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XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - CAT MCQ


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30 Questions MCQ Test - XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern)

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XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 1

In each of the questions below, five sentences, labeled A, B, C, D and E, are given. They need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the most appropriate option.

A. Archaeologists have found evidence of Mesopotamian beer-making dating back to the fourth millennium B.C.

B. Along with inventing writing, the wheel, the plow, law codes and literature, the Sumerians are also remembered as some of history's original brewers.

C. The brewing techniques they used are still a mystery, but their preferred ale seems to have been a barley-based concoction so thick that it had to be sipped through a special kind of filtration straw.

D. The Sumerians prized their beer for its nutrient-rich ingredients and hailed it as the key to a "joyful heart and a contented liver."

E. There was even a Sumerian goddess of brewing called "Ninkasi," who is celebrated in a famous hymn as the "one who waters the malt set on the ground."

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 1

Sentences B and C are a pair: B tells us about the fact that the Sumerians were the earliest brewers in history. C then follows by telling us about their brewing techniques. Options 2 and 3 are eliminated.

Sentences D and E are also a pair: D tells us about how highly the Sumerians considered their beer, and E then builds up on this by telling us this is proved by the fact that they also worshipped a goddess of brewing. Options 4 and 5 are eliminated.

Option 1 is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 2

In each of the question below, a sentence is given with a portion underlined. Choose the best replacement (if needed) for the underlined portion to make the sentence meaningful and grammatically correct

The landlady said she would move heaven and earth, for so good a gentleman; and then consented to give me her sleeping-room on the ground-floor, at some trifle or other, - I forget what.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 2

Such is a determiner; so is an adverb. They often have the same meaning of 'very' or 'to this degree'. We use such + noun phrase and so + adjective or adverb phrase. Here, in this case, it makes sense to use 'so' and not 'such'. Options B, C and D are eliminated. Option 1 is the right answer.

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XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 3

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

There is an Indian savagery, a savagery peculiar to the Indian blood, in the manner in which the Americans strive after gold: and the breathless hurry of their work - the characteristic vice of the New World - already begins to infect old Europe, and makes it savage also, spreading over it a strange lack of intellectuality.

One is now ashamed of repose: even long reflection almost causes remorse of conscience. Thinking is done with a stop-watch, as dining is done with the eyes fixed on the financial newspaper; we live like men who are continually "afraid of letting opportunities slip." "Better do anything whatever, than nothing" - this principle also is a noose with which all culture and all higher taste may be strangled. And just as all form obviously disappears in this hurry of workers, so the sense for form itself, the ear and the eye for the melody of movement, also disappear.

For life in the hunt for gain continually compels a person to consume his intellect, even to exhaustion, in constant dissimulation, overreaching, or forestalling: the real virtue nowadays is to do something in a shorter time than another person. And so there are only rare hours of sincere intercourse permitted: in them, however, people are tired, and would not only like "to let themselves go," but to stretch their legs out wide in awkward style.

The way people write their letters nowadays is quite in keeping with the age; their style and spirit will always be the true "sign of the times." If there be still enjoyment in society and in art, it is enjoyment such as over-worked slaves provide for themselves. Oh, this moderation in "joy" of our cultured and uncultured classes! Oh, this increasing suspiciousness of all enjoyment! Work is winning over more and more the good conscience to its side: the desire for enjoyment already calls itself "need of recreation," and even begins to be ashamed of itself.

"One owes it to one's health," people say, when they are caught at a picnic. Indeed, it might soon go so far that one could not yield to the desire for the vita contemplative, (that is to say, excursions with thoughts and friends), without self-contempt and a bad conscience. Well! Formerly it was the very reverse: it was "action" that suffered from a bad conscience. A man of good family concealed his work when need compelled him to labour. The slave laboured under the weight of the feeling that he did something contemptible: the "doing" itself was something contemptible. "Only in otium and bellum is there nobility and honour:" so rang the voice of ancient prejudice!

Which of the following is the central theme explored in the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 3

Option 2 is eliminated as the passage does not compare or contrast the amount of hard work done in the present and the past. Option 3 is eliminated as the passage does not talk about the 'busy times of today'. Rather it talks about how people overwork themselves in present times and avoid rest. Option 4 is eliminated as this forms only a brief part of the passage, and is not the central theme. Option 1 is the right answer as the passage focuses on discussing how rest and enjoyment is discouraged in present times.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 4

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

There is an Indian savagery, a savagery peculiar to the Indian blood, in the manner in which the Americans strive after gold: and the breathless hurry of their work - the characteristic vice of the New World - already begins to infect old Europe, and makes it savage also, spreading over it a strange lack of intellectuality.

