Question 1
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Petitioning is an expeditious democratic tradition, used frequently in prior centuries, by which citizens can bring issues directly to governments. As expressions of collective voice, they support procedural democracy by shaping agendas. They can also recruit citizens to causes, give voice to the voteless, and apply the discipline of rhetorical argument that clarifies a point of view. By contrast, elections are limited in several respects: they involve only a few candidates, and thus fall far short of a representative democracy. Further, voters’ choices are not specific to particular policies or laws, and elections are episodic, whereas the voice of the people needs to be heard and integrated constantly into democratic government.
1) Citizens become less inclined to petitioning as it enables vocal citizens to shape political agendas, but this needs to change to strengthen democracies today.
2) Petitioning has been important to democratic functioning, as it supplements the electoral process by enabling ongoing engagement with the government.
3) By giving citizens greater control over shaping political and democratic agendas, political petitions are invaluable as they represent an ideal form of a representative democracy.
4) Petitioning is definitely more representative of the collective voice, and the functioning of democratic government could improve if we relied more on petitioning rather than holding periodic elections.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
The passage is not promoting petitioning over elections. It is simply saying that it is an important democratic process. As expressions of collective voice, petitions support procedural democracy by shaping agendas. This makes 2 the correct summary. There is no mention of citizens’ inclinations. 3 is extreme and 4 is a distortion.
Question 2
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
It’s not that modern historians of medieval Africa have been ignorant about contacts between Ethiopia and Europe; they just had the power dynamic reversed. The traditional narrative stressed Ethiopia as weak and in trouble in the face of aggression from external forces, so Ethiopia sought military assistance from their fellow Christians to the north. But the real story, buried in plain sight in medieval diplomatic texts, simply had not yet been put together by modern scholars. Recent research pushes scholars of medieval Europe to imagine a much more richly connected medieval world: at the beginning of the so-called Age of Exploration, there is evidence that the kings of Ethiopia were sponsoring their own missions of diplomacy, faith and commerce.
1) Medieval texts have documented how strong connections between the Christian communities of Ethiopia and Europe were invaluable in establishing military and trade links between the two civilisations.
2) Historians were under the illusion that Ethiopia needed military protection from their neighbours, but in fact the country had close commercial and religious connections with them.
3) Medieval texts have been ‘cherry-picked’ to promote a view of Ethiopia as weak and in need of Europe’s military help with aggressive neighbours, but recent studies reveal it was a well-connected and outward-looking culture.
4) Medieval historical sources selectively promoted the narrative that powerful European forces were called on to protect weak African civilisations such as Ethiopia, but this is far from reality.
Explanation
Correct answer – 3
Option 3 is the most appropriate summary because the passage mentions how history was tweaked. Option 3 mentions how Ethiopiawas perceived to be weak but in reality, the picture was somewhat different.
Incorrect answers: Option 1 is narrow in scope.Option 2 is close but option 3 is a better answer because it provides a convincing summary of the given passage. Again, option (3) is better than option (4) because option (4) is a little sketchy. Option (3) is the most comprehensive summary.
Question – 3
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
All that we think we know about how life hangs together is really some kind of illusion that we have perpetrated on ourselves because of our limited vision. What appear to be inanimate objects such as stones turn out not only to be alive in the same way that we are, but also in many infinitesimal ways to be affected by stimuli just as humans are. The distinction between animate and inanimate simply cannot be made when you enter the world of quantum mechanics and try to determine how those apparent subatomic particles, of which you and everything else in our universe is composed, are all tied together. The point is that physics and metaphysics show there is a pattern to the universe that goes beyond our capacity to grasp it with our brains.
1) Quantum physics indicates that an astigmatic view of reality results in erroneous assumptions about the universe.
2) The inanimate world is both sentient and cognizant like its animate counterpart.
3) The effect of stimuli is similar in inanimate objects when compared to animate objects or living beings.
4) Arbitrary distinctions between inanimate and animate objects disappear at the scale at which quantum mechanics works.
Explanation
Correct answer – 4
Quantum Mechanics blur the distinction between the animate and inanimate objects. Option (4) therefore, is the most convincing summary of the given passage. Option (1) is verbose and therefore, can be counted as irrelevant. Option (2) is narrow in scope. Option (3) is wrong because it is again narrow in scope.
Question- 4
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Several of the world’s earliest cities were organised along egalitarian lines. In some regions, urban populations governed themselves for centuries without any indication of the temples and palaces that would later emerge; in others, temples and palaces never emerged at all, and there is simply no evidence of a class of administrators or any other sort of ruling stratum. It would seem that the mere fact of urban life does not, necessarily, imply any particular form of political organization, and never did. Far from resigning us to inequality, the picture that is now emerging of humanity’s past may open our eyes to egalitarian possibilities we otherwise would have never considered.
1) We now have the evidence in support of the existence of an egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities, where political and civic organisation was far less hierarchical.
2) Contrary to our assumption that urban settlements have always involved hierarchical political and administrative structures, ancient cities were not organised in this way.
3) The lack of hierarchical administration in ancient cities can be deduced by the absence of religious and regal structures such as temples and palaces.
