XAT 2020 VERBAL & LOGICAL ABILITY TEST

1. Carefully read the paragraph below:

__________, medicine has been operated by trial and error, in other words, __________. We know by
now that there can be entirely _________ connections between symptoms and treatment, and some
medications succeed in medical trials for mere random reasons.
From the options below, choose the one that MOST appropriately fills up the blanks.
1. Periodically, logically, arbitrary
2. Initially, statistically, unexpected
3. Formerly, randomly, accidental
4. Historically, arbitrarily, fortuitous
5. Traditionally, analytically, casual

2. Read the following sentences and answer the question that follows:
1. I have good knowledge of German.
2. Except for Rajiv, everybody was there.
3. Whole Delhi was celebrating Independence Day.
4. Neither the dog, nor is the cat responsible for this mess.
5. He knows to swim.
6. I look forward to seeing you.
Which of the above are grammatically INCORRECT?
1. 4,5,6
2. 1,2,5
3. 1,3,5
4. 2,4,6
5. 3,5,6

3. Which of the following is a grammatically CORRECT sentence?

1. You had better tell her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
2. You better had tell her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
3. You better had tell her everything, or else you would lose a friend.
4. You had better told her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
5. You had better told her everything, or else you would lose a friend.

4. Carefully read the paragraph below:

A map is a useful metaphor for our brain when talking about _______ because at its most basic level
our brain __________to be our atlas of sorts, a system of routes _______to navigate us toward just one
destination: staying alive!
From the options below, choose the set that MOST appropriately fills up the blanks.
1. Comprehension, metamorphosed, designed
2. Perception, evolved, designed
3. Design, developed, shaped
4. Connections, changed, moulded
5. Understanding, progressed, shaped

5. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
In a 2017 survey of 3,915 American workers, my colleagues and I found that workers report
experiencing a sizable “voice gap” at work—that is, a gap between how much say or influence they feel
they ought to have and how much they actually have—on topics such as wages, working conditions, fair
treatment, and input into how they do their work. And now a second study, I have just completed with
a new team, finds that today’s workers want forms of voice and representation that go well beyond
traditional unions.
Based on the above paragraph, which of the following options would you agree with the MOST?
1. The first study defines the concept and the second study uses the concept in a specific context.

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 2. The first study shows the frustration of the American workers and the second study shows the
inability of unions in addressing them.
3. The first study shows the intensity of the problem and the second study shows limitations of the
existing solutions.
4. The first study focuses on the need for fair representation and the second study discusses forms
of representation.
5. The first study highlights the existence of the problem and the second study highlights the need for
new ways of solving it.

6. Go through the statements below and answer the question that follows:
P. Fast food intake for more than three times a week is associated with greater odds of atopic
disorders such as asthma, eczema or rhinitis. Thus, it should be definitely and strictly controlled in
children as it does no good.
Q. Regular junk food intake can lead to physical and psychological issues among children.
R. Lack of Vitamins such as A and C, and minerals such as magnesium and calcium, encourage the
development of deficiency diseases and osteoporosis, as well as dental caries due to higher
intake.
S. Junk food, which are rich in energy with lots of fat and sugar, are relatively low in other important
nutrients such as protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
T. Emotional and self-esteem problems, along with chronic illnesses in later life due to obesity, are
the issues associated with junk food.
Which of the following combinations is the MOST logically ordered?
1. QSRTP
2. TSQRP
3. QRSPT
4. RSQPT
5. TQSRP

7. Go through the statements below and answer the question that follows:
P. Surabhi’s Instagram profile has 1.4 million followers. It is filled with pictures of her posing in
different settings.
Q. In India, reports suggest that WhatsApp (Much more than Facebook or Twitter) is the primary tool
for the dissemination of political communication.
R. Political campaigns pay social media companies to promote their content.
S. Political advertising on social media comes in many forms and remains underexamined in India.
T. Social media influencers are used for the dissemination of content.
Which of the following combinations is the MOST logically ordered?
1. QRTPS
2. PRSTQ
3. QRSTP
4. SQRTP
5. SRQTP

8. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
When asked what the politician will do for the nation’s economy, he attacked the opponent by saying,
“Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say
bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious? Nevertheless, we’re going to defeat ISIS. ISIS
happened a number of years ago in a vacuum that was left because of bad judgment. And I will tell you,
I will take care of ISIS.”
Which of the following statements BEST describes the politician’s intent?
1. To divert attention towards ISIS as compared to the economy
2. To appeal to the macho voters and use fear as a tool to lure voters
3. To digress and argue that security is more important than economy
4. To make a sexist remark and share his concern about an important issue
5. To make an emotional appeal to the voters

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9. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
If we can send a human to the Moon, why can’t we build sustainable cities? Defeat cancer? Tackle
climate change? So go the rallying cries inspired by one of humanity’s greatest achievements—the US
effort that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon on 20 July 1969.
Which of the following statements, if true, BEST communicates the intent of the paragraph?
1. The complexity of developing sustainable cities and curing cancer is far more than sending a
human to the moon.
2. America’s moonshot initiative was mainly a response to USSR’s competing initiative.
3. America’s moonshot was more about race to the moon and less about solving problems.
4. The reason we celebrate 1969 moonshot is precisely because nothing significant has been done
in that domain since then.
5. Moonshot has a definitive ownership, whereas creating sustainable cities and curing cancer are
public-good problems.

Read the poem below and answer the 2 associated questions:

Poem
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But, if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
10. Which of the following statements will the poet agree with the MOST?
1. Ambition is more powerful than envy.
2. Desire overpowers hatred to control humans.
3. Hatred destroys what desire cannot.
4. Greed can destroy one’s world.
5. Both desire and hate can create self-doubt.

11. Which is the MOST UNSUITABLE title of the poem?

1. Love and Detest—A Tale of Destruction
2. Emotional Destruction of the World
3. The Annihilation Hypothesis
4. Destruction by Fire and Ice
5. How the World Ends

Read the passage below and answer the 3 associated questions:

Passage 1
Once, during a concert of cathedral organ music, as I sat getting gooseflesh amid that tsunami of sound, I
was struck with a thought: for a medieval peasant, this must have been the loudest human-made sound they
ever experienced, awe-inspiring in now-unimaginable ways. No wonder they signed up for the religion being
proffered. And now we are constantly pummelled with sounds that dwarf quaint organs. Once, hunter-
gatherers might chance upon honey from a beehive and thus briefly satisfy a hardwired food craving. And
now we have hundreds of carefully designed commercial foods that supply a burst of sensation unmatched
by some lowly natural food. Once, we had lives that, amid considerable privation, also offered numerous
subtle, hard-won pleasures. And now we have drugs that cause spasms of pleasure and dopamine release
a thousand-fold higher than anything stimulated in our old drug-free world.
An emptiness comes from this combination of over-the-top non-natural sources of reward and the inevitability
of habituation; this is because unnaturally strong explosions of synthetic experience and sensation and
pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation. This has two consequences. First, soon we barely
notice the fleeting whispers of pleasure caused by leaves in autumn, or by the lingering glance of the right
person, or by the promise of reward following a difficult, worthy task. And the other consequence is that we

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eventually habituate to even those artificial deluges of intensity. If we were designed by engineers, as we
consumed more, we’d desire less. But our frequent human tragedy is that the more we consume, the
hungrier we get. More and faster and stronger. What was an unexpected pleasure yesterday is what we feel
entitled to today, and what won’t be enough tomorrow.

