Practice Test for XAT - 5 - CAT MCQ

Group Question

The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

China is subverting the status quo in the South and East China Seas, on its border with India, and even concerning international riparian flows - all without firing a single shot. Just as it grabbed land across the Himalayas in the 1950’s by launching furtive encroachments, China is waging stealth wars against its Asian neighbors that threaten to destabilize the entire region. The more economic power China has amassed, the greater its ambition to alter the territorial status quo has become.

Throughout China’s recent rise from poverty to relative prosperity and global economic power, the fundamentals of its statecraft and strategic doctrine have remained largely unchanged. Since the era of Mao Zedong, China has adhered to the Zhou Dynasty military strategist Sun Tzu’s counsel: “subdue the enemy without any battle” by exploiting its weaknesses and camouflaging offense as defense. “All warfare,” Sun famously said, “is based on deception.” For more than two decades after Deng Xiaoping consolidated power over the Chinese Communist Party, China pursued a “good neighbor” policy in its relations with other Asian countries, enabling it to concentrate on economic development. As China accumulated economic and strategic clout, its neighbors benefited from its rapid GDP growth, which spurred their own economies. But, at some point in the last decade, China’s leaders evidently decided that their country’s moment had finally arrived; its “peaceful rise” has since given way to a more assertive approach.
One of the first signs of this shift was China’s revival in 2006 of its long-dormant claim to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. In a bid to broaden its “core interests,” China soon began to provoke territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. Last year, China formally staked a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to more than 80% of the South China Sea.

From employing its strong trade position to exploiting its nearmonopoly on the global production of vital resources like rare-earth minerals, China has staked out a more domineering role in Asia. In fact, the more openly China has embraced market capitalism, the more nationalist it has become, encouraged by its leaders’ need for an alternative to Marxist dogma as a source of political legitimacy. Thus, territorial assertiveness has become intertwined with national renewal.

Q. The author’s main objective in writing this passage seems to

China is subverting the status quo in the South and East China Seas, on its border with India, and even concerning international riparian flows - all without firing a single shot. Just as it grabbed land across the Himalayas in the 1950’s by launching furtive encroachments, China is waging stealth wars against its Asian neighbors that threaten to destabilize the entire region. The more economic power China has amassed, the greater its ambition to alter the territorial status quo has become.

Throughout China’s recent rise from poverty to relative prosperity and global economic power, the fundamentals of its statecraft and strategic doctrine have remained largely unchanged. Since the era of Mao Zedong, China has adhered to the Zhou Dynasty military strategist Sun Tzu’s counsel: “subdue the enemy without any battle” by exploiting its weaknesses and camouflaging offense as defense. “All warfare,” Sun famously said, “is based on deception.” For more than two decades after Deng Xiaoping consolidated power over the Chinese Communist Party, China pursued a “good neighbor” policy in its relations with other Asian countries, enabling it to concentrate on economic development. As China accumulated economic and strategic clout, its neighbors benefited from its rapid GDP growth, which spurred their own economies. But, at some point in the last decade, China’s leaders evidently decided that their country’s moment had finally arrived; its “peaceful rise” has since given way to a more assertive approach.
One of the first signs of this shift was China’s revival in 2006 of its long-dormant claim to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. In a bid to broaden its “core interests,” China soon began to provoke territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. Last year, China formally staked a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to more than 80% of the South China Sea.

From employing its strong trade position to exploiting its nearmonopoly on the global production of vital resources like rare-earth minerals, China has staked out a more domineering role in Asia. In fact, the more openly China has embraced market capitalism, the more nationalist it has become, encouraged by its leaders’ need for an alternative to Marxist dogma as a source of political legitimacy. Thus, territorial assertiveness has become intertwined with national renewal.

Q. What does the author mean by - “all without firing a single shot”?

China is subverting the status quo in the South and East China Seas, on its border with India, and even concerning international riparian flows - all without firing a single shot. Just as it grabbed land across the Himalayas in the 1950’s by launching furtive encroachments, China is waging stealth wars against its Asian neighbors that threaten to destabilize the entire region. The more economic power China has amassed, the greater its ambition to alter the territorial status quo has become.

