GP Recommends: Read ’7 Rules to Excel in VA’ before this post
Those who read voraciously and have developed a good reading speed are at an obvious advantage over the others. For those of you who are not big readers, the three round method I’d discussed in Decoding Verbal: 6 Rules to Excel in VA/LR will be especially useful. Here’s how I went about the 30 questions in VA/LR, Mock 4:
Direction for questions 31 to 33: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
The case for constituting political authority democratically rested on two basic assumptions: first, that no person was naturally superior to another, so any relations of authority between them stood in need of justification – in other words, each person should enjoy equal political rights unless it could be shown that everyone gained from having inequality; second, that the interests of the people were best safeguarded by making them the final repository of political authority – anyone entrusted with special powers must be accountable to the people as a whole. But this still left open exactly what role the people as a whole should play in government. Should they be directly involved in legislating, as Rousseau argued in his Social Contract, and if so how? Or should they only be involved at one step removed, by choosing representatives who would wield authority on their behalf.
In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government. They are entitled to vote at periodic elections, they are occasionally consulted through a referendum when some major constitutional question has to be decided, and they are allowed to form groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them, but that is the extent of their authority. Real power to determine the future of democratic societies rests in the hands of a remarkably small number of people – government ministers, civil servants, and to some extent members of parliament or other legislative assembly – and it is natural to ask why this is so. If democracy is the best way to make political decisions, why not make it a reality by letting the people themselves decide major questions directly? One answer that is often given at this point is that it is simply impractical for millions of ordinary citizens to be involved in making the huge number of decisions that governments have to make today. If they were to try, not only would government be paralyzed, but they would leave themselves no time to do all those other things that most people think are more important than politics. But this answer is not adequate, because it is not difficult to envisage citizens making general policy decisions whose detailed implementation would then be left to ministers and others. The electronic revolution means that it would now be quite easy to ask citizens for their views on a wide range of issues ranging from war and peace through taxation and public expenditure to animal welfare and environmental issues. So why is this done only on those rare occasions when a referendum is called?
The reason is that there is a widespread belief that ordinary people are simply not competent to understand the issues that lie behind political decisions, and so they are happy to hand these decisions over to people they regard as better qualified to deal with them. An uncompromising statement of this point of view can be found in Joseph Schumpeter’s book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1943), where it is argued that the citizen’s job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him or her, not to attempt to decide issuesdirectly. Schumpeter claims that whereas in economic transactions,for instance, people experience the results of their decisionsdirectly – if they buy a defective product, they soon discover theirmistake – in the case of political decisions there is no such immediate feedbackmechanism.
Q31. Which of the statements given below best supports the view of the author as inferred from the passage?
(a) The interests of the people are best safeguarded by making them the final repository of political authority.
(b) Democracy is the best way to make political decisions and this can become a reality only by letting the people themselves decide major questions directly.
(c) Citizens should make general policy decisions and leave their implementation to ministers and others.
(d) In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government.
Q32. Why does the author discuss the fact that referendums are rarely called?
1. To underline that such an exercise needs to be justified.
2. To demonstrate that the citizen’s job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him and not to decide issues directly.
3. To explain that the ordinary citizen is disinterested in decision-making.
4. To describe the popular belief that ordinary people are not competent enough to understand political decision-making.
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 4 (c) Both 2 and 4 (d) Both 3 and 4
Q33. How does the author conclude that democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government?
(a) Citizens are occasionally consulted on issues through a referendum.
(b) Citizens only form groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them.
(c) Real power lies in the hands of a small group of government ministers, civil servants and members of parliament.
(d) All of the above
My approach: RC Passage – R2
This is a lengthy passage. Glanced through the passage, the words political authority, contract, democracies and government caught my attention. This is hence a Political Science passage, my area of interest – will definitely attempt this in R2.
Noted on the Rough sheet under RC:
Q 31-33, Lengthy, Subject-Political Science, Attempt – Yes
Q34. Given below are four sentences or parts of sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar and usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option.
1. While central Tokyo has much to offer in terms of sightseeing, things only start to get more interesting once you venture at the outside of the well-trodden paths of the city center.
2. Anyone keen to experience the natural beauty that Japan has to offer will realize that inner Tokyo has very little in this regards.
3. The town of Nikko is located in Tochigi Prefecture and is renowned for its national park and authentic hot springs.
4. Lavish shrines such as Toshugu also dot the landscape, as well as the mausoleum of the 16th-century shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1, 3 and 4 (d) 2 and 4
My approach: Grammar – R1
Checked the four statements
Statement 1 is incorrect: “venture outside” not “venture at the outside”.
