Practice Test for XAT - 1 - CAT MCQ

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Contradictions are a necessary ingredient for triggering intellectual creativity. While most humans struggle to maintain a sense of psychological unity, contradictions produce destabilising breaches in the self. Whether conscious or unconscious, these fissures nourish creative inspiration, which can be interpreted as a way to resolve or sublimate internal oppositions. I believe this can be said of all domains of creation. Perhaps art, literature, science or philosophy wouldn’t be possible without intrapersonal contradictions and the desire to resolve them. Is there anyone who lives according to the Stoic principle of Plutarch, in ‘perfect agreement between the maxims of men and their conduct’? No, but this isn’t always a cause for crisis. We compartmentalise knowledge, practices and emotions. In certain domains of life, some behaviours and thoughts are acceptable but not in others. For instance, lying might be seen as a heroic act when done to protect victims from a brutal regime, but in a friendly relationship it is unbearable. In labs, scientists can produce evidence-based research in the context of their professional lives, then go home and attend religious prayers addressing the existence of invisible entities. Humans live peacefully with contradictions precisely because of their capacity to compartmentalise.

Q. Which of the following could be the most logical off-shoot of this ability of humans to compartmentalise and as a result be able to live with contradictions?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

The benefits of psychotherapy result not only from the advice the therapist gives but also from the supportive relationship offered to the patient. Even though this relationship may cost large amounts of money over many years, most patients interpret the therapist's concern for them as genuine and identify this caring relationship as the primary factor in improving their mental health. However, recent studies have found that only eight percent of therapist/patient relationships continue after the patient terminates formal paid visits.

Q. Which of the following is in accordance with the ideas contained in the passage?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Complete the sentence by filling in the appropriate blank/blanks from the options provided.

The head _________ was annoyed to see a __________ in the soup.

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The enduring position of The Poetics of Space as a key text sees Bachelard as omnipresent. The Pritzker prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor might have been channelling him in his RIBA Royal Gold Medal address in 2013 as he spoke of architecture shorn of intrusive symbolism and imbued with experience, leading to the ultimate goal, ‘to create emotional space’. Emphasising light, materials  and atmosphere, intensified by remote and particular locations such as the house in south Devon now under construction in the Living Architecture programme, there is a clear confluence between Zumthor’s wish to be seen, above all, as an ‘architect of place’ and Bachelard’s subtle and romantic insights.
The approach can also point to an unfurling of levels of meaning and reality within an existing structure. For the architect Biba Dow, of Dow Jones in London, The Poetics of Space long ago became ‘my favourite and most essential book on architecture’. Dow and her partner Alun Jones were introduced to Bachelard’s writing by Dalibor Vesely, their first-year tutor at the University of Cambridge school of architecture. The poetic approach offered rich possibilities for extracting wider meaning, phenomenology, and the permitted exercise of the imagination. For example, the medieval church of St Mary-at-Lambeth in south London, once almost derelict, now offers a series of discrete spaces in its current life as the Garden Museum, on which Dow Jones worked in two successive phases. A chapel has become a cabinet of curiosity, displaying treasures associated with the great plant-hunter and gardener John Tradescant the Elder, founder of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as well as of the original South Lambeth ‘Ark’ from which it grew. Beyond the outer walls, they have added a ‘cloister’ in the midst of which lies Tradescant under his exotic carved-chest tomb, a world of curiosity in itself.
But it is in the wider field of urban design that The Poetics of Space seems to me to have the greatest resonance, through the work of the American academic urbanist Kevin Lynch and others. The journey between the open vista towards the intimacy of near-enclosure was at the heart of Townscape, the campaign (or movement) waged on the pages of The Architectural Review from 1948 onwards by the British architect Gordon Cullen and the magazine’s editor, Hubert de Cronin Hastings.
Less obvious was the intellectual weight of Nikolaus Pevsner celebrating, for example, ‘precinctual’ or collegiate planning in Oxford. He later thanked Hastings for encouraging his pleasurable diversion into the picturesque, allowing him, so firmly tarred with the modernist brush in the eyes of the world, ‘the saving grace of just a little bit of inconsistency’.