Throughout China’s recent rise from poverty to relative prosperity and global economic power, the fundamentals of its statecraft and strategic doctrine have remained largely unchanged. Since the era of Mao Zedong, China has adhered to the Zhou Dynasty military strategist Sun Tzu’s counsel: “subdue the enemy without any battle” by exploiting its weaknesses and camouflaging offense as defense. “All warfare,” Sun famously said, “is based on deception.” For more than two decades after Deng Xiaoping consolidated power over the Chinese Communist Party, China pursued a “good neighbor” policy in its relations with other Asian countries, enabling it to concentrate on economic development. As China accumulated economic and strategic clout, its neighbors benefited from its rapid GDP growth, which spurred their own economies. But, at some point in the last decade, China’s leaders evidently decided that their country’s moment had finally arrived; its “peaceful rise” has since given way to a more assertive approach.
One of the first signs of this shift was China’s revival in 2006 of its long-dormant claim to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. In a bid to broaden its “core interests,” China soon began to provoke territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. Last year, China formally staked a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to more than 80% of the South China Sea.

From employing its strong trade position to exploiting its nearmonopoly on the global production of vital resources like rare-earth minerals, China has staked out a more domineering role in Asia. In fact, the more openly China has embraced market capitalism, the more nationalist it has become, encouraged by its leaders’ need for an alternative to Marxist dogma as a source of political legitimacy. Thus, territorial assertiveness has become intertwined with national renewal.

Q. Which of the following is the author least likely to agree with?

China is subverting the status quo in the South and East China Seas, on its border with India, and even concerning international riparian flows - all without firing a single shot. Just as it grabbed land across the Himalayas in the 1950’s by launching furtive encroachments, China is waging stealth wars against its Asian neighbors that threaten to destabilize the entire region. The more economic power China has amassed, the greater its ambition to alter the territorial status quo has become.

Throughout China’s recent rise from poverty to relative prosperity and global economic power, the fundamentals of its statecraft and strategic doctrine have remained largely unchanged. Since the era of Mao Zedong, China has adhered to the Zhou Dynasty military strategist Sun Tzu’s counsel: “subdue the enemy without any battle” by exploiting its weaknesses and camouflaging offense as defense. “All warfare,” Sun famously said, “is based on deception.” For more than two decades after Deng Xiaoping consolidated power over the Chinese Communist Party, China pursued a “good neighbor” policy in its relations with other Asian countries, enabling it to concentrate on economic development. As China accumulated economic and strategic clout, its neighbors benefited from its rapid GDP growth, which spurred their own economies. But, at some point in the last decade, China’s leaders evidently decided that their country’s moment had finally arrived; its “peaceful rise” has since given way to a more assertive approach.
One of the first signs of this shift was China’s revival in 2006 of its long-dormant claim to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. In a bid to broaden its “core interests,” China soon began to provoke territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. Last year, China formally staked a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to more than 80% of the South China Sea.

From employing its strong trade position to exploiting its nearmonopoly on the global production of vital resources like rare-earth minerals, China has staked out a more domineering role in Asia. In fact, the more openly China has embraced market capitalism, the more nationalist it has become, encouraged by its leaders’ need for an alternative to Marxist dogma as a source of political legitimacy. Thus, territorial assertiveness has become intertwined with national renewal.

Q. Which of the following are likely consequences of Chinese territorial assertiveness in light of the views put forth in the passage?

A. Instability in South East Asia.
B. Rise in the Chinese nationalist sentiment.
C. Benefit to China’s clout in Asia.
D. Rapid economic development in China.

Answer the question based on the passage given below.

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore - Nameless here for evermore.

Q. Which of the following is not true about the situation mentioned in the above verse?

The italicised numbered words given below are be correctly represented by which of the following parts of speech?

A substantial amount (1) of research has been done on residence hall social life. (2) However, in all the research that has been done, (3) a distinct hole in the research exists when it (4) comes to answering (5) why some residence halls have different levels of social interaction, (6) especially when viewed (7) from a functional (8) distance standpoint.

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

A. Not only is Facebook more than just another Web site, Milner says, but with 500 million users it’s ‘the largest Web site there has ever been, so large that it is not a Web site at all’.

B. Milner not only offers better terms than VC firms, he sees the world differently.

C. In an entirely different strategic model, the Russian is concentrating his bet on a unique power bloc.

D. An amusing development in the past year or so — if you regard post-Soviet finance as amusing — is that Russian investor Yuri Milner has, bit by bit, amassed one of the most valuable stakes on the Internet: He’s got 10 percent of Facebook.

