Will a day come when India’s poor can access government services as easily as drawing cash from an ATM? No country in the world has made accessing education or health or policing or dispute resolution as easy as an ATM, because the nature of these activities requires individuals to use their discretion in a positive way. Technology can certainly facilitate this in a variety of ways if it is seen as one part of an overall approach, but the evidence so far in education, for instance, is that just adding computers alone doesn’t make education any better.
The dangerous illusion of technology is that it can create stronger, top down accountability of service providers in implementation-intensive services within existing public sector organisations. One notion is that electronic management information systems (EMIS) keep better track of inputs and those aspects of personnel that are ‘EMIS visible’ can lead to better services. A recent study examined attempts to increase attendance of Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs) at clinics in Rajasthan, which involved high- tech time clocks to monitor attendance. The study’s title says it all: Band-Aids on a Corpse. E-governance can be just as bad as any other governance when the real issue is people and their motivation.
For services to improve, the people providing the services have to want to do a better job with the skills they have. A study of medical care in Delhi found that even though providers, in the public sector had much better skills than private sector providers their provision of care in actual practice was much worse.
In implementation-intensive services the key to success is face-to-face interactions between a teacher, a nurse, a policeman, an extension agent and a citizen. This
relationship is about power. Amartya Sen’s report on education in West Bengal had a supremely telling anecdote in which the villagers forced the teacher to attend school, but then, when the parents went off to work, the teacher did not teach, but forced the children to massage his feet. As long as the system empowers providers over citizens, technology is irrelevant.
The answer to successfully providing basic services is to create systems that provide both autonomy and accountability. In basic education for instance, the answer to poor teaching is not controlling teachers more. The key is to hire teachers who want to teach and let them teach, expressing their professionalism and vocation as a teacher through autonomy in the classroom. This autonomy has to be matched with accountability for results—not just narrowly measured through test scores, but broadly for the quality of the education they provide.
A recent study in Uttar Pradesh showed that if, somehow, all civil service teachers could be replaced with contract teachers, the state could save a billion dollars a year in revenue and double student learning. Just the additional autonomy and accountability of contracts through local groups—even without complementary system changes in information and empowerment—led to that much improvement. The first step to being part of the solution is to create performance information accessible to those outside of the government.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
In the context of the passage, we can infer that the title “Band Aids on a Corpse” (in paragraph 2) suggests that:
- the nurses who attended the clinics were too poorly trained to provide appropriate medical care.
- the electronic monitoring system was a superficial solution to a serious problem.
- the nurses attended the clinics, but the clinics were ill- equipped.
- the clinics were better funded, but performance monitoring did not result in any improvement.
Details
Explanatory Answer
The passage refers to the title of the study—Band-Aids on a Corpse — to argue that e-governance can be just as bad as any other governance when the real issue is people and their motivation. Using technology to monitor attendance of nurses does not solve the problem.
The point here is that technology alone cannot provide solutions where the problem is with people. The issue discussed is not training (option 1) or a lack of facilities (option 3) or funding (option 4).
The question is “In the context of the passage, we can infer that the title “Band Aids on a Corpse” (in paragraph 2) suggests that:”
Hence, the answer is the electronic monitoring system was a superficial solution to a serious problem.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
According to the author, service delivery in Indian education can be improved in all of the following ways EXCEPT through:
- use of technology.
- recruitment of motivated teachers.
- access to information on the quality of teaching.
- elimination of government involvement.
Details
Explanatory Answer
With regard to improvement of education services in paragraphs 4 and 5, the passage argues that ‘the key is to hire teachers who want to teach and let them teach’ and that ‘the first step to being part of the solution is to create performance information accessible to those outside of the government.’
With regard to the use of technology in education, the passage states in paragraph 1 that ‘technology can certainly facilitate this in a variety of ways if it is seen as one part of an overall approach’, though computers alone cannot provide the solution.
The passage does not state anywhere that elimination of government involvement would improve Indian education.
The question is “According to the author, service delivery in Indian education can be improved in all of the following ways EXCEPT through:”
Hence, the answer is elimination of government involvement.
Choice D is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which of the following, IF TRUE, would undermine the passage’s main argument?
- If absolute instead of moderate technological
surveillance is exercised over the performance of service providers.
- Empowerment of service providers leads to increased complacency and rigged performance results.
- If it were proven that increase in autonomy of service
providers leads to an exponential increase in their work ethic and sense of responsibility.
- If it were proven that service providers in the private sector have better skills than those in the public sector.
Details
Explanatory Answer
The passage states that empowerment of service providers with additional autonomy and holding them accountable can improve the provision of service. Option 2 provides an argument against this.
Option 1 talks of ‘absolute instead of moderate technological surveillance.’ One of the key ideas of the passage is that technology alone cannot improve service delivery. Option 3 actually strengthens the main argument of the passage. Option 4 is irrelevant as the point of discussion is not the comparison between public sector and private sector.
The question is “Which of the following, IF TRUE, would undermine the passage’s main argument?”
Hence, the answer is Empowerment of service providers leads to increased complacency and rigged performance results.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The author questions the use of monitoring systems in services that involve face-to-face interaction between service providers and clients because such systems:
- do not improve services that need committed service providers.
- are not as effective in the public sector as they are in the private sector.
- improve the skills but do not increase the motivation of service providers
- are ineffective because they are managed by the government.
Details
Explanatory Answer
See paragraphs 2 and 3. The passage argues that in implementation-intensive services involving face-to-face interactions between service providers and clients, ‘the real issue is people and their motivation’ and that ‘as long as the system empowers providers over citizens, technology is irrelevant.’
The question is “The author questions the use of monitoring systems in services that involve face-to-face interaction between service providers and clients because such systems:”
Hence, the answer is do not improve services that need committed service providers.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The main purpose of the passage is to:
- critique the government’s involvement in educational activities and other implementation-intensive services.
