CAT 2019 Slot 2: Past Year Question Paper - CAT MCQ

" This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative." From this sentence, the option A can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect. " After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are." From this line, option B can be inferred.
Hence it is incorrect. "You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender" From this option D can be inferred. Hence it is incorrect.
The author makes no mention about the inherent ability of language to evolve over time to change a person. Hence, it is not responsible for language's ability to change us. Option C is the correct answer.

The author is of the opinion that learning the language of local cultures would help bridge cultural barriers.
Option D is against the author's point of view. Hence it is definitely incorrect.
Option A is incorrect. The author is of the opinion that the ability to communicate is far more important than the racial divide between two people. Hence it is unlikely to be the view of the author.
Option C is incorrect as the author, in the passage is much more concerned about the ability to communicate that racial and gender identity of the person.
Option B falls in line with the viewpoint of the author. Hence it is the correct answer.

"And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river, speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west?
Which way is Oriental?"
From the above passage, it is clear that the author consider the word Orientalist an easily lobbied word that does not capture the complex nature of interactions between people of different cultures. The author is of the opinion that if people in different parts of the world all speak in tongues that all of them understand, then the east west divide would be broken.
The author is of the opinion that learning new languages would help bridge the east west divide. There is no information provided in the passage that globalization has enabled people learn more languages and thereby mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers. Hence, option A is incorrect.
Option B is incorrect. The author never makes the claim that Orientalism has disappeared for the most part.
The author makes no claim about goodwill. Hence option C is incorrect.
Option D correctly encapsulates the arguments made by the author. Hence it is the correct answer.

The major idea put forth by the author is that cultural barriers can be broken down and an outsider can ingrain himself with the local culture by learning the language of the culture.
The author himself says that an individual who wrestles with a difficult language would learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders. He also says that empathy is not tied to gender and race, and therefore a individual who learns languages is usually empathetic to different races in the world. Thus option B can be inferred from the passage and is incorrect.
The passage makes no mention of linguistic politics. Also he is of the opinion that a person's characteristics can be changed for the good by learning another language. Hence option C can be inferred from the author's argument and is incorrect.
The word orientalism itself means looking down upon middle eastern countries by the US and European countries.
Hence, option D does not make sense.
Option A is directly in conflict with the author's main point and that would be the major criticism by the author's critics. Hence it is the correct answer.

From the passage it can be inferred that though the British enjoyed political eminence in India, they felt that they were still marginalised from Indian society, and hence, to bring the Indian state to the same footing, they sought to introduce modernity, which they felt was the next logical step into Indian society.
It cannot be inferred from the passage that the British introduced modernity because they believed that the cost of their eminence was not settled. Hence, option A is incorrect.
The colonial enterprise tried to introduce the logic of modernity because it felt marginalized, rather than to justify the cost of colonization. Hence option B is incorrect.
Option C states that the introduction of modernity developed Indian society. However, the last paragraph states that the exercise proved counterproductive, and there was a development of underdevelopment. Option C is incorrect.
Option D best explains the reason for the author introducing the statement mentioned in the question. Hence, option D is the correct answer.

".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments." From the aforementioned lines, option A can be inferred. "What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism —what early dependency theorists called the‘development of underdevelopment’." From these lines it can be inferred that, because modernity was imposed upon India by the British, it led to the development of underdevelopment. Option B ca be inferred.
From the passage, it can be understood that feudalism underwent a transformative process into capitalism, unlike the Indian transition which happened inorganically through external factors. Hence, option D can be inferred as well.
The change in British colonial policy was not induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society, but due to the perception that the British were marginalised in the context of the Indian society. Hence, option C, which cannot be inferred is the correct answer.

".....empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments" From these lines option A can be inferred.
Consider the lines, "e British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. . As inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude." Option C can be inferred from it.
Consider the lines , " It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive orders—and would do the same in India, " Option D can be inferred from these lines.
It is nowhere mentioned in the passage, that British colonialism faces resistence from the existing structural forms of Indian modernity. Hence , option B is the correct answer.