4) The emergence of a class of administrators and ruling stratum transformed the egalitarian urban life of ancient cities to the hierarchical civic organisations of today.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
Option 3 contradicts the arguments of the passage. Option 4 finds no reference in the passage.
Option 2:It takes on an extreme stance as the given passage does not imply that all the ancient cities were organized along egalitarian lines. Thus, it is incorrect.
Option 1 correctly implies the essence of the passage.
Question- 5
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
There’s a common idea that museum artworks are somehow timeless objects available to admire for generations to come. But many are objects of decay. Even the most venerable Old Master paintings don’t escape: pigments discolour, varnishes crack, canvases warp. This challenging fact of art-world life is down to something that sounds more like a thread from a morality tale: inherent vice. Damien Hirst’s iconic shark floating in a tank – entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living – is a work that put a spotlight on inherent vice. When he made it in 1991, Hirst got himself in a pickle by not using the right kind of pickle to preserve the giant fish. The result was that the shark began to decompose quite quickly – its preserving liquid clouding, the skin wrinkling, and an unpleasant smell wafting from the tank.
1) Artworks may not last forever; they may deteriorate with time, and the challenge is to slow down their degeneration.
2) The role of museums has evolved to ensure that the artworks are preserved forever in addition to guarding and displaying them.
3) Museums have to guard timeless art treasures from intrinsic defects such as the deterioration of paint, polish and canvas.
4) Museums are left with the moral responsibility of restoring and preserving the artworks since artists cannot preserve their works beyond their life.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
Options 2, 3 and 4 are incorrect for simple reason that they ascribe some responsibilities to museums that, by no means, has been implied in the given passage.
Question – 6
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Today, many of the debates about behavioural control in the age of big data echo Cold War-era anxieties about brainwashing, insidious manipulation and repression in the ‘technological society’. In his book Psychopolitics, Han warns of the sophisticated use of targeted online content, enabling ‘influence to take place on a pre-reflexive level’. On our current trajectory, “freedom will prove to have been merely an interlude.” The fear is that the digital age has not liberated us but exposed us, by offering up our private lives to machine-learning algorithms that can process masses of personal and behavioural data. In a world of influencers and digital entrepreneurs, it’s not easy to imagine the resurgence of a culture engendered through disconnect and disaffiliation, but concerns over the threat of online targeting, polarisation and big data have inspired recent polemics about the need to rediscover solitude and disconnect.
1) The notion of freedom and privacy is at stake in a world where artificial intelligence is capable of influencing behavior through data gathered online.
2) The role of technology in influencing public behavior is reminiscent of the manner in which behavior was manipulated during the Cold War.
3) Rather than freeing us, digital technology is enslaving us by collecting personal information and influencing our online behaviour.
4) With big data making personal information freely available, the debate on the nature of freedom and the need for privacy has resurfaced.
Explanation
Correct answer- 4
Option 1: It misses out the argument implied by the last two statements of the passage
Option 2: It is too narrow as it focys only on the message implied by the first statement of the passage.
Option 3: It does the same mistake as option 2.
Option 4: It captures all the key arguments of the passage.
Question – 7
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
“It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend, or have the potential to offend, and it cannot be drained of that potential,” Rowan Atkinson said of cancel culture. “Every joke has a victim. That’s the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous.” The Netflix star continued, “I think you’ve got to be very, very careful about saying what you’re allowed to make jokes about. You’ve always got to kick up? Really?” He added, “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
1) All jokes target someone and one should be able to joke about anyone in the society, which is inconsistent with cancel culture.
2) Every joke needs a victim and one needs to include people from lower down the society and not just the upper class.
3) Victims of jokes must not only be politicians and royalty, but also arrogant people from lower classes should be mentioned by comedians.
4) Cancel culture does not understand the role and duty of comedians, which is to deride and mock everyone.
Explanation
Coreect answer- 1
Atkinson critiques the views of cancel culture stating that jokes can be and should be about anyone from different strata of the society. Only option 1 captures the essence of the passage in entirety.
Incorrect options:
Option 2 looks correct but it is incomplete as it misses the context of Atkinson’s dialogues.
Option 3 cannot be determined.
Option 4 defines the cancel culture only, hence can be rendered incomplete.
Question- 8
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Tamsin Blanchard, curator of Fashion Open Studio, an initiative by a campaign group showcasing the work of ethical designers says, “We’re all drawn to an exquisite piece of embroidery, a colourful textile or even a style of dressing that might have originated from another heritage. [But] this magpie mentality, where all of culture and history is up for grabs as ‘inspiration’, has accelerated since the proliferation of social media… Where once a fashion student might research the history and traditions of a particular item of clothing with care and respect, we now have a world where images are lifted from image libraries without a care for their cultural significance. It’s easier than ever to steal a motif or a craft technique and transfer it on to a piece of clothing that is either mass produced or appears on a runway without credit or compensation to their original communities.”
1) Copying an embroidery design or pattern of textile from native communities who own them is tantamount to stealing and they need to be compensated.
2) Cultural collaboration is the need of the hour. Beautiful design ideas of indigenous people need to be showcased and shared worldwide.