- argue that some types of services can be improved by providing independence and requiring accountability.
- analyse the shortcomings of government-appointed nurses and their management through technology.
- find a solution to the problem of poor service delivery in education by examining different strategies.
Details
Explanatory Answer
This passage argues that the key to successfully providing basic services is not technology but the creation of systems that provide both autonomy and accountability (see paragraph 4). Option 2 sums this up.
Option 1 is clearly incorrect. The passage does not focus on critiquing the government’s involvement in education or other implementation intensive services. Options 3 and 4 limit the main idea of the passage to healthcare and education, respectively. The passage is more general, and only cites examples from these fields.
The question is ” The main purpose of the passage is to:”
Hence, the answer is argue that some types of services can be improved by providing independence and requiring accountability.
Choice B is the correct answer.
White-lipped Grove Snails
Grove snails as a whole are distributed all over Europe, but a specific variety of the snail, with a distinctive white-lipped shell, is found exclusively in Ireland and in the Pyrenees mountains that lie on the border between France and Spain. The researchers sampled a total of 423 snail specimens from 36 sites distributed across Europe, with an emphasis on gathering large numbers of the white-lipped variety. When they sequenced genes from the mitochondrial DNA of each of these snails and used algorithms to analyze the genetic diversity between them, they found that a distinct lineage (the snails with the white-lipped shells) was indeed endemic to the two very specific and distant places in question.
Explaining this is tricky. Previously, some had speculated that the strange distributions of
creatures such as the white-lipped grove snails could be explained by convergent evolution—in which two populations evolve the same trait by coincidence—but the underlying genetic similarities between the two groups rules that out. Alternately, some scientists had suggested that the white-lipped variety had simply spread over the whole continent, then been wiped out everywhere besides Ireland and the Pyrenees, but the researchers say their sampling and subsequent DNA analysis eliminate that possibility too.
“If the snails naturally colonized Ireland, you would expect to find some of the same genetic type in other areas of Europe, especially Britain. We just don’t find them,” Davidson, the lead author, said in a press statement.
Moreover, if they’d gradually spread across the continent, there would be some genetic variation within the white-lipped type, because evolution would introduce variety over the thousands of years it would have taken them to spread from the Pyrenees to Ireland. That variation doesn’t exist, at least in the genes sampled. This means that rather than the organism gradually expanding its range, large populations instead were somehow moved en mass to the other location within the space of a few dozen generations, ensuring a lack of genetic variety.
“There is a very clear pattern, which is difficult to explain except by involving humans,” Davidson said. Humans, after all, colonized Ireland roughly 9,000 years ago, and the oldest fossil evidence of grove snails in Ireland dates to roughly the same era. Additionally, there is archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic and even evidence that humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture, as their burnt shells have been found in Stone Age trash heaps.
The simplest explanation, then? Boats. These snails may have inadvertently traveled on the floor of the small, coast-hugging skiffs these early humans used for travel, or they may have been intentionally carried to Ireland by the seafarers as a food source. “The highways of the past were rivers and the ocean–as the river that flanks the Pyrenees was an ancient trade route to the Atlantic, what we’re actually seeing might be the long lasting legacy of snails that hitched a ride as humans travelled from the South of France to Ireland 8,000 years ago,” Davidson said.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
All of the following evidence supports the passage’s explanation of sea travel/trade EXCEPT:
- the coincidental existence of similar traits in the white- lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
- the oldest fossil evidence of white-lipped grove snails in Ireland dates back to roughly 9,000 years ago, the time when humans colonised Ireland.
- absence of genetic variation within the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees, whose genes were sampled.
- archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.
Details
Explanatory Answer
Paragraph 2 explains that convergent evolution is ruled out as a possibility because “the underlying genetic similarities between the two groups rules that out”.
Note that option 2 talks of “the absence of genetic similarities”, which is incorrect. The passage rules out coincidental evolution mentioned in option 3. There is no evidence in the passage to support option 4.
The question is “All of the following evidence supports the passage’s explanation of sea travel/trade EXCEPT: “
Hence, the answer is the coincidental existence of similar traits in the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The passage outlines several hypotheses and evidence related to white-lipped grove snails to arrive at the most convincing explanation for:
- why the white-lipped variety of grove snails were wiped out everywhere except in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- how the white-lipped variety of grove snails independently evolved in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- why the white-lipped variety of grove snails are found only in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- how the white-lipped variety of grove snails independently evolved in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
Details
Explanatory Answer
The first paragraph explains that white-lipped grove snails are “found exclusively in Ireland and in the Pyrenees mountains”. The passage examines various possible reasons for this in paragraphs 2 and 3 and rules out the possibility of these snails having existed elsewhere but wiped out (paragraph 2 : ‘…but the researchers say their sampling and subsequent analysis eliminate that possibility…’) and the possibility that convergent evolution happened (paragraph 2: ‘…but the underlying genetic similarities between the two groups rules that out’). So, options 1 and 2 are ruled out.
However, option 4 is a close contender to option 3, as the passage does conclude that the snails migrated from Pyrenees to Ireland en masse.
Nevertheless, between the two, option 3 is better. The passage outlines several hypotheses: convergent evolution, mass wipe-out and migration. These offer possible explanations as to the presence—rather than simply the migration—of white-lipped snails.
The question is ” The passage outlines several hypotheses and evidence related to white-lipped grove snails to arrive at the most convincing explanation for:”
Hence, the answer is why the white-lipped variety of grove snails are found only in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which one of the following makes the author eliminate convergent evolution as a probable explanation for why white-lipped grove snails are found in Ireland and
the Pyrenees?
- The absence of genetic variation between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- The absence of genetic similarities between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and snails from other parts of Europe, especially Britain.