12. Which of the following options BEST reflects the author’s understanding of human perception of
pleasure?
1. Pleasure comes from what appears to be a valuable discovery or invention
2. Pleasure comes from whatever we are exposed to for the first time
3. Pleasure comes from what is perceived to be extraordinary
4. Pleasure comes from what we are deprived of
5. Pleasure comes from what we are accustomed to

13. Going by the author, which of the following options BEST answers the question “how can one sustain
the pleasure derived from any experience?"
1. Periodic displeasure with synthetic experiences leads to sustaining pleasure
2. The harder to replicate, the more sustainable the pleasure from that experience
3. Awareness of a habituation moment helps sustain pleasure
4. The closer the experience is to nature, the more sustainable it is
5. Training to appreciate sweet whispers and fleeting moments of joy to sustain pleasure

14. Which of the following options BEST describes “emptiness” as described in the passage?
1. The inevitability of habituation that one gets from repeated consumption of man-made foods or
drugs
2. A feeling of weariness around extant sources of pleasure that are in abundance
3. Yearning for newer sources of pleasure when extant sources are in abundance
4. A feeling, evoked by the carefully designed commercial foods, alluring us to them
5. A feeling of absence of sources of pleasure when extant sources are in abundance

15. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
Global surface temperatures in 2019 are on track to be either the second or third warmest since
records began in the mid-1800s, behind only 2016 and possibly 2017. On top of the long-term warming
trend, temperatures in 2019 have been buoyed by a moderate El Niño event that is likely to persist
through the rest of the year.
Which of the following statements can be BEST inferred based on the above paragraph?
1. A moderate El Niño event increases temperature more than a weak El Niño event.
2. El Niño event did not affect temperatures in 2016 and 2017.
3. Global surface temperatures are increasing at a constant rate for three years.
4. The long-term trend of global surface temperatures is unrelated to El Niño.
5. El Niño event causes global surface temperatures to rise in the long-term.

Read the passage below and answer the 3 associated questions:

Passage 2
The nature of knowledge cannot survive unchanged within this context of general transformation. It can fit
into the new channels, and become operational, only if learning is translated into quantities of information.
We can predict that anything in the constituted body of knowledge that is not translatable in this way will be
abandoned and that the direction of new research will be dictated by the possibility of its eventual results
being translatable into computer language. The “producers” and users of knowledge must know, and will
have to, possess the means of translating into these languages whatever they want to invent or learn.
Research on translating machines is already well advanced. Along with the hegemony of computers comes
a certain logic, and therefore a certain set of prescriptions determining which statements are accepted as
“knowledge” statements. We may thus expect a thorough exteriorisation of knowledge with respect to the
“knower,” at whatever point he or she may occupy in the knowledge process. The old principle that the
acquisition of knowledge is indissociable from the training (Bildung) of minds, or even of individuals, is
becoming obsolete and will become ever more so. The relationships of the suppliers and users of knowledge
to the knowledge they supply and use is now tending, and will increasingly tend, to assume the form already
taken by the relationship of commodity producers and consumers to the commodities they produce and

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consume—that is, the form of value. Knowledge is and will be produced in order to be sold, it is and will be
consumed in order to be valorised in a new production: in both cases, the goal is exchange. Knowledge
ceases to be an end in itself, it loses its “use-value.”

16. Which of the following statements BEST captures the essence of the passage?
1. Translation of knowledge into machine language exteriorises it.
2. Market forces have taken over the process of knowledge production.
3. Knowledge shall no longer be evaluated by its truth but its commercial value.
4. Knowledge shall be exclusively produced to be sold.
5. Suppliers and users of knowledge have become its producers and consumers.

17. Based on the passage, which of the following statements can be BEST inferred?
1. For knowledge to acquire an exchange-value, it should cease to have a use-value.
2. Knowledge as a transactional commodity is indispensable to productive power.
3. Mental discipline is not necessary for learning anymore.
4. The locus of creation and accumulation of knowledge has shifted.
5. Acquisition of knowledge need no longer transform its recipient.

18. Which of the following options will the author agree the MOST with?
1. A daughter of a lawyer must become a lawyer.
2. To get promoted, an unempathetic manager can learn to display empathy.
3. To teach poetry, one must not be a poet.
4. A person with no passion for singing, if trained, will sing perfectly.
5. MBA program has a high exchange-value but zero use-value.

19. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
“People who work in law, hotel and food services, and technology were found the most likely to skip
breakfast daily, according to a recent study. As for people who do eat breakfast and prefer a savoury
type (like an egg), the study found they tend to make more money, be night owls and prefer cats over
dogs. If you prefer a sweet breakfast like a donut you tend to be a morning person, like romcoms and
are a dog person”.
Which of the following can be BEST inferred based on the above paragraph?
1. A preference for cats as pets over dogs, usually, is a result of eating eggs for breakfast daily.
2. Lawyers, who eat savoury breakfast daily, make more money than those lawyers who have early
breakfast daily.
3. Hoteliers who eat regular breakfast are more likely to make more money than those who watch
romcoms regularly.
4. Among regular breakfast eaters, early risers have more sugar in their breakfast than late risers.
5. IT professionals, who eat eggs for breakfast, are more likely to make more money than their
counterparts who eat donuts for breakfast.

Read the passage below and answer the 3 associated questions:

Passage 3
There is nothing spectacularly new in the situation. Most old-societies-turned-young-nation-states learn to
live in a world dominated by the psychology and culture of exile. For some, the twentieth century has been a
century of refugees. Others like Hannah Arendt have identified refugees as virtually a new species of human
being who have come to symbolize the distinctive violence of our time. Refugees as contemporary symbols,
however, proclaim something more than a pathology of a global nation-state system. They also represent a
state of mind, a form of psychosocial displacement that has become endemic to modernizing societies. One
does not even have to cross national frontiers to become a refugee; one can choose to be seduced by the
‘pull’ of self-induced displacement rather than be ‘pushed’ by an oppressive or violent system at home. It is
this changed status of territoriality in human life that explains why, in immigrant societies like the United
States, the metaphor of exile is now jaded. Some have already begun to argue that human beings need not
have a ‘home’ as it has been traditionally understood in large parts of the world, that the idea itself is a red
herring. While the idea of exile begins to appear trite in intellectual circles, an increasingly large proportion
of the world is getting reconciled to living with the labile sense of self. Exile no longer seems a pathology or

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an affliction. Displacement and the psychology of exile are in; cultural continuities and settled communities
are out; there is a touch of ennui about them.

20. Which of the following options is CLOSEST to the meaning of the phrase “labile sense of self”?
1. Geography does not imprison the self.
2. The self does not belong to a particular geography.
3. The self adapts to a new geography.
4. Humans are not meant to be shunted around.
5. History does not confine the self.

21. Based on the passage, which of the following will the author DISAGREE the MOST with?
1. Refugees symbolize exploitation and abuse of our times.
2. Being a refugee is a state of mind.
3. Intellectuals find the notion of exile irrelevant.
4. A feeling of alienation in modernizing societies is a common phenomenon.
5. One does not have to cross frontiers to become a refugee.