3) Taking fashion ideas from any cultural group without their consent is a form of appropriation without giving due credit, compensation, and respect.
4) Media has encouraged mass production; images are copied effortlessly without care or concern for the interests of ethnic communities.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
Out of the given options, only 3 captures the argument of the paragraph correctly. Refer to, “ media… Where once a fashion student might research the history and traditions of a particular item of clothing with care and respect, we now have a world where images are lifted from image libraries without a care for their cultural significance. It’s easier than ever to steal a motif or a craft technique and transfer it onto a piece of clothing that is either mass produced or appears on a runway without credit or compensation to their original communities.”
Incorrect Options:
Option 1 talks about only “embroidery design or pattern of textile” which makes it incomplete.
Option 2 is incorrect. There is mention of any cultural collaboration.
“Media has encouraged…” makes option 4 incorrect.
Question- 9
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
To defend the sequence of alphabetisation may seem bizarre, so obvious is its application that it is hard to imagine a reference, catalogue or listing without it. But alphabetical order was not an immediate consequence of the alphabet itself. In the Middle Ages, deference for ecclesiastical tradition left scholars reluctant to categorise things according to the alphabet — to do so would be a rejection of the divine order. The rediscovery of the ancient Greek and Roman classics necessitated more efficient ways of ordering, searching and referencing texts. Government bureaucracy in the 16th and 17th centuries quickened the advance of alphabetical order, bringing with it pigeonholes, notebooks and card indexes.
1) Unlike the alphabet, once the efficacy of the alphabetic sequence became apparent to scholars and administrators, its use became widespread.
2) The ban on the use by scholars of any form of categorisation – but the divinely ordained one – delayed the adoption of the alphabetic sequence by several centuries.
3) The alphabetic order took several centuries to gain common currency because of religious beliefs and a lack of appreciation of its efficacy in the ordering of things.
4) While adoption of the written alphabet was easily accomplished, it took scholars several centuries to accept the alphabetic sequence as a useful tool in their work.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
Out of the given options, only 3 captures the essence of the paragraph correctly and in entirety. The alphabetisation got delayed because of religious implications in the Middle Ages.
Incorrect Options:
1 states some assumptions which may or may not be true.
“The ban of…” makes option 2 incorrect.
Option 3 is incomplete as it does not mention why alphabetisation got delayed.
Question- 10
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Foreign peacekeepers often exist in a bubble in the poor countries in which they are deployed; they live in posh compounds, drive fancy vehicles, and distance themselves from locals. This may be partially justified as they are outsiders, living in constant fear, performing a job that is emotionally draining. But they are often despised by the locals, and many would like them to leave. A better solution would be bottom-up peacebuilding, which would involve their spending more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than only meeting government officials.
1) Peacekeeping forces in foreign countries have tended to be aloof for valid reasons but would be more effective if they worked more closely with local communities.
2) Extravagant lifestyles and an aloof attitude among the foreigners working as peacekeepers in poor countries have justifiably make them the target of local anger.
3) Peacekeeping duties would be more effectively performed by local residents given their better understanding, knowledge and rapport with their own communities.
4) The environment in poor countries has tended to make foreign peacekeeping forces live in enclaves, but it is time to change this scenario.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
The key summary of the paragraph is: Foreign peacekeepers often exist in a bubble and though this may be partially justified, a better solution would be conducting bottom-up peacebuilding. Option 1 captures this argument concisely and is the correct answer.
Question-11
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
McGurk and MacDonald (1976) reported a powerful multisensory illusion occurring with audio-visual speech. They recorded a voice articulating a consonant ‘ba-ba-ba’ and dubbed it with a face articulating another consonant ‘ga-ga-ga’. Even though the acoustic speech signal was well recognized alone, it was heard as another consonant after dubbing with incongruent visual speech i.e., ‘da-da-da’. The illusion, termed as the McGurk effect, has been replicated many times, and it has sparked an abundance of research. The reason for the great impact is that this is a striking demonstration of multisensory integration, where that auditory and visual information is merged into a unified, integrated percept.
1) The McGurk effect which is a demonstration of multisensory integration has been replicated many times.
2) Visual speech mismatched with auditory speech can result in the perception of an entirely different message: this illusion is known as the McGurk effect.
3) When the auditory speech signal does not match the visual speech movements, the acoustic speech signal is confusing and integration of the two is imperfect.
4) When the quality of auditory information is poor, the visual information wins over the auditory information.
Explanation
Correct answer – 2
The passage essentially defines the McGurk effect and its relevance. That is why option 2 is the correct answer.
Question 12-
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Developing countries are becoming hotbeds of business innovation in much the same way as Japan did from the 1950s onwards. They are reinventing systems of production and distribution, and experimenting with entirely new business models. Why are countries that were until recently associated with cheap hands now becoming leaders in innovation? Driven by a mixture of ambition and fear they are relentlessly climbing up the value chain. Emerging-market champions have not only proved highly competitive in their own backyards, they are also going global themselves.
1) Production and distribution models are going through rapid innovations worldwide as developed countries are being challenged by their earlier suppliers from the developing world.
2) Competition has driven emerging economies, once suppliers of cheap labour, to become innovators of business models that have enabled them to move up the value chain and go global.