E. The traditional VC has a portfolio of Web sites, expecting a few of them to be successes — a good metaphor for the Web itself, broad not deep, dependent on the connections between sites rather than any one, autonomous property.

F. He's done this by undercutting traditional American VCs - the Kleiners and the Sequoias who would, in days past, insist on a special status in return for their early investment.

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

A. Rather than identifying intrinsic or innate properties that non-humans share with humans, some feminists have argued instead that moral recognition is invariably a social practice.

B. Feminist philosophers have challenged the individualism that is central in the arguments for the moral status of animals.

C. It depends, deeply, on the kind of relations they can have with us.

D. Moral considerability is not an intrinsic property of any creature, nor is it supervenient on only its intrinsic properties, such as its capacities.

Answer the following question based on the information given below.

This is my modest proposal: Google should create Google Kids, a search engine that filters the Web for children. Think back to when you were a kid and your parents dropped you off at the library. In the children’s section, there was no ‘inappropriate’ stuff to be found. Similarly, Google Kids would be a sort of children’s section of the Web, focused on providing high-quality results based on age.

What is the basic assumption of the author’s argument?

Select the odd man out from the given alternatives.  

Group Question

Analyse the following passage and provide appropriate answers for questions that follow.

When he was a toddler, Donald didn't seem to care whether his parents came or went. Before turning 2, he'd already memorized Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") and could recite the catechism from memory, but never paid attention to a fully costumed Santa Claus during the winter holidays. He soon became obsessed with watching spinning objects and would have explosive temper tantrums if he was interrupted. Worried, Donald's father sent a 33- page typed letter recounting these and other unusual behaviors to a young psychiatrist named Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. 
The year was 1938, and Donald would later become the first American child ever diagnosed with autism. For decades afterward, it was believed that the condition was rare. Times have certainly changed. Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, and it's four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.

The almost fivefold jump in schoolchildren diagnosed with autism between 1993 and 2003 has prompted some authorities and politicians to proclaim that we're in the midst of an "autism epidemic." Bombarded with news about autism (as I write this, Google reports that 4,470 new stories mentioned the condition in the past 24 hours), parents of babies and toddlers are understandably alarmed and confused. I've been there myself. As a pediatrician and first-time father, I followed my son Jake's growth and development with anticipation, and eagerly awaited his first smile and steps. But when he was almost 2, back in 2003, he was saying only a few words. According to a checklist known as the Denver Scale that was used at the time, he should have known more words. Naturally, my wife and I were very worried.
One reason that autism frightens mothers and fathers so deeply is because its cause is unclear. Parents also fear that a diagnosis of autism virtually guarantees a difficult life -- not only for their child, but for their entire family. But researchers are more encouraged than ever about early parental intervention, which can be enormously beneficial. "We can do so much to help children manage their challenges," explains Patricia Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H., national director of autism services for Easter Seals, which provides support for people with disabilities. "Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time."
Simply put, autism is a defect of brain development that impairs social skills. The condition can occur on a spectrum from mild to severe. Experts still don't know the cause, but there are many theories. '"We are sure that genetics plays a role," says Parents advisor Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City. In fact, a new study in Pediatrics of babies who have an older sibling with autism found that nearly 19 percent of them were diagnosed with the disorder by age 3. The link was almost three times stronger for boys: Twenty-six percent of the male infants developed autism, compared with only 9 percent of female infants.
Many scientists, including Dr. Landrigan, also suspect a direct connection between a child's exposure to certain chemicals, particularly in utero, and the risk of brain disorders including autism. Another possible cause: a parent's age. A study in Autism Research in 2010 found that while mothers have a steadily increasing risk of having a child with autism as they get older, the advanced age of the fathers only seems to contribute to that risk when the mother is younger than 30. But it's entirely possible that older parents are just more attuned to the warning signs of developmental problems in their children.

Vaccines are incorrectly believed by many to be another risk factor. A full 25 percent of parents think that some immunizations can cause autism in otherwise healthy infants, found a 2010 survey from the University of Michigan. (That may explain why nearly 10 percent of kids ages 19 to 35 months are not up to date on their immunizations.) However, at least two dozen studies in medical journals have refuted any connection between autism and vaccines.