22. Project Affected Families (PAF) are those that are physically displaced due to construction of a large
project (dam, factory etc.) in an area where the PAF traditionally resided.
With insights from the passage, what would a project proponent, dealing with PAF, reading the
following options agree the MOST with?
1. Industry and government should care equally about profits and people.
2. PAF do not have a labile sense of self.
3. Emotional estrangement of PAF is not an area of concern.
4. Don’t worry about PAF, they will eventually resettle and rehabilitate.
5. PAF as a concept is irrelevant since human displacement is a historical phenomenon.

23. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows:
In Australia, jellyfish are most common between November and May. In Hawaii, jellyfish often show up
on south-facing beaches eight days after a full moon. In the Mediterranean, blooms usually appear in
the summer. Unfortunately for travellers, there is no worldwide database for recent jellyfish sightings,
and tourism officials are sometimes reluctant to publicize jellyfish swarms out of fear that such news
will scare off visitors.
Which of the following can be BEST concluded from the above paragraph?
1. Tourists visiting north-facing beaches in Hawaii do not spot jellyfish.
2. Celestial bodies have an influence on jellyfish sightings.
3. Tourism officials hide the truth about jellyfish sightings.
4. Economic interests influence security advisories.
5. Seasonal variations in the marine temperature impact jellyfish sightings.

Read the passage below and answer the 3 associated questions:

Passage 4
It’s as if someone were out there making up pointless jobs just for the sake of keeping us all working. And
here, precisely, lies the mystery. In capitalism, this is precisely what is not supposed to happen. Sure, in the
old inefficient socialist states like the Soviet Union, where employment was considered both a right and a
sacred duty, the system made up as many jobs as it had to. (This is why in Soviet department stores it took
three clerks to sell a piece of meat.) But, of course, this is the very sort of problem market competition is
supposed to fix. According to economic theory, at least, the last thing a profit-seeking firm is going to do is
shell out money to workers they don’t really need to employ. Still, somehow, it happens. While corporations
may engage in ruthless downsizing, the layoffs and speed-ups invariably fall on that class of people who are
actually making, moving, fixing, and maintaining things. Through some strange alchemy no one can quite
explain, the number of salaried paper pushers ultimately seems to expand, and more and more employees
find themselves—not unlike Soviet workers, actually—working forty- or even fifty-hour weeks on paper but
effectively working fifteen hours just as Keynes predicted, since the rest of their time is spent organizing or
attending motivational seminars, updating their Facebook profiles, or downloading TV box sets. The answer
clearly isn’t economic: it’s moral and political. The ruling class has figured out that a happy and productive

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population with free time on their hands is a mortal danger. (Think of what started to happen when this even
began to be approximated in the sixties.) And, on the other hand, the feeling that work is a moral value in
itself, and that anyone not willing to submit themselves to some kind of intense work discipline for most of
their waking hours deserves nothing, is extraordinarily convenient for them.

24. Which of the following options, if true, BEST makes the author’s assertion on pointless jobs
erroneous?
1. Workers who carry out pointless jobs are more loyal to the organization than others.
2. Pointless jobs add less value to the organization than the jobs of those who are making or fixing
things.
3. Organizations with a higher number of pointless jobs are more profitable than those with less.
4. Even though the rate of increase in pointless jobs is higher, their absolute number on an average
is lower than that of meaningful jobs.
5. Pointless jobs decrease the efficiency of the organization since they replace those who are making,
fixing and moving things.

25. Which of the following can be BEST inferred from the passage?
1. The ruling class abhors leisure so much that they encourage organizations to create unwanted
jobs.
2. Keeping people employed for longer hours serves the plans of the ruling class.
3. Pointless jobs are here to stay, regardless of whether they are necessary or not.
4. For political reasons, profit-making firms sometimes indulge in non-profitable decisions.
5. Work as a moral right is the design of the ruling class to cut down on leisure.

26. Which of the following statements will BEST explain the principle underlying the theme of the
passage?
1. Organizations that create more jobs are rewarded by the government for protecting political
values.
2. Peace and order in society require humans to be engaged in some activity most of the time,
regardless of its meaninglessness.
3. People unwilling to submit to an intense work discipline deserve nothing.
4. Work is a moral value in itself.
5. Keynes predicted that a happy and productive workforce is a force for the good.

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 Answer Key
1. (4) 2. (3) 3. (1) 4. (2) 5. (5)
6. (1) 7. (5) 8. (5) 9. (1) 10. (4)
11. (2) 12. (3) 13. (2) 14. (5) 15. (4)
16. (3) 17. (5) 18. (2) 19. (5) 20. (3)
21. (1) 22. (3) 23. (2) 24. (3) 25. (2)
26. (2)

EXPLANATORY ANSWERS

Verbal Ability

1. Ans: (4)

Explanation
Second Blank: The phrase “by trial and error” can be restated in other words by “randomly” (in Option
3) or arbitrarily” (in Option 4). With this, the remaining options 1 (logically), 2 (statistically) and 5
(analytically) get eliminated.
Third Blank: Here both “accidental” (in Option 3) and “fortuitous (accidental)” (in Option 4) being
synonymous in meaning can fit in the context.
First Blank: “Formerly” (in Option 3) means “in the past” and should be followed by the simple past
tense— “Formerly, medicine was operated…” and not the present perfect tense— “Formerly, medicine
has been operated…”. “Formerly” is also used mainly with “Today” to highlight difference between the
past and the present. But “Historically” (in Option 4) is usually followed by the present perfect tense
and, hence, is the appropriate option.
Hence, Option 4 is the correct answer.

2. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: Sentences 1, 3 and 5 are INCORRECT and 2, 4 and 6 are CORRECT as discussed below:
Sentence 1: The correct form is: “I have a good knowledge of German.” Though “knowledge” is an
uncountable noun and normally is not preceded by an indefinite article, this is an exception and “a
good knowledge of…” is IDIOMATIC.
Sentence 3: The correct form is: “The whole of Delhi was celebrating Independence Day.”
Sentence 5: The correct forms are: (1) “He knows how to swim.” OR (2) “He knows swimming.”
Hence, Option 3 is the correct answer.
Sentence 2: “Except for or Except Rajiv, everyone was there.” Is CORRECT. Furthermore, the indefinite
pronoun “everyone” is singular and correctly takes the singular verb “was”.
Sentence 4: “Neither the dog, nor the cat is responsible…” OR “Neither the dog, nor is the cat
responsible…” both are PARALLEL and CORRECT.
Sentence 6: “I look forward to (prep.) seeing (gerund) you” is CORRECT, but “I look forward to see (to-
infinitive) you” is INCORRECT. The phrasal verb “to look forward to (something)” is followed by a noun
or a gerund (verbal noun): For example, “I look forward to the movie (n) or watching (gerund) the
movie.”

3. Ans: (1)

Explanation
Option 1: Only the form “You had better tell her everything…” (Option 1) is CORRECT; others are
INCORRECT.
'Had better' is a modal auxiliary verb used to give strong advice or to tell people what to do (including
ourselves). “You had better…” = “it would be a good idea if you…” = “it would be better for you to…”.
Modal auxiliaries are always used in the pattern: MODAL + BARE INFINITIVE = “you had better (modal)
+ tell (bare infinitive)—NOT “told” (past tense of “tell”), as in options 4 and 5. “Had better” is a fixed

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 phrase and cannot be changed to “better had”, as in options 2 and 3. Hence, options 2, 3, 4 and 5
are INCORRECT and can easily be eliminated.

4. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Second Blank: Since we are talking about the evolution of the human brain over millennia, only
“evolved” (as in Option 2) and “developed” (as in Option 3) are appropriate. With this, the remaining
options 1 (metamorphosed), 4 (changed) and 5 (progressed) get eliminated.
Third Blank: Only “designed to navigate…” goes with the metaphor of brain as an “atlas”; “shaped”
and “moulded” don’t sound natural in context. With this, option 3 gets eliminated and only option 2
remains.
First Blank: “Perception” (in Option 2) meaning “perception of the world around us as interpreted
through sensory information by the brain” is the most appropriate: as it is a technical term used in
Psychology—certainly more appropriate than “comprehension” (as in Option 1) and “understanding”
(as in Option 5).
Hence, Option 2 is the correct answer.

Critical Reasoning

5. Ans: (5)

Explanation
Option 5: The 2017 survey of American workers identified that there exists the problem of a sizable
“voice gap” —they have limited say or influence while they ought to have a larger say or influence in
decisions related to their wages, working conditions, fair treatment, and so on. Today a second study
finds that today’s workers are not happy by their existing representation through traditional trade
unions alone, but want to go well beyond that—through newer forms of representation. Option 5 offers
the best outline.
Option 1 talks of “concept” instead of “problem” perceived by the workers. Option 2 is an extreme
option in using expressions such as “frustration of workers” and “inability of unions”. Option 3 is a
distortion: the paragraph does say that the problem is “sizable” but it does NOT show or list out the
specific limitations of the existing solutions. Option 4 is also a distortion: the paragraph does NOT
discuss “the different forms of representation”, it only highlights the need for them. Hence, options 1,
2, 3 and 4 can be eliminated.

Jumbled Paragraphs

6. Ans: (1)

Explanation
Option 1: Glancing over the sentences, S-R clearly emerges as a mandatory pair: S says that junk
foods are low on important nutrients… “vitamins and minerals” and R highlights the specific health
problems associated with deficiency of certain specific “vitamins and minerals”. This narrows our
choices down to Options 1 and 5 wherein this mandatory pair is found.
Option 5, which starts with T-Q, sounds very awkward and can be eliminated. On the other hand,
Option 1 starts with Q which makes a good starting sentence—an assertive statement: X leads to Y
(physical) and Z (psychological) issues, which are then elaborated upon in R-T-P. Hence, Option 1:
QSRTP is the most logical sequence.

7. Ans: (5)

Explanation
Option 5: In this case, T-P clearly emerges as a mandatory pair: T talks about the role of media
influencers and is followed by the example of a media influencer named “Surabhi” in P. But the pair T-
P is found in options 1, 3, 4 and 5.
Out of the remaining three sentences, Q and S sound like good starting sentences because both talk
of “social media in India”. But Q and S cannot come together; this rules out option 4: SQRTP. Thus, we
have narrowed down to two options—option 1: QRTPS and option 5: SRQTP.

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 Out of these two options, option 1 can be eliminated because the general statement S about “social
media forms remaining unexamined in India” sounds very awkward and abrupt at the end after the
pair T-P, which talks about media influencers and quotes an example of one specific media influencer.
This leaves us with Option 5: SRQTP—starts well with the general statement S and ends with T-P. But
S-R-Q sound a little disjointed with no clear logically flow. Anyway, Option 5 remains the best out of the
given options and is, therefore, the correct answer.

Critical Reasoning
8. Ans: (5)

Explanation
The male politician (1) first ignores the question on the economy, (2) then attacks his female
opponent with a personal and sexist comment, and (3) blames her and her party for ignoring the
threat of ISIS during the last few years and allowing ISIS to grow, and (4) finally assures the audience
that he and his party will defeat ISIS. This is probably during election campaigning time. It can be
inferred that the female politician and her party are in power and are being accused of ignoring the
ISIS threat by the male politician, whose party is in the opposition. The politician’s intent can be
examined in the light of this background.
Options 1 and 3: Since the male politician and his party are in the opposition, they are not responsible
for the state of the economy and therefore have no reason to be defensive or evade the question on
the economy by diverting attention to security issues. He is also not presenting any argument that
security is more important than the economy.
Option 2: This option is somewhat an exaggeration of his intent—showing your opponent as weak
need NOT necessarily be just “an appeal to macho voters” because strong leadership appeals to
everyone; and showing resolve on a security issue is NOT necessarily “arousing fear” of some
insurmountable threat (which ISIS is not) to lure voters. He certainly wants to lure voters but he is NOT
using fear—nowhere has he highlighted the seriousness of the ISIS threat that directly affects the
security of the voters.
Option 4: This option describes some of his actions rather than provide an inference about his intent.
Option 5: The intent of the politician is (1) to show his opponent as weak—a woman, ignored the ISIS
issue because of bad judgement—and (2) to show himself as strong in his resolve to tackle the ISIS
issue. He is in effect appealing to the voters: “Replace weak leadership with strong leadership”.
People generally feel secure and assured under strong leadership which is capable of taking hard
decisions (on all aspects not just security issues)—this is the emotion of the voters he is appealing to
(NOT “fear” as in option 2). Hence, Option 5 is the correct answer.

9. Ans: (1)

Explanation
The intent of the paragraph needs to be evaluated considering each option to be TRUE (if true).

Option 1: The rallying cries are framed in the question: “IF ‘X’, THEN WHY NOT ‘Y’, ‘Z’ and ‘W’? The
intent of the paragraph seems to be to draw attention to the “obvious answer” to the question of WHY
NOT? — The complexity of ‘Y’ (creating sustainable cities) and ‘Z’ (curing cancer) is greater than that of
‘X’ (putting man on the moon), THAT IS WHY. Hence, Option 1, if true, BEST communicates the intent
of the paragraph.

Option 2: It is true that the Apollo project was a response by America to outdo its rival USSR (Soviet
Union) which had put the first man in space. But highlighting this specific aspect cannot be inferred as
the intent of the paragraph.

Option 3: It is true that the Apollo project was a race to the moon for America to beat its rival USSR
(Soviet Union) at the peak of the Cold War. But saying that “it was less about solving problems” is NOT
true, because the Apollo project had its own set of technological, financing and project coordination
problems. But again, let us assume that this statement is TRUE, highlighting this specific aspect
cannot be inferred as the intent of the paragraph. It does not explicitly compare the “moonshot” with
“building sustainable cities” and “curing cancer” in an attempt to answer the question WHY NOT? as
Option 1 does.

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 Option 4: There have been other missions to land men on moon after Apollo 11 but it is true that
nothing significant was achieved. Apollo 11 is still celebrated as a remarkable achievement. But how
can highlighting this specific aspect be the intent of the paragraph—there is no mention of the
different problems of "building sustainable cites" or "curing cancer".

Option 5: This option says that the responsibility of moonshot (launching of a spacecraft to the moon)
is with an authoritative agency, namely NASA whereas the responsibility of creating sustainable cities
and curing cancer (being public goods) is widely distributed with its concomitant problems. This
statement does touch upon one aspect of “complexity” of creating sustainable cities and curing
cancer and but it is only a partial answer to the question WHY NOT? Option 1 is BEST.

Poem

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But, if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
INTERPRETATION OF THE POEM
The poem is highly symbolic: (1) Fire symbolises “desire” (3rd and 4th lines) and (2) ice symbolises “hate”
(6th and 7th lines). It is presenting two different scenarios for the end of the world—"the world” could itself
be taken literally or could symbolise “the world of an individual person”. The theme is clearly the power of
two strong human emotions that if left unchecked can unleash enough destruction to end the world—at the
level of humanity collectively or at the level of an individual: (1) “desire”—love, ambition, greed, inflamed
passion, anger, bloodlust; and (2) “hatred”—detest, cold-heartedness, malevolence, malice, envy.