3) Innovations in production and distribution are helping emerging economies compete with countries to which they once supplied cheap labour.
4) Developing countries are being forced to invent new business models which challenge the old business models, so they can remain competitive domestically.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
The core message of the passage is captured in the following lines: “Why are countries that were until recently associated with cheap hands now becoming leaders in innovation? Driven by a mixture of ambition and fear they are relentlessly climbing up the value chain”
Question 13-
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Biologists who publish their research directly to the Web have been labelled as “rogue”, but physicists have been routinely publishing research digitally (“preprints”), prior to submitting in a peer-reviewed journal. Advocates of preprints argue that quick and open dissemination of research speeds up scientific progress and allows for wider access to knowledge. But some journals still don’t accept research previously published as a preprint. Even if the idea of preprints is gaining ground, one of the biggest barriers for biologists is how they would be viewed by members of their conservative research community.
1) One of the advantages of digital preprints of research is they hasten the dissemination process, but these are not accepted by most scientific communities.
2) While digital publication of research is gaining popularity in many scientific disciplines, almost all peer-reviewed journals are reluctant to accept papers that have been published before.
3) Compared to biologists, physicists are less conservative in their acceptance of digital pre-publication of research papers, which allows for faster dissemination of knowledge.
4) Preprints of research are frowned on by some scientific fields as they do not undergo a rigourous reviewing process but are accepted among biologists as a quick way to disseminate information.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The passage talks about how physicists can publish digitally. Also, note the last sentence of the passage where the author talks about ‘biggest barriers’. So, option (3) is the most appropriate summary. Option (1) doesn’t compare biologists with physicists.
Question 14-
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Creativity is now viewed as the engine of economic progress. Various organizations are devoted to its study and promotion; there are encyclopedias and handbooks surveying creativity research. But this proliferating success has tended to erode creativity’s stable identity: it has become so invested with value that it has become impossible to police its meaning and the practices that supposedly identify and encourage it. Many people and organizations committed to producing original thoughts now feel that undue obsession with the idea of creativity gets in the way of real creativity.
1) The obsession with original thought, how it can be promoted and researched, has made it impossible for people and organizations to define the concept anymore.
2) Creativity has proliferated to the extent that is no longer a stable process, and its mutating identity has stifled the creative process.
3) The value assigned to creativity today has assumed such proportions that the concept itself has lost its real meaning and this is hampering the engendering of real creativity.
4) The industry that has built up around researching what comprises and encourages creativity has destroyed the creative process itself.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The passage talks about the futility of too much obsession about creativity so much so that real creativity is being diluted. So, option (3) is the most appropriate summary. Note the use of real creativity in the passage as well as in the 3rd option.
Question 15-
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The unlikely alliance of the incumbent industrialist and the distressed unemployed worker is especially powerful amid the debris of corporate bankruptcies and layoffs. In an economic downturn, the capitalist is more likely to focus on costs of the competition emanating from free markets than on the opportunities they create. And the unemployed worker will find many others in a similar condition and with anxieties similar to his, which will make it easier for them to organize together. Using the cover and the political organization provided by the distressed, the capitalist captures the political agenda.
1) An unlikely alliance of the industrialist and the unemployed happens during an economic downturn in which they come together to unite politically and capture the political agenda.
2) An economic downturn creates competition because of which the capitalists capture the political agenda created by the political organisation provided by the unemployed.
3) In an economic downturn, the capitalists use the anxieties of the unemployed and their political organisation to set the political agenda to suit their economic interests.
4) he purpose of an unlikely alliance between the industrialist and the unemployed during an economic downturn is to stifle competition in free markets.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
Refer to the last sentence of the paragraph. Option (3) is basically a rephrasing of the last sentence. Option (3) is the correct answer.
Question 16 –
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
People view idleness as a sin and industriousness as a virtue, and in the process have developed an unsatisfactory relationship with their jobs. Work has become a way for them to keep busy, even though many find their work meaningless. In their need for activity people undertake what was once considered work (fishing, gardening) as hobbies. The opposing view is that hard work has made us prosperous and improved our levels of health and education. It has also brought innovation and labour and timesaving devices, which have lessened life’s drudgery.
1) Hard work has overtaken all aspects of our lives and has enabled economic prosperity, but it is important that people reserve their leisure time for some idleness.
2) Some believe that hard work has been glorified to the extent that it has become meaningless, and led to greater idleness, but it has also had enormous positive impacts on everyday life.
3) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
4) Despite some detractors, hard work is essential in today’s world to enable economic progress, for education and health and to propel innovations that make life easier.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
1 is incorrect because it depicts the passage exactly in a reverse manner. The use of the phrase, “Hard work has overtaken all aspects of our lives…” makes it more incorrect.
2 is incorrect because of the phrase “greater idleness”. The passage does not indicate that.
4 is incorrect because it is incomplete and does not capture the entire essence of the passage.
3 therefore is the correct option as it portrays the purpose of the passage, that although people have considered hard work as alternative to idleness, the world is benefitting from all the hard work.