Q. Which of the following best replaces the highlighted word(or underlined), except?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The enduring position of The Poetics of Space as a key text sees Bachelard as omnipresent. The Pritzker prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor might have been channelling him in his RIBA Royal Gold Medal address in 2013 as he spoke of architecture shorn of intrusive symbolism and imbued with experience, leading to the ultimate goal, ‘to create emotional space’. Emphasising light, materials and atmosphere, intensified by remote and particular locations such as the house in south Devon now under construction in the Living Architecture programme, there is a clear confluence between Zumthor’s wish to be seen, above all, as an ‘architect of place’ and Bachelard’s subtle and romantic insights.
The approach can also point to an unfurling of levels of meaning and reality within an existing structure. For the architect Biba Dow, of Dow Jones in London, The Poetics of Space long ago became ‘my favourite and most essential book on architecture’. Dow and her partner Alun Jones were introduced to Bachelard’s writing by Dalibor Vesely, their first-year tutor at the University of Cambridge school of architecture. The poetic approach offered rich possibilities for extracting wider meaning, phenomenology, and the permitted exercise of the imagination. For example, the medieval church of St Mary-at-Lambeth in south London, once almost derelict, now offers a series of discrete spaces in its current life as the Garden Museum, on which Dow Jones worked in two successive phases. A chapel has become a cabinet of curiosity, displaying treasures associated with the great plant-hunter and gardener John Tradescant the Elder, founder of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as well as of the original South Lambeth ‘Ark’ from which it grew. Beyond the outer walls, they have added a ‘cloister’ in the midst of which lies Tradescant under his exotic carved-chest tomb, a world of curiosity in itself.
But it is in the wider field of urban design that The Poetics of Space seems to me to have the greatest resonance, through the work of the American academic urbanist Kevin Lynch and others. The journey between the open vista towards the intimacy of near-enclosure was at the heart of Townscape, the campaign (or movement) waged on the pages of The Architectural Review from 1948 onwards by the British architect Gordon Cullen and the magazine’s editor, Hubert de Cronin Hastings.
Less obvious was the intellectual weight of Nikolaus Pevsner celebrating, for example, ‘precinctual’ or collegiate planning in Oxford. He later thanked Hastings for encouraging his pleasurable diversion into the picturesque, allowing him, so firmly tarred with the modernist brush in the eyes of the world, ‘the saving grace of just a little bit of inconsistency’.

Q. Which of the following can be inferred on the basis of the passage?
(I) Bachelard’s tenets propound architectural creation of a context with a space that leads to forming a relationship with it
(II) Bachelard’s influence can be said extend from provincial to city to institutional architecture
(III) Bachelard’s was successful in imitating the poetic structure in his description of architecture around him 

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The enduring position of The Poetics of Space as a key text sees Bachelard as omnipresent. The Pritzker prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor might have been channelling him in his RIBA Royal Gold Medal address in 2013 as he spoke of architecture shorn of intrusive symbolism and imbued with experience, leading to the ultimate goal, ‘to create emotional space’. Emphasising light, materials  and atmosphere, intensified by remote and particular locations such as the house in south Devon now under construction in the Living Architecture programme, there is a clear confluence between Zumthor’s wish to be seen, above all, as an ‘architect of place’ and Bachelard’s subtle and romantic insights.
The approach can also point to an unfurling of levels of meaning and reality within an existing structure. For the architect Biba Dow, of Dow Jones in London, The Poetics of Space long ago became ‘my favourite and most essential book on architecture’. Dow and her partner Alun Jones were introduced to Bachelard’s writing by Dalibor Vesely, their first-year tutor at the University of Cambridge school of architecture. The poetic approach offered rich possibilities for extracting wider meaning, phenomenology, and the permitted exercise of the imagination. For example, the medieval church of St Mary-at-Lambeth in south London, once almost derelict, now offers a series of discrete spaces in its current life as the Garden Museum, on which Dow Jones worked in two successive phases. A chapel has become a cabinet of curiosity, displaying treasures associated with the great plant-hunter and gardener John Tradescant the Elder, founder of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as well as of the original South Lambeth ‘Ark’ from which it grew. Beyond the outer walls, they have added a ‘cloister’ in the midst of which lies Tradescant under his exotic carved-chest tomb, a world of curiosity in itself.
But it is in the wider field of urban design that The Poetics of Space seems to me to have the greatest resonance, through the work of the American academic urbanist Kevin Lynch and others. The journey between the open vista towards the intimacy of near-enclosure was at the heart of Townscape, the campaign (or movement) waged on the pages of The Architectural Review from 1948 onwards by the British architect Gordon Cullen and the magazine’s editor, Hubert de Cronin Hastings.
Less obvious was the intellectual weight of Nikolaus Pevsner celebrating, for example, ‘precinctual’ or collegiate planning in Oxford. He later thanked Hastings for encouraging his pleasurable diversion into the picturesque, allowing him, so firmly tarred with the modernist brush in the eyes of the world, ‘the saving grace of just a little bit of inconsistency’.