One is now ashamed of repose: even long reflection almost causes remorse of conscience. Thinking is done with a stop-watch, as dining is done with the eyes fixed on the financial newspaper; we live like men who are continually "afraid of letting opportunities slip." "Better do anything whatever, than nothing" - this principle also is a noose with which all culture and all higher taste may be strangled. And just as all form obviously disappears in this hurry of workers, so the sense for form itself, the ear and the eye for the melody of movement, also disappear.

For life in the hunt for gain continually compels a person to consume his intellect, even to exhaustion, in constant dissimulation, overreaching, or forestalling: the real virtue nowadays is to do something in a shorter time than another person. And so there are only rare hours of sincere intercourse permitted: in them, however, people are tired, and would not only like "to let themselves go," but to stretch their legs out wide in awkward style.

The way people write their letters nowadays is quite in keeping with the age; their style and spirit will always be the true "sign of the times." If there be still enjoyment in society and in art, it is enjoyment such as over-worked slaves provide for themselves. Oh, this moderation in "joy" of our cultured and uncultured classes! Oh, this increasing suspiciousness of all enjoyment! Work is winning over more and more the good conscience to its side: the desire for enjoyment already calls itself "need of recreation," and even begins to be ashamed of itself.

"One owes it to one's health," people say, when they are caught at a picnic. Indeed, it might soon go so far that one could not yield to the desire for the vita contemplative, (that is to say, excursions with thoughts and friends), without self-contempt and a bad conscience. Well!

Formerly it was the very reverse: it was "action" that suffered from a bad conscience. A man of good family concealed his work when need compelled him to labour. The slave laboured under the weight of the feeling that he did something contemptible: the "doing" itself was something contemptible. "Only in otium and bellum is there nobility and honour:" so rang the voice of ancient prejudice!

According to the author, what is the difference in the past and present times, with regard to action and inaction?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 4

Option 1 is eliminated as the passage only talks about the present in this regard, and does not tell us if people were considered to be lazy or not in the past for spending some time in repose. Option 3 is eliminated as the passage does not talk about the judgementalness of people. Option 4 is eliminated as the passage gives insufficient information to make this claim. Option 2 is the right answer as it can be validated from the last paragraph.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 5

Directions : Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

There is an Indian savagery, a savagery peculiar to the Indian blood, in the manner in which the Americans strive after gold: and the breathless hurry of their work - the characteristic vice of the New World - already begins to infect old Europe, and makes it savage also, spreading over it a strange lack of intellectuality.

One is now ashamed of repose: even long reflection almost causes remorse of conscience. Thinking is done with a stop-watch, as dining is done with the eyes fixed on the financial newspaper; we live like men who are continually "afraid of letting opportunities slip." "Better do anything whatever, than nothing" - this principle also is a noose with which all culture and all higher taste may be strangled. And just as all form obviously disappears in this hurry of workers, so the sense for form itself, the ear and the eye for the melody of movement, also disappear.

For life in the hunt for gain continually compels a person to consume his intellect, even to exhaustion, in constant dissimulation, overreaching, or forestalling: the real virtue nowadays is to do something in a shorter time than another person. And so there are only rare hours of sincere intercourse permitted: in them, however, people are tired, and would not only like "to let themselves go," but to stretch their legs out wide in awkward style.

The way people write their letters nowadays is quite in keeping with the age; their style and spirit will always be the true "sign of the times." If there be still enjoyment in society and in art, it is enjoyment such as over-worked slaves provide for themselves. Oh, this moderation in "joy" of our cultured and uncultured classes! Oh, this increasing suspiciousness of all enjoyment! Work is winning over more and more the good conscience to its side: the desire for enjoyment already calls itself "need of recreation," and even begins to be ashamed of itself.

"One owes it to one's health," people say, when they are caught at a picnic. Indeed, it might soon go so far that one could not yield to the desire for the vita contemplative, (that is to say, excursions with thoughts and friends), without self-contempt and a bad conscience. Well! Formerly it was the very reverse: it was "action" that suffered from a bad conscience. A man of good family concealed his work when need compelled him to labour. The slave laboured under the weight of the feeling that he did something contemptible: the "doing" itself was something contemptible. "Only in otium and bellum is there nobility and honour:" so rang the voice of ancient prejudice!

Which of the following would be the most suitable title of the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 5

Option 1 is eliminated as the passage is not about the pleasures of present life and how they might be enjoyed. Option 2 is eliminated as the passage is not only about the perceptions of action and inaction in the present, but also about the perceptions in the past, and how they have changed. Option 3 is eliminated as the passage does not throw light on any mystery of action or inaction. Option 4 is the right answer as it best encapsulates the main idea of the passage to provide a suitable title.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 6

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

When Chesterton wrote his introductions to the Everyman Edition of Dickens's works, it seemed quite natural to him to credit Dickens with his own highly individual brand of medievalism, and more recently a Marxist writer, Mr. T. A. Jackson, has made spirited efforts to turn Dickens into a blood-thirsty revolutionary. The Marxist claims him as 'almost' a Marxist, the Catholic claims him as 'almost' a Catholic, and both claim him as a champion of the proletariat (or 'the poor', as Chesterton would have put it). On the other hand, Nadezhda Krupskaya, in her little book on Lenin, relates that towards the end of his life Lenin went to see a dramatized version of The Cricket on the Hearth, and found Dickens's 'middle-class sentimentality' so intolerable that he walked out in the middle of a scene.