Some people think the world will end in fire, driven by “desire”, whereas others think ice is more likely,
driven by “hatred”. The poet has had experience of the destructive power of both emotions—his first
impulse is to favour fire— “desire”, then he acknowledges that ice— “hatred” also has great destructive
power, which would be sufficient to destroy the world.

10. Ans: (4)

Explanation
Options 1 and 2 by presenting that “desire” is more powerful than “hatred” distort what the poet is
saying—both emotions are equally powerful to destroy the world by themselves taken individually.
Even option 3 is incorrect in suggesting that “desire” cannot destroy everything and so “hatred” is
required to finish the job. Option 5 talks about “self-doubt” whereas the poet is talking about “the
end”—total destruction. Hence, options 1, 2, 3 and 5 can be eliminated.
The only option remaining is Option 4 which talks of “desire”— "greed” destroying “one’s world” not
“the world” as mentioned in the poem. But “the world” could well symbolise the world of an individual
person, it need not be taken only literally. Hence, Option 4 is the correct answer.

11. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: The question is asking for the “MOST UNSUITABLE TITLE”, so it is better to use the
elimination method.
Option 1 covers both emotions and relates them to “destruction”; Option 2 is rather scientific-
sounding for the title of a poem, but does not digress from the theme of “destruction” or
“annihilation”; and similarly, Options 4 and 5 are consistent with the theme of the poem.

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 The only remaining option is Option 2, which is rather ambiguous—Is it “The Destruction of the World
by Emotions”? or is it “The Destruction of Emotions in the World”? It is for the reason of ambiguity that
Option 2 is the MOST UNSUITABLE TITLE from the given options.

Passage 1
SUITABLE TITLE: The Human Tragedy: The More We Consume The Hungrier We Get.

Difficult Words/Phrases (in the order of their appearance)

1. gooseflesh: (n) a state of the skin caused by cold, fear, or excitement, in which small bumps
appear on the surface as the hairs become erect: “…during a concert of cathedral organ music, as
I sat getting gooseflesh amid that tsunami of sound…”.
2. proffer: (v) hold out or put forward (something) to someone for acceptance: “…they signed up for
the religion being proffered.”
3. pummel: (v) strike repeatedly with the fists; batter, pound.
4. dwarf: (v) cause to seem small or insignificant in comparison.
5. quaint: (adj) attractively unusual or old-fashioned: “And now we are constantly pummelled with
sounds that dwarf quaint organs.
6. dopamine: (n) the chemical (as a neurotransmitter) that mediates pleasure in the brain. It is
released during pleasurable situations and stimulates one to seek out the pleasurable activity or
occupation: “And now we have drugs that cause spasms of pleasure and dopamine release a
thousand-fold higher than anything stimulated in our old drug-free world.”
7. over-the-top: (adj) to an excessive or exaggerated degree: “this combination of over-the-top non-
natural sources of reward and the inevitability of habituation…”
8. habituation: (n) (in Psychology) the diminishing of an innate response to a frequently repeated
stimulus.
9. habituate: (v) make or become accustomed or used to something: “…we eventually habituate to
even those artificial deluges of intensity.”
10. extant: (adj) still in existence; surviving: “A feeling of absence of sources of pleasure when extant
sources are in abundance.”

MAIN IDEA: The human tragedy is that the more we consume, the hungrier we get. What gave us pleasure
earlier no longer gives us pleasure now as we have got accustomed to it over time with repeated exposure
and then have started taking it for granted. It is the inevitable process of “habituation” that diminishes the
pleasure. Once we get accustomed to a certain degree or intensity of pleasure, that makes us hungry for
newer sources or stimuli that evoke ever higher degree or intensity of pleasure. Our tragedy is that we are
caught in this spiral constantly seeking more and faster and stronger pleasure.

12. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: We humans constantly seek newer (extraordinary) sources that offer ever higher degree or
intensity of pleasure because we have got used to the existing (ordinary) sources and lower degree or
intensity of pleasure, which in any case we feel entitled to and take them for granted. Hence, Option 3
is the correct answer.
Options 1, 2 and 4: All these options are not incorrect per se, but do NOT capture the main idea of the
passage, which is the constant search for higher degree or intensity of pleasure as in option 3 (the
correct option)— “perceived to be extraordinary”. Option 5 is contrary to the main idea of the passage
elucidated above. Hence, options 1, 2, 4 and 5 can be eliminated.

13. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: Whatever sources/experiences of pleasure are available in abundance and whatever
sources/experiences of pleasure and degree or intensity of pleasure we get accustomed to by
repeated exposure—these will not give us pleasure on a sustained basis. The source or experience
that we are exposed to one-time or occasionally or sparingly (rather than frequently) is the one that
will help us sustain “the pleasure derived from that experience”. Such an experience is “hard to
replicate” and hence is not available for frequent and repeated exposure. Hence, Option 2 is the
correct answer.

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 Options 1, 4 and 5: The passage is not trying to distinguish between synthetic or natural experiences
and show that natural experiences give sustained pleasure while synthetic experiences do not. The
passage is saying something quite different—"that once you get used to synthetic experiences that
give you higher degree or intensity of pleasure then you take the smaller pleasures from natural
experiences for granted.” These options are therefore NOT consistent with the passage—Option 1 is
saying that bad synthetic experiences (such as with drug use) lead to sustained pleasure (in natural
experiences); Option 4 is saying that natural experiences give sustained pleasure; and Option 5 is
saying that training to take pleasure in natural experiences will give us sustained pleasure.
Option 3: The process of habituation in fact diminishes the pleasure NOT sustain it; so option 3 is
contrary to what is said in the passage. Hence, options 1, 3, 4 and 5 can be eliminated.

14. Ans: (5)

Explanation
Option 5: The “emptiness” described in the passage comes from “inevitable habituation to the high
degree or intensity of pleasure obtained from synthetic sources (such as, drugs). After getting
habituated to drugs (addicted to drugs), the existing sources of pleasure, though in abundance, no
longer give any pleasure. Even the drugs after a while do not give any pleasure, and then we
experience an emptiness (the absence of sources of pleasure): “An emptiness comes from this
combination of over-the-top non-natural sources of reward (such as, drugs) and the inevitability of
habituation (addiction); this is because unnaturally strong explosions of synthetic experience and
sensation and pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation (addiction)…soon we barely
notice the fleeting whispers of pleasure caused by leaves in autumn, or by the lingering glance of the
right person, or by the promise of reward following a difficult, worthy task (existing sources of
pleasure no longer give any pleasure).… we eventually habituate to even those artificial deluges of
intensity (even drugs stop giving us pleasure).” Hence, option 5 is the correct answer.
Options 1, 2 and 3 also say more or less the same thing and are not incorrect per se, but Option 5
says it BEST— “emptiness” = “a feeling of absence of sources of pleasure”. Option 4 misses the point
entirely by describing “emptiness” as “the yearning/craving for junk food”. Hence, options 1, 2, 3 and
4 can be eliminated.