- The coincidental evolution of similar traits (white-lipped shell) in the grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- The distinct lineage of white-lipped grove snails found specifically in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
Details
Explanatory Answer
Easy one. The passage categorically rules out convergent evolution as an explanation for the presence of the snails in Ireland and the Pyrenees in paragraph 2. Clearly, option 1 is incorrect.
Evidence to support option 2 is in paragraph 4 (‘humans, after all, colonized Ireland roughly 9000 years ago, and the oldest fossil evidence of grove snails in Ireland dates to roughly the same era.’). We infer that option 3 is right from paragraph 3 (‘That variation doesn’t exist, at least in the genes sampled.’). We know that option 4 is right from paragraph 4 (‘there is archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic…’)
The question is “Which one of the following makes the author eliminate convergent evolution as a probable explanation for why white-lipped grove snails are found in Ireland and the Pyrenees?”
Hence, the answer is The absence of genetic variation between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
In paragraph 4, the evidence that “humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture” can be used to conclude that:
- white-lipped grove snails may have inadvertently traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland on the floor of the small, coast-hugging skiffs that early seafarers used for travel.
- the seafarers who traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland might have carried white-lipped grove snails with them as edibles.
- rivers and oceans in the Stone Age facilitated trade in white-lipped grove snails.
- 9,000 years ago, during the Stone Age, humans traveled from the South of France to Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.
Details
Explanatory Answer
That humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture simply shows that the snails were edibles—a source of food—for the seafarers.
Options 3 and 4 are unrelated to the question and easily ruled out. Evidence that humans ate these snails does not directly lead to the conclusion that the snails “inadvertently” travelled from the Pyrenees to Ireland on the floor of boats. So, option 1 is also ruled out.
The question is “In paragraph 4, the evidence that “humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture” can be used to conclude that:”
Hence, the answer is the seafarers who traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland might have carried white-lipped grove snails with them as edibles.
Choice B is the correct answer.
Meritocracy
The complexity of modern problems often precludes any one person from fully understanding them. Factors contributing to rising obesity levels, for example, include transportation systems and infrastructure, media, convenience foods, changing social norms, human biology and psychological factors. The multidimensional or layered character of complex problems also undermines the principle of meritocracy: the idea that the ‘best person’ should be hired. There is no best person. When putting together an oncological research team, a biotech company such as Gilead or Genentech would not construct a multiple-choice test and hire the top scorers, or hire people whose resumes score highest according to some performance criteria. Instead, they would seek diversity. They would build a team of people who bring diverse knowledge bases, tools and analytic skills.
Believers in a meritocracy might grant that teams ought to be diverse but then argue that meritocratic principles should apply within each category. Thus the team should consist of the ‘best’ mathematicians, the ‘best’ oncologists, and the ‘best’ biostatisticians from within the pool. That position suffers from a similar flaw.
Even with a knowledge domain, no test or criteria applied to individuals will produce the best team. Each of these domains possesses such depth and breadth, that no test can exist. Consider the field of neuroscience. Upwards of 50,000 papers were published last year covering various techniques, domains of enquiry and levels of analysis, ranging from molecules and synapses up through networks of neurons. Given that complexity, any attempt to rank a collection of neuroscientists from best to worst, as if they were competitors in the 50-metre butterfly, must fail. What could be true is that given a specific task and the composition of a particular team, one scientist would be more likely to contribute than another. Optimal hiring depends on context. Optimal teams will be diverse.
Evidence for this claim can be seen in the way that papers and patents that combine diverse ideas tend to rank as high-impact. It can also be found in the structure of the so- called random decision forest, a state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithm.
Random forests consist of ensembles of decision trees. If classifying pictures, each tree makes a vote: is that a picture of a fox or a dog? A weighted majority rules. Random forests can serve many ends. They can identify bank fraud and diseases, recommend ceiling fans and predict online dating behaviour. When building a forest, you do not select the best trees as they tend to make similar classifications. You want diversity. Programmers achieve that diversity by training each tree on different data, a technique known as bagging. They also boost the forest ‘cognitively’ by training trees on the hardest cases – those that the current forest gets wrong. This ensures even more diversity and accurate forests.”
Yet the fallacy of meritocracy persists. Corporations, non-profits, governments, universities and even preschools test, score and hire the ‘best’. This all but guarantees not creating the best team. Ranking people by common criteria produces homogeneity. That’s not likely to lead to breakthroughs.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The author critiques meritocracy for all the following reasons EXCEPT that:
- modern problems are multifaceted and require varied skill-sets to be solved.
- diversity and context-specificity are important for making major advances in any field.
- criteria designed to assess merit are insufficient to test expertise in any field of knowledge.
- an ideal team comprises of best individuals from diverse fields of knowledge.
Details
Explanatory Answer
Option 4 goes against the main idea of the passage.
Evidence to support option 1 can be found in paragraph 1 where the author argues that ‘the multidimensional or layered character of complex problems’ requires ‘a team of people who bring diverse knowledge bases, tools and analytic skills’ to tackle these.
Similarly, evidence to support option 2 is found in paragraph 2: ‘Optimal hiring depends on context. Optimal teams will be diverse.’
Option 3 too can be inferred from paragraph 2: ‘Each of these domains possesses such depth and breadth, that no test can exist.’
The question is “The author critiques meritocracy for all the following reasons EXCEPT that:
“
Hence, the answer is an ideal team comprises of best individuals from diverse fields of knowledge.
Choice D is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which of the following conditions would weaken the e?cacy of a random decision forest?
- If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy cases.
- If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy and hard cases.
- If the types of ensembles of decision trees in the forest were doubled.
- If the types of decision trees in each ensemble of the forest were doubled.