Taking 'middle-class' to mean what Krupskaya might be expected to mean by it, this was probably a truer judgement than those of Chesterton and Jackson. But it is worth noticing that the dislike of Dickens implied in this remark is something unusual. Plenty of people have found him unreadable, but very few seem to have felt any hostility towards the general spirit of his work.

Some years later Mr. Bechhofer Roberts published a full-length attack on Dickens in the form of a novel (This Side Idolatry), but it was a merely personal attack, concerned for the most part with Dickens's treatment of his wife. It dealt with incidents which not one in a thousand of Dickens's readers would ever hear about, and which no more invalidates his work than the second-best bed invalidates Hamlet. All that the book really demonstrated was that a writer's literary personality has little or nothing to do with his private character. It is quite possible that in private life Dickens was just the kind of insensitive egoist that Mr. Bechhofer Roberts makes him appear. But in his published work there is implied a personality quite different from this, a personality which has won him far more friends than enemies.

In Oliver Twist, Hard Times, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been approached. Yet he managed to do it without making himself hated, and, more than this, the very people he attacked have swallowed him so completely that he has become a national institution himself. In its attitude towards Dickens the English public has always been a little like the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling.

Before I was ten years old I was having Dickens ladled down my throat by schoolmasters in whom even at that age I could see a strong resemblance to Mr. Creakle, and one knows without needing to be told that lawyers delight in Sergeant Buzfuz and that Little Dorrit is a favourite in the Home Office. Dickens seems to have succeeded in attacking everybody and antagonizing nobody. Naturally this makes one wonder whether after all there was something unreal in his attack upon society. Where exactly does he stand, socially, morally, and politically? As usual, one can define his position more easily if one starts by deciding what he was not.

The passage is most likely to be an excerpt from which of the following?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 6

Option 1 is eliminated as the passage does not give a review on any one of Dickens' books, rather it talks about Dickens himself. Option 3 is eliminated as the passage does not give a historical account of the events in Dickens' life, so it is unlikely to be from a newspaper article. Option 4 is eliminated as the passage focuses primarily only on Dickens, and not on other authors, Marxist or otherwise. Option 2 is the right answer as the passage is most likely to be an excerpt from an essay about Dickens.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 7

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

When Chesterton wrote his introductions to the Everyman Edition of Dickens's works, it seemed quite natural to him to credit Dickens with his own highly individual brand of medievalism, and more recently a Marxist writer, Mr. T. A. Jackson, has made spirited efforts to turn Dickens into a blood-thirsty revolutionary. The Marxist claims him as 'almost' a Marxist, the Catholic claims him as 'almost' a Catholic, and both claim him as a champion of the proletariat (or 'the poor', as Chesterton would have put it). On the other hand, Nadezhda Krupskaya, in her little book on Lenin, relates that towards the end of his life Lenin went to see a dramatized version of The Cricket on the Hearth, and found Dickens's 'middle-class sentimentality' so intolerable that he walked out in the middle of a scene.

Taking 'middle-class' to mean what Krupskaya might be expected to mean by it, this was probably a truer judgement than those of Chesterton and Jackson. But it is worth noticing that the dislike of Dickens implied in this remark is something unusual. Plenty of people have found him unreadable, but very few seem to have felt any hostility towards the general spirit of his work.

Some years later Mr. Bechhofer Roberts published a full-length attack on Dickens in the form of a novel (This Side Idolatry), but it was a merely personal attack, concerned for the most part with Dickens's treatment of his wife. It dealt with incidents which not one in a thousand of Dickens's readers would ever hear about, and which no more invalidates his work than the second-best bed invalidates Hamlet. All that the book really demonstrated was that a writer's literary personality has little or nothing to do with his private character. It is quite possible that in private life Dickens was just the kind of insensitive egoist that Mr. Bechhofer Roberts makes him appear. But in his published work there is implied a personality quite different from this, a personality which has won him far more friends than enemies.

In Oliver Twist, Hard Times, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been approached. Yet he managed to do it without making himself hated, and, more than this, the very people he attacked have swallowed him so completely that he has become a national institution himself. In its attitude towards Dickens the English public has always been a little like the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling.

Before I was ten years old I was having Dickens ladled down my throat by schoolmasters in whom even at that age I could see a strong resemblance to Mr. Creakle, and one knows without needing to be told that lawyers delight in Sergeant Buzfuz and that Little Dorrit is a favourite in the Home Office. Dickens seems to have succeeded in attacking everybody and antagonizing nobody. Naturally this makes one wonder whether after all there was something unreal in his attack upon society. Where exactly does he stand, socially, morally, and politically? As usual, one can define his position more easily if one starts by deciding what he was not.