Q. Which of the following could be reasonably inferred from the passage?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The idea of demarcating certain areas within the country as special economic zones to promote investment and growth is not new. A large country unable to provide the kind of facilities and environment that can attract foreign investment throughout the country often finds it feasible and attractive to carve up some of its areas where such facilities can be provided. The laws and procedures for setting up new industries are waived to make the area business-friendly with developed infrastructure and a one-window interaction with government. In addition, huge tax benefits are promised to lure investors. China's experience shows that if chalked out and implemented with care such a policy can accelerate the flow of capital and technology from abroad and thereby speed up growth.
However. SEZs may not be the best option in all situations to clear the bottlenecks in growth. India's experience with export processing zones (EPZs) bears this out. They have failed in India for the simple reason that the factors that made the SEZs successful in China have been absent here.
In India, as in China, EPZs were thought of as a way of providing an escape route from the stranglehold of control that prevailed over the Indian economy. But even while promising to ease the rigours of controls, Indian policy-makers could not give up their penchant for micromanaging from the centre and undoing the promised relaxations with all kinds of qualifications and "guidelines".
Over last two decades India has evolved into a market economy and much of governmental control has disappeared, but the flow of foreign direct investment has not reached anywhere near the levels of China. Besides, infrastructure building has fallen far short of what is required. Even after three years of the enactment of the Electricity Act (2003), private investment in electricity generation is still a trickle with the states refusing to give up the monopoly of their electricity boards in the matter of purchase of the power generated. While swearing by growth, governments at both the centre and the states cite the fiscal responsibility laws to plead their helplessness in making the required investments to improve infrastructure.
Given this situation, the SEZs have apparently been thought of as a simple way out. In its enthusiasm for SEZs the commerce ministry forgot two critical lessons of the Chinese experience, viz., that an SEZ must be of an adequate size to provide opportunities for reaping the benefit of large-scale operations and their number should be few. Every industry or economic activity worth its name is now seeking SEZ status. Proposals are now being floated to invite foreign educational institutions to come to India with promises of SEZ treatment! The finance ministry apprehends a loss of nearly Rs. 1,75,000 crore in direct taxes, customs duties and excise duties over the next five years.