Critical Reasoning
15. Ans: (4)

Explanation
Option 4: It is clear that there are two separate factors at play: (1) the long-term warming trend is
continuing and (2) on top of that (in addition to that) we have the El Nino event which is further
exacerbating the situation: “On top of the long-term warming trend, temperatures in 2019 have been
buoyed (lifted, increased) by a moderate El Niño event.” Hence, Option 4 is the correct answer.
Option 1: It is not possible to infer the relationship between the intensity of El Nino event and the
surface temperature from the given information. Option 2: It is given that 2016 and 2017 were
warmer than 2019; but it is not possible to infer the reasons for this. Option 3: There is nothing to
suggest constant rate of increase from 2016 to 2019. Option 5: The El Nino event and long-term
warming trend are two separate factors and are unrelated as highlighted in Option 4, the correct
answer. Hence, options 1, 2, 3 and 5 can be eliminated.

Passage 2
SUITABLE TITLE: Knowledge is undergoing a profound change in the computer age—It is no longer an end
in itself but a commodity to be sold.

Difficult Words/Phrases (in the order of their appearance)

1. hegemony: (n) leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others;
supremacy; ascendency: “Along with the hegemony of computers comes a certain logic…”
2. knowledge: (n) (1) facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the
theoretical or practical understanding of a subject; (2) information held on a computer system; (3)
In Philosophy, true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion.
3. knowledge economy: (n) an economy in which growth is dependent on the quantity, quality, and
accessibility of the information available, rather than the means of production.

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 4. exteriorisation: (n) externalize, give external existence or form to: “We may thus expect a thorough
exteriorisation of knowledge with respect to the “knower,”
5. indissociable: (adj) unable to be dissociated: “The old principle that the acquisition of knowledge is
indissociable from the training (Bildung) of minds, or even of individuals, is becoming obsolete and
will become ever more so.”
6. Bildung: (German) refers to the German tradition of self-cultivation, wherein philosophy and
education are linked in a manner that refers to a process of both personal and cultural
maturation. This maturation is described as a harmonization of the individual's mind and heart
and in a unification of selfhood and identity within the broader society.
7. valorise: (v) give or ascribe value or validity to: “Knowledge is and will be produced in order to be
sold, it is and will be consumed in order to be valorised in a new production…”
8. value: (n) the material or monetary worth of something: “…will increasingly tend, to assume the
form…—that is, the form of value.”
9. use-value: (n) a product's utility in satisfying needs and wants; the total satisfaction received from
consuming a good or service: “Knowledge ceases to be an end in itself, it loses its “use-value.”
10. exchange-value: (n) the exchange equivalent by which the product is compared to other objects on
the market; commercial, monetary or market value.

SUMMARY

In the context of general transformation in the present age dominated by computers, knowledge is also
undergoing a profound change—it is being translated into “quantities of information” in computer language
and in digital form. What is not translatable in this way is set aside. So in the future new research will be
dictated by the possibility of its eventual results being translatable into computer language. This will
separate the knower from knowledge—make knowledge external and independent of the knower and
hence, easily accessible to others.

The earlier thinking was that the acquisition of knowledge transforms the individual and his mind and
becomes a part of him; hence, knowledge cannot be separated from the knower. This old principle will
increasingly become obsolete.

Knowledge will assume the form of value—it will be measured by its material or monetary worth. The
suppliers of knowledge will produce knowledge as a commodity to be sold, and consumers of knowledge
will use knowledge (as raw material) to develop new knowledge as a new commodity to be sold. Knowledge
will cease to be an end in itself—for example, for philosophers and thinkers who are in constant pursuit of
the “truth”. Knowledge will lose its use-value. The worth of knowledge is now evaluated by how closely it is
to reality or the truth (its truth-content); in the future, it will be evaluated for its commercial or exchange-
value.

16. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: The essence of the passage is summarised in the last two sentences— “Knowledge is and
will be produced in order to be sold, it is and will be consumed in order to be valorised in a new
production: in both cases, the goal is exchange. Knowledge ceases to be an end in itself, it loses its
“use-value.” The “use-value” of knowledge is to know the truth or acquire a better understanding of
the truth. But if knowledge becomes a commodity to be produced and sold, then it will acquire an
“exchange-value” or commercial value and consequently lose its “use-value”. Hence, Option 3 is the
correct answer.
Option 1 is correct as per the passage but it is NOT the essence of the passage. Options 2, 4 and 5
are also correct in highlighting aspects of the changes taking place, but they do not highlight “how”
knowledge will change—“from X to Y”: “from being valued for its truth-content to being valued for its
exchange-value”, as summarised in the last two sentences of the passage.

17. Ans: (5)

Explanation
Option 5: can be inferred from: (1) “We may thus expect a thorough exteriorisation of knowledge with
respect to the “knower,” and (2) “The old principle that the acquisition of knowledge is indissociable
from the training (Bildung) of minds (transforms the mind and becomes part of it), or even of
individuals, is becoming obsolete and will become ever more so.”

14
 The earlier thinking was that the acquisition of knowledge transforms the individual and his mind and
becomes a part of him; hence, knowledge cannot be separated from the knower. This old principle will
increasingly become obsolete. (This is based on “Bildung” —the German tradition of self-cultivation,
wherein philosophy and education are linked in a manner that refers to a process of both personal
and cultural maturation and transformation. This maturation and transformation is described as a
harmonization of the individual's mind and heart and in a unification of selfhood and identity within
the broader society.)

Option 5 says that “acquisition of knowledge need no longer transform its recipient” because it is
external to “the knower” and has not become part of his thinking or transformed him or his mind or
his thinking in any way. Hence, Option 5 is the correct answer.

Option 1: is a distortion of what the passage says. The passage says that “knowledge will become a
commodity; it will acquire an exchange-value and consequently will lose its “use-value.” Whereas
option 1 distorts this by saying “Losing its “use-value” is a necessary condition for knowledge to
acquire an “exchange-value”. Hence, option 1 can be eliminated.

Options 2 and 3 have not even been mentioned in the passage. Option 4 is vague in its reference to
“locus (place)…has shifted”—does it mean “the place of knowledge in books has shifted to
computers?” Hence, options 2, 3 and 4 can easily be eliminated.

18. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: is clearly the best example of “how knowledge has been exteriorised with respect to the
“knower, and that acquisition of knowledge need no longer transform its recipient.” The unempathetic
manager has remained unempathetic without undergoing any transformation, but has just acquired
the knowledge of “how to display empathy” as external knowledge. Hence, Option 2 is the correct
answer.

Option 1 does not relate to any of the two main points of the passage: (1) knowledge has been
exteriorised with respect to the “knower, and that acquisition of knowledge need no longer transform
its recipient; and (2) knowledge will become a commodity; it will acquire an exchange-value and
consequently will lose its “use-value”. Option 3 talks of the “teacher” of poetry but does not comment
on whether the “learner” of poetry has undergone any transformation. Option 4 refers to the “learner”
of singing but does not comment on whether the “learner” has undergone any transformation in order
to sing perfectly.

Option 5 presents a “FALSE ANALOGY” between “values of knowledge” as discussed in the passage
and “values of MBA programs”. In economic theory, most products and services (including
educational products and services, such as MBA programs) have both a use-value and an exchange-
value. On the other hand, “knowledge” as discussed in the passage operates differently: the “use-
value” of knowledge is to know the truth or acquire a better understanding of the truth but once
knowledge becomes a commodity then no one will evaluate its worth in terms of its truth-content
(“use-value”) but in terms of its “exchange-value”.