It can be inferred from the passage that the author:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 7

Option 1 is eliminated as the author does not claim that Dickens' work did not deserve to be popular, on the contrary, he just wishes to explore the reasons as to why he managed to be so popular despite having criticized the society. Option 2 is eliminated as the author does not claim in any instance that Dickens criticized the society more than necessary. Option 3 is eliminated as the author does not talk about the implications which Dickens could have faced for criticizing the society, rather his unwavering popularity. Option 4 is the right answer it can be inferred from the last paragraphs of the passage.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 8

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

When Chesterton wrote his introductions to the Everyman Edition of Dickens's works, it seemed quite natural to him to credit Dickens with his own highly individual brand of medievalism, and more recently a Marxist writer, Mr. T. A. Jackson, has made spirited efforts to turn Dickens into a blood-thirsty revolutionary. The Marxist claims him as 'almost' a Marxist, the Catholic claims him as 'almost' a Catholic, and both claim him as a champion of the proletariat (or 'the poor', as Chesterton would have put it). On the other hand, Nadezhda Krupskaya, in her little book on Lenin, relates that towards the end of his life Lenin went to see a dramatized version of The Cricket on the Hearth, and found Dickens's 'middle-class sentimentality' so intolerable that he walked out in the middle of a scene.

Taking 'middle-class' to mean what Krupskaya might be expected to mean by it, this was probably a truer judgement than those of Chesterton and Jackson. But it is worth noticing that the dislike of Dickens implied in this remark is something unusual. Plenty of people have found him unreadable, but very few seem to have felt any hostility towards the general spirit of his work.

Some years later Mr. Bechhofer Roberts published a full-length attack on Dickens in the form of a novel (This Side Idolatry), but it was a merely personal attack, concerned for the most part with Dickens's treatment of his wife. It dealt with incidents which not one in a thousand of Dickens's readers would ever hear about, and which no more invalidates his work than the second-best bed invalidates Hamlet. All that the book really demonstrated was that a writer's literary personality has little or nothing to do with his private character. It is quite possible that in private life Dickens was just the kind of insensitive egoist that Mr. Bechhofer Roberts makes him appear. But in his published work there is implied a personality quite different from this, a personality which has won him far more friends than enemies.

In Oliver Twist, Hard Times, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been approached. Yet he managed to do it without making himself hated, and, more than this, the very people he attacked have swallowed him so completely that he has become a national institution himself. In its attitude towards Dickens the English public has always been a little like the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling.

Before I was ten years old I was having Dickens ladled down my throat by schoolmasters in whom even at that age I could see a strong resemblance to Mr. Creakle, and one knows without needing to be told that lawyers delight in Sergeant Buzfuz and that Little Dorrit is a favourite in the Home Office. Dickens seems to have succeeded in attacking everybody and antagonizing nobody. Naturally this makes one wonder whether after all there was something unreal in his attack upon society. Where exactly does he stand, socially, morally, and politically? As usual, one can define his position more easily if one starts by deciding what he was not.

The primary purpose of the third paragraph is:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 8

Option 1 is eliminated as this is only a fact that is revealed in the third paragraph, the author's main purpose is not to reveal this fact but to use it to prove that despite being attacked having had a troubled personal life, Dickens continued to be popular. Option 2 is eliminated as the author does not negate Roberts' claims. Option 3 is eliminated as the author only talks about this critic's claims to prove a fact, his aim is not to talk about the critic itself. Option 5 is the right answer, as it best encapsulates the primary purpose of the third paragraph.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 9

In each of these questions, one word is given in the question and five words given in the options. Find the word which is most nearly the same or opposite in meaning to the given word.

rancour

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 9

The word rancour means resentfulness. Option 1 is eliminated as it has the word pungency, which means having a strong smell. Option 2 is eliminated, as the word oblivion means a state of forgetfulness. Option 3 is eliminated, as prudery means to be easily offended. Option 4 is the right answer, as the word animosity, which means a bitterness, is closest in meaning to the given word.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 10

Pharmacists recently conducted a study with respect to the reasons their customers purchased eye drops to soothe eye dryness. Dry eyes were more frequently experienced by customers who wore contact lenses than by customers who did not wear contact lenses. The pharmacists concluded that wearing contact lenses, by itself, can cause contact wearers to have dry eyes.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most seriously undermines the pharmacists’ conclusion?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 10

This argument does not consider that an outside factor may cause some people to have both poor vision and dry eyes. Selection (a) provides an outside factor for both conditions. It is the correct answer.