Q. The word “catechism” means:

When he was a toddler, Donald didn't seem to care whether his parents came or went. Before turning 2, he'd already memorized Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") and could recite the catechism from memory, but never paid attention to a fully costumed Santa Claus during the winter holidays. He soon became obsessed with watching spinning objects and would have explosive temper tantrums if he was interrupted. Worried, Donald's father sent a 33- page typed letter recounting these and other unusual behaviors to a young psychiatrist named Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. 
The year was 1938, and Donald would later become the first American child ever diagnosed with autism. For decades afterward, it was believed that the condition was rare. Times have certainly changed. Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, and it's four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.

The almost fivefold jump in schoolchildren diagnosed with autism between 1993 and 2003 has prompted some authorities and politicians to proclaim that we're in the midst of an "autism epidemic." Bombarded with news about autism (as I write this, Google reports that 4,470 new stories mentioned the condition in the past 24 hours), parents of babies and toddlers are understandably alarmed and confused. I've been there myself. As a pediatrician and first-time father, I followed my son Jake's growth and development with anticipation, and eagerly awaited his first smile and steps. But when he was almost 2, back in 2003, he was saying only a few words. According to a checklist known as the Denver Scale that was used at the time, he should have known more words. Naturally, my wife and I were very worried.
One reason that autism frightens mothers and fathers so deeply is because its cause is unclear. Parents also fear that a diagnosis of autism virtually guarantees a difficult life -- not only for their child, but for their entire family. But researchers are more encouraged than ever about early parental intervention, which can be enormously beneficial. "We can do so much to help children manage their challenges," explains Patricia Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H., national director of autism services for Easter Seals, which provides support for people with disabilities. "Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time."
Simply put, autism is a defect of brain development that impairs social skills. The condition can occur on a spectrum from mild to severe. Experts still don't know the cause, but there are many theories. '"We are sure that genetics plays a role," says Parents advisor Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City. In fact, a new study in Pediatrics of babies who have an older sibling with autism found that nearly 19 percent of them were diagnosed with the disorder by age 3. The link was almost three times stronger for boys: Twenty-six percent of the male infants developed autism, compared with only 9 percent of female infants.
Many scientists, including Dr. Landrigan, also suspect a direct connection between a child's exposure to certain chemicals, particularly in utero, and the risk of brain disorders including autism. Another possible cause: a parent's age. A study in Autism Research in 2010 found that while mothers have a steadily increasing risk of having a child with autism as they get older, the advanced age of the fathers only seems to contribute to that risk when the mother is younger than 30. But it's entirely possible that older parents are just more attuned to the warning signs of developmental problems in their children.

Vaccines are incorrectly believed by many to be another risk factor. A full 25 percent of parents think that some immunizations can cause autism in otherwise healthy infants, found a 2010 survey from the University of Michigan. (That may explain why nearly 10 percent of kids ages 19 to 35 months are not up to date on their immunizations.) However, at least two dozen studies in medical journals have refuted any connection between autism and vaccines.

Q. The passage does not support the claim that 'autism':

When he was a toddler, Donald didn't seem to care whether his parents came or went. Before turning 2, he'd already memorized Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") and could recite the catechism from memory, but never paid attention to a fully costumed Santa Claus during the winter holidays. He soon became obsessed with watching spinning objects and would have explosive temper tantrums if he was interrupted. Worried, Donald's father sent a 33- page typed letter recounting these and other unusual behaviors to a young psychiatrist named Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. 
The year was 1938, and Donald would later become the first American child ever diagnosed with autism. For decades afterward, it was believed that the condition was rare. Times have certainly changed. Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, and it's four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.