Q. The objective of the author in writing the above passage seems to be to

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The idea of demarcating certain areas within the country as special economic zones to promote investment and growth is not new. A large country unable to provide the kind of facilities and environment that can attract foreign investment throughout the country often finds it feasible and attractive to carve up some of its areas where such facilities can be provided. The laws and procedures for setting up new industries are waived to make the area business-friendly with developed infrastructure and a one-window interaction with government. In addition, huge tax benefits are promised to lure investors. China's experience shows that if chalked out and implemented with care such a policy can accelerate the flow of capital and technology from abroad and thereby speed up growth.
However. SEZs may not be the best option in all situations to clear the bottlenecks in growth. India's experience with export processing zones (EPZs) bears this out. They have failed in India for the simple reason that the factors that made the SEZs successful in China have been absent here.
In India, as in China, EPZs were thought of as a way of providing an escape route from the stranglehold of control that prevailed over the Indian economy. But even while promising to ease the rigours of controls, Indian policy-makers could not give up their penchant for micromanaging from the centre and undoing the promised relaxations with all kinds of qualifications and "guidelines".
Over last two decades India has evolved into a market economy and much of governmental control has disappeared, but the flow of foreign direct investment has not reached anywhere near the levels of China. Besides, infrastructure building has fallen far short of what is required. Even after three years of the enactment of the Electricity Act (2003), private investment in electricity generation is still a trickle with the states refusing to give up the monopoly of their electricity boards in the matter of purchase of the power generated. While swearing by growth, governments at both the centre and the states cite the fiscal responsibility laws to plead their helplessness in making the required investments to improve infrastructure.
Given this situation, the SEZs have apparently been thought of as a simple way out. In its enthusiasm for SEZs the commerce ministry forgot two critical lessons of the Chinese experience, viz., that an SEZ must be of an adequate size to provide opportunities for reaping the benefit of large-scale operations and their number should be few. Every industry or economic activity worth its name is now seeking SEZ status. Proposals are now being floated to invite foreign educational institutions to come to India with promises of SEZ treatment! The finance ministry apprehends a loss of nearly Rs. 1,75,000 crore in direct taxes, customs duties and excise duties over the next five years.

Q. The author's arguments suggest the following conclusions, except

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The idea of demarcating certain areas within the country as special economic zones to promote investment and growth is not new. A large country unable to provide the kind of facilities and environment that can attract foreign investment throughout the country often finds it feasible and attractive to carve up some of its areas where such facilities can be provided. The laws and procedures for setting up new industries are waived to make the area business-friendly with developed infrastructure and a one-window interaction with government. In addition, huge tax benefits are promised to lure investors. China's experience shows that if chalked out and implemented with care such a policy can accelerate the flow of capital and technology from abroad and thereby speed up growth.
However. SEZs may not be the best option in all situations to clear the bottlenecks in growth. India's experience with export processing zones (EPZs) bears this out. They have failed in India for the simple reason that the factors that made the SEZs successful in China have been absent here.
In India, as in China, EPZs were thought of as a way of providing an escape route from the stranglehold of control that prevailed over the Indian economy. But even while promising to ease the rigours of controls, Indian policy-makers could not give up their penchant for micromanaging from the centre and undoing the promised relaxations with all kinds of qualifications and "guidelines".
Over last two decades India has evolved into a market economy and much of governmental control has disappeared, but the flow of foreign direct investment has not reached anywhere near the levels of China. Besides, infrastructure building has fallen far short of what is required. Even after three years of the enactment of the Electricity Act (2003), private investment in electricity generation is still a trickle with the states refusing to give up the monopoly of their electricity boards in the matter of purchase of the power generated. While swearing by growth, governments at both the centre and the states cite the fiscal responsibility laws to plead their helplessness in making the required investments to improve infrastructure.
Given this situation, the SEZs have apparently been thought of as a simple way out. In its enthusiasm for SEZs the commerce ministry forgot two critical lessons of the Chinese experience, viz., that an SEZ must be of an adequate size to provide opportunities for reaping the benefit of large-scale operations and their number should be few. Every industry or economic activity worth its name is now seeking SEZ status. Proposals are now being floated to invite foreign educational institutions to come to India with promises of SEZ treatment! The finance ministry apprehends a loss of nearly Rs. 1,75,000 crore in direct taxes, customs duties and excise duties over the next five years.