Selection (d) is tempting, but don’t be misled. Even if most people who wear contact lenses do not have dry eyes, this does not weaken the argument because it is based on the incidence of dry eyes between people who wear contact lenses and those who do not. Secondly, the author does not argue that wearing contact lenses must cause dry eyes, only that it can cause dry eyes.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 11

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

If we look back at the English literature of the last ten years not so much at the literature as at the prevailing literary attitude, the thing that strikes us is that it has almost ceased to be aesthetic. Literature has been swamped by propaganda. I do not mean that all the books written during that period have been bad. But the characteristic writers of the time, people like Auden and Spender and MacNeice, have been didactic, political writers, aesthetically conscious, of course, but more interested in subject-matter than in technique.

This is all the more striking because it makes a very sharp and sudden contrast with the period immediately before it. The characteristic writers of the nineteen-twenties - T. S. Eliot, for instance, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf - were writers who put the main emphasis on technique. They had their beliefs and prejudices, of course, but they were far more interested in technical innovations than in any moral or meaning or political implication that their work might contain. The best of them all, James Joyce, was a technician and very little else, about as near to being a 'pure' artist as a writer can be. Even D. H. Lawrence, though he was more of a 'writer with a purpose' than most of the others of his time, had not much of what we should now call social consciousness. And though I have narrowed this down to the nineteen-twenties, it had really been the same from about 1890 onwards. Throughout the whole of that period, the notion that form is more important than subject-matter, the notion of 'art for art's sake', had been taken for granted. There were writers who disagreed, of course - Bernard Shaw was one - but that was the prevailing outlook.

Now, how is one to account for this very sudden change of outlook? About the end of the nineteen-twenties you get a book like Edith Sitwell's book on Pope, with a completely frivolous emphasis on technique, treating literature as a sort of embroidery, almost as though words did not have meanings: and only a few years later you get a Marxist critic like Edward Upward asserting that books can be 'good' only when they are Marxist in tendency. In a sense both Edith Sitwell and Edward Upward were representative of their period. The question is why should their outlook be so different?

I think one has got to look for the reason in external circumstances. Both the aesthetic and the political attitude to literature were produced, or at any rate conditioned by the social atmosphere of a certain period. It is not that good books were not produced in that period. Several of the writers of that time, Dickens, Thackeray, Trollop and others, will probably be remembered longer than any that have come after them. But there are not literary figures in Victorian England corresponding to Flaubert, Baudelaire, Gautier and a host of others. What now appears to us as aesthetic scrupulousness hardly existed. To a mid-Victorian English writer, a book was partly something that brought him money and partly a vehicle for preaching sermons. England was changing very rapidly, a new moneyed class had come up on the ruins of the old aristocracy, contact with Europe had been severed, and a long artistic tradition had been broken. The mid-nineteenth-century English writers were barbarians, even when they happened to be gifted artists, like Dickens.

Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 11

Option 1 is eliminated as the author seeks to explore how and why aestheticism declined in literature, he does not seek to explore the practice of writing for propaganda, although this does form a brief part of the passage. Option 2 is eliminated as the passage is not about the Victorian England writers; the author brings them up to convey an idea. Option 3 is eliminated as the passage is not simply about aestheticism as a movement, but rather the collapse of aestheticism. Option 4 is the right answer as it best sums up the central idea of the passage.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 12

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

If we look back at the English literature of the last ten years not so much at the literature as at the prevailing literary attitude, the thing that strikes us is that it has almost ceased to be aesthetic. Literature has been swamped by propaganda. I do not mean that all the books written during that period have been bad. But the characteristic writers of the time, people like Auden and Spender and MacNeice, have been didactic, political writers, aesthetically conscious, of course, but more interested in subject-matter than in technique.

This is all the more striking because it makes a very sharp and sudden contrast with the period immediately before it. The characteristic writers of the nineteen-twenties - T. S. Eliot, for instance, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf - were writers who put the main emphasis on technique. They had their beliefs and prejudices, of course, but they were far more interested in technical innovations than in any moral or meaning or political implication that their work might contain. The best of them all, James Joyce, was a technician and very little else, about as near to being a 'pure' artist as a writer can be. Even D. H. Lawrence, though he was more of a 'writer with a purpose' than most of the others of his time, had not much of what we should now call social consciousness. And though I have narrowed this down to the nineteen-twenties, it had really been the same from about 1890 onwards. Throughout the whole of that period, the notion that form is more important than subject-matter, the notion of 'art for art's sake', had been taken for granted. There were writers who disagreed, of course - Bernard Shaw was one - but that was the prevailing outlook.

Now, how is one to account for this very sudden change of outlook? About the end of the nineteen-twenties you get a book like Edith Sitwell's book on Pope, with a completely frivolous emphasis on technique, treating literature as a sort of embroidery, almost as though words did not have meanings: and only a few years later you get a Marxist critic like Edward Upward asserting that books can be 'good' only when they are Marxist in tendency. In a sense both Edith Sitwell and Edward Upward were representative of their period. The question is why should their outlook be so different?