Details
Explanatory Answer
See paragraph 3. ‘Programmers achieve that diversity by training each tree on different data…..They also boost the forest cognitively by training trees on the hardest cases.’ So, the efficacy of a random decision forest would be reduced if a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy cases.
Option 2 would strengthen the logic of the decision tree forest, as the data is derived from both easy and hard cases. If the types (option 3) or the numbers (option 4) of decision trees in the ensemble are doubled, it would train the system better as a weighted majority is used to take decisions.
The question is “Which of the following conditions would weaken the efficacy of a random decision forest?
“
Hence, the answer is If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy cases.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which of the following conditions, if true, would invalidate the passage’s main argument?
- If assessment tests were made more extensive and rigorous.
- If top-scorers possessed multidisciplinary knowledge that enabled them to look at a problem from several
perspectives.
- If it were proven that teams characterised by diversity end up being conflicted about problems and take a long time to arrive at a solution.
- If a new machine-learning algorithm were developed that proved to be more effective than the random decision
forest.
Details
Explanatory Answer
Tricky question. The main argument of the passage is that meritocracy is a flawed principle, because (a) complex problems are multidimensional, and (b) even within a domain, no test or criteria can be applied to choose the ‘best’, as expertise is context-specific. Option 2 touches upon both these aspects. If top scorers possessed multi-disciplinary knowledge and could look at a problem from multiple perspectives, then the idea of meritocracy will hold good i.e it would deliver the results. This goes against the main argument of the passage.
Option 1 calls for assessment tests to be made ‘more extensive and rigorous’. This neither addresses the multidimensional aspect nor the point about context-specificity. So, it does not invalidate the main idea of the passage.
Option 3 talks of diverse teams that are conflicted and take a long time to arrive at solutions. This brings in two totally different aspects—conflict and decision time—that are not discussed in the passage. This does not invalidate the author’s argument.
Option 4 is not relevant. The author only talks of random decision forests in to illustrate the point that diverse ideas have high impact.
The question is “Which of the following conditions, if true, would invalidate the passage’s main argument?
“
Hence, the answer is If top-scorers possessed multidisciplinary knowledge that enabled them to look at a problem from several perspectives.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
On the basis of the passage, which of the following teams is likely to be most effective in solving the problem of rising obesity levels?
- A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each scored a distinction in their respective subject tests.
- A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban
planners and media personnel, who have each performed well in their respective subject tests.
- A specialised team of nutritionists from various countries, who are also trained in the machine-learning
algorithm of random decision forest.
- A specialised team of top nutritionists from various countries, who also possess some knowledge of
psychology.
Details
The author argues in the first paragraph that a problem like rising obesity levels can be best tackled by ‘a team of people who bring diverse knowledge bases, tools and analytic skills’. So options 3 and 4, which talk of ‘a specialised team of nutritionists’, are ruled out. Option 1 talks of a diverse team in which each member has ‘scored a distinction in their respective subject tests’. The author argues against this in paragraph 2 : ‘Even with a knowledge domain, no test or criteria applied to individuals will produce the best team.’
The question is “On the basis of the passage, which of the following teams is likely to be most effective in solving the problem of rising obesity levels?”
Hence, the answer is A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each performed well in their respective subject tests.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which of the following best describes the purpose of the example of neuroscience?
- In the modern age, every field of knowledge is so vast that a meaningful assessment of merit is impossible.
- Unlike other fields of knowledge, neuroscience is an exceptionally complex field, making a meaningful assessment of neuroscientists impossible.
- In narrow fields of knowledge, a meaningful assessment of expertise has always been possible.
- Neuroscience is an advanced field of science because of its connections with other branches of science like oncology and biostatistics.
Details
The author cites the example of neuroscience in paragraph 2 to illustrate the idea that every knowledge domain possesses such depth and breadth, that no single test can assess meritocracy. Option 1 hits the nail on the head.
Option 2 states that ‘unlike other fields of knowledge, neuroscience is an exceptionally complex’. The author does not single out neuroscience as exceptionally complex. All arguments in paragraph 2 are general, and about every knowledge domain.
Option 3 classifies neuroscience as a narrow field of knowledge and states that a meaningful assessment of expertise is hence possible. The author makes no such argument.
Option 4 is not stated in the passage.
The question is “Which of the following best describes the purpose of the example of neuroscience?”
Hence, the answer is In the modern age, every field of knowledge is so vast that a meaningful assessment of merit is impossible.
Choice A is the correct answer.
Metric fixation
More and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organisations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon: ‘metric fixation’.
The key components of metric fixation are the belief that it is possible – and desirable – to replace professional judgment (acquired through personal experience and talent) with numerical indicators of comparative performance based upon standardised data (metrics); and that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance.
The rewards can be monetary, in the form of pay for performance, say, or reputational, in the form of college rankings, hospital ratings, surgical report cards and so on. But the most dramatic negative effect of metric fixation is its propensity to incentivise gaming: that is, encouraging professionals to maximise the metrics in ways that are at odds with the larger purpose of the organisation. If the rate of major crimes in a district becomes the metric according to which police officers are promoted, then some officers will respond by simply not recording crimes or downgrading them from major offences to misdemeanours. Or take the case of surgeons. When the metrics of success and failure are made public – affecting their reputation and income – some surgeons will improve their metric scores by refusing to operate on patients with more complex problems, whose surgical outcomes are more likely to be negative. Who suffers? The patients who don’t get operated upon.
