Para Jumbles- 1 CAT Previous Year Questions with Answer PDF

2024

Q1: Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. No known real researcher of human behaviour would say that gender is all nature or all nurture.
2. The evidence for a biological basis for gender certainly doesn’t mean we should be complacent in the face of sexism.
3. Many people are uncomfortable with the idea that gender is not purely a social construct.
4. Despite this empirical truth, researchers who study the biological basis of gender often face political pushback.
5. There’s a political preference for gender to be only a reflection of social factors and so entirely malleable. 

Ans: 2

Sol: The correct odd sentence is 2, and the coherent sequence is 1435. Sentence 1 introduces the balanced view that gender is influenced by both nature and nurture. Sentence 4 discusses the political pushback faced by researchers studying the biological basis of gender, while Sentence 3 addresses societal discomfort with the idea that gender is not entirely a social construct. Sentence 5 ties these ideas together by explaining the political preference for viewing gender as entirely malleable. These sentences collectively explore the interplay between biological and social perspectives on gender.

Q2: Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer. 
1. The UK is a world leader in developing cultivated meat and the approval of a cultivated pet food is an important milestone.
2. If we’re to realise the full potential benefits of cultivated meat the government must invest in research and infrastructure.
3. The first UK applications for cultivated meat produced for humans remain under assessment with the Food Standards Agency.
4. The previous UK government had been looking at fast-tracking the approval of cultivated meat for human consumption.
5. It underscores the potential for new innovation to help reduce the negative impacts of intensive animal agriculture.

Ans: 4

Sol: The correct odd sentence is 4, and the coherent sequence of the remaining sentences is 5132. Sentence 5 introduces the importance of innovation in reducing the negative impacts of intensive animal agriculture, setting the context for the discussion. Sentence 1 highlights the UK’s leadership in the development of cultivated meat, aligning with the innovation theme introduced in Sentence 5. Sentence 3 discusses the current regulatory processes for cultivated meat, while Sentence 2 emphasizes the need for government investment to realize its potential benefits. Together, these sentences form a coherent narrative about the development, regulation, and potential of cultivated meat.

Sentence 4, on the other hand, discusses the previous government's intent to fast-track approval for human consumption, which diverges from the main theme of innovation and current processes. It introduces a tangential historical aspect that disrupts the logical flow of the paragraph.

2023

Q1: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 

1. Though “algorithmic bias” is the popular term, the foundation of such bias is not in algorithms, but in the data; algorithms are not biased, data is, as algorithms merely reflect persistent patterns that are present in the training data.
2. Despite their widespread impact, it is relatively easier to fix AI biases than human-generated biases, as it is simpler to identify the former than to try to make people unlearn behaviors learnt over generations.
3. The impact of biased decisions made by humans is localised and geographically confined, but with the advent of AI, the impact of such decisions is spread over a much wider scale.
4. Algorithms hosted on the internet are accessed by many, so biases in AI models have resulted in much larger impact, adversely affecting far larger groups of people.

​(a) 4312
(b) 1234
​(c) 2341
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: 

• Sentence 4 introduces the idea that biased decisions made by humans have a localized impact, but with AI's emergence, the impact scale becomes much broader. This sets the context for the discussion to be followed.
• Now, if we consider Sentences 1 and 2 we can see that Sentence 1 is expanding on the impact of biased decisions in the context of AI, highlighting that algorithms hosted on the internet, accessed by many, result in more significant adverse effects on larger groups of people.Sentence 2 is providing a clarification on the term "algorithmic bias," emphasizing that the foundation of bias lies in the data rather than the algorithms themselves. It explains that algorithms reflect persistent patterns present in the training data. Therefore we can say that Sentence 2 must be following 1.
• Sentence 3 is pointing out that despite the widespread impact of AI biases, it is comparatively easier to fix them than human-generated biases, as it is simpler to identify and address biases in algorithms than to make people unlearn behaviors learned over generations. This logically follows the point made in Sentence 2. Therefore Sentence 3 must be following Sentence 2.
• Therefore the correct order is 4-1-2-3.