The almost fivefold jump in schoolchildren diagnosed with autism between 1993 and 2003 has prompted some authorities and politicians to proclaim that we're in the midst of an "autism epidemic." Bombarded with news about autism (as I write this, Google reports that 4,470 new stories mentioned the condition in the past 24 hours), parents of babies and toddlers are understandably alarmed and confused. I've been there myself. As a pediatrician and first-time father, I followed my son Jake's growth and development with anticipation, and eagerly awaited his first smile and steps. But when he was almost 2, back in 2003, he was saying only a few words. According to a checklist known as the Denver Scale that was used at the time, he should have known more words. Naturally, my wife and I were very worried.
One reason that autism frightens mothers and fathers so deeply is because its cause is unclear. Parents also fear that a diagnosis of autism virtually guarantees a difficult life -- not only for their child, but for their entire family. But researchers are more encouraged than ever about early parental intervention, which can be enormously beneficial. "We can do so much to help children manage their challenges," explains Patricia Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H., national director of autism services for Easter Seals, which provides support for people with disabilities. "Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time."
Simply put, autism is a defect of brain development that impairs social skills. The condition can occur on a spectrum from mild to severe. Experts still don't know the cause, but there are many theories. '"We are sure that genetics plays a role," says Parents advisor Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City. In fact, a new study in Pediatrics of babies who have an older sibling with autism found that nearly 19 percent of them were diagnosed with the disorder by age 3. The link was almost three times stronger for boys: Twenty-six percent of the male infants developed autism, compared with only 9 percent of female infants.
Many scientists, including Dr. Landrigan, also suspect a direct connection between a child's exposure to certain chemicals, particularly in utero, and the risk of brain disorders including autism. Another possible cause: a parent's age. A study in Autism Research in 2010 found that while mothers have a steadily increasing risk of having a child with autism as they get older, the advanced age of the fathers only seems to contribute to that risk when the mother is younger than 30. But it's entirely possible that older parents are just more attuned to the warning signs of developmental problems in their children.

Vaccines are incorrectly believed by many to be another risk factor. A full 25 percent of parents think that some immunizations can cause autism in otherwise healthy infants, found a 2010 survey from the University of Michigan. (That may explain why nearly 10 percent of kids ages 19 to 35 months are not up to date on their immunizations.) However, at least two dozen studies in medical journals have refuted any connection between autism and vaccines.

Q. Karan is 5 years old and shows developmental problems; he is slower than other children his age, cannot interact properly with people, shows an unnatural interest in moving objects, and barely speaks a few words. He has been immunized as a baby. His mother is 28 while his father is 40 years old.
Karan's mother was ill and needed to be administered a cocktail of drugs and medication during her pregnancy, some known to affect the unborn baby's development.

Which of the following statements is a valid conclusion on the basis of the given information?

When he was a toddler, Donald didn't seem to care whether his parents came or went. Before turning 2, he'd already memorized Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") and could recite the catechism from memory, but never paid attention to a fully costumed Santa Claus during the winter holidays. He soon became obsessed with watching spinning objects and would have explosive temper tantrums if he was interrupted. Worried, Donald's father sent a 33- page typed letter recounting these and other unusual behaviors to a young psychiatrist named Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. 
The year was 1938, and Donald would later become the first American child ever diagnosed with autism. For decades afterward, it was believed that the condition was rare. Times have certainly changed. Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, and it's four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.

The almost fivefold jump in schoolchildren diagnosed with autism between 1993 and 2003 has prompted some authorities and politicians to proclaim that we're in the midst of an "autism epidemic." Bombarded with news about autism (as I write this, Google reports that 4,470 new stories mentioned the condition in the past 24 hours), parents of babies and toddlers are understandably alarmed and confused. I've been there myself. As a pediatrician and first-time father, I followed my son Jake's growth and development with anticipation, and eagerly awaited his first smile and steps. But when he was almost 2, back in 2003, he was saying only a few words. According to a checklist known as the Denver Scale that was used at the time, he should have known more words. Naturally, my wife and I were very worried.
One reason that autism frightens mothers and fathers so deeply is because its cause is unclear. Parents also fear that a diagnosis of autism virtually guarantees a difficult life -- not only for their child, but for their entire family. But researchers are more encouraged than ever about early parental intervention, which can be enormously beneficial. "We can do so much to help children manage their challenges," explains Patricia Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H., national director of autism services for Easter Seals, which provides support for people with disabilities. "Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time."
Simply put, autism is a defect of brain development that impairs social skills. The condition can occur on a spectrum from mild to severe. Experts still don't know the cause, but there are many theories. '"We are sure that genetics plays a role," says Parents advisor Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City. In fact, a new study in Pediatrics of babies who have an older sibling with autism found that nearly 19 percent of them were diagnosed with the disorder by age 3. The link was almost three times stronger for boys: Twenty-six percent of the male infants developed autism, compared with only 9 percent of female infants.
Many scientists, including Dr. Landrigan, also suspect a direct connection between a child's exposure to certain chemicals, particularly in utero, and the risk of brain disorders including autism. Another possible cause: a parent's age. A study in Autism Research in 2010 found that while mothers have a steadily increasing risk of having a child with autism as they get older, the advanced age of the fathers only seems to contribute to that risk when the mother is younger than 30. But it's entirely possible that older parents are just more attuned to the warning signs of developmental problems in their children.

