CAT 2012 VARC Slot 2 Question Paper(Available):Download Solutions with Answer Key

CAT Questions

• 1.

  The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph. 
   

  Sentence: Productivity gains, once expected to feed through to broader living standards, now primarily serve to enhance returns to wealth. 

  Paragraph: Economists now argue that inequality is no longer a by-product of growth but a condition of it. ____ (1)____. Unlike wages, wealth reflects not just income but also access to assets, favourable institutional conditions—such as low interest rates—and public policies like low taxes and housing shortages. ____ (2)____. In other words, wealth depends on political choices in ways that income currently does not. It’s not just the inequality itself that is the issue but the erosion of mechanisms that once constrained it. ____ (3)____. Wealth and income inequality are linked, but where wages have stagnated and collective bargaining has weakened, capital income—derived from profits, rents and interest—has been boosted by design. ____ (4)____.

  • Option 1
  • Option 2
  • Option 3
  • Option 4
    
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• 2.

  The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
  1. As books age, the cellulose and lignin in the paper begin to break down, releasing a mix of volatile organic compounds into the air.
  2. Old books carry a scent that many people instantly recognize—and even love.
  3. These compounds are benzaldehyde, which gives off an almond-like scent, vanillin, which smells like vanilla, ethyl hexanol (floral scent), toluene (sweet), and furfural (which has a slightly bready scent).
  4. This familiar aroma isn’t just dust or mildew; it’s actually a result of slow chemical changes happening inside the paper and ink.

  • Option 2
  • Option 4
  • Option 1
  • Option 3
    
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• 3.

  The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
  The return to the tailor is the juxtaposition of three key things for the mindful Indian shopper. The first is the conscious shift away from the homogeneity of fast fashion, the idea of a hundred other people owning exactly the same Zara trench coat or H & M pleated skirt. The second is an actual understanding of the waste behind the fast fashion market, and wanting not to contribute to that anymore. The last is the shift toward customisation and fit—the idea of having imaginations brought to life and to have them fit exactly; without paying exorbitant rates for that bespoke tailoring. For the individual with a keen fashion sense and a genuine desire to move away from the waste and uniformity of fast fashion without paying the premium for it that indie brands would invariably demand, the tailor is the perfect crossover.

  • The mindful Indian shopper is shifting away from convenience and uniformity of clothing, and waste in fashion, to customisation and less exorbitantly priced clothing.
  • In the Indian retail market, people believe that expensive branded clothes are wasteful and, therefore, are returning to the neighbourhood tailor.
  • The mindful Indian shoppers are returning to the tailor with a genuine desire to wear clothes which are less expensive, fit them well and are yet fashionable.
  • All Indian shoppers are opting for customisation and a shift away from homogeneity over expensive clothing brands like Zara and H & M.
    
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• 4.

  Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence out and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
  1. Sporting a copper-coloured pixie cut and a pair of pink feather antlers, Torres himself resembles a child’s doodle.
  2. His casual millennial delivery, peppered with “um’s” and “ah’s”, makes surreal concepts sound like items on a brunch menu.
  3. Though he may have failed so far in his colour-scouting mission (he hasn’t yet found a new one, he admits), this hour leaves you tickled pink.
  4. Like his previous show, My Favourite Shapes, this is an hour of sit-down comedy aided by an overhead camera which relays Torres’s theories – illustrated with crayon squiggles – on to a screen behind him.
  5. His inquisitive mind produces interconnected ideas about Catholicism, the blandness of Pixar and what orange sounds like, while his insights train us to spot “highly purple behaviour”.

  • Option 3
  • Option 1
  • Option 4
  • Option 2
    
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• 5.

  Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence out and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.

  • About half of all the oxygen we breathe is made near the surface of the ocean by phytoplankton that photosynthesize just like land-dwelling plants.
  • A team of scientists that includes Boston University experts has discovered they also produce oxygen on the seafloor.
  • The research team used deep-sea chambers that land on the seafloor and enclose the seawater, sediment, polymetallic nodules, and living organisms.
  • The discovery is a surprise considering oxygen is typically created by plants and organisms with help from the sun—not by rocks on the ocean floor.
  • The deep-sea rocks, called polymetallic nodules, don’t only host a surprising number of sea critters.
    
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• 6.

  The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
  In the dynamic realm of creativity, artists often find themselves at the crossroads between drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and inadvertently crossing into the territory of cultural appropriation. Inspiration is the lifeblood of creativity, driving artists to create works that resonate across borders. In a globalized era of the modern world, artists draw from a vast array of cultural influences. When approached respectfully, inspiration becomes a bridge, fostering understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. However, the line between inspiration and cultural appropriation can be thin and easily blurred.
  Cultural appropriation occurs when elements from a particular culture are borrowed without proper understanding, respect, or acknowledgment. This leads to the commodification of sacred symbols, the reinforcement of stereotypes, and the erasure of the cultural context from which these elements originated. It is essential to recognize that the impact of cultural appropriation extends beyond the realm of artistic expression, influencing societal perceptions and perpetuating power imbalances.

  • Artists in a globalised world must navigate between drawing inspiration from diverse cultures respectfully and cultural appropriation that involves borrowing without proper acknowledgement which has broader societal impacts including perpetuating power imbalances.
  • In today’s world of creativity, artists have to decide between respectfully acknowledging works that are inspired by diverse cultures and appropriating elements without respect for their contexts.
  • In a globalised world, artists must draw from diverse cultural influences to create works that appeal to all, and this results in instances of both inspiration and cultural appropriation.
  • Artists must navigate the thin line between inspiration and cultural appropriation, where respectful inspiration fosters cultural understanding whereas appropriation involves borrowing without acknowledgement leading to commodification and reinforcement of stereotypes.
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