When reward is tied to measured performance, metric fixation invites just this sort of gaming. But metric fixation also leads to a variety of more subtle unintended negative consequences. These include goal displacement, which comes in many varieties: when performance is judged by a few measures, and the stakes are high (keeping one’s job, getting a pay rise or raising the stock price at the time that stock options are vested), people focus on satisfying those measures – often at the expense of other, more important organisational goals that are not measured. The best-known example is ‘teaching to the test’, a widespread phenomenon that has distorted primary and secondary
education in the United States since the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Short-termism is another negative. Measured performance encourages what the US sociologist Robert K Merton in 1936 called ‘the imperious immediacy of interests where the actor’s paramount concern with the foreseen immediate consequences excludes consideration of further or other consequences’. In short, advancing short-term goals at the expense of long-range considerations. This problem is endemic to publicly traded corporations that sacrifice long-term research and development, and the development of their staff, to the perceived imperatives of the quarterly report.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Of the following, which would have added the least depth to the author’s argument?
- An analysis of the reasons why metrics fixation is becoming popular despite its drawbacks.
- A comparative case study of metrics- and non-metrics- based evaluation, and its impact on the main goals of an organisation.
- More real-life illustrations of the consequences of
employees and professionals gaming metrics-based performance measurement systems.
- Assessment of the pros and cons of a professional judgment-based evaluation system.
Details
Explanatory Answer
This question is worded trickily. We need to pick the option that adds the least depth to the author’s argument. What is the author’s argument? That metric fixation has a number of negative consequences. We need to look for an option that either goes against or does very little to improve the author’s position.
Would option 1—an analysis of the reasons why metrics fixation is becoming popular despite drawbacks—support or improve the author’s argument? Only a little, as this not the author’s main idea.
Would option 2—a comparative case study of metrics and non-metrics-based evaluation, and its impact on the main goals of an organization—help? Yes, it would. It could help the author show that with non-metrics-based evaluation, important but not measurable goals are worked upon.
Option 3 talks of more real-life illustrations of the consequences of employees and professionals gaming metrics-based performance measurement systems. The author already mentions police officers and surgeons in the passage. More examples would simply be superfluous, not adding much to the passage.
Option 4 talks of an assessment of the pros and cons of a professional judgment-based evaluation system. This is somewhat similar to option 2. It would help strengthen the author’s argument.
Between options 1 and 3, option 1 expands on a tangential idea, while 3 is unnecessary, as it works on a point the author has already covered in the passage. A close choice with option 3 winning as it adds the least depth, being superfluous.
The question is “Of the following, which would have added the least depth to the author’s argument?”
Hence, the answer is More real-life illustrations of the consequences of employees and professionals gaming metrics-based performance measurement systems.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Which of the following is NOT a consequence of the ‘metric fixation’ phenomenon mentioned in the passage?
- Short-term orientation induced by frequent measurement of performance.
- Finding a way to show better results without actually improving performance.
- Improving cooperation among employees leading to increased organisational effectiveness in the long run.
- Deviating from organisationally important objectives to measurable yet less important objectives.
Details
The passage focusses on the negative effects of metric fixation. Option 3 mentions ‘improved cooperation’ and ‘increased effectiveness in the long run’. The author does not mention these as a consequence of metric fixation in the passage.
We know that option 1 is true from paragraph 4 which discusses short-termism as a negative consequence of metric fixation. The problem mentioned in option 2 – finding a way to show better results without actually increasing performance—is discussed in paragraph 2. In paragraph 3, the author talks of the problem of deviation from organizationally important objectives to measurable yet less important objectives.
The question is ” Which of the following is NOT a consequence of the ‘metric fixation’ phenomenon mentioned in the passage?”
Hence, the answer is Improving cooperation among employees leading to increased organisational effectiveness in the long run.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
What main point does the author want to convey through the examples of the police o?cer and the surgeon?
- Some professionals are likely to be significantly influenced by the design of performance measurement systems.
- Metrics-linked rewards may encourage unethical behaviour among some professionals.
- The actions of police officers and surgeons have a significantly impact on society.
- Critical public roles should not be evaluated on metrics- based performance measures.
Details
To answer this, take a close look at paragraph 2. The author gives the examples of police officers and surgeons to explain how metric fixation may encourage professionals to maximize metrics ‘in ways that are at odds with the larger purpose’ of the organization. Option 2 captures this idea best.
Option 1 simply states that ‘some professionals’ are likely to be ‘significantly influenced’ by performance measurement systems. This misses the point. Option 3 states that the actions of police officers and surgeons have a ‘significant impact on society’. The impact police officers and surgeons have on the society is not the key idea here. Option 4 is close. But the focus of option 4 is on critical public roles. The author, however, does not specifically focus on professions that are of crucial importance to the general public. The author’s argument is more broad-based; it is about how metric fixation encourages the propensity to game the system. Option 2 is better than option 4.
The question is “What main point does the author want to convey through the examples of the police officer and the surgeon?”
Hence, the answer is Metrics-linked rewards may encourage unethical behaviour among some professionals.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
All of the following can be a possible feature of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, EXCEPT:
- school funding and sanctions are tied to yearly improvement shown on tests.
- standardized test scores can be critical in determining a student’s educational future.
- the focus is more on test-taking skills than on higher order thinking and problem-solving.
- assessment is dependent on the teacher’s subjective evaluation of students’ class participation.
Details
In paragraph 3, as an example to show how metric fixation leads to goal displacement –the focus on some measures at the expense of more important (but not measured) goals—the author cites the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and explains that ‘teaching to the test’ is a fallout of this. So, what cannot be a feature of the Act? Something important that is not quantifiable or measured—like the teacher’s subjective evaluation of a student’s class participation mentioned in option 4.
Options 1 and 2 tie test performance to high-stake rewards. Option 3 is about the focus on a less important goal at the expense of a more important one. These are problems associated with goal displacement, discussed in paragraph 3. They strengthen—not weaken—the author’s argument.
The question is “All of the following can be a possible feature of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, EXCEPT: “
Hence, the answer is assessment is dependent on the teacher’s subjective evaluation of students’ class participation.
Choice D is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
What is the main idea that the author is trying to highlight in the passage?