Q2: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 

1. It might be a particularly savage or unfathomable level of depravity, very often it has something to do with the precise amount of mystery involved.
2. Unsolved, and perhaps unsolvable cases offer something that “ordinary” murder doesn’t.
3. Why are some crimes destined for perpetual re-examination and others locked into permanent obscurity?
4. What precisely are the “unusual elements” that make a particular case so attractive to a certain kind of audience?

(a) 1234
(b) 4123
(c) 2341
(d) 3412

Ans: b
Sol: 

• Sentence 4 introduces the central question about the enduring fascination with certain crimes and the perpetual re-examination of some cases.
• Sentence 1 builds on this question by specifically asking about the "unusual elements" that make a particular case attractive to a certain audience, providing a more focused inquiry.
• Sentence 2 follows by suggesting possible reasons, such as a particularly savage or unfathomable level of depravity, and the role of mystery in drawing attention to these cases.
• Sentence 3 then generalizes the idea, stating that unsolved and perhaps unsolvable cases offer something unique that "ordinary" murder cases don't, emphasizing the enduring allure of unresolved mysteries in the realm of crime.

Q3: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 

1. Chukwuemeka Ike explores the conflict, and casts the Western tradition as condescending, enveloping and unaccommodating towards local African practice.
2. However, their views contradict the reality, for a rich and sustaining local African cultural ethos exists for all who care, to see and experience.
3. Western Christian concepts tend to deny or feign ignorance about the existence of a genuine and enduring indigenous African tradition.
   
4. Contemporary African writing like ‘The Bottled Leopard’ voices this theme using two children and two backgrounds to juxtapose two varying cultures.

​(a) 4312
(b) 1234
(c)  2341
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: 
Sentence 4 introduces the conflict between Western Christian concepts and indigenous African tradition.This gives context for the discussion to be followed.
Now we can see that Sentence 3 starts with “However….” which implies that this sentence is challenging the views presented in Sentence 4 by asserting the existence of a rich indigenous African cultural ethos. Therefore Sentence 3 must be following Sentence 4.
Sentence 2 introduces Chuwkuemeka Ike and provides additional information about Chukwuemeka Ike's exploration of the conflict, adding depth to the discussion. Sentence 1 introduces an example of contemporary African writing that explores the conflict. It makes sense that first we give an example and then elaborate on it. Sentence 1 introduces the book; it is a logical inferences that Ike must be the author of this book.
Therefore Sentence 2 must be following Sentence 1.
Therefore the correct order is 4-3-1-2.

Q4: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 

1. Although the human brain is not yet understood enough to identify the mechanism by which emergence functions, most neurobiologists agree that complex interconnections among the parts give rise to qualities that belong only to the whole.
2. Nonetheless, the sum of all neurons in the nervous system generate complex human emotions like fear and joy, none of which can be attributed to a single neuron.
3. Human consciousness is often called an emergent property of the human brain.
4. Like the ants that make up a colony, no single neuron holds complex information like self-awareness, hope or pride.

​(a) 4132
(b) 1234
(c) 2341
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: 

Sentence 4 introduces the main idea that human consciousness is often referred to as an emergent property of the human brain. This gives context for the discussion to be followed.

Now if we consider Sentences 1 and 3 we can see that Sentence 1 ends with “no single neuron holds complex information like self-awareness, hope or pride.” Sentence 3 builds on the idea in Sentence 1 by stating that, nonetheless, the collective activity of all neurons in the nervous system generates complex human emotions like fear and joy “Nonetheless, the sum of all neurons …..”. So we can infer that Sentence 3 must be following Sentence 1. Sentence 3 also supports the notion that emergent properties arise from the interaction of individual components.