Hence, options 1, 3, 4 and 5 can be eliminated.

Critical Reasoning
19. Ans: (5)

Explanation
There are three statements in the paragraph giving relationships between different factors. The point
to note is that these statements have been arrived at through “statistical surveys” and “enumerative
induction”—proceeding from specific observations to general relationships with a degree of probability
attached to them: “IF ‘X’ IS TRUE, THEN ‘Y’ IS PROBABLY TRUE.’ The statements are rephrased below:
1. If professional in L or H/F or IT, then probably NO BREAKFAST.
2. If BREAKFAST (savoury/eggs), then probably make MORE MONEY + be NIGHT owl + prefer CATS
over DOGS.

15
 3. If BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts), then probably MORNING person + like ROMCOMS + DOG person.
Option 1: says “preference for CATS as pets over DOGS”. The findings did not mention “as pets” and
goes beyond the findings of the survey.
Option 2: If L + BREAKFAST (savoury/eggs), then make MORE MONEY (compared with)→ If L + have
EARLY BREAKFAST (of any sort).
This option firstly does NOT relate the factors with a degree of probability (“probably/more likely” is
missing). Secondly, EARLY BREAKFAST does not necessarily imply BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts). A lot
of people can be MORNING persons other than those who have BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts). [“If P,
then Q” does not imply its converse “If Q, then P”]
Option 3: If H + BREAKFAST (of any sort), then probably make MORE MONEY (compared with)→ If H +
like ROMCOMS.
This option firstly does not specify which type of BREAKFAST in the first case, then how can we relate
it to making MORE MONEY. Secondly, BREAKFAST is not even mentioned in the second case. A lot of
people can like ROMCOMS other than those who have BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts). [“If P, then Q”
does not imply its converse “If Q, then P”]
Option 4: This option firstly does NOT relate the factors with a degree of probability (“more likely” is
missing). A lot of people can be early risers (MORNING persons) other than those who have
BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts). [“If P, then Q” does not imply its converse “If Q, then P”]
Option 5: If IT + BREAKFAST (eggs), then probably make MORE MONEY, (compared with)→ If IT +
BREAKFAST (sweet/donuts). This option can be inferred from the given statements; hence, Option 5 is
the correct answer.

Passage 3
SUITABLE TITLE: Displacement and the psychology of exile are in; cultural continuities and settled
communities are out.

Difficult Words/Phrases (in the order of their appearance)

1. exile: (n) the state of being barred from one's native country, typically for political or punitive
reasons: “Most old-societies-turned-young-nation-states learn to live in a world dominated by the
psychology and culture of exile.”
2. refugees: (n) people who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war,
persecution, or natural disaster: “For some, the twentieth century has been a century of refugees.”
3. pathology: (n) mental, social, or linguistic abnormality or malfunction.
4. nation-state: (n) a sovereign state of which most of the citizens or subjects are united also by
factors which define a nation, such as language or common descent: “Refugees as contemporary
symbols, however, proclaim something more than a pathology of a global nation-state system.”
5. psychosocial displacement: (n) displacement relating to the interrelation of social factors and
individual thought and behaviour; alienation; emotional estrangement: “Refugees also represent a
state of mind, a form of psychosocial displacement that has become endemic to modernizing
societies.”
6. alienation: (n) state of experiencing or inducing feelings of isolation or estrangement.
7. estrangement: (n) the fact of no longer being on friendly terms or part of a social group.
8. endemic: (adj) (of a condition) regularly found among particular people or in a certain area.
9. territoriality: (n) a type of intraspecific or interspecific competition that results from the behavioural
exclusion of others from a specific space that is defended as territory: “…this changed status of
territoriality in human life…”
10. jaded: (adj) bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something: “…the
metaphor of exile is now jaded.”
11. red herring: (n) a clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading or
distracting: “…the idea (of a home) itself is a red herring.”
12. trite: (adj) (of a remark or idea) lacking originality or freshness; dull on account of overuse: “…the
idea of exile begins to appear trite in intellectual circles…”
13. reconcile to: (v) make someone accept (a disagreeable or unwelcome thing).
14. labile: (adj) liable to change; easily altered: “…an increasingly large proportion of the world is
getting reconciled to living with the labile sense of self.”
15. sense of self: (n) one's perception of oneself and an awareness of who you truly are.

16
 16. ennui: (n) a feeling of listlessness/tedium/boredom: “Displacement and the psychology of exile
are in; cultural continuities and settled communities are out; there is a touch of ennui about
them.”

SUMMARY

1. Most old-societies-turned-young-nation-states (referring to third-world nations which acquired

independence in the twentieth century) have learnt to live in a world where the earlier concepts of
“cultural continuities and settled communities” or even “home” have increasingly become outdated—
“cultural continuities and settled communities are out”.
2. People have learnt to live (got accustomed to living) in a world dominated by “the psychology and
culture of exile”— “Displacement and the psychology of exile are in”.
3. As a result, people do not feel particularly rooted to a place and are open to shifting to different places—
“the labile sense of self”; “exile no longer seems a pathology or affliction” (an unhealthy state).
4. The twentieth century has been a century of refugees as a result of (a) wars to resettle boundaries of
new nation-states, (b) internal strife between majority and minority communities emerging from identity
politics, and (c) ethnic cleansing and genocide—what the author refers to as "the distinctive violence of
our time; a pathology of a global nation-state system; ‘pushed’ by an oppressive or violent system at
home”.
5. Modernisation and urbanisation have led to massive displacement of people within the boundaries of a
nation-state, mainly from rural to urban areas. Such displaced people have over time resettled in their
new homes, though they may have initially felt a sense of alienation— “Refugees also represent a state
of mind, a form of psychosocial displacement that has become endemic to modernizing societies.”
6. Globalisation has led to greater immigration of people in search of better economic prospects— ‘pull’ of
self-induced displacement.
7. Globalisation and modernisation have led to a breaking down of cultural barriers and development of a
global worldview, particularly in intellectual circles— “…the idea of exile begins to appear trite in
intellectual circles…”

20. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: People have reconciled to living with “the labile (easily altered) sense of self”—whereby ‘the
self’ (who they are) is not defined by a place because they do not feel particularly rooted to a place
and ‘the self’ is open to redefining itself or acquiring a new identity once people have shifted and
adapted to new places. The point is that people are easily willing to change their self (who they are) by
adapting to the new place they migrate to under compelling circumstances or willingly. Option 3 is
CLOSET in meaning.
Options 1 and 2 miss the point of “easily altered (labile)” self by adapting to a new place, though they
are close options. Option 4 is inconsistent with the main idea of the passage and is irrelevant to the
phrase “labile sense of self”. Option 5 does not mention “confine the self to a particular place
(geography)” and is inconsistent with the main idea of the passage. Hence, options 1, 2, 4 and 5 can
be eliminated.

21. Ans: (1)

Explanation
Option 1: The passage talks of refugees symbolizing "the distinctive (defining) violence of our time”
emerging from “a pathology (unhealthy state) of a global nation-state system” (nation-state being
defined as a place where people are united by factors, such as language, culture, ethnicity or common
descent, and where ‘outsiders’ are banished). This leads to wars between ethnic communities, ethnic
cleansing and genocide. This specific or defining nature of violence that refugees of the twentieth
century symbolise has NOT been spelled out in Option 1. Option 1 talks of “exploitation and abuse” in
a general sense, which is ambiguous. Violence or oppression can be of different kinds and for
different reasons. The passage is referring to a specific kind of violence that defines the twentieth
century and the one that the refugees symbolize. Hence, Option 1 is what the author will least agree
with (most disagree with) because it is NOT specific BUT ambiguous; hence, Option 1 is the correct
answer.
All the other options are clearly and directly stated in the passage, which the author will agree with.
Options 2 and 4 are directly from: “They (Refugees) also represent a state of mind, a form of

17
 psychosocial displacement (a feeling of alienation) that has become endemic to modernizing
societies.” Option 3 is directly from: “…the idea of exile begins to appear trite (outdated, irrelevant) in
intellectual circles…”. Option 5 is directly from: “One does not even have to cross national frontiers to
become a refugee…”.

22. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: A proponent of a project who has read the passage and gained insights from it would not be
worried about the negative effect on the families likely to be displaced by the project (PAF) because
displacement or exile is commonplace and people have learnt to live with it— “Displacement and the
psychology of exile are in”; “exile no longer seems a pathology or affliction”. So even if the PAF
experience a form of psychosocial displacement (a feeling of alienation or emotional estrangement)
initially, it should not be a matter of concern because they will “easily” overcome it and adapt to the
new places where they are rehabilitated—they have developed a ‘labile (easily altered) sense of self’.
Hence, Option 3 is the correct option.
Options 1 and 2 are inconsistent with the main idea of the passage. But option 4 is an option trap and
if the word “eventually” is replaced by “easily”, it could be an equally correct option. Option 5 is
incorrect by bringing in the aspect of “human displacement being a historical phenomenon”, when the
passage only focusses on displacement of people in the twentieth century for the specific reasons
discussed in the passage. Hence, options 1, 2, 4 and 5 can be eliminated.

Critical Reasoning
23. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: That celestial bodies have an influence on jellyfish sightings can be directly and definitely
inferred from: “In Hawaii, jellyfish often show up on south-facing beaches eight days after a full
moon.” There may be many factors or combinations of factors that influence jellyfish sightings (Law of
Plurality of Causes is relevant) which the paragraph does not mention or suggest, but Option 2 is a
definite inference (BEST concluded) from this one sentence of the passage; hence, it is the correct
answer.
Option 1 (the converse of option 2) cannot be inferred because there is no mention of north-facing
beaches and many factors may be at play. Options 3 and 4 are “Universal (all the time)” statements
whereas the paragraph mentions “sometimes” (Particular): “…tourism officials are sometimes
reluctant to publicize jellyfish swarms out of fear that such news will scare off visitors”. Option 5 is an
option trap: it talks about “seasonal variations in marine temperature” whereas the paragraph merely
mentions “certain months” and “summer”: “In Australia, jellyfish are most common between
November and May…In the Mediterranean, blooms usually appear in the summer.” From this given
information, it is not possible to “definitely infer” about “variations in marine temperature”, which can
be influenced by winds and currents and numerous other factors. Hence, options 1, 3, 4 and 5 can be
eliminated.

Passage 4
SUITABLE TITLE: Why Capitalism Creates Pointless Jobs?

Difficult Words/Phrases (in the order of their appearance)

1. downsizing, layoffs and speed-ups: downsizing: make (a company or organization) smaller by
shedding staff; layoffs: temporary or permanent discharges of workers; speedups: increases in a
worker’s rate of working or productivity: “…corporations may engage in ruthless downsizing, the
layoffs and speed-ups…”.
2. paper pushers: (n) bureaucrats or menial clerical workers.
3. alchemy: (n) a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination: “Through
some strange alchemy no one can quite explain, the number of salaried paper pushers ultimately
seems to expand…”
4. mortal danger: (n) danger causing or liable to cause death; fatal: “The ruling class has figured out
that a happy and productive population with free time on their hands is a mortal danger.”

SUMMARY

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We have witnessed the creation of an endless variety of new pointless jobs in capitalist economies, which
do not contribute to the overall productivity of a company but instead eat into the profits of the company.
These pointless jobs are mainly of clerical workers, administrators, etc. and such jobs have kept
expanding. This is not supposed to happen in capitalist economies because market competition would not
allow it. According to economic theory, at least, the last thing a profit-seeking firm is going to do is shell out
money to workers they don’t really need to employ.
The answer to “why this is happening” is therefore NOT economic, it is moral and political.
The “political” answer is that the ruling class considers a happy and productive population with free time
on their hands to be “a mortal danger” to peace, order and stability of the society. (The allusion to the
“hippie” movement in the sixties is to give a glimpse of the “mortal danger” to society under reference).
That is why more and more workers are employed in jobs with forty- or even fifty-hour weeks on paper but
effectively work only fifteen hours a week; they are however kept busy with extraneous activities the rest of
the time.
And the “moral” answer is that “work is a moral value in itself”, and that people not willing to submit
themselves to some kind of intense work discipline for most of their waking hours deserve nothing. This
answer is dismissed by the author as “extraordinarily convenient”.

24. Ans: (3)

Explanation
Option 3: The question is framed like a typical critical reasoning question with “Which of the
statements, IF TRUE, …”. Therefore, IF it is TRUE that companies with higher number of pointless jobs
are more profitable than others (as in option 3), then this would make the basic assertion of the
author erroneous— "profit-seeking firms would NOT create pointless jobs because that would eat into
their profits”. Hence, Option 3 is the correct answer.
Option 1: If it is true that workers on pointless jobs are more loyal to the organization, this would
somewhat support the creation of pointless jobs; but it does not make the author’s assertion
(paraphrased above) erroneous. Option 4 talks of absolute number of pointless jobs being lower than
meaningful jobs, but the assertion is why create pointless jobs at all—they just eat into your profits.
Options 2 and 5 on the other hand support the author’s assertion. Hence, options 1, 2, 4 and 5 can
be eliminated.

25. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: If the ruling class consider people with free time on their hands a mortal danger to society,
then the ruling class would naturally like to keep them employed for longer hours—forty- or even fifty-
hour per week—to keep them away from creating trouble. This can be definitely inferred (or BEST
inferred) from the passage; hence, Option 2 is the correct answer.
Options 1 and 5 talk of “abhorring leisure” and “cutting down on leisure”, which relates to the moral
principle; but the author dismisses the moral principle as “extraordinarily convenient” for the ruling
class, not giving it any serious consideration. Option 3 predicts that pointless jobs will continue in the
future as well; but there is nothing in the passage that suggests or supports this prediction. Option 4,
though it rightly highlights the point about “political reasons”, it is too generalized a statement to be
inferred from the single specific case discussed in the passage. Hence, options 1, 3, 4 and 5 can be
eliminated.

26. Ans: (2)

Explanation
Option 2: Because people with free time on their hands are a mortal danger—danger to peace, order,
stability of society—they must be engaged or kept occupied for long hours even if it is in pointless jobs.
That is the principle underlying the theme of the passage. Hence, Option 2 is the correct answer.
Option 1 is a distortion—it talks of “more jobs” instead of “pointless jobs”; it talks of “protecting
political values” instead of “for peace and order in society”. Options 3 and 4 relates to the moral
principle, which the author dismisses as “extraordinarily convenient” and does not give it any serious
consideration. Option 5 is not even mentioned in the passage and is in fact contrary to what is stated
in the passage. Hence, options 1, 3, 4 and 5 can be eliminated.

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