- Long-term organisational goals should not be ignored for short-term measures of organisational success.
- All kinds of organisations are now relying on metrics to measure performance and to give rewards and
punishments.
- Evaluating performance by using measurable
performance metrics may misguide organisational goal achievement.
- Performance measurement needs to be precise and cost- effective to be useful for evaluating organisational
performance.
Details
The passage lists and analyses the negative effects associated with metric fixation: the incentive to ‘game’ the system, goal displacement, short-termism and the time/transactional costs associated with metrics. Option 3 captures this idea best.
Option 4 is incorrect and can be ruled out right away. Options 1 and 2 simply state one aspect of the passage; they do not highlight the main idea.
The question is “What is the main idea that the author is trying to highlight in the passage?”
Hence, the answer is Evaluating performance by using measurable performance metrics may misguide organisational goal achievement.
Choice C is the correct answer.
Rings of Satrun
NOT everything looks lovelier the longer and closer its inspection. But Saturn does. It is gorgeous through Earthly telescopes. However, the 13 years of close observation provided by Cassini, an American spacecraft, showed the planet, its moons and its remarkable rings off better and better, revealing finer structures, striking novelties and greater drama.
By and large the big things in the solar system—planets and moons—are thought of as having been around since the beginning. The suggestion that rings and moons are new is, though, made even more interesting by the fact that one of those moons, Enceladus, is widely considered the most promising site in the solar system on which to look for alien life. If Enceladus is both young and bears life, that life must have come into being quickly. This is also believed to have been the case on Earth. Were it true on Enceladus, that would encourage the idea that life evolves easily when conditions are right.
One reason for thinking Saturn’s rings are young is that they are bright. The solar system is suffused with comet dust, and comet dust is dark. Leaving Saturn’s ring system (which Cassini has shown to be more than 90% water ice) out in such a mist is like leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack: it will get dirty. The lighter the
rings are, the faster this will happen, for the less mass they contain, the less celestial pollution they can absorb before they start to discolour Jeff Cuzzi, a scientist at America’s space agency, NASA, who helped run Cassini, told the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston that combining the mass estimates with Cassini’s measurements of the density of comet-dust near Saturn suggests the rings are no older than the first dinosaurs, nor younger than the last of them—that is, they are somewhere between 200m and 70m years old.
That timing fits well with a theory put forward in 2016, by Matija Cuk of the SETI Institute, in California and his colleagues. They suggest that at around the same time as the rings came into being an old set of moons orbiting Saturn destroyed themselves, and from their remains emerged not only the rings but also the planet’s current suite of inner moons— Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas.
Dr Cuk and his colleagues used computer simulations of Saturn’s moons’ orbits as a sort of time machine. Looking at the rate at which tidal friction is causing these orbits to lengthen they extrapolated backwards to find out what those orbits would have looked like in the past. They discovered that about 100m years ago the orbits of two of them, Tethys and Dione, would have interacted in a way that left the planes in which they orbit markedly tilted. But their orbits are untilted. The obvious, if unsettling, conclusion was that this interaction never happened—and thus that at the time when it should have happened, Dione and Tethys were simply not there. They must have come into being later.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The phrase “leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack” is used to explain how the ringed planet’s:
- atmosphere absorbs comet dust.
- moons create a gap between the rings.
- rings discolour and darken over time.
- rings lose mass over time.
Details
Paragraph 3 explains that “leaving Saturn’s ring system out in such a mist is like leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack: it will get dirty. The lighter the rings are, the faster this will happen, for the less mass they contain, the less celestial pollution they can absorb before they start to discolour…’
The question is “The phrase “leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack” is used to explain how the ringed planet’s:”
Hence, the answer is rings discolour and darken over time.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Data provided by Cassini challenged the assumption that:
- all big things in the solar system have been around since the beginning.
- new celestial bodies can form from the destruction of old celestial bodies
- Saturn’s ring system is composed mostly of water ice.
- there was life on earth when Saturn’s rings were being formed.
Details
Again, the answer lies in paragraph 3: “…combining the mass estimates with Cassini’s measurements of the density of comet-dust near Saturn suggests the rings are no older than the first dinosaurs nor younger than the last of them-that is, they are somewhere between 200m and 70m years old.”
The question is “Data provided by Cassini challenged the assumption that:”
Hence, the answer is all big things in the solar system have been around since the beginning.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Based on information provided in the passage, we can infer that, in addition to water ice, Saturn’s rings might also have small amounts of:
- methane and rock particles.
- rock particles and comet dust.
- helium and methane.
- helium and comet dust.
Details
Explanatory Answer
We know Saturn’s rings contain comet dust and rock particles from paragraphs 3 and 4. Paragraph 3 explains how the solar system is “suffused with comet dust “and how Saturn’s rings absorb this “celestial pollution”. Paragraph 4 states “an old set of moons orbiting Saturn destroyed themselves, and from their remains emerged not only the rings….”.
There is no mention of helium or methane in the passage.
The question is “Based on information provided in the passage, we can infer that, in addition to water ice, Saturn’s rings might also have small amounts of:”
Hence, the answer is rock particles and comet dust.
Choice B is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The main objective of the passage is to:
- provide evidence that Saturn’s rings and moons are recent creations.
- highlight the beauty, finer structures and celestial drama of Saturn’s rings and moons.
- demonstrate how the orbital patterns of Saturn’s rings and moons change over time.
- establish that Saturn’s rings and inner moons have been around since the beginning of time.
Details
Explanatory Answer
The main idea of the passage is that Saturn’s rings and its moons are relatively “new” in the solar system.