Vaccines are incorrectly believed by many to be another risk factor. A full 25 percent of parents think that some immunizations can cause autism in otherwise healthy infants, found a 2010 survey from the University of Michigan. (That may explain why nearly 10 percent of kids ages 19 to 35 months are not up to date on their immunizations.) However, at least two dozen studies in medical journals have refuted any connection between autism and vaccines.

Q. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

Answer the question based on the passage given below.

‘Wikipedia approaches its limits,’ ran a striking headline in the usually sober Guardian. With infinite storage and lots of free labour, the very notion of ‘limits’ in Wikipedia seems misplaced. However, the limits alluded to in the Guardian are more editorial than logistical. The low-hanging fruit is disappearing - Wikipedians can write only so many biographies of Seinfeld characters - and getting new content onto the site is not as easy as it used to be.
As Wikipedia has accumulated a wealth of data - its English version contains more than three million articles - opportunities for making novel contributions have diminished. Wikipedia was bound to hit a knowledge constraint at some point, and it may have already done so. A recent study suggests that article growth peaked in 2007-2008 and has been declining since.

Q. Which of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion in this paragraph?

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate option that follows:

Watching a rocket as it slowly starts to _________ itself out of Earth’s deep gravity well and then streak up into the blue, you suddenly grasp on a _________ level the energies involved in space exploration.

Read each of the short passages given below and answer the question that follows each.

The notion that ancient hunter-gatherers lived in a perfect and peaceful world is beguiling but wrong. If life expectancy is any measure of progress, then the current figure for the developed world - 78 years - is clearly far greater than that for either hunter- gatherers or farmers in the ancient world.

Q. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the conclusion the most?

Answer the following question based on the information given below.

Which sentence includes an example of personification?

Group Question

A passage is followed by questions pertaining to the passage. Read the passage and answer the questions. Choose the most appropriate answer.

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek 'EKCuri [Hekate], "far-shooting") was a popular chthonian Greco-Roman goddess, often associated with magic, witches, ghosts, and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, “She is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.” She has been associated with childbirth, nurturing the young, gates and walls, doorways, crossroads, magic, lunar lore, torches and dogs. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” But he cautions, “The Laginetan goddess may have had a more infernal character than scholars have been willing to assume.” In Ptolemaic Alexandria and elsewhere during the Hellenistic period, she appears as a three-faced goddess associated with ghosts, witchcraft, and curses. Today she is claimed as a goddess of witches and in the context of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Some neo-pagans refer to her as a “crone goddess,” though this characterization appears to conflict with her frequent characterization as a virgin in late antiquity. She closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia.

Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. She appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in Hesiod's Theogony, where she is promoted strongly as a great goddess. The place of origin of her following is uncertain, but it is thought that she had popular followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs. Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedonian colony of Stratonikeia, where she was the city's patroness. In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal regions (particularly gates) and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone she became. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men. 

Q. From the passage, we can conclude that:  

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek 'EKCuri [Hekate], "far-shooting") was a popular chthonian Greco-Roman goddess, often associated with magic, witches, ghosts, and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, “She is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.” She has been associated with childbirth, nurturing the young, gates and walls, doorways, crossroads, magic, lunar lore, torches and dogs. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” But he cautions, “The Laginetan goddess may have had a more infernal character than scholars have been willing to assume.” In Ptolemaic Alexandria and elsewhere during the Hellenistic period, she appears as a three-faced goddess associated with ghosts, witchcraft, and curses. Today she is claimed as a goddess of witches and in the context of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Some neo-pagans refer to her as a “crone goddess,” though this characterization appears to conflict with her frequent characterization as a virgin in late antiquity. She closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia.

Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. She appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in Hesiod's Theogony, where she is promoted strongly as a great goddess. The place of origin of her following is uncertain, but it is thought that she had popular followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs. Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedonian colony of Stratonikeia, where she was the city's patroness. In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal regions (particularly gates) and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone she became. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men. 