Finally, Sentence 2 concludes the paragraph by explaining that although the exact mechanism of emergence in the human brain is not fully understood, neurobiologists agree that complex interconnections among the parts give rise to qualities specific to the whole. This sentence wraps up the discussion and reinforces the concept introduced Sentence 4.

Therefore the correct order is 4-1-3-2.

Q5: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
1. Veena Sahajwalla, a materials scientist at the University of New South Wales, believes there is a new way of solving this problem.
2. Her vision is for automated drones and robots to pick out components, put them into a small furnace and smelt them at specific temperatures to extract the metals one by one before they are sent off to manufacturers for reuse.
3. E-waste contains huge quantities of valuable metals, ceramics and plastics that could be salvaged and recycled, although currently not enough of it is.
4. She plans to build microfactories that can tease apart the tangle of materials in mobile phones, computers and other e-waste.   [2023]   

Sol: 3 is a general statement that outlines the main idea of the paragraph. So, 3 is the starting sentence. All other sentences relate to Veena Sahajwalla's approach to solve the problem of e-waste. So, 1, which introduces Veena, follows 3. 4 outlines Veena's plan and 2 adds to 4, explaining how she plans to separate, extract and reuse the tangle of materials in e-waste.
3142 is the correct order.

Q6: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
1. Centuries later formal learning is still mostly based on reading, even with the widespread use of other possible education-affecting technologies such as film, radio, and television.
2. One of the immediate and recognisable impacts of the printing press was on how people learned; in the scribal culture it primarily involved listening, so memorization was paramount.
3. The transformation of learners from listeners to readers was a complex social and cultural phenomenon, and it was not until the industrial era that the concept of universal literacy took root.
4. The printing press shifted the learning process, as listening and memorisation gradually gave way to reading and learning no longer required the presence of a mentor; it could be done privately.   [2023]    

Sol: The paragraph explains how the process of learning has transformed over time. 2 is the best sentence to start the paragraph, as it talks about how the printing press transformed the learning process from listening and memorisation to reading. 4 adds to 2 and so it follows 2. 3 follows 4 as it relates to the idea in 24 and adds to this with a new idea- the concept of universal literacy that took root in the industrial era. 1 concludes the paragraph with the situation today, centuries later. So, 2431 is the correct order.

2022

Q1: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. Some company leaders are basing their decisions on locating offices to foster innovation and growth, as their best-performing inventors suffered the greatest productivity losses when their commutes grew longer.
2. Shorter commutes support innovation by giving employees more time in the office and greater opportunities for in-person collaboration, while removing the physical strain of a long commute.
3. This is not always the case: remote work does not automatically lead to greater creativity and productivity as office water-cooler conversations are also very important for innovation.
4. Some see the link between long commutes and productivity as support for work-from-home scenarios, as many workers have grown accustomed to their commute-free arrangements during the pandemic.    [2022]     

Sol: There is a clear link between sentences 1 and 2: both these sentences are about the positive effect of shorter commutes on employee performance.
Similarly, 43 is a strong link: sentence 4 says commute-free working is seen as key to improving productivity by some; 3 states that this is not always the case and explains why.
There is also a link between sentences 1 and 4: Sentence 4 starts with the pronoun 'some'. This clearly refers to some company leaders, the subject of sentence 1. So, 4 follows immediately after 1.
Given these links, we see that 2143 is the most logical order.

Q2: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. The creative element in product design has become of paramount importance as it is one of the few ways a firm or industry can sustain a competitive advantage over its rivals.
2. In fact, the creative element in the value of world industry would be larger still, if we added the contribution of the creative element in other industries, such as the design of tech accessories.
3. The creative industry is receiving a lot of attention today as its growth rate is faster than that of the world economy as a whole.
4. It is for this reason that today's trade issues are increasingly involving intellectual property, as Western countries have an interest in protecting their revenues along with freeing trade in non-tangibles.   [2022]      

Sol: 3 is the best starting sentence as it is the most general. 32 is a clear link: Sentence 3 states the creative industry is growing faster than the world economy and 2 adds to this saying that if the  creative element in other industries is taken into consideration, the creative element in the value of world industry would be larger still.
Sentence 1 carries forward the idea in 32, explaining how the creative element in product design can help sustain a competitive advantage. Sentence 4 concludes the paragraph saying that this is reason why today's trade issues are focused on intellectual property.
3214 is the most logical order.