Though the passage starts off noting that Cassini has enabled the study of the beauty, finer structures and celestial drama of Saturn’s rings and moons, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 are focused less on describing these and more on the fact that Saturn’s rings and moons are new, and not around “since the beginning”. So, option 2 is incorrect. Option 3 focusses on “the orbital patterns of Saturn’s rings and moons”, which is just one aspect discussed in the passage. Option 4 is factually incorrect according to the passage.
The question is “The main objective of the passage is to:”
Hence, the answer is provide evidence that Saturn’s rings and moons are recent creations.
Choice A is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Based on information provided in the passage, we can conclude all of the following EXCEPT:
- Saturn’s lighter rings discolour faster than rings with greater mass.
- Thethys and Dione are less than 100 million years old.
- none of Saturn’s moons ever had suitable conditions for life to evolve.
- Saturn’s rings were created from the remains of older moons.
Details
Explanatory Answer
Option 3 is clearly false: paragraph 2 states that one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, is “widely considered the most promising site in the solar system on which to look for alien life.”
We know option 1 is true from paragraph 3. Evidence to support option 2 is in the last paragraph. We know option 4 is true from paragraph 4.
The question is “Based on information provided in the passage, we can conclude all of the following EXCEPT:”
Hence, the answer is none of Saturn’s moons ever had suitable conditions for life to evolve.
Choice C is the correct answer.
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- It was his taxpayers who had to shell out as much as $1.6bn over 10 years to employees of failed companies.
- Companies in many countries routinely engage in such activities which mean
that the employees are left with unpaid entitlements.
- Deliberate and systematic liquidation of a company to avoid liabilities and then restarting the business is called phoenixing.
- The Australian Minister for Revenue and Services discovered in an audit that phoenixing had cost the Australian economy between 2.9bn and 2.9bn and 5.1bn last year.
Details
Explanatory Answer
3 is the best statement to start the paragraph as it introduces phoenixing. 32 is a clear link. In the same way, 41 is a sequence, as the pronoun “his” in 1 could only refer to the Australian Minister for Revenue and Services mentioned in 4. So, 3241 is the right order.
3241 is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- Self-management is thus defined as the ‘individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences and lifestyle changes inherent in living with a chronic condition’.
- Most people with progressive diseases like dementia prefer to have control over their own lives and health-care for as long as possible.
- Having control means, among other things, that patients themselves perform self-management activities.
- Supporting people in decisions and actions that promote self-management is called self-management support requiring a cooperative relationship between
the patient, the family, and the professionals.
Details
2 is the best opening statement. 3 elaborates on the idea in 2 of patients “having control” over their lives. So, 3 follows 2. Statement 1 defines the term ‘self-management’ mentioned in 3; so, 1 follows 3. 4 expands on an idea related to self-management, ‘self-management support’. So, the right sequence is 2314.
2314 is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- They would rather do virtuous side projects assiduously as long as these would not compel them into doing their day jobs more honourably or reduce the profit margins.
- They would fund a million of the buzzwordy programs rather than fundamentally question the rules of their game or alter their own behavior to reduce the harm of the existing distorted, ine?cient and unfair rules.
- Like the dieter who would rather do anything to lose weight than actually eat less, the business elite would save the world through social-impact-investing and philanthro-capitalism.
- Doing the right thing — and moving away from their win-win mentality — would involve real sacrifice; instead, it’s easier to focus on their pet projects and initiatives.
Details
3 is best sentence to start the paragraph. 32 is a link, as 2 explains the idea of social impact investing and philanthro-capitalism mentioned in 3. In the same way, 41 is a link: 4 explains that doing the right thing involves real sacrifice; 1 explains what they would ‘rather do instead’. So, the correct sequence is 3241
3241 is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- In the era of smart world, however, ‘Universal Basic Income’ is an ineffective instrument which cannot address the potential breakdown of the social contract when large swathes of the population would effectively be unemployed.
- In the era of industrial revolution, the abolition of child labour, poor laws and the growth of trade unions helped families cope with the pressures of mechanised work.
- Growing inequality could be matched by a creeping authoritarianism that is bolstered by technology that is increasingly able to peer into the deepest vestiges of our lives.
- New institutions emerge which recognise ways in which workers could contribute to and benefit by economic growth when, rather than if, their jobs are automated.
Details
21 is a link, as these sentences contrast the situation in 2 different eras. 3 follows 1, as the ‘growing inequality’ mentioned in 3 relates to ‘large swathes of the population would effectively be unemployed’ in 1. So, we have the sequence 213.
Still, though 21 is a sequence, 2 is about a set of factors that helped families cope with mechanized work, while 1 is about a completely different idea : universal basic income. How these ideas are linked together is explained in 4: in every era, new institutions emerge which recognise ways in which workers could contribute to and benefit by economic growth when their jobs are automated. So, 4 states the overarching idea and precedes 2 and 1. Hence, 4213 is the correct order.
4213 is the correct answer.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
The early optimism about sport’s deterrent effects on delinquency was premature as researchers failed to find any consistent relationships between
sports participation and deviance. As the initial studies were based upon cross-
sectional data and the effects captured -were short-term, it was problematic to test and verify the temporal sequencing of events suggested by the deterrence theory. The correlation bet-ween sport and delinquency could not be disentangled from class and cultural variables known. Choosing individuals to play sports in the first place was problematic, which became more acute in the
subsequent decades as researchers began to document Just how closely sports participation was linked to social class indicators.
- There is a direct relationship between sport participation and delinquency but it needs more empirical evidence.
- Contradicting the previous optimism, latter researchers have proved that there is no consistent relationship
between sports participation and deviance.
- Statistical and empirical weaknesses stand in the way of inferring any relationship between sports participation and deviance.
- Sports participation is linked to class and cultural variables such as education, income, and social capital.
Details
The paragraph explains that researchers failed to find any consistent relationships between sports participation and deviance because (a) the data could not be used to test and verify temporal sequencing of events suggested by the deterrence theory (statistical weaknesses) and (b) the correlation could not be disentangled from class and cultural variables (empirical weaknesses). Option 3 captures both these ideas and sums up the paragraph.