I think one has got to look for the reason in external circumstances. Both the aesthetic and the political attitude to literature were produced, or at any rate conditioned by the social atmosphere of a certain period. It is not that good books were not produced in that period. Several of the writers of that time, Dickens, Thackeray, Trollop and others, will probably be remembered longer than any that have come after them. But there are not literary figures in Victorian England corresponding to Flaubert, Baudelaire, Gautier and a host of others. What now appears to us as aesthetic scrupulousness hardly existed. To a mid-Victorian English writer, a book was partly something that brought him money and partly a vehicle for preaching sermons. England was changing very rapidly, a new moneyed class had come up on the ruins of the old aristocracy, contact with Europe had been severed, and a long artistic tradition had been broken. The mid-nineteenth-century English writers were barbarians, even when they happened to be gifted artists, like Dickens.

According to the passage, why does the author call the mid-nineteenth-century English writers, barbarians?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 12

Option 1 is eliminated as the information given in the passage is insufficient to make this claim. Option 2 is eliminated as the author does not consider earlier writers to be more knowledgeable, rather he considers them better since they focused more on technique. Option 4 is eliminated as the author does not claim that the mid-nineteenth-century authors were responsible for it, he simply claims that it was the event that took place in the mid-19th century. Option 3 is the right answer, as it can be inferred from the authors words in the last paragraph.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 13

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

If we look back at the English literature of the last ten years not so much at the literature as at the prevailing literary attitude, the thing that strikes us is that it has almost ceased to be aesthetic. Literature has been swamped by propaganda. I do not mean that all the books written during that period have been bad. But the characteristic writers of the time, people like Auden and Spender and MacNeice, have been didactic, political writers, aesthetically conscious, of course, but more interested in subject-matter than in technique.

This is all the more striking because it makes a very sharp and sudden contrast with the period immediately before it. The characteristic writers of the nineteen-twenties - T. S. Eliot, for instance, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf - were writers who put the main emphasis on technique. They had their beliefs and prejudices, of course, but they were far more interested in technical innovations than in any moral or meaning or political implication that their work might contain. The best of them all, James Joyce, was a technician and very little else, about as near to being a 'pure' artist as a writer can be. Even D. H. Lawrence, though he was more of a 'writer with a purpose' than most of the others of his time, had not much of what we should now call social consciousness. And though I have narrowed this down to the nineteen-twenties, it had really been the same from about 1890 onwards. Throughout the whole of that period, the notion that form is more important than subject-matter, the notion of 'art for art's sake', had been taken for granted. There were writers who disagreed, of course - Bernard Shaw was one - but that was the prevailing outlook.

Now, how is one to account for this very sudden change of outlook? About the end of the nineteen-twenties you get a book like Edith Sitwell's book on Pope, with a completely frivolous emphasis on technique, treating literature as a sort of embroidery, almost as though words did not have meanings: and only a few years later you get a Marxist critic like Edward Upward asserting that books can be 'good' only when they are Marxist in tendency. In a sense both Edith Sitwell and Edward Upward were representative of their period. The question is why should their outlook be so different?

I think one has got to look for the reason in external circumstances. Both the aesthetic and the political attitude to literature were produced, or at any rate conditioned by the social atmosphere of a certain period. It is not that good books were not produced in that period. Several of the writers of that time, Dickens, Thackeray, Trollop and others, will probably be remembered longer than any that have come after them. But there are not literary figures in Victorian England corresponding to Flaubert, Baudelaire, Gautier and a host of others. What now appears to us as aesthetic scrupulousness hardly existed. To a mid-Victorian English writer, a book was partly something that brought him money and partly a vehicle for preaching sermons. England was changing very rapidly, a new moneyed class had come up on the ruins of the old aristocracy, contact with Europe had been severed, and a long artistic tradition had been broken. The mid-nineteenth-century English writers were barbarians, even when they happened to be gifted artists, like Dickens.

Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 13

Option 2 is eliminated as the author does not believe that subject matter is entirely to be ignored, although he does say that technique should be given more importance. Option 3 is eliminated as it contradicts the passage, the author clearly values those authors more who focus more on technique. Option 4 is eliminated as it is an overstatement, the author does not claim to despise such authors. Option 1 is the right answer as it can be inferred from the views of the author conveyed in the passage.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 14

A survey of alumni of the class of 1960 at Arora University yielded puzzling results. When asked to indicate their academic rank, half of the respondents reported that they were in the top quarter of the graduating class in 1960.

Which one of the following most helps account for the apparent contradiction above?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 14

If all the alumni responded, the result would be a true contradiction. Suppose, however, only two alumni responded—one who scored in the top quarter of the class and one who did not. Then half of the respondents would have been in the top quarter of the class. The answer is (a).

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 15

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observer

What we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.

The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.

To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.

Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.