Question 17 –
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Brazil’s growth rate has been low, yet most Brazilians say their financial situation has improved, and they expect it to get even better. This is because most incomes are rising fast, with higher minimum wages and very low unemployment. The result is falling inequality and a growing middle class — the result of economic stabilization, improved social security and universal primary education. But despite recent improvements the Brazilian economy is still painfully unequal, with poor Brazilians paying the biggest share of their income in taxes and getting the least back in government services.
1) With rising incomes and falling unemployment, most Brazilians are being misled into thinking that their economy is doing well.
2) Most Brazilians feel they have benefitted from recent economic events, but the poor continue to be dealt unfairly by the state.
3) Economic reforms have benefitted many Brazilians, but they are unaware of the impending problems from rising inequalities in their society.
4) Good economic indicators have masked the unfair taxation of the poor that is likely to destabilise the Brazilian economy in the next few years.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
1 is incorrect because of the phrase “, most Brazilians are being misled into”. There is no such mention of being misled to believe that the economy is doing well.
3 is factually incorrect. Refer to,” The result is falling inequality and a growing middle class…”
4 is a far-fetched assumption that cannot be inferred from the given passage.
2 is the correct option as it captures the essence of the passage. The passage talks about the improving financial condition of Brazil. It also states that the treatment of poor is “still painfully inequal”.
Question 18-
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The human mind is wired to see patterns. Not only does the brain process information as it comes in, it also stores insights from all our past experiences. Every interaction, happy or sad, is catalogued in our memory. Intuition draws from that deep memory well to inform our decisions going forward. In other words, intuitive decisions are based on data, and not contrary to data as many would like to assume. When we subconsciously spot patterns, the body starts firing neurochemicals in both the brain and gut. These “somatic markers” are what give us that instant sense that something is right … or that it’s off. Not only are these automatic processes faster than rational thought, but our intuition draws from decades of diverse qualitative experience (sights, sounds, interactions, etc.) – a wholly human feature that big data alone could never accomplish.
1) Intuitions are neuro-chemical firings based on pattern recognition and draw upon a rich and vast database of experiences.
2) Intuition is infinitely richer than big data which is based on rational thought and accomplishes more than what big data can.
3) Intuitions are automatic processes and are therefore faster than rational thought, and so decisions based on them are better.
4) Intuition draws from deep memory, and may not be related to data, but to decades of diverse qualitative experience.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
The intuitions are created by neurochemicals which form somatic markers that our brain and gut identifies because of past experiences. Only option 1 depicts this. Hence it is the correct summary.
2 is partially correct.
3 is incorrect as it states that decisions based on intuitions are better. This is missing from the passage.
4 is again an incomplete summary.
Question- 19
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
For nearly a century most psychologists have embraced one view of intelligence. Individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential (I.Q.); this potential is heavily influenced by heredity and difficult to alter; experts in measurement can determine a person’s intelligence early in life, currently from paper-and-pencil measures, perhaps eventually from examining the brain in action or even scrutinizing his/her genome. Recently, criticism of this conventional wisdom has mounted. Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called “intelligence” is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate heritability of a trait in humans, who, unlike plants or animals, are not conceived and bred under controlled conditions.
1) Biologists have criticised that conventional wisdom that individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential.
2) Biologists have questioned the view that ‘intelligence’ is a single entity and the ways in which what is inherited.
3) Biologists have questioned the long-standing view that ‘intelligence’ is a single entity and the attempts to estimate it’s heritability.
4) Biologists have started questioning psychologists’ view of ‘intelligence’ as a measurable immutable characteristic of an individual.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The passage questions the age old belief that intelligence is a single entity and also, the role of heredity in it. Hence, option (3) is the most appropriate summary of the given passage.
Question- 20
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
As Soviet power declined, the world became to some extent multipolar, and Europe strove to define an independent identity. What a journey Europe has undertaken to reach this point. It had in every century changed its internal structure and invented new ways of thinking about the nature of international order. Now at the culmination of an era, Europe, in order to participate in it, felt obliged to set aside the political mechanisms through which it had conducted its affairs for three and a half centuries. Impelled also by the desire to cushion the emergent unification of Germany, the new European Union established a common currency in 2002 and a formal political structure in 2004. It proclaimed a Europe united, whole, and free, adjusting its differences by peaceful mechanisms.
1) Europe has consistently changed in keeping with the changing world order and that has culminated in a united Europe.
2) Europe has chosen to lower political and economic heterogeneity, in order to adapt itself to an emerging multi-polar world.
3) Europe has consistently changed its internal structure to successfully adapt to the changing world order.
4) The establishment of a formal political structure in Europe was hastened by the unification of Germany and the emergence of a multipolar world.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
The passage provides the details of how Europe adopted a common currency in 2002 and a formal political structure in 2004. Hence, the political and economic heterogeneity have been reduced and this has happened because the world has become multi-polar. Therefore, option (2) is the most appropriate answer.