Q. The author does not oppose

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The idea of demarcating certain areas within the country as special economic zones to promote investment and growth is not new. A large country unable to provide the kind of facilities and environment that can attract foreign investment throughout the country often finds it feasible and attractive to carve up some of its areas where such facilities can be provided. The laws and procedures for setting up new industries are waived to make the area business-friendly with developed infrastructure and a one-window interaction with government. In addition, huge tax benefits are promised to lure investors. China's experience shows that if chalked out and implemented with care such a policy can accelerate the flow of capital and technology from abroad and thereby speed up growth.
However. SEZs may not be the best option in all situations to clear the bottlenecks in growth. India's experience with export processing zones (EPZs) bears this out. They have failed in India for the simple reason that the factors that made the SEZs successful in China have been absent here.
In India, as in China, EPZs were thought of as a way of providing an escape route from the stranglehold of control that prevailed over the Indian economy. But even while promising to ease the rigours of controls, Indian policy-makers could not give up their penchant for micromanaging from the centre and undoing the promised relaxations with all kinds of qualifications and "guidelines".
Over last two decades India has evolved into a market economy and much of governmental control has disappeared, but the flow of foreign direct investment has not reached anywhere near the levels of China. Besides, infrastructure building has fallen far short of what is required. Even after three years of the enactment of the Electricity Act (2003), private investment in electricity generation is still a trickle with the states refusing to give up the monopoly of their electricity boards in the matter of purchase of the power generated. While swearing by growth, governments at both the centre and the states cite the fiscal responsibility laws to plead their helplessness in making the required investments to improve infrastructure.
Given this situation, the SEZs have apparently been thought of as a simple way out. In its enthusiasm for SEZs the commerce ministry forgot two critical lessons of the Chinese experience, viz., that an SEZ must be of an adequate size to provide opportunities for reaping the benefit of large-scale operations and their number should be few. Every industry or economic activity worth its name is now seeking SEZ status. Proposals are now being floated to invite foreign educational institutions to come to India with promises of SEZ treatment! The finance ministry apprehends a loss of nearly Rs. 1,75,000 crore in direct taxes, customs duties and excise duties over the next five years.

Q. The passage was most likely written in the year:

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The greens’ success has clear policy implications, especially on issues of nuclear power, ecological tax reform, and citizenship rights. But success also has implications for green parties themselves. Greens have always faced a unique ‘strategic conundrum’ arising from unique beliefs and movement roots. Put simply, how can they reconcile their radical alternative politics with participation in mainstream or ‘grey’ parliamentary and government structures? Throughout the 1990s most green parties shed their radical cloth in an attempt to capture votes, even at the expense of green party unity and purity. Most were rewarded with electoral success well beyond what had been imaginable in the 1980s. The price to pay has been tortured internal debates about strategy and new questions about green party identity and purpose. Today the key questions facing green parties revolve around not whether to embrace power, but what to do with it. More specifically, green parties face three new challenges in the new millennium: first, how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream. Second, how to take green ideas beyond the confines of rich industrialized states into Eastern Europe and the developing world where green parties remain marginal and environmental problems are acute. Third , how to ensure that the broader role of green parties – as consciousness raisers, agitators, conscience of parliament and politics – is not sacrificed on the altar of electoral success. Green parties have come a long way since their emergence and development in the 1970s and 1980s. They have become established players able to shape party competition, government formation, and government policy. But this very ‘establishment’ carries risks for a party whose core values and identities depend mightily on their ability to challenge the conventional order, to agitate and to annoy. For most green parties, the greatest fear is not electoral decline so much as the prospect of becoming a party with parliamentary platform, ministerial voice, but nothing new to say.

Q. Which out of the following is closest in meaning to the first of three challenges mentioned in the paragraph?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The greens’ success has clear policy implications, especially on issues of nuclear power, ecological tax reform, and citizenship rights. But success also has implications for green parties themselves. Greens have always faced a unique ‘strategic conundrum’ arising from unique beliefs and movement roots. Put simply, how can they reconcile their radical alternative politics with participation in mainstream or ‘grey’ parliamentary and government structures? Throughout the 1990s most green parties shed their radical cloth in an attempt to capture votes, even at the expense of green party unity and purity. Most were rewarded with electoral success well beyond what had been imaginable in the 1980s. The price to pay has been tortured internal debates about strategy and new questions about green party identity and purpose. Today the key questions facing green parties revolve around not whether to embrace power, but what to do with it. More specifically, green parties face three new challenges in the new millennium: first, how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream. Second, how to take green ideas beyond the confines of rich industrialized states into Eastern Europe and the developing world where green parties remain marginal and environmental problems are acute. Third , how to ensure that the broader role of green parties – as consciousness raisers, agitators, conscience of parliament and politics – is not sacrificed on the altar of electoral success. Green parties have come a long way since their emergence and development in the 1970s and 1980s. They have become established players able to shape party competition, government formation, and government policy. But this very ‘establishment’ carries risks for a party whose core values and identities depend mightily on their ability to challenge the conventional order, to agitate and to annoy. For most green parties, the greatest fear is not electoral decline so much as the prospect of becoming a party with parliamentary platform, ministerial voice, but nothing new to say.