The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.

Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?

If, in one line, one has to identify the central objective of the author of the passage, it would be:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 15

If you need to figure out the answer to this question, one thing is certain that you need to absolutely clear in your mind about the passage content. On the lighter side, in the lingo of this passage, you should definitely not carry any observation bias! Refer to a single line in the passage: To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task.

This is the one line in the passage that defines what the passage is all about, and helps you identify option c as the correct answer. The one common thread that runs through the passage is identifying a method of observation where all parameters related to the individual are eliminated. This sentiment is best reflected in option C. If you look closely, the other options in this case are mutilations of the same thought and are not justified by the passage content, as each one introduces some error or the other.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 16

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observer

What we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.

The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.

To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.

Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.

The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.

Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?

As per the passage, which one of the following is true?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 16

An analysis of each of the options is carried out as below

Option a can be easily negated from the lines: There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses.

Option b can be negated from the lines: The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative.

Option c can be deduced from the lines and hence is the correct answer: Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.

Option d can neither be established nor discredited from the information provided in the passage as such a sentiment does not find any mention in the passage.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 17

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observer

What we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.

The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.

To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.

Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.

The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.

Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?

As per the passage, the author believes that:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 17

The correct answer in this case can be established from the lines: The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative.

In order to negate options c and d, refer to the line: all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 18

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observer

What we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.

The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.

To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.

Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.

The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.

Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?

Which, out of the following statements, will be an appropriate continuation for the passage?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 18

In the given case, you need to carefully understand the second last paragraph of the passage. The second last paragraph outlines how we can group together perceptions and scientific measures, and achieve the entity of “a particular observer” including all his measuring appliances. This implies a synthesis of sorts, and this makes the question asked at the end of the passage a rhetorical one, one that was only asked to re-affirm one of the facts stated above (although that was indirect in nature). This makes option c the correct answer for this question.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 19

Replace the underlined portion of the given sentences with the option that makes the sentence grammatically and contextually correct

The bitter cold the Midwest is experiencing is potentially life threatening to stranded motorists unless well-insulated with protective clothing.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 19

The answer is (C).

Choice (A) is incorrect. As worded, the sentence implies that the cold should be well-insulated.

Choice (B) is awkward; besides, it still implies that the cold should be well-insulated.

Choice (C) is the answer since it correctly implies that the stranded motorists should be well-insulated with protective clothing.

Choice (D) does not indicate what should be insulated.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 20

Read the following sentences and choose the one the option that best arranges them in a logical order.

1. My eyes turned instinctively in that direction, and I saw a figure leap with great rapidity behind the trunk of a pine.

2. It seemed dark and shaggy; more I knew not but the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.

3. From the side of the hill, which was here steep and stony, a spout of gravel was dislodged and fell rattling and bounding through the trees.

4. What it was, whether bear or man or monkey, I could in no wise tell.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 20

Sentence 3 is clearly the introductory sentence as it introduces us to the given scene. ‘that direction’ in sentence 1 refers to the description mentioned in sentence 3, so sentence 1 should follow sentence 3. Sentence 4 takes the story forward as it indicates that the author has no idea as to what that ‘figure’ mentioned in sentence 1 was. And finally in sentence 2, author gives his description of that figure and his reaction. So the clear, logical order should be 3, 1, 4, 2 and that makes option d the answer.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 21

Directions: Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

What is the poet's feeling about the road which he selected in the beginning of his journey?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 21

(a), (c) - the poet is neutral about his feeling on choosing a particular road. He shows no sense of remorse for his decision nor any acknowledgement that such a decision might be important to his life. Yet, in introspection, he attempts to give a sense of order to his past and perhaps explain why certain things happened to him. (b)- it doesn't describe poet's feeling rather states a different point, which is irrelevant in the given context; hence, (d) is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 22

Directions: Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

What does the poet imply when he says, "Yet knowing how way leads on to way"?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 22

The poet keeps the other road for another day to visit/travel, but he realises later that the road which he has taken will again lead to multiple openings (another set of roads; "Yet knowing how way leads on to way")and he won't be able to come back to the road which he has initially left; hence, (c) is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 23

Each sentence below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

In HIV/AIDS affected communities, marriage might be seen as a way to protect against __________ the disease. Bracher, for example, is motivated by the idea that in Malawi and elsewhere in the region marriage is increasingly believed to protect young women from HIV since it may reduce __________ sexual behavior, in which case women may be encouraged to marry early.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 23

Option 1 has the words: intercepting, which means obstructing someone or something to prevent it from coming to a destination, and intemperate, which means uncontrolled. While the second word might fit in the context of the passage, the first does not make any sense. Option 1 is thus eliminated.

Option 2 has the words: contaminating, which means polluting, and licentious, which means promiscuous. Once again, the second word fits in the context of the passage, while the first makes no sense, as a disease cannot be contaminated or polluted. Option 2 is thus eliminated.