Question- 21
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
For years, movies and television series like Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) paint an unrealistic picture of the “science of voices.” In the 1994 movie Clear and Present Danger an expert listens to a brief recorded utterance and declares that the speaker is “Cuban, aged 35 to 45, educated in the […] eastern United States.” The recording is then fed to a supercomputer that matches the voice to that of a suspect, concluding that the probability of correct identification is 90%. This sequence sums up a good number of misimpressions about forensic phonetics, which have led to errors in real-life justice. Indeed, that movie scene exemplifies the so-called “CSI effect”—the phenomenon in which judges hold unrealistic expectations of the capabilities of forensic science.
1) Although voice recognition is often presented as evidence in legal cases, its scientific basis can be shaky.
2) Voice recognition as used in many movies to identify criminals has been used to identify criminals in real life also.
3) Movies and televisions have led to the belief that the use of forensic phonetics in legal investigations is robust and fool proof.
4) Voice recognition has started to feature prominently in crime-scene intelligence investigations because of movies and television series.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The passage talks about a television series Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) and how it portrayed a wrong impression of so called forensic phonetics being fool proof. Hence, option (3) is the most appropriate. Option (1) is narrow in scope in comparison with option (3). Options (2) and (4) are out of scope.
Question- 22
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
All humans make decisions based on one or a combination of two factors. This is either intuition or information. Decisions made through intuition are usually fast, people don’t even think about the problem. It is quite philosophical, meaning that someone who made a decision based on intuition will have difficulty explaining the reasoning behind it. The decision-maker would often utilize her senses in drawing conclusions, which again is based on some experience in the field of study. On the other side of the spectrum, we have decisions made based on information. These decisions are rational — it is based on facts and figures, which unfortunately also means that it can be quite slow. The decision-maker would frequently use reports, analyses, and indicators to form her conclusion. This methodology results in accurate, quantifiable decisions, meaning that a person can clearly explain the rationale behind it.
1) It is better to make decisions based on information because it is more accurate, and the rationale behind it can be explained.
2) Decisions based on intuition and information result in differential speed and ability to provide a rationale.
3) We make decisions based on intuition or information on the basis of the time available.
4) While decisions based on intuition can be made fast, the reasons that led to these cannot be spelt out.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
Option 1 does not include intuition. Moreover, the author did not recommend a way to make a decision. Decision is not made according to the available time. So, option 3 is incorrect. Option 4 talks only about intuition. So, option 2 is the answer.
Question-23
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The rural-urban continuum and the heterogeneity of urban settings pose an obvious challenge to identifying urban areas and measuring urbanization rates in a consistent way within and across countries. An objective methodology for distinguishing between urban and rural areas that is based on one or two metrics with fixed thresholds may not adequately capture the wide diversity of places. A richer combination of criteria would better describe the multifaceted nature of a city’s function and its environment, but the joint interpretation of these criteria may require an element of human judgment.
1) Current methodologies used to define urban and rural areas are no longer relevant to our being able to study trends in urbanisation.
2) Distinguishing between urban and rural areas might call for some judgement on the objective methodology being used to define a city’s functions.
3) With the diversity of urban landscapes, measurable criteria for defining urban areas may need to be supplemented with human judgement.
4) The difficulty of accurately identifying urban areas means that we need to create a rich combination of criteria that can be applied to all urban areas.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The heterogeneity of urban settings, measurement of urbanization and an element of human judgment are mentioned only in option 3, hence, it is the answer. Other options are incorrect.
Question- 24
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
With the Treaty of Westphalia, the papacy had been confined to ecclesiastical functions, and the doctrine of sovereign equality reigned. What political theory could then explain the origin and justify the functions of secular political order? In his Leviathan, published in 1651, three years after the Peace of Westphalia, Thomas Hobbes provided such a theory. He imagined a “state of nature” in the past when the absence of authority produced a “war of all against all.” To escape such intolerable insecurity, he theorized, people delivered their rights to a sovereign power in return for the sovereign’s provision of security for all within the state’s border. The sovereign state’s monopoly on power was established as the only way to overcome the perpetual fear of violent death and war.
1) Thomas Hobbes theorized that sovereign states emerged out of people’s voluntary desire to overcome the sense of insecurity and establish the doctrine of sovereign equality.
2) Thomas Hobbes theorized the emergence of sovereign states based on a transactional relationship between people and sovereign state that was necessitated by a sense of insecurity of the people.
3) Thomas Hobbes theorized the voluntary surrender of rights by people as essential for emergence of sovereign states.
4) Thomas Hobbes theorized the emergence of sovereign states as a form of transactional governance to limit the power of the papacy.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
Option 1 is incorrect because people delivered their rights to a sovereign power in return for the sovereign’s provision of security. Option 3 is incorrect because sovereign states were already in existence. Option 4 is incorrect because papacy is not mentioned in Hobbes theory. Only option 2 best summarizes the given passage.
Question-25
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The dominant hypotheses in modern science believe that language evolved to allow humans to exchange factual information about the physical world. But an alternative view is that language evolved, in modern humans at least, to facilitate social bonding. It increased our ancestors’ chances of survival by enabling them to hunt more successfully or to cooperate more extensively. Language meant that things could be explained and that plans and past experiences could be shared efficiently.
1) Since its origin, language has been continuously evolving to higher forms, from being used to identify objects to ensuring human survival by enabling our ancestors to bond and cooperate.
