stomping grounds.

(E) Predators have no awareness of where they were born.

Ans. (D) 

Solution: From the sentence "Scientific literature divulges that these creatures are actually returning to places they once occupied " it is understood that predators have a memory of their stomping grounds.
Hence the answer is D.

26. Study the text given below and answer the question that follows it: 
Dense, dirty air laced with grease best describes the atmosphere of most Lagos streets. Drive from one corner of this great west African city to another and in no time you will find surfaces lightly dusted, like a soft sprinkling of icing on cakes. Under the halfmoons of fingernails, thick grime settles. It’s a scene taken as typically African: polluted, bedraggled, unhealthy. This has only ever been made possible by the exploitation of Africa’s people. This week five west African countries, Nigeria included, announced plans to end the practice of European oil companies and traders exporting “African quality” diesel. “Dirty fuel” has earned the name because it is imported diesel with sulphur levels as high as 3,000 parts per million when the European maximum is 10ppm. To be clear, “African quality” fuel, is fuel not fit for European humans.
Which of the options is not necessarily the underlying assumption of the author in the paragraph above?

(A) European oil companies dump their fuel on African countries.

(B) Economic exploitation, until challenged runs smoothly.

(C) Racism makes it easy for Europeans to justify the exploitation of inferior races.

(D) Typically, African cities today are not fit for human habitation.

(E) African nations had accepted ‘dirty fuel’ as the norm.

Ans. (C)
Solution:
While all the other ideas are expressed in the passage, there is no mention of Europeans using racism to justify their exploitation.
Hence the correct answer is C.