CAT Previous Year Questions 2021: Odd One Out | Verbal Ability (VA) & Reading Comprehension (RC) PDF Download

Q.1. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:   
1. There is a dark side to academic research, especially in India, and at its centre is the phenomenon of predatory journals.
2. But in truth, as long as you pay, you can get anything published.
3. In look and feel thus, they are exactly like any reputed journal.
4. They claim to be indexed in the most influential databases, say they possess editorial boards that comprise top scientists and researchers, and claim to have a rigorous peer-review structure.
5. But a large section of researchers and scientists across the world are at the receiving end of nothing short of an academic publishing scam.

Ans: 5
The given collection of statements focuses on predatory journals. The author begins by mentioning the subject {Statement 1} in a grim tone. He highlights the kind of claims that these journals state: presence in 'influential databases', quality 'editorial boards' and a 'rigorous peer-review structure' {Statement 4}. On the surface, 'they are exactly like any reputed journal' {Statement 3}. However, the ground reality is starkly different: paying money allows you to publish anything in such predatory journal {Statement 2}. Hence, arrangement 1432 forms a coherent paragraph with predatory journals as the centre of attention.
Statement 5 deviates from this subject. Although the topic seems to be about academic publishing, the focus is no longer on predatory journals, but instead, it becomes a bit broader. Since there is a mismatch in scope, we conclude that Statement 5 is the odd one out.

Q.2. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:   
1. The legal status of resources mined in space remains ambiguous; and while the market for asteroid minerals is currently nonexistent, this is likely to change as technical hurdles diminish.
2. Outer space is a commons, and all of it is open for exploration, however, space law developed in the 1950s and 60s is state-centric and arguably ill-suited to a commercial future.

3. Laws adopted by the US and Luxembourg are first steps, but they only protect firms from competing claims by their compatriots; a Chinese company will not be bound by US law.
4. Critics say the US is conferring rights that it has no authority to confer; Russia in particular has condemned this, citing the US’ disrespect for international law.
5. At issue now is commercial activity, as private firms—rather than nation states — look to space for profit.

Ans: 4
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about the inadequacy of laws about commercial activities in space in the wake of rapid technological developments in the same field. All sentences, other than Statement 4, talk about this inadequacy or highlight why the laws are inadequate. Statement 4 is out of context here, as it talks about the US disrespecting international law. It does not relate to the inadequacy of space law for commercial activities, and hence, is the answer.

Q.3. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer: 
1. The care with which philosophers examine arguments for and against forms of biotechnology makes this an excellent primer on formulating and assessing moral arguments.
2. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why: what is wrong with re-engineering our nature?
3. Breakthroughs in genetics present us with the promise that we will soon be able to prevent a host of debilitating diseases, and the predicament that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to enhance our genetic traits.
4. To grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions that verge on theology, which is why modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them.
5. One argument is that the drive for human perfection through genetics is objectionable as it represents a bid for mastery that fails to appreciate the gifts of human powers and achievements.

Ans: 1
The sentences have been taken from Harvard's Justice, and have been modified considerably. Since a paragraph has not been directly taken here, the better way of elimination here would be to evaluate the major points of each sentence and see which one runs tangent to the discussion at hand. (During the examination, one must try both ways to solve: arranging and eliminating.)
1. Using the debate on biotechnology to evaluate moral arguments.
2. Why is bioengineering disputed?
3. The promise of bioengineering.
4. Ethics of bioengineering based on theology.
5. The theological argument.
We can see here that the last four sentences try to examine why bioengineering is disputed in spite of its huge potential. Then reasons are given about the question on its ethicality, and how it is closely associated with theology on the matter.
Statement 1 however runs tangential to the discussion. The main focus is bioengineering while Statement 1 aims to shift the focus and use the debate on the matter as a stepping stone to reach another goal: evaluating/formulating moral arguments. Hence,  Statement 1 is the odd one out here.

Q.4. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer: 
1. It has taken on a warm, fuzzy glow in the advertising world, where its potential is being widely discussed, and it is being claimed as the undeniable wave of the future.
2. There is little enthusiasm for this in the scientific arena; for them marketing is not a science, and only a handful of studies have been published in scientific journals.
3. The new, growing field of neuromarketing attempts to reveal the inner workings of consumer behaviour and is an extension of the study of how choices and decisions are made.
4. Some see neuromarketing as an attempt to make the "art" of advertising into a science, being used by marketing experts to back up their proposals with some form of real data.
5. The marketing gurus have already started drawing on psychology in developing tests and theories, and advertising people have borrowed the idea of the focus group from social scientists.

Ans: 5
A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph must be about the industry of neuromarketing, which is still in its embryonic phase. 3 can be the opening sentence to the paragraph, as it introduces the topic at hand. All the other sentences need a sentence before them that introduces what is being talked about.
Statements 1,4, and 2 then go on to talk about the opinion of different associated parties on the matter. It has taken the advertising industry by storm. Others feel that this 'art' is being masked as a science, and many lack enthusiasm on the matter.
Statement 5 however, does not fit in here. The reason is that it talks about 'psychology', which is different from the use of neural science. Even if one is not familiar with the difference, we can see that it goes a step forward to talk about the application of a science, whereas the paragraph is mostly concerned with a growing science and how it is shaping public opinion. Hence, Statement 5 is the odd one out.

Q.5. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer: 
1. A typical example is Wikipedia, where the overwhelming majority of contributors are male and so the available content is skewed to reflect their interests.
2. Without diversity of thought and representation, society is left with a distorted picture of future options, which are likely to result in augmenting existing inequalities.
3. Gross gender inequality in the technology sector is problematic, not only for the industry-wide marginalisation of women, but because technology designs embody the values of their makers.
4. While redressing unequal representation in the workplace is a step in the right direction, broader social change is needed to address the structural inequalities embedded within the current organisation of work and employment.
5. If technology merely reflects the perspectives of the male stereotype, then new technologies are unlikely to accommodate the diverse social contexts within which they operate.

Ans: 4
A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph must be about the disparity in the representation of different genders. Sentences 1,2,3, and 5 are concerned with the problems that arise when the representation of females is less.  
Sentence 4, however, runs tangent to the discussion at hand. It talks about 'structural inequalities'. This sentence, if included in the paragraph, would render it incomplete as all the other sentences talk about gender inequality and not structural inequality. Thus, sentence 4 is out of context here.

Q.6. Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer: 
1. They often include a foundation course on navigating capitalism with Chinese characteristics and have replaced typical cases from US corporates with a focus on how Western theories apply to China’s buzzing local firms.
2. The best Chinese business schools look like their Western rivals but are now growing distinct in terms of what they teach and the career boost they offer.
3. Western schools have enhanced their offerings with double degrees, popular with domestic and overseas students alike—and boosted the prestige of their Chinese partners.
4. For students, a big draw is the chance to rub shoulders with captains of China’s private sector.
5. Their business courses now largely cater to the growing demand from China Inc which has become more global, richer and ready to recruit from this sinocentric student body.

Ans: 3
A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about Chinese business schools and how they stand in comparison to their western counterparts. Statement 2 mentions that thought they have a similar outlook, Chinese business schools have a different curriculum and are also different in what they have to offer. Statements 1, 4, and 5 further talk about the peculiarity of the Chinese schools.
Statement 3, however, runs tangent to the discussion. It shifts the focus from Chinese schools and describes western schools. Hence, statement 3 is out of the context here.