The first part of the passage talks about British colonial policy, which went through two policy phases.
Hence, the options B and C which have military power as the introductory idea are incorrect.
The second idea mentioned in the passage is about Enlightenment rationalism, of which the British colonizers were inheritors and representatives of.
The subsequent ideas are about how modernity was inorganically injected into India by subjecting it to external forces.
The passage further talks about how these economic alterations did not give rise to the construction of a classical capitalist economy, but rather led to the development of underdevelopment.
Option A mentions all the ideas correctly and hence it is the correct answer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.” Calthrope's major contention is that cites are eco-friendly as they consume less resources than people living in places that have lower population densities.
Options B,C,D does not directly contradict Calthrope's statement. Hence , they cannot be the reason why the statement that jars with most people.
Option A is directly opposed to Calthrope's viewpoints. Hence, this option is most likely to jar with most people.
Option A is the correct answer.

The author gives the example of Manaus to show how an entire community of people whose major job was deforestation of the jungle have now been able to prosper by making things such as mobile phones and televisions.
Option A is the correct answer. It is the major reason for the author giving out the example of Manaus.
Options D is incorrect and is not mentioned in the passage.
Option B and C are the pros of being in a squatter city, but it is not the reason why the author gives the example of Manaus.
Option A is the correct answer.

Option A would help keep squatter cities environment friendly, as recycling material would reduce the amount of nonbiodegradable materials present in the environment.
Option B would also help squatter cities be more environment friendly by reducing pollution.
Option D would also help squatter cities be more environment friendly as sorting garbage and treating them would go a long way in preventing soil and water pollution.
Option C is incorrect. This is because, keeping the streets clean would mean that the wastes are somewhere in dumped in the environment near the local community.
Hence, option C cannot be inferred from the passage and is the correct answer.

The rapid spread of diseases in the slum would only affect the people in the slums and not the greenness of the cities.
Hence it is incorrect.
Option C is incorrect as the incidence of crime in the West would not impact the greenness of the cities.
Increasing cost of utilities , in the same way would not affect the flora of the cities.
An increase in carbon-di-oxide and global warming, however, would contribute greatly to the change in climate. A change in climate would adversely affect the greenery in the cities. Hence, this would greatly undermine the author's stand that cities are indeed green.

From the sentence, "One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions" given in the passage, option A can be inferred. "But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative" From this line, option B can be inferred.
The entire second paragraph of the passage mentions how multiple people have got jobs in squatter cities. Hence, option C can be inferred.
Option D is not a reason for cities being a good place to live in. Hence, this option cannot be inferred and is the correct answer.

"They want to make this material accessible so people will browse it and be filled with wonder by it," he says. "But at its core, it's all about advertisements and driving traffic." Watrall says these images belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission".
From the above mentioned lines it can be reasonably inferred that Dr. Watrall is not critial if the digitally scanned images are on official museum websites and archaeological sites.
Option C mentions the case when CyArk uploads the scanned images on museum sites only. This would invalidate the arguments made by Dr.Watrall.
Option A is incorrect as Dr. Watrall considers the venture as a medium to promote Google itself. Just taking down advertisements would not invalidate the professor's claim.
Option B is incorrect as a ban in certain locations would certainly not prevent promotion of and commercialization by Google. The same reason can be attributed to option D. CyArk not owning the copyright of the archaeological sites would not prevent using it for commercial purposes.
Hence, option C is the correct answer.

From the lines, " [There's] another issue for some archaeologists and art historians. CyArk owns the copyrights of the scans — not the countries where these sites are located. That means the countries need CyArk's permission to use these images for commercial purposes", it can be seen that critics view the Google-CyArk project as one that appropriates the copyrights of the digital scans in such a way even the countries in which the sites are located need CyArk's permission to use the images.
Option A, D , B are not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
Option C is describes perfectly why the critics of the Google-CyArk project term it as digital colonialism and hence it is the correct answer.

The option that would not help a company that digitally scans cultural sites would be the given answer.
Option A is incorrect as preserving images of sites in case they are damaged would be one of the foremost arguments made by these companies.
Option B and C would surely help the cause of companies that scan cultural sites. Hence,they are incorrect.
Option D is the correct answer. A company that digitally scans cultural sites would not give the reason of being able to project itself as a protector of culture as a reason to scan the cultural sites. This is a self centered goal such a company and hence is the least likely of the arguments that would be used in this case.
Hence, option D is the correct answer.

From the passage, it can be inferred that Dr. Watrall is not comfortable with the arrangement between Cyark and Google. He is of the opinion that though the material is promoted as a means for people to view the artifacts, the ulterior motive is for advertisements and commercial purposes.
Option A is incorrect. The professor is uneasy about the arrangement between a non-profit organisation and a commercial organisation, whose values are, in reality, different from what they portray.
Option B is incorrect. The professor is not in dissmissive of laypeople's access to specialist images and such information is not given in the passage.
Option D is incorrect. The professor is only dismissive of the commercial agreement between two organisations that portray themselves to be involved in non-profit work. He is not against the use of digital technology in archaeological and cultural sites in developing countries.
Option C is correct and it correctly represents the views of professor Dr. Watrall.