Option 4 has the words: procuring, which means to acquire, and scrupulous, which means careful and diligent. The first word fits perfectly in the context of the passage. The second word, however, conveys a meaning almost opposite to that which the passage seeks to convey; a possible antonym of 'scrupulous' might more befit the second blank. Option 4 is thus eliminated.

The first word does not make sense in the context of the passage. The second word, though making literal sense, attaches a negative tone while the passage seeks to convey a more or less neutral stance. We should note that the question here, is not of ethics, but of grammatical and logical sense, therefore choosing a word that colours and activity in a negative sense, where the passage is relating a neutral hypothesis from a logical, scientific point of view, would be unwise.

Option 3 has the words: contracting, which means acquiring (a disease or bad habit), and promiscuous, which means characterized by having many transient, sexual relationships. Both words fit perfectly in the context of the passage, thus Option 3 is the right answer.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 24

Identify the correct sequence of words that would most aptly fit the blanks in the following passage.

The people kept the street in which he lay quiet; but medical care, the loving ____ (i) ______ of friends, and the respect of all the people could not save his life. There was a surge of people who wanted to see him for the last time and it was difficult for the security personnel to control the _____(ii) _____ crowd. His family members chose to be ____(iii) ____ and refused to comment anything on the cause of death. The ____(iv) _____ cause of death is still unknown. Hence, it can be ____(v) ____ that perhaps he died under mysterious circumstances.

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 24

Solicitude means the care or concern for someone or something. Solitude means the state of being alone. Hence, 'Solicitude' is correct for the first blank.

'Restive' means difficult to control or impatient in the face of restraint or authority. 'Restless' means unable to rest, relax, or remain still. Unlike restive, restless is not associated with external restrain. So, 'Restive' is appropriate in this context (for the second blank)

Taciturn means silent; temperamentally untalkative. Laconic is one who as few words as possible; pithy and concise. Laconic is being habitually silent, while taciturn is being temperamentally silent. So, according to the context, taciturn is the correct choice for the third blank.

'Likely cause' is idiomatically correct.

To imply is to hint at something, but to infer is to make an educated guess. Since, we are guessing that the death happened under mysterious circumstances, infer is the better choice.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 25

Six words are given below

i. Diminutive

ii. Minuscule

iii. Homuncular

iv. Avuncular

v. Homozygous

vi. Bonhomous

Which of the above words have similar meanings?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 25

Diminutive, Minuscule and Homuncular mean very small in size/quantity. Avuncular means kind and friendly towards a younger or less experienced person. Homozygous means having identical pair of genes. Bonhomous means friendly and cheerful.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 26

Which of the following is not a term for 'being in absolute poverty'

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 26

While all other words mean being in absolute poverty, Impecunious means having little or no money. This state can even be temporary (Lack of funds for some time doesn't always mean that the person is poor.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 27

DIRECTIONS: Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn, and Bhim. During one week, the council members vote on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill, and a tax bill. Each council member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

Each member of the council votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.

Exactly two members of the council vote for the recreation bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the school bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the tax bill.

Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.

Karn votes against the recreation bill.

Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If the set of members of the council who vote against the school bill are the only ones who also vote against the tax bill, then which one of the following statements must be true?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 27

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 28

DIRECTIONS: Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn, and Bhim. During one week, the council members vote on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill, and a tax bill. Each council member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

Each member of the council votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.

Exactly two members of the council vote for the recreation bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the school bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the tax bill.

Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.

Karn votes against the recreation bill.

Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If Karn votes for the tax bill, then which one of the following statements could be true?:

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 28

We can modify the above table based on the additional information given in the question as follows

Thus, it can be verified that Arjun and Karn each vote for exactly one bill. The other answer choices do not follow from the above table. Hence, option A is correct.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 29

DIRECTIONS: Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn, and Bhim. During one week, the council members vote on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill, and a tax bill. Each council member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

Each member of the council votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.

Exactly two members of the council vote for the recreation bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the school bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the tax bill.

Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.

Karn votes against the recreation bill.

Bhim votes against the tax bill.

Karn votes for exactly two of the three bills, which one of the following statements must be true?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 29

We can modify the above table based on the additional information given in the question as follows

Thus, it can be observed that Karn votes for the school bill.

XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 30

DIRECTIONS: Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn, and Bhim. During one week, the council members vote on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill, and a tax bill. Each council member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

Each member of the council votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.

Exactly two members of the council vote for the recreation bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the school bill.

Exactly one member of the council votes for the tax bill.

Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.

Karn votes against the recreation bill.

Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If one of the members of the council votes against exactly the same bills as does another member of the council, then which one of the following statements must be true?

Detailed Solution for XAT Mock Test - 4 (New Pattern) - Question 30

We can modify the above table based on the additional information given in the question as follows

Thus, Bhim votes for exactly one bill and hence option D is correct.

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