Q3: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. Fish skin collagen has excellent thermo-stability and tensile strength making it ideal for use as bandage that adheres to the skin and adjusts to body movements.
2. Collagen, one of the main structural proteins in connective tissues in the human body, is well known for promoting skin regeneration.
3. Fish skin swims in here as diseases and bacteria that affect fish are different from most human pathogens.
4. The risk of introducing disease agents into other species through the use of pig and cow collagen proteins for wound healing has inhibited its broader applications in the medical field.   [2022]       

Sol: 2 is the best starting sentence. 24 is a strong link: 2 states that collagen promotes skin regeneration; 4 explains why, despite this, collagen has not been applied widely in the medical field.
43 is also a link: 4 is about pig and cow collagen proteins; 3 contrasts these with fish collagen.
1 adds to 3 and completes the paragraph.
So, 2431 is the correct order.

Q4: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. A popular response is the exhortation to plant more trees.
2. It seems all but certain that global warming will go well above two degrees—quite how high no one knows yet.
3. Burning them releases it, which is why the scale of forest fires in the Amazon basin last year garnered headlines.
4. This is because trees sequester carbon by absorbing carbon dioxide.

Sol: The given collection of statements appears to correlate trees and global warming. Statements 4 and 3 form a logical block since they emphasise the significance of trees.
The author states that trees help in reducing carbon dioxide while burning trees leads to the release of carbon dioxide {'it' in statement 3 refers to carbon dioxide}. Statements 2 and 1 form a pair since 2 introduces a general belief and 1 mentions a 'popular response' to the same. People respond to the news about the increase in temperatures (due to global warming) by suggesting that we should plant more trees. The statement pair 4-3 then justifies this familiar exhortation. Hence, the correct arrangement is 2143.

Q5: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. In the central nervous systems of other animal species, such a comprehensive regeneration of neurons has not yet been proven beyond doubt.
2. Biologists from the University of Bayreuth have discovered a uniquely rapid form of regeneration in injured neurons and their function in the central nervous system of zebrafish.
3. They studied the Mauthner cells, which are solely responsible for the escape behaviour of the fish, and previously regarded as incapable of regeneration.
4. However, their ability to regenerate crucially depends on the location of the injury.

Sol: A preliminary read gives us a crude idea about the subject: regeneration of neurons in zebrafish. The discovery is introduced in Statement 2 {'a uniquely rapid form of regeneration in injured neurons and their function in the central nervous system of zebrafish.'} Additional information is presented in statement 3 {what kind of cells were studied? how has the status quo changed?}. Statement 4 presents further clarification concerning the zebrafish {location of the injury is an essential variable} and Statement 1 transitions into an opinion about the regeneration phenomena in other animal species. Hence, arrangement 2341 forms a coherent paragraph.  

Q6: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
1. The work is more than the text, for the text only takes on life, when it is realized and furthermore the realization is by no means independent of the individual disposition of the reader.
2. The convergence of text and reader brings the literary work into existence and this convergence is not to be identified either with the reality of the text or with the individual disposition of the reader.
3. From this polarity it follows that the literary work cannot be completely identical with the text, or with the realization of the text, but in fact must lie halfway between the two.
4. The literary work has two poles, which we might call the artistic and the aesthetic; the artistic refers to the text created by the author, and the aesthetic to the realization accomplished by the reader.