2) Most believe that language originated from a need to articulate facts, but others think it emerged from the need to promote social cohesion and cooperation, thus enabling human survival.
3) Experts are challenging the narrow view of the origin of language, as being merely used to describe facts and label objects, to being necessary to promote more complex interactions among humans.
4) From the belief that humans invented language to process factual information, scholars now think that language was the outcome of the need to ensure social cohesion and thus human survival.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
The passage is making two points:
a. The prominent view is that language evolved to facilitate exchange of factual information about the world.
b. Another view holds that it evolved to facilitate social bonding which ensured the survival of the human race.
Only the second option captures these essential aspects of the argument. Option 1 is incorrect because there is no discussion on the evolution of language. There is no element of challenging of viewpoints. By the same logic even option 4 gets negated.
Question- 26
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Brown et al. (2001) suggest that ‘metabolic theory may provide a conceptual foundation for much of ecology just as genetic theory provides a foundation for much of evolutionary biology’. One of the successes of genetic theory is the diversity of theoretical approaches and models that have been developed and applied. A Web of Science (v. 5.9. Thomson Reuters) search on genetic* + theor* + evol* identifies more than 12000 publications between 2005 and 2012. Considering only the 10 most-cited papers within this 12000 publication set, genetic theory can be seen to focus on genome dynamics, phylogenetic inference, game theory and the regulation of gene expression. There is no one fundamental genetic equation, but rather a wide array of genetic models, ranging from simple to complex, with differing inputs and outputs, and divergent areas of application, loosely connected to each other through the shared conceptual foundation of heritable variation.
1) Genetic theory has a wide range of theoretical approaches and application and is foundational to evolutionary biology and Metabolic theory has the potential to do the same for ecology.
2) Genetic theory has a wide range of theoretical approaches and applications and Metabolic theory must have the same in the field of ecology.
3) Genetic theory provides an example of how a range of theoretical approaches and applications can make a theory successful.
4) Genetic theory has evolved to spawn a wide range of theoretical models and applications but Metabolic theory need not evolve in a similar manner in the field of ecology.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
The essence of the passage is captured in the opening line itself ‘‘metabolic theory may provide a conceptual foundation for much of ecology just as genetic theory provides a foundation for much of evolutionary biology’. It then goes on to talk about the various applications of genetic theory. Thus, the correct summarization is provided by option 1. The use of ‘must’ makes option 2 wrong. 3 is factually incorrect. There is no contrast presented between metabolic theory and genetic theory. Thus, 4 is also wrong.
Question- 27
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Aesthetic political representation urges us to realize that ‘the representative has autonomy with regard to the people represented’ but autonomy then is not an excuse to abandon one’s responsibility. Aesthetic autonomy requires cultivation of ‘disinterestedness’ on the part of actors which is not indifference. To have disinterestedness, that is, to have comportment towards the beautiful that is devoid of all ulterior references to use – requires a kind of aesthetic commitment; it is the liberation of ourselves for the release of what has proper worth only in itself.
1) Disinterestedness, as distinct from indifference, is the basis of political representation.
2) Disinterestedness is different from indifference as the former means a non-subjective evaluation of things which is what constitutes aesthetic political representation.
3) Aesthetic political representation advocates autonomy for the representatives drawing from disinterestedness, which itself is different from indifference.
4) Aesthetic political representation advocates autonomy for the representatives manifested through disinterestedness which itself is different from indifference.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The key aspects of the passage are – what constitutes aesthetic political representation and the meaning of disinterestedness in this respect. This is why 3 is correct. Option 1 distorts the flow of ideas while ‘constitutes’ makes 2 incorrect. The passage states that aesthetic autonomy requires the development of disinterestedness.
Question- 28
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Physics is a pure science that seeks to understand the behavior of matter without regard to whether it will afford any practical benefit. Engineering is the correlative applied science in which physical theories are put to some specific use, such as building a bridge or a nuclear reactor. Engineers obviously rely heavily on the discoveries of physicists, but an engineer’s knowledge of the world is not the same as the physicist’s knowledge. In fact, an engineer’s know-how will often depend on physical theories that, from the point of view of pure physics, are false. There are some reasons for this. First, theories that are false in the purest and strictest sense are still sometimes very good approximations to the true ones, and often have the added virtue of being much easier to work with. Second, sometimes the true theories apply only under highly idealized conditions which can only be created under controlled experimental situations. The engineer finds that in the real world, theories rejected by physicists yield more accurate predictions than the ones that they accept.
1) Though engineering draws heavily from pure science, it contributes to knowledge, by incorporating the constraints and conditions in the real world.
2) Engineering and physics fundamentally differ on matters like building a bridge or a nuclear reactor.
3) The unique task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and interpret the design constraints to produce a successful result.
4) The relationship between pure and applied science is strictly linear, with the pure science directing applied science, and never the other way round.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
The passage discusses the difference between pure and applied science and the difference between the knowledge of an engineer and that of a physicist. This is not captured by option 2. Option 4 cannot be considered as it is untrue. Option 3 has no mention of pure science, so it cannot be considered. So, the correct answer is option 1 as it clearly captures the essence of the passage.