Q. Which of the following is the most important point that the author highlights?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The greens’ success has clear policy implications, especially on issues of nuclear power, ecological tax reform, and citizenship rights. But success also has implications for green parties themselves. Greens have always faced a unique ‘strategic conundrum’ arising from unique beliefs and movement roots. Put simply, how can they reconcile their radical alternative politics with participation in mainstream or ‘grey’ parliamentary and government structures? Throughout the 1990s most green parties shed their radical cloth in an attempt to capture votes, even at the expense of green party unity and purity. Most were rewarded with electoral success well beyond what had been imaginable in the 1980s. The price to pay has been tortured internal debates about strategy and new questions about green party identity and purpose. Today the key questions facing green parties revolve around not whether to embrace power, but what to do with it. More specifically, green parties face three new challenges in the new millennium: first, how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream. Second, how to take green ideas beyond the confines of rich industrialized states into Eastern Europe and the developing world where green parties remain marginal and environmental problems are acute. Third , how to ensure that the broader role of green parties – as consciousness raisers, agitators, conscience of parliament and politics – is not sacrificed on the altar of electoral success. Green parties have come a long way since their emergence and development in the 1970s and 1980s. They have become established players able to shape party competition, government formation, and government policy. But this very ‘establishment’ carries risks for a party whose core values and identities depend mightily on their ability to challenge the conventional order, to agitate and to annoy. For most green parties, the greatest fear is not electoral decline so much as the prospect of becoming a party with parliamentary platform, ministerial voice, but nothing new to say.

Q. How best can mainstream political parties, in India, keep green parties at bay?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the proposal that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality. The linguistic relativity hypothesis focuses on structural differences among natural languages such as Hopi, Chinese, and English, and asks whether the classifications of reality implicit in such structures affect our thinking about reality. Analytically, linguistic relativity as an issue stands between two others: a semiotic-level concern with how speaking any natural language whatsoever might influence the general potential for human thinking (i.e., the general role of natural language in the evolution or development of human intellectual functioning), and a functional or discourse-level concern with how using any given language code in a particular way might influence thinking (i.e., the impact of special discursive practices such as schooling and literacy on formal thought). Although analytically distinct, the three issues are intimately related in both theory and practice. For example, claims about linguistic relativity depend on understanding the general psychological mechanisms linking language to thinking, and on understanding the diverse uses of speech in discourse to accomplish acts of descriptive reference. Hence, the relation of particular linguistic structures to patterns of thinking forms only one part of the broader array of questions about the significance of language for thought. Proposals of linguistic relativity necessarily develop two linked claims among the key terms of the hypothesis (i.e., language, thought, and reality). First, languages differ significantly in their interpretations of experienced reality – both what they select for representation and how they arrange it. Second, language interpretations have influences on thought about reality more generally – whether at the individual or cultural level. Claims for linguistic relativity thus require both articulating the contrasting interpretations of reality latent in the structures of different languages, and assessing their broader influences on, or relationships to, the cognitive interpretation of reality.