After reading the lines, "Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it's the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture, a centuries-long battle." it can be inferred that professor accuses CyArk of appropriating a foreign culture.
The only option present that is an example of a western nation appropriating a foreign culture would be the seizing of ancient Egyptian artefacts by a Western museum. Hence, option B is the correct answer.

After reading all the sentences , it can be inferred that though atonal music can sometimes sound random and chaotic, there is a lot of knowledge and skill that is required to perform atonal music.
Sentence 2 talks about what exactly atonal music is. Hence, this sentence must be the first sentence of the paragraph.
Sentence 1 talks about the misconceptions of atonal music that the uninitiated make. This sentence must be the second sentence of the passage. Sentence 4, now clears the misconception about atonality and states that it is one of the most important movements in music. Sentence 3 gives the reason why atonality is music is so difficult to attain and says that the untrained listener would change his mind when he understands the amount of knowledge and skill required to produce atonality. Therefore, sentences 4 and 3 form a block.
Therefore the correct sequence of sentences is 2-1-4-3.

After reading all the sentences, it can be inferred that the passage talks about how comparisons are made between objects in different aspects, and how such comparisons are important facets of cognitive ability and consequently our adaptive behaviour.
Sentence 2 introduces how adaptive behavior depends on cognitive economy. Hence, it is the first sentence of the paragraph.
Sentence 4 elaborates on how different objects are compared. This sentence logically follows sentence 2. Sentence 3 shows how such comparisons have structure and order, and how they are not arbitary. Hence, sentence 3 follows sentence 4. Sentence 1 is completes the passage in a way that elucidates how animals and plats are equivalent to each other by exhibiting correlatoinal structure.
The correct sequence is 2-4-3-1.

After reading all the lines it can be seen that the paragraph talks about the deleterious results of introducing the concept of women's time, and how the everyday practices of both men and women incorporate a multiplicity of times.
Sentence 4 introduces the concept of clock time which has been represented in feminist literature and it is the introductory sentence of the paragraph. The passage goes on to say that the concept of 'women's time' as is deleterious.Hence, sentence 1 follows sentence 4. Sentence 3 explains how the concept of clock time actually works out for working sole fathers and working sole mothers. It follows sentence 1. Sentence 2 gives a summary of the paragraph which states that the everyday caring practices involve a multiplicity of times hence it would be the last sentence of the paragraph.
The correct order of sequence is 4-1-3-2.

The passage states that language is only found in humans and not among any other primates. The passage also states that language is a bundle of traits such as memory that evolved over a period of time.
The passage does not talk about language that has evolved over time. Hence, option B is incorrect.
Option C does not completely summarise the passage. Hence, it incorrect.
Option D talks only about language being a distinctive human feature. It does not talk about language having evolved from a complex bundle of traits. Hence it is incorrect.
Option A correctly summarises the main idea of the passage and is the correct answer.

After reading the entire paragraph, it can be inferred that the main idea of the passage is that while the inventors of the open-plan offices had the liberation of office dwellers from boxes in mind, the companies used it to pack as much people as possible inside.
Option A is incorrect as the passage makes no mentions about workers satisfaction.
Option B is incorrect as it misrepresents the timeline given in the passage. Cubicles existed earlier and only later were wall free office spaces invented.
Option D is incorrect as it could not be inferred from the passage that the companies that did not believe in democratic ideology Option C correctly encapsulates the main idea of the passage and hence it is the correct answer.

After reading all the lines of the paragraph, it is evident that social movement organisations depend on organisations with hybrid identities because , within them they contain individuals with multiple points of views on different movements and issues. The example gives shows how people who are campaigning for non-anti-war movements are more likely to join hybrid organisations. It also says that organisations with hybrid identities occupy more central positions within organisations that are involved in anti-war movements.
Option A is incorrect. The passage talks more about why hybrid organisations are vital to providing participants in social movements.
Option C is just an illustration of the idea that the paragraph is trying to make. Hence, it would not be the most appropriate summary of the paragraph.
Option D is incorrect. From the paragraph we can infer that hybrid organisations attract individuals that are deeply involved in non-anti-war movements.
Option B is an appropriate summary of the passage and hence it is the correct answer.