Question- 29
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders alerted the public to the psychoanalytical techniques used by the advertising industry. Its premise was that advertising agencies were using depth interviews to identify hidden consumer motivations, which were then used to entice consumers to buy goods. Critics and reporters often wrongly assumed that Packard was writing mainly about subliminal advertising. Packard never mentioned the word subliminal, however, and devoted very little space to discussions of “subthreshold” effects. Instead, his views largely aligned with the notion that individuals do not always have access to their conscious thoughts and can be persuaded by supraliminal messages without their knowledge.
1) Packard held that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ builds on peoples’ conscious thoughts and awareness, by understanding the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the subliminal level.
2) Packard argued that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ works at the supraliminal level, wherein the people targeted are aware of being persuaded, after understanding the hidden motivations of consumers and works.
3) Packard held that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ understands the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the supraliminal level, though the people targeted have no awareness of being persuaded.
4) Packard argued that advertising as a ‘hidden persuasion’ understands the hidden motivations of consumers and works at the subliminal level, on the subconscious level of the awareness of the people targeted.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
Choices with respect to supraliminal and subliminal have a clear difference. Also, the passage mentions that Packard believed in supraliminal images, not subliminal. This makes options 1 and 4 incorrect. The passage mentions that people are not aware, which is also indicated in option 3. Thus, the correct answer is option 3.
Question- 30
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.
1) Thoughts are essential to communication and only humans have the ability to think about objects not present in their surroundings.
2) The ability to think about objects not present in our environment precedes the development of human communication.
3) Thoughts precede all speech acts and these thoughts pop up in our heads even in the absence of any stimulus.
4) Displaced reference is particular to humans and thoughts pop into our heads for no real reason.
Explanation
Correct answer- 2
Option 1 cannot be considered because it mentions information that has not been described in the passage. Options 3 and 4 are untrue as they distort the information provided in the passage, so they cannot be considered. Option 2 does not have any distortions and clearly captures the essence of the passage. Thus, the correct answer is option 2.
Question- 31
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Language is an autapomorphy found only in our lineage, and not shared with other branches of our group such as primates. We also have no definitive evidence that any species other than Homo sapiens ever had language. However, it must be noted straightaway that ‘language’ is not a monolithic entity, but rather a complex bundle of traits that must have evolved over a significant time frame…. Moreover, language crucially draws on aspects of cognition that are long established in the primate lineage, such as memory: the language faculty as a whole comprises more than just the uniquely linguistic features.
1) Language is a distinctively human feature as there is no evidence of the existence of language in any other species.
2) Language, a derived trait found only in humans, has evolved over time and involves memory.
3) Language evolved with linguistic features building on features of cognition such as memory.
4) Language is not a single, uniform entity but the end result of a long and complex process of linguistic evolution.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
The other options are narrow in scope. The passage mentions memory and also, the gradual evolution of languages. There is also the mention of aspects or features of cognition that help a language to develop. Hence, option 3 is the correct answer.
Question- 32
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Privacy-challenged office workers may find it hard to believe, but open-plan offices and cubicles were invented by architects and designers who thought that to break down the social walls that divide people, you had to break down the real walls, too. Modernist architects saw walls and rooms as downright fascist. The spaciousness and flexibility of an open plan would liberate homeowners and office dwellers from the confines of boxes. But companies took up their idea less out of a democratic ideology than a desire to pack in as many workers as they could. The typical open-plan office of the first half of the 20th century was a white-collar assembly line. Cubicles were interior designers’ attempt to put some soul back in.
1) Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out the way their utopian inventors intended, as they became tools for exploitation of labor.
2) Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out as desired and therefore cubicles came into being.
3) Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out as companies don’t believe in democratic ideology.
4) Wall-free office spaces could have worked out the way their utopian inventors intended had companies cared for workers’ satisfaction.
Explanation
Correct answer- 1
Option 1 is the most appropriate summary because the mentions that open offices were originally conceived to break social walls. Later, open offices were preferred by employers because more number of people could be accommodated. The other options are narrow in scope.
Question- 33
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Social movement organizations often struggle to mobilize supporters from allied movements in their efforts to achieve critical mass. Organizations with hybrid identities—those whose organizational identities span the boundaries of two or more social movements, issues, or identities—are vital to mobilizing these constituencies. Studies of the post- 9/11 U.S. antiwar movement show that individuals with past involvement in non-anti-war movements are more likely to join hybrid organizations than are individuals without involvement in non-anti-war movements. In addition, they show that organizations with hybrid identities occupy relatively more central positions in inter-organizational contact networks within the antiwar movement and thus recruit significantly more participants in demonstrations than do nonhybrid organizations.
1) Hybrid organizations attract individuals that are deeply involved in anti-war movements.
2) Movements that work towards social change often find it difficult to mobilize a critical mass of supporters.
3) Organizations with hybrid identities are able to mobilize individuals with different points of view.
4) Post 9/11 studies show that people who are involved in non anti-war movements are likely to join hybrid organizations.
Explanation
Correct answer- 3
Refer to the second sentence of the paragraph. The second sentence forms the crux of the passage. The other options are narrow in scope and don’t encompass the entire passage.