Q. Which of the following conclusions can be derived based on Sapir-Whorf hypotheses?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the proposal that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality. The linguistic relativity hypothesis focuses on structural differences among natural languages such as Hopi, Chinese, and English, and asks whether the classifications of reality implicit in such structures affect our thinking about reality. Analytically, linguistic relativity as an issue stands between two others: a semiotic-level concern with how speaking any natural language whatsoever might influence the general potential for human thinking (i.e., the general role of natural language in the evolution or development of human intellectual functioning), and a functional or discourse-level concern with how using any given language code in a particular way might influence thinking (i.e., the impact of special discursive practices such as schooling and literacy on formal thought). Although analytically distinct, the three issues are intimately related in both theory and practice. For example, claims about linguistic relativity depend on understanding the general psychological mechanisms linking language to thinking, and on understanding the diverse uses of speech in discourse to accomplish acts of descriptive reference. Hence, the relation of particular linguistic structures to patterns of thinking forms only one part of the broader array of questions about the significance of language for thought. Proposals of linguistic relativity necessarily develop two linked claims among the key terms of the hypothesis (i.e., language, thought, and reality). First, languages differ significantly in their interpretations of experienced reality – both what they select for representation and how they arrange it. Second, language interpretations have influences on thought about reality more generally – whether at the individual or cultural level. Claims for linguistic relativity thus require both articulating the contrasting interpretations of reality latent in the structures of different languages, and assessing their broader influences on, or relationships to, the cognitive interpretation of reality.

Q. If Sapir-Whorf hypothesis were to be true, which of the following conclusions would logically follow?
A. To develop vernacular languages, government should promote public debates and discourses.
B. Promote vernacular languages as medium of instruction in school.
C. Cognitive and cultural realities are related.

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the proposal that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality. The linguistic relativity hypothesis focuses on structural differences among natural languages such as Hopi, Chinese, and English, and asks whether the classifications of reality implicit in such structures affect our thinking about reality. Analytically, linguistic relativity as an issue stands between two others: a semiotic-level concern with how speaking any natural language whatsoever might influence the general potential for human thinking (i.e., the general role of natural language in the evolution or development of human intellectual functioning), and a functional or discourse-level concern with how using any given language code in a particular way might influence thinking (i.e., the impact of special discursive practices such as schooling and literacy on formal thought). Although analytically distinct, the three issues are intimately related in both theory and practice. For example, claims about linguistic relativity depend on understanding the general psychological mechanisms linking language to thinking, and on understanding the diverse uses of speech in discourse to accomplish acts of descriptive reference. Hence, the relation of particular linguistic structures to patterns of thinking forms only one part of the broader array of questions about the significance of language for thought. Proposals of linguistic relativity necessarily develop two linked claims among the key terms of the hypothesis (i.e., language, thought, and reality). First, languages differ significantly in their interpretations of experienced reality – both what they select for representation and how they arrange it. Second, language interpretations have influences on thought about reality more generally – whether at the individual or cultural level. Claims for linguistic relativity thus require both articulating the contrasting interpretations of reality latent in the structures of different languages, and assessing their broader influences on, or relationships to, the cognitive interpretation of reality.

Q. Which of the following proverbs may be false, if above passage were to be right?
A. If speech is silver, silence is gold.
B. When you have spoken a word, it reigns over you. When it is unspoken you reign over it.
C. Speech of yours ought to be seldom and well chosen.

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The Yoga system is divided into two principal parts – Hatha and Raja Yoga. Hatha Yoga deals principally with the physiological part of man with a view to establish his health and train his will. The processes prescribed to arrive at this end are so difficult that only a few resolute souls go through all the stages of its practice. Many have failed and some have died in the attempt. It is therefore strongly denounced by all the philosophers. The most illustrious Shankaracharya has remarked in his treatise called Aparokshanubhuti that “the system of Hatha Yoga was intended for those whose worldly desires are not pacified or uprooted.”

Q. Which one of the following, if true, most substantially strengthens the idea given in the passage?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

The Yoga system is divided into two principal parts – Hatha and Raja Yoga. Hatha Yoga deals principally with the physiological part of man with a view to establish his health and train his will. The processes prescribed to arrive at this end are so difficult that only a few resolute souls go through all the stages of its practice. Many have failed and some have died in the attempt. It is therefore strongly denounced by all the philosophers. The most illustrious Shankaracharya has remarked in his treatise called Aparokshanubhuti that “the system of Hatha Yoga was intended for those whose worldly desires are not pacified or uprooted.”

Q. Which of the following option best summarises Shankaracharya’s comments on Hatha Yoga?​

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

“There is nothing so stupid as an educated man, if you can get him off the thing he was educated in.”