Sol: A brief reading of the sentences shows that the paragraph must be about the interplay of the artistic and aesthetic in determining the impact of artistic work. 4 properly introduces these two components and builds a foundation for further discussion. 3 refers to the polarity mentioned in 4, and then asserts that neither of the two components alone suffices to determine the value of a work. 2 builds on this assertion and says that the convergence of the two brings the literary work into existence. 1 then further talks about the matter saying that the realization aspect further depends upon the individual disposition of the reader. Thus 4321 is a coherent paragraph.

Q7: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. We are at a crossroads now in our vision and practice of development.
2. This calls for the cultivation of an appropriate ethical mode of being in our lives which enables us to realize this global and planetary situation of shared living and responsibility.
3. Half a century ago, development began as a hope for a better human possibility, but in the last fifty years, this hope has lost itself in the dreary desert of various kinds of hegemonic applications.
4. But today there is an epochal challenge to rethink and reconstitute the vision and practice of development as a shared responsibility - a sharing which binds both the agent and the audience, the developed world and the developing, in a bond of shared destiny.

(a) 2413
(b) 4312
(c) 4213
(d) 4123

Ans: a
Sol: A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about the change needed in the way we go about development. 2 introduces the topic at hand, that this is a watershed moment when it comes to the subject of development. 41 make a mandatory pair, which talks about what the purpose of development was at the beginning and how it needs to be altered to suit the needs of today. 3 then aptly ends the paragraph, suggesting the measures that could be taken to counter the same. Hence, he proper sequence would be 2413.

Q8: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. To gain meaningful insights, logic has to be accompanied by asking probing questions of nature through controlled tests, precise observations and clever analysis.
2. The greatest of all inventions is the über-invention that has provided the insights on which others depend: the modern scientific method.
3. This invention is inconceivable without the scientific method; it will rest on the application of a diverse range of scientific insights, such as the process transforming hydrogen into helium to release huge amounts of energy.
4. Look forward a few decades to an invention which can end the energy crisis, change the global economy and curb climate change at a stroke: commercial fusion power.

(a) 3214
(b) 4321
(c) 1234
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about great inventions, focusing on the importance of scientific method and how it forms the foundation for other great inventions. 32 forms an introductory pair that claims that the modern scientific method must be the greatest of all inventions and then talks about its mode of inquiry.
 1 then presents an invention that could solve many problems in the future. 4 then claims that the invention would have been impossible if the scientific method did not precede it. Hence, the coherent arrangement is 3214.

Q9: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. Canada, which officially acquired the group of islands forming the Northwest Passage in 1880, claims sovereignty over all the shipping routes through the Passage.
2. The dispute could be transitory, however, as scientists speculate that the entire Arctic Ocean will soon be ice-free in summer, so ship owners will not have to ask for permission to sail through any of the Northwest Passage routes.
3. The US and Canada have never legally settled the question of access through the Passage, but have an agreement whereby the US needs to seek Canada’s consent for any transit.
4. The US has long maintained that the Northwest Passage is an international strait through which its commercial and military vessels have the right to pass without seeking Canada’s permission.

(a) 2143
(b) 1423
(c) 2134
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about the dispute between the US and Canada over the Northwest passage. 2 is a better opening sentence than 1 as 21 forms a good introduction into the dispute. 2 mentions that Canada claims ownership over the passage, and 1 then mentions the counterclaim the US offers: the passage is an international route. 43 becomes a mandatory pair which follows 21. 4 mentions the historical development in the dispute: it has not been legally settled yet. 3 then hints about the future of this dispute: the dispute itself would vanish once the entire Arctic begins to stay ice-free in summer. Hence, the coherent arrangement is 2143.