Q. From the passage, one can conclude that Hermes was:

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek 'EKCuri [Hekate], "far-shooting") was a popular chthonian Greco-Roman goddess, often associated with magic, witches, ghosts, and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, “She is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.” She has been associated with childbirth, nurturing the young, gates and walls, doorways, crossroads, magic, lunar lore, torches and dogs. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” But he cautions, “The Laginetan goddess may have had a more infernal character than scholars have been willing to assume.” In Ptolemaic Alexandria and elsewhere during the Hellenistic period, she appears as a three-faced goddess associated with ghosts, witchcraft, and curses. Today she is claimed as a goddess of witches and in the context of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Some neo-pagans refer to her as a “crone goddess,” though this characterization appears to conflict with her frequent characterization as a virgin in late antiquity. She closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia.

Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. She appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in Hesiod's Theogony, where she is promoted strongly as a great goddess. The place of origin of her following is uncertain, but it is thought that she had popular followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs. Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedonian colony of Stratonikeia, where she was the city's patroness. In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal regions (particularly gates) and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone she became. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men. 

Q. The word that comes closest to replacing “infernal” in the passage is:

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek 'EKCuri [Hekate], "far-shooting") was a popular chthonian Greco-Roman goddess, often associated with magic, witches, ghosts, and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, “She is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.” She has been associated with childbirth, nurturing the young, gates and walls, doorways, crossroads, magic, lunar lore, torches and dogs. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” But he cautions, “The Laginetan goddess may have had a more infernal character than scholars have been willing to assume.” In Ptolemaic Alexandria and elsewhere during the Hellenistic period, she appears as a three-faced goddess associated with ghosts, witchcraft, and curses. Today she is claimed as a goddess of witches and in the context of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Some neo-pagans refer to her as a “crone goddess,” though this characterization appears to conflict with her frequent characterization as a virgin in late antiquity. She closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia.

Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. She appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in Hesiod's Theogony, where she is promoted strongly as a great goddess. The place of origin of her following is uncertain, but it is thought that she had popular followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs. Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedonian colony of Stratonikeia, where she was the city's patroness. In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal regions (particularly gates) and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone she became. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men. 

Q. Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek 'EKCuri [Hekate], "far-shooting") was a popular chthonian Greco-Roman goddess, often associated with magic, witches, ghosts, and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, “She is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.” She has been associated with childbirth, nurturing the young, gates and walls, doorways, crossroads, magic, lunar lore, torches and dogs. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” But he cautions, “The Laginetan goddess may have had a more infernal character than scholars have been willing to assume.” In Ptolemaic Alexandria and elsewhere during the Hellenistic period, she appears as a three-faced goddess associated with ghosts, witchcraft, and curses. Today she is claimed as a goddess of witches and in the context of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Some neo-pagans refer to her as a “crone goddess,” though this characterization appears to conflict with her frequent characterization as a virgin in late antiquity. She closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia.

Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. She appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in Hesiod's Theogony, where she is promoted strongly as a great goddess. The place of origin of her following is uncertain, but it is thought that she had popular followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs. Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedonian colony of Stratonikeia, where she was the city's patroness. In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal regions (particularly gates) and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone she became. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men. 

Q. Which of the following, according to the passage, is the Goddess Hecate not associated with?

Group Question

The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Reve Schiller is a corporate turnaround artist, and having previously steered Jordan Steel and Pan Asia Airlines through bankruptcy, he is now attempting to do the same with Upsilon Corp, the nation's largest supplier of auto parts. It's shaping up as a bumpy ride. Days after Upsilon filed for bankruptcy protection on August 8, he was criticized for providing a generous severance package for the senior management while indicating that he planned to ask for steep cuts in pay and benefits from the company's more than 68,000 unionized workers.

Upsilon's move puts the retirement pensions of its 60,000 U.S. employees and 19,000 retirees at risk and worsens the eroding position of its chief customer, Union Motors, which announced a 2.3 billion dollar third quarter loss recently. UM is contractually obligated to pay thousands of Upsilon workers a portion of any benefits they might lose in bankruptcy, a bill that could run as high as 13 billion dollars. One immediate reason for Upsilon's filing was to forestall a 1.8 billion dollar payment it was required to make to its pension programs in January. Schiller blames the defined pension benefit, which he calls an "anachronism," for his company's downfall and points to the downward wage pressure exerted by globalization for precipitating the current crisis.

Q. Which of the following important issues that might affect the crisis at Upsilon Corp, has not been discussed in the passage?