Option 1 is ruled out as the paragraph clearly states there are no consistent relationships between sports participation and deviance. Similarly, option 4 is easily ruled out as it talks about ‘education, income, and social capital’, which are not mentioned in the paragraph. Option 2, while true, does not sum up the paragraph as well as option 3.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
Should the moral obligation to rescue and aid persons in grave peril, felt by a few, be enforced by the criminal law? Should we follow the lead of a number of European countries and enact bad Samaritan laws? Proponents of bad Samaritan laws must overcome at least three different sorts of obstacles. First, they must show the laws are morally legitimate in principle, that is, that the duty to aid others is a proper candidate for legal enforcement. Second, they must
show that this duty to aid can be defined in a way that can be fairly enforced by the courts. Third, they must show that the benefits of the laws are worth their problems, risks and costs.
- Everyone agrees that people ought to aid others, the only debate is whether to have a law on it.
- A number of European countries that have successfully enacted bad Samaritan laws may serve as model statutes.
- Bad Samaritan laws may be desirable but they need to be tested for legal soundness.
- If bad Samaritan laws are found to be legally sound and enforceable they must be enacted.
Details
Explanatory Answer
The paragraph elaborates on the questions (moral legitimacy, legal enforceability, proof of benefits) that the proponents of bad Samaritan laws must answer before the laws can be enacted. Option 3 comes closest to summing this up.
Option 1 is ruled out right away, as there is no evidence in the paragraph to suggest that “everyone agrees” that people ought to aid others. Option 2 is ruled out, as the paragraph simply asks whether the lead of the European countries which have enacted the law should be followed; this is not the main focus of the paragraph. Option 4 is a tempting choice, but incorrect, as the paragraph does not proclaim that bad Samaritan laws must be enacted; it only elaborates on the questions that must be answered before the laws can be enacted.
Choice C is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
A Japanese government panel announced that it recommends regulating only genetically modified organisms that have had foreign genes permanently
introduced into their genomes and not those whose endogenous genes have been edited. The only stipulation is that researchers and businesses will have to register their modifications to plants or animals with the government, with the exception of microbes cultured in contained environments. Reactions to the decision are mixed. While lauding the potential benefits of genome editing, an editorial opposes across-the-board permission. Unforeseen risks in gene editing cannot be ruled out. All genetically modified products must go through the same safety and labeling processes regardless of method.
- A government panel in Japan says transgenic modification and genome editing are not the same.
- Creating categories within genetically modified products in terms of transgenic modification and genome editing advances science but defies laws.
- Exempting from regulations the editing of endogenous genes is not desirable as this procedure might be risk- prone.
- Excepting microbes cultured in contained environments from the regulations of genome editing is premature.
Details
The paragraph argues that all genetically modified products must go through the same safety and labeling processes regardless of method, as unforeseen risks in gene editing cannot be ruled out. Of the given options, option 3 touches upon all key ideas of the paragraph and sums it best.
Option 1 is clearly incorrect, as the announcement mentioned in the paragraph neither mentions ‘transgenic modification’ nor declares that it is not the same as genome editing. Option 2 is ruled out as there is no evidence in the paragraph to suggest that creating the said categories either “advances science” or “defies laws”. Option 4 is incorrect as the paragraph does not say anywhere that not registering microbes cultured in contained environments is “premature”. This is also not the main idea of the paragraph.
Choice C is the correct answer.
Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- As India looks to increase the number of cities, our urban planning must factor in potential natural disasters and work out contingencies in advance.
- Authorities must revise data and upgrade infrastructure and mitigation plans even if their local area hasn’t been visited by a natural calamity yet.
- Extreme temperatures, droughts, and forest fires have more than doubled since 1980.
- There is no denying the fact that our baseline normal weather is changing.
- It is no longer a question of whether we will be hit by nature’s fury but rather when.
Details
21 is a link: both sentences relate to what authorities must do to address potential natural disasters. Similarly, 45 is a link: 4 declares our baseline normal weather to be changing and 5 expands on this idea. Also, 2 explains that authorities must act even if their local area hasn’t been hit by a natural calamity yet. This links to the idea in 5 that it is not question of whether a calamity will hit but when. 4521 is a possible sequence. Statement 3 is the odd one out.
3 is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- Much has been recently discovered about the development of songs in birds.
- Some species are restricted to a single song learned by all individuals, others have a range of songs.
- The most important auditory stimuli for the birds are the sounds of other birds.
- For all bird species there is a prescribed path to development of the final song,
- A bird begins with the subsong, passes through plastic song, until it achieves the species song.
Details
145 is a link: 1 talks of the ‘development of songs’ in birds, 4 talks of the ‘prescribed path’ and 5 details this path. Of the remaining sentences, 2 relates to the idea of species song(s). 3, which talks of ‘the auditory stimuli for birds’ is the odd one out.
3 is the correct answer.
- CAT Previous year paper – CAT Exam VA RC
- Our smartphones can now track our diets, our biological cycles, even our digestive systems and sleep-patterns.
- Researchers have even coined a new term, “orthosomnia”, to describe the insomnia brought on by paying too much attention to smartphones and sleep- tracking apps.
- Sleep, nature’s soft nurse, is a blissful, untroubled state all too easily disturbed by earthly worries or a guilty conscience.
- The existence of a market for such apps is unsurprising: shift work, a long- hours culture and blue light from screens have conspired to rob many of us of su?cient rest.
- A new threat to a good night’s rest has emerged – smart-phones, with sleep- tracking apps.
Details
3 is the only sentence that does not mention smartphones and sleep-tracking apps, while all other sentences do.
3 is the correct answer.