Q10: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. The trajectory of cheerfulness through the self is linked to the history of the word ‘cheer’ which comes from an Old French meaning ‘face’.
2. Translations of the Bible into vernacular languages, expanded the noun ‘cheer’ into the more abstract ‘cheerful-ness’, something that circulates as an emotional and social quality defining the self and a moral community.
3. When you take on a cheerful expression, no matter what the state of your soul, your cheerfulness moves into the self: the interior of the self is changed by the power of cheer.
4. People in the medieval ‘Canterbury Tales’ have a ‘piteous’ or a ‘sober’ cheer; ‘cheer’ is an expression and a body part, lying at the intersection of emotions and physiognomy.

​(a) 2431
(b) 4321
(c) 3142
(d) 3412

Ans: c
Sol:
“The trajectory” mentioned in 1 is the path described in 3. This makes 3 the starter. 14 forms a logical pair as both deal with the history of the word ‘cheer’. 2 will follow 4 as it talks about expansion of cheer. So, 3142 is correct.

Q11: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:

1.  Women may prioritize cooking because they feel they alone are responsible for mediating a toxic and unhealthy food system.
2.  Food is commonly framed through the lens of individual choice: you can choose to eat healthily.
3.  This is particularly so in a neoliberal context where the state has transferred the responsibility for food onto individual consumers.
4.  The individualized framing of choice appeals to a popular desire to experience agency, but draws away from the structural obstacles that stratify individual food choices. 

(a) 2431
(b) 2341
(c) 4321
(d) 3421

Ans: a
Sol: 
2 introduces the topic. Sentence 4 logically follows 2 as it starts with sentence 2 as the reference (individualised framing of choice). Now, 3 will come before 1 as 1 is used to lend weight tof 3 - the responsibility for food is transferred onto individual consumers (women). So, 2431 is correct.

Q12: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:

1. From chemical pollutants in the environment to the damming of rivers to invasive species transported through global trade and travel, every environmental issue is different and there is no single tech solution that can solve this crisis.
2. Discourse on the threat of environmental collapse revolves around cutting down emissions, but biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are caused by myriad and diverse reasons.
3. This would require legislation that recognises the rights of future generations and other species that allows the judiciary to uphold a much higher standard of environmental protection than currently possible.
4. Clearly, our environmental crisis requires large political solutions, not minor technological ones, so, instead of focusing on infinite growth, we could consider a path of stable-state economies, while preserving markets and healthy competition. 

(a) 4321
(b) 3421
(c) 2143
(d) 1423

Ans: c
Sol:
2 is the best starting sentence. The ‘reasons’ in 2 are mentioned in 1. 4 and 3 also form a logical pair as both focus on the solution for the environmental crisis. Hence, 2143 is correct.

Q13: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. My mum, quite reasonably, wanted me and my sister out of the house, in the sun.
2. Tales of my mum’s idyllic-sounding childhood in the Sussex countryside, where trees were climbed by 8 am and streams navigated by lunchtime, were passed down to us like folklore.
3. To an introverted kid, that felt like a threat – and the feeling has stayed with me.
4. If I wanted to sit indoors and read, or play Sonic the Hedgehog on a red-hot Sega Mega Drive, I would often be made to feel guilty about not going outside to “enjoy it while it lasts”.

​(a) 3124
(b) 1234
(c) 2341
(d) 3412

Ans: a
Sol: 
If you arrange the sentences in the order 3-1-2-4, the paragraph becomes coherent because it starts with the mother's childhood tales (3), follows with the narrator's personal experience (1), the mother's reasonable insistence on going outside (2), and concludes with the lasting impact on the introverted child (4)

Q14: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:

1. Various industrial sectors including retail, transit systems, enterprises, educational institutions, event organizing, finance, travel etc. have now started leveraging these beacons solutions to track and communicate with their customers.
2. A beacon fixed on to a shop wall enables the retailer to assess the proximity of the customer, and come up with a much targeted or personalized communication like offers, discounts and combos on products in each shelf.
3. Smart phones or other mobile devices can capture the beacon signals, and distance can be estimated by measuring received signal strength.
4. Beacons are tiny and inexpensive, micro-location-based technology devices that can send radio frequency signals and notify nearby Bluetooth devices of their presence and transmit information.