Q. Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the author’s contention?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Nature lovers are attracted to forests and nature parks. Just look at the number of people visiting the Corbett National Park.

Q. Which of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning least dissimilar to the one exhibited in the argument above?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the following sentence/sentences and identify the figure of speech.

Q. Which sentence includes a euphemism?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the following sentence/sentences and identify the figure of speech.

Q. Which of the following sentences draws a metaphor?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Since power is itself a value, forms of influence which include power in their scope are usually themselves forms of power. The king’s mistress, though she has only influence, not power, over the king, may have power over his subjects to the degree of that influence. Forms of influence based on power are themselves forms of power only if the scope of the influence is included within that of the power in question. The king may exercise influence over standards of morality, say, by virtue of his power position, but he does not necessarily exercise power over morality.

Q. Which combination of following statements best summarises the idea expressed in the paragraph?
A. Strength of an influence determines its power.
B. Influence always contributes power to the wielder of influence beyond the scope of influence.
C. Proximity to authority is itself a source of power.
D. Forms of influence are power only if they can influence behaviour.

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Ten persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J are sitting in two rows with five persons in each row in such a way that one person in the' first row sits exactly opposite and facing a person in the second row. Members of the first row are facing' North. B sits in the first row to the immediate right of H who sits exactly opposite of D. C is at the extreme end of the second row and is second to the left of D. A is to the immediate right of D and exactly opposite to F. G sits exactly opposite to E who is at one of the ends of the second row. J does-not sit at the end.

Q. Which of the following pairs of persons are sitting at the two ends of the first row?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Ten persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J are sitting in two rows with five persons in each row in such a way that one person in the' first row sits exactly opposite and facing a person in the second row. Members of the first row are facing' North. B sits in the first row to the immediate right of H who sits exactly opposite of D. C is at the extreme end of the second row and is second to the left of D. A is to the immediate right of D and exactly opposite to F. G sits exactly opposite to E who is at one of the ends of the second row. J does-not sit at the end.

Q. Who is second to the left of B?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Ten persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J are sitting in two rows with five persons in each row in such a way that one person in the' first row sits exactly opposite and facing a person in the second row. Members of the first row are facing' North. B sits in the first row to the immediate right of H who sits exactly opposite of D. C is at the extreme end of the second row and is second to the left of D. A is to the immediate right of D and exactly opposite to F. G sits exactly opposite to E who is at one of the ends of the second row. J does-not sit at the end.

Q. Who is fourth to the left of E?

DIRECTIONS for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

In the last five years, the face of the mobile phone industry has totally transformed. From an industry that was finding its feet in the global set-up, it has gone on to grow into a mainstay of the global financial world. In the world of mobile phones, Bokia was the leading phone manufacturer generating the highest revenues for more than a decade, and in the last two years, it has lost that position to Bamsung. Bokia, who entered the field of mobile phones in 2002, grew handsomely during a decade in which its sales touched figures of 10 million handsets annually in the year 2010. To go with these sales, it had an operating margin of 20% and generated revenue of 4.1 billion dollars. A lot of people, including major financial institutions, saw Bokia as an amazing investment opportunity and decided to invest in the company. The shares of Bokia soared in all these years and the company generated a lot of positive attention.
But somewhere along the line, this fairy tale has not quite gone down the expected road. Though Bokia has managed to increase its sales to 13 million handsets in last two years, and its revenues have gone up to 4.6 billion dollars, it operating margins have reduced to 4% and in terms of profitability, it has been beaten hands-down by Bamsung. To add to that, Bamsung seems to be dominating the high profit market of touch phones, and Bokia stills seems to selling mobile phones of the previous generation. The stock markets have not taken kindly to these events, and the Bokia stock price has tumbled by more than 20% in the last two years, and the shareholders are not happy with the current scenario.
You represent Holdman Machs, the main investor for Bokia, and hold a 16% stake in the company. You have called a shareholder meet where in you have asked the current CEO to explain his position.

Q. With respect to the Bokia situation, the biggest concern that you have as a representative for Holdman Machs: