CAT 2018 VARC Slot 2 Question Paper with Answer Key PDFs

In the context of the passage, we can infer that the title “Band Aids on a Corpse” (in paragraph 2) suggests that:

• (A) the nurses who attended the clinics were too poorly trained to provide appropriate medical care.
• (B) the electronic monitoring system was a superficial solution to a serious problem.
• (C) the nurses attended the clinics, but the clinics were ill-equipped.
• (D) the clinics were better funded, but performance monitoring did not result in any improvement.

According to the author, service delivery in Indian education can be improved in all of the following ways EXCEPT through:

• (A) use of technology.
• (B) recruitment of motivated teachers.
• (C) access to information on the quality of teaching.
• (D) elimination of government involvement.

Which of the following, IF TRUE, would undermine the passage’s main argument?

• (A) If absolute instead of moderate technological surveillance is exercised over the performance of service providers.
• (B) Empowerment of service providers leads to increased complacency and rigged performance results.
• (C) If it were proven that increase in autonomy of service providers leads to an exponential increase in their work ethic and sense of responsibility.
• (D) If it were proven that service providers in the private sector have better skills than those in the public sector.

The author questions the use of monitoring systems in services that involve face-to-face interaction between service providers and clients because such systems:

• (A) do not improve services that need committed service providers.
• (B) are not as effective in the public sector as they are in the private sector.
• (C) improve the skills but do not increase the motivation of service providers.
• (D) are ineffective because they are managed by the government.

The main purpose of the passage is to:

• (A) critique the government’s involvement in educational activities and other implementation-intensive services.
• (B) argue that some types of services can be improved by providing independence and requiring accountability.
• (C) analyse the shortcomings of government-appointed nurses and their management through technology.
• (D) find a solution to the problem of poor service delivery in education by examining different strategies.

All of the following evidence supports the passage’s explanation of sea travel/trade EXCEPT:

• (A) the coincidental existence of similar traits in the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
• (B) 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.
• (C) absence of genetic variation within the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees, whose genes were sampled.
• (D) archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.

The passage outlines several hypotheses and evidence related to white-lipped grove snails to arrive at the most convincing explanation for:

• (A) why the white-lipped variety of grove snails were wiped out everywhere except in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
• (B) how the white-lipped variety of grove snails independently evolved in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
• (C) why the white-lipped variety of grove snails are found only in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
• (D) how the white-lipped variety of grove snails independently evolved in Ireland and the Pyrenees.

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?

• (A) The absence of genetic variation between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
• (B) The absence of genetic similarities between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and snails from other parts of Europe, especially Britain.
• (C) The coincidental evolution of similar traits (white-lipped shell) in the grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
• (D) The distinct lineage of white-lipped grove snails found specifically in Ireland and the Pyrenees.

In paragraph 4, the evidence that “humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture” can be used to conclude that:

• (A) 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.
• (B) the seafarers who traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland might have carried white-lipped grove snails with them as edibles.
• (C) rivers and oceans in the Stone Age facilitated trade in white-lipped grove snails.
• (D) 9,000 years ago, during the Stone Age, humans traveled from the South of France to Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.

The author critiques meritocracy for all the following reasons EXCEPT that:

• (a) modern problems are multifaceted and require varied skill-sets to be solved.
• (b) diversity and context-specificity are important for making major advances in any field.
• (c) criteria designed to assess merit are insufficient to test expertise in any field of knowledge.
• (d) an ideal team comprises of best individuals from diverse fields of knowledge.

Which of the following conditions would weaken the efficacy of a random decision forest?

• (A) If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy cases.
• (B) If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy and hard cases.
• (C) If the types of ensembles of decision trees in the forest were doubled.
• (D) If the types of decision trees in each ensemble of the forest were doubled.

Which of the following conditions, if true, would invalidate the passage’s main argument?

• (A) If assessment tests were made more extensive and rigorous.
• (B) If top-scorers possessed multidisciplinary knowledge that enabled them to look at a problem from several perspectives.
• (C) 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.
• (D) If a new machine-learning algorithm were developed that proved to be more effective than the random decision forest.

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) A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each scored a distinction in their respective subject tests.
• (B) A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each performed well in their respective subject tests.
• (C) A specialised team of nutritionists from various countries, who are also trained in the machine-learning algorithm of random decision forest.
• (D) A specialised team of top nutritionists from various countries, who also possess some knowledge of psychology.

Which of the following best describes the purpose of the example of neuroscience?

• (A) In the modern age, every field of knowledge is so vast that a meaningful assessment of merit is impossible.
• (B) Unlike other fields of knowledge, neuroscience is an exceptionally complex field, making a meaningful assessment of neuroscientists impossible.
• (C) In narrow fields of knowledge, a meaningful assessment of expertise has always been possible.
• (D) Neuroscience is an advanced field of science because of its connections with other branches of science like oncology and biostatistics.

Of the following, which would have added the least depth to the author’s argument?

• (A) An analysis of the reasons why metrics fixation is becoming popular despite its drawbacks.
• (B) A comparative case study of metrics- and non-metrics-based evaluation, and its impact on the main goals of an organisation.
• (C) More real-life illustrations of the consequences of employees and professionals gaming metrics-based performance measurement systems.
• (D) Assessment of the pros and cons of a professional judgment-based evaluation system.

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of the 'metric fixation' phenomenon mentioned in the passage?

• (A) Short-term orientation induced by frequent measurement of performance.
• (B) Finding a way to show better results without actually improving performance.
• (C) Improving cooperation among employees leading to increased organisational effectiveness in the long run.
• (D) Deviating from organisationally important objectives to measurable yet less important objectives.

What main point does the author want to convey through the examples of the police officer and the surgeon?

• (A) Some professionals are likely to be significantly influenced by the design of performance measurement systems.
• (B) Metrics-linked rewards may encourage unethical behaviour among some professionals.
• (C) The actions of police officers and surgeons have a significantly impact on society.
• (D) Critical public roles should not be evaluated on metrics-based performance measures.

All of the following can be a possible feature of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, EXCEPT:

• (A) school funding and sanctions are tied to yearly improvement shown on tests.
• (B) standardised test scores can be critical in determining a student’s educational future.
• (C) the focus is more on test-taking skills than on higher order thinking and problem-solving.
• (D) assessment is dependent on the teacher's subjective evaluation of students' class participation.

What is the main idea that the author is trying to highlight in the passage?

• (A) Long-term organisational goals should not be ignored for short-term measures of organisational success.
• (B) All kinds of organisations are now relying on metrics to measure performance and to give rewards and punishments.
• (C) Evaluating performance by using measurable performance metrics may misguide organisational goal achievement.
• (D) Performance measurement needs to be precise and cost-effective to be useful for evaluating organisational performance.

The phrase “leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack” is used to explain how the ringed planet’s:

• (A) atmosphere absorbs comet dust.
• (B) moons create a gap between the rings.
• (C) rings discolour and darken over time.
• (D) rings lose mass over time.

Data provided by Cassini challenged the assumption that:

• (A) all big things in the solar system have been around since the beginning.
• (B) new celestial bodies can form from the destruction of old celestial bodies.
• (C) Saturn’s ring system is composed mostly of water ice.
• (D) there was life on earth when Saturn’s rings were being formed.

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:

• (A) methane and rock particles.
• (B) rock particles and comet dust.
• (C) helium and methane.
• (D) helium and comet dust.

The main objective of the passage is to:

• (A) provide evidence that Saturn’s rings and moons are recent creations.
• (B) highlight the beauty, finer structures and celestial drama of Saturn’s rings and moons.
• (C) demonstrate how the orbital patterns of Saturn’s rings and moons change over time.
• (D) establish that Saturn’s rings and inner moons have been around since the beginning of time.

Based on information provided in the passage, we can conclude all of the following EXCEPT:

• (A) Saturn’s lighter rings discolour faster than rings with greater mass.
• (B) Tethys and Dione are less than 100 million years old.
• (C) none of Saturn’s moons ever had suitable conditions for life to evolve.
• (D) Saturn’s rings were created from the remains of older moons.