(a) 2314
(b) 4312
(c) 2413
(d) 3124

Ans: b
Sol:
4 should be the starting sentence as it introduces the subject – beacons. 3 will follow as it is a continued explanation of the process of beacons transmitting signals and nearby devices capturing those signals. 1 will follow as ‘leveraging these beacon solutions’ refers to the functionality of beacons mentioned in 4,3. 2 elaborates how one can ‘leverage these beacon solutions.’
Hence, 4312 is correct.

Q15: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:

1. The more we are able to accept that our achievements are largely out of our control, the easier it becomes to understand that our failures, and those of others, are too.
2. But the raft of recent books about the limits of merit is an important correction to the arrogance of contemporary entitlement and an opportunity to reassert the importance of luck, or grace, in our thinking.
3. Meritocracy as an organising principle is an inevitable function of a free society, as we are designed to see our achievements as worthy of reward.
4. And that in turn should increase our humility and the respect with which we treat our fellow citizens, helping ultimately to build a more compassionate society.

(a) 3214
(b) 3412
(c) 1243
(d) 4321

Ans: a
Sol:
This was an easy PJ.
3 introduces the topic. 2 provides a contrast to 3.
1,4 form a logical pair. Understanding that one’s failure is out of their control should increase our humility.  
Also, 1 carries forward the idea of 2.
Hence, 3214 is correct.

2021

Q1: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. The convergence of text and reader brings the literary work into existence and this convergence is not to be identified either with the reality of the text or with the individual disposition of the reader.
2. From this polarity it follows that the literary work cannot be completely identical with the text, or with the realization of the text, but in fact must lie halfway between the two.
3. The literary work has two poles, which we might call the artistic and the aesthetic; the artistic refers to the text created by the author, and the aesthetic to the realization accomplished by the reader.
4. The work is more than the text, for the text only takes on life, when it is realized and furthermore the realization is by no means independent of the individual disposition of the reader.

(a) 4312
(b) 3214
(c) 1234
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: Sentence 4 introduces the two poles of the literary work: the artistic and the aesthetic. Sentence 3 follows by discussing the polarity, indicating that the literary work lies between the text and its realization. Sentence 1 should follow by discussing how the text takes on life through the individual reader, and finally, sentence 2 concludes by stating how this convergence brings the literary work into existence. Thus, the correct sequence is 4312.

Q2: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. Biologists from the University of Bayreuth have discovered a uniquely rapid form of regeneration in injured neurons and their function in the central nervous system of zebrafish.
2. They studied the Mauthner cells, which are solely responsible for the escape behaviour of the fish, and previously regarded as incapable of regeneration.
3. However, their ability to regenerate crucially depends on the location of the injury.
4. In the central nervous systems of other animal species, such a comprehensive regeneration of neurons has not yet been proven beyond doubt.

(a) 2341
(b) 4321
(c) 1234
(d) 3214

Ans: c
Sol: Sentence 1 introduces the main topic: the discovery of rapid regeneration in zebrafish neurons by University of Bayreuth biologists. Sentence 2 specifies the type of cells studied (Mauthner cells), their role in escape behavior, and the prior belief that they couldn’t regenerate, providing context for the discovery. Sentence 3 adds a critical detail about the regeneration process, noting that it depends on the injury’s location, which builds on the information in sentences 1 and 2. Sentence 4 concludes by comparing the findings to other species, emphasizing the uniqueness of the zebrafish’s regeneration and wrapping up the paragraph. Thus, the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4 creates a logical and coherent flow: introduction, specific details, condition of regeneration, and broader context.

Q3: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. A popular response is the exhortation to plant more trees.
   
2. It seems all but certain that global warming will go well above two degrees—quite how high no one knows yet.
3. Burning them releases it, which is why the scale of forest fires in the Amazon basin last year garnered headlines.
4. This is because trees sequester carbon by absorbing carbon dioxide.