Reve Schiller is a corporate turnaround artist, and having previously steered Jordan Steel and Pan Asia Airlines through bankruptcy, he is now attempting to do the same with Upsilon Corp, the nation's largest supplier of auto parts. It's shaping up as a bumpy ride. Days after Upsilon filed for bankruptcy protection on August 8, he was criticized for providing a generous severance package for the senior management while indicating that he planned to ask for steep cuts in pay and benefits from the company's more than 68,000 unionized workers.

Upsilon's move puts the retirement pensions of its 60,000 U.S. employees and 19,000 retirees at risk and worsens the eroding position of its chief customer, Union Motors, which announced a 2.3 billion dollar third quarter loss recently. UM is contractually obligated to pay thousands of Upsilon workers a portion of any benefits they might lose in bankruptcy, a bill that could run as high as 13 billion dollars. One immediate reason for Upsilon's filing was to forestall a 1.8 billion dollar payment it was required to make to its pension programs in January. Schiller blames the defined pension benefit, which he calls an "anachronism," for his company's downfall and points to the downward wage pressure exerted by globalization for precipitating the current crisis.

Q. As a unionized worker of Upsilon Corp, you are aware that  your employers offer a salary that is five-thirds of what other auto-suppliers offer. You have been asked to join the agitation against Schiller’s policy of lowering increments in the salaries of unionized workers.

What decision will you take?

Reve Schiller is a corporate turnaround artist, and having previously steered Jordan Steel and Pan Asia Airlines through bankruptcy, he is now attempting to do the same with Upsilon Corp, the nation's largest supplier of auto parts. It's shaping up as a bumpy ride. Days after Upsilon filed for bankruptcy protection on August 8, he was criticized for providing a generous severance package for the senior management while indicating that he planned to ask for steep cuts in pay and benefits from the company's more than 68,000 unionized workers.

Upsilon's move puts the retirement pensions of its 60,000 U.S. employees and 19,000 retirees at risk and worsens the eroding position of its chief customer, Union Motors, which announced a 2.3 billion dollar third quarter loss recently. UM is contractually obligated to pay thousands of Upsilon workers a portion of any benefits they might lose in bankruptcy, a bill that could run as high as 13 billion dollars. One immediate reason for Upsilon's filing was to forestall a 1.8 billion dollar payment it was required to make to its pension programs in January. Schiller blames the defined pension benefit, which he calls an "anachronism," for his company's downfall and points to the downward wage pressure exerted by globalization for precipitating the current crisis.

Q. It was recently disclosed in the media that Schiller received $2 million as a signing bonus when he joined the company. As a director of Upsilon Corp, you are expected to speak at the Annual General Meeting to pacify the fears of shareholders.

Which of the following is likely to be your explanation for the decision?

Reve Schiller is a corporate turnaround artist, and having previously steered Jordan Steel and Pan Asia Airlines through bankruptcy, he is now attempting to do the same with Upsilon Corp, the nation's largest supplier of auto parts. It's shaping up as a bumpy ride. Days after Upsilon filed for bankruptcy protection on August 8, he was criticized for providing a generous severance package for the senior management while indicating that he planned to ask for steep cuts in pay and benefits from the company's more than 68,000 unionized workers.

Upsilon's move puts the retirement pensions of its 60,000 U.S. employees and 19,000 retirees at risk and worsens the eroding position of its chief customer, Union Motors, which announced a 2.3 billion dollar third quarter loss recently. UM is contractually obligated to pay thousands of Upsilon workers a portion of any benefits they might lose in bankruptcy, a bill that could run as high as 13 billion dollars. One immediate reason for Upsilon's filing was to forestall a 1.8 billion dollar payment it was required to make to its pension programs in January. Schiller blames the defined pension benefit, which he calls an "anachronism," for his company's downfall and points to the downward wage pressure exerted by globalization for precipitating the current crisis.

Q. With increasing protests from workers and retirees for his decision to give out generous severance packages, Schiller has agreed to take a salary of $1 till the restructuring is done. However, none of the former members of the senior management have offered to return or reduce their severance pay. As a retiree from Upsilon Motors, who would you hold responsible for the company’s current financial dilemma?

A. Reve Schiller

B. The Board of Directors

C. Trade Unions

D. Former senior management

E. The management of Union Motors