(a) 1234
(b) 2143
(c) 4321
(d) 2134

Ans: b
Sol: The given collection of statements appears to correlate trees and global warming. Statements 4 and 3 form a logical block since they emphasise the significance of trees. The author states that trees help in reducing carbon dioxide while burning trees leads to the release of carbon dioxide {'it' in statement 3 refers to carbon dioxide}. Statements 2 and 1 form a pair since 2 introduces a general belief and 1 mentions a 'popular response' to the same. People respond to the news about the increase in temperatures (due to global warming) by suggesting that we should plant more trees. The statement pair 4-3 then justifies this familiar exhortation. Hence, the correct arrangement is 2143.

Q4: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. But in recent years, robotics has had increasing impacts on unemployment, not just of manual labour, as computers are rapidly handling some white-collar and service-sector work.
2. For years politicians have promised workers that they would bring back their jobs by clamping down on trade, offshoring and immigration.
3. Economists, based on their research, say that the bigger threat to jobs now is not globalisation but automation.
4. Businesses find automation, such as robotic employees, a big asset in terms of productivity and efficiency.

(a) 3412
(b) 4321
(c) 1234
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: A quick read of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about the unemployment caused by automation. The passage is best opened by 3, which provides the current state of unemployment. The politicians view globalisation as the factor exacerbating unemployment. 4 contrasts this by saying that expert analysis tells a different story. It is automation that could prove to be a crucial factor. 12 forms a pair, that further elucidate the kind and scope of impact that automation has on jobs. Hence, the correct sequence would be 3412.

Q5: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. Relationships are nothing without the communication that brings them into being; interpersonal communication is connected to knowledge shared by interlocutors, and scholars should attend to relational histories in their analyses.
2. A Foucauldian approach to relationships goes beyond these conceptions of discourse and history to macrolevel regimes of truth as constituting relationships.
3. Reconsidering micropractices within relationships that are constituted within and simultaneously contributors to regimes of truth acknowledges the central position of power/knowledge in the constitution of what has come to be considered true and real.
4. It is regimes of truth that make certain relationships speakable - relationships, like subjectivities, are constituted through discursive formations, which sustain regimes of truth.

(a) 2314
(b) 4321
(c) 1234
(d) 2341

Ans: a
Sol: A brief reading of the sentences tells us that the paragraph is about the different conceptions of relationships. 2 explains that communication is an important aspect here, and should be studied properly. 3 mentions a Foucauldian approach, that goes beyond this, and includes macrolevel regimes of truth. 1 then explains why the concept of regimes of truth is relevant here. 4 then aptly concludes the paragraph, implying how the micropractices within the relationships allude the importance of knowledge/power. Thus, the correct sequence would be 2314.

Q6: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer: 

1. This is in response to countries like Nigeria, which are pressurising European museums to return their precious artefacts looted by colonisers in the past.
2. Museums in Europe today are struggling to come to terms with their colonial legacy, some taking steps to return artefacts but not wanting to lose their prized collections.
3. Legal hurdles notwithstanding, politicians and institutions in France and Germany would now like to defuse the colonial time bombs, and are now backing the return of part of their holdings.
4. Restitution of artefacts to original cultures could face legal obstacles, as many Western museums are legally prohibited from disposing off their collections.

(a) 3214
(b) 4321
(c) 1234
(d) 2314

Ans: a
Sol: A brief reading of the sentences suggests that the paragraph is about restitution of articles that were taken from colonies. 3 introduces the topic at hand: European museums are trying to come to terms with their colonial legacy by returning artefacts. 2 follows 3, providing the reason why this development has taken place. 1 then further describes the current situation: the legal obstacles this action could face. 4 concludes the paragraph by saying that other than these legal obstacles, institutions in France and Germany are seriously backing the move. Hence, the correct arrangement is 3214.