Since Choice (b) & (d) do not contain Statement 1, they cannot be the correct answer. Thus correct answer is either Choice (a) or (c).
Statement 2 is incorrect: “in this regard” not “regards”. Statement 2 is not available in Choice (c) hence incorrect.
Correct answer: Choice (a)
Q35. Niret, Priya, Rehan, Soni and Usha appeared in two tests, one each of Physics and Chemistry. They were ranked 1 to 5 in each test based on their performances. None of them secured the same rank in the two subjects. In the Physics test, Rehan’s rank was better than that of Soni while Niret’s rank was the worst among the five. Usha was the only one who was among the bottom two in both the tests. Priya secured Rank 3 in the Chemistry test. The number of students who got ranks between Niret and Rehan was equal in the two tests. What was the rank of Rehan in the Chemistry test?
(a) 2 (b) 1
(c) 4 (d) Cannot be determined
My approach: Analytical Reasoning – R2 Mark for review.
Q36. Five sentences are given below, labeled A, B, C, D and E. They need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. Iran has over the past couple of years absorbed a series of covert warfare blows directed against its nuclear program.
B. Assassination of its scientists, sabotage of facilities, and most damaging, the Stuxnet computer worm that invaded and hobbled its uranium-enrichment centrifuge system.
C. Thus far, however, Tehran has declined any significant retaliation for actions it clearly perceives as provocations.
D. A prudent explanation might be that Iran has until now restrained itself from retaliating for covert actions against its nuclear program, sensing that these might, in fact, be designed to provoke Iranian acts of retaliation that would, in turn, serve as a pretext for a full-blown military attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities.
E. And tensions are rising as Israel threatens military action to stop a program whose potential military dimension was highlighted last week by the IAEA.
(a) ABCDE (b) EBACD (c) EABCD (d) ABECD
My approach: Para jumble – R1
Read the 5 statements A, B, C, D, E.
CD is a mandatory pair but is not helpful as it is available in all choices.
Based the choices, opening statement is either A or E.
Statement E starts with “and” and appears to be a continuation of a previous statement, it cannot thus be the opening statement. Choice (b) & (c) are incorrect
The closing statement in Choice (a) & (d) are E & D respectively.
Statement D has to be the closing statement.
Correct answer Choice (d)
Alternately you would have noticed that Choice (a) & (d) both start with AB, hence check which Statement, C or E continues the thought.
Q37. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Satire, always as sterile as it in shameful and as impotent as it is insolent, paid them that usual homage which mediocrity pays to genius – doing, here as always, infinite harm to the public, blinding them to what is beautiful, teaching them that irreverence which is the source of all vileness and narrowness of life, but harming the artist not at all, rather confirming him in the perfect rightness of his work and ambition.
(a) I call it our Renaissance because it is indeed a sort of new birth of the spirit of man.
(b) For to disagree with three- fourths of the British public on all points is one of the first elements of sanity, one of the deepest consolations in all moments of spiritual doubt.
(c) Because this love of definite conception, this clearness of vision, this artistic sense of limit, is the characteristic of all great work of art and poetry.
(d) ‘The heart contains passion but the imagination alone contains art,’ says Charles Baudelaire.
My approach: Para Completion – R2 Mark for review.
Q38. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
The Bushmen used feathers or porcupine sticks to create these marvels. One of the more important sites of these paintings is the Bleeding Nose Shelter, which was probably a ceremonial site. Drawings of an eland, small antelopes and a whole range of humans standing, dancing and shooting with bows are spread over the rock walls. This site takes its name from a painting of a man in the shamanistic ‘trance’ state, with blood pouring from his nose.
(a) The Bushmen used natural pigments such as ochre, animal blood and plant juices to make their paintings.
(b) Clearly discernible pictographs have survived to serve as cultural markers, revealing the shamans’ visions, tribal dances and other spiritual rites.
(c) Sonya’s Cave shelters have tall male figures painted in red along with figures in black depicting giraffes and antelope.
(d) Another interesting fact was that important figures in the paintings were drawn over and over again.
My approach: Para Completion – R2 Mark for review.
Directions for questions 39 to 41: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.
The annual incomes (in lakhs) of six persons – Anuj, Bindra, Chitra, Dipanshu, Eshan and Farhan – are 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 16, in no particular order. Each of them saves a different percentage of his/her annual income among 10%, 20%, 25%, 35%, 40% and 60%, and invests it in a different financial instrument among Bonds, FD, MF, RS, Shares and Commodities, in no particular order. It is also known that:
(i) The average of the annual incomes of Anuj, Bindra and Dipanshu is 6 lakhs.
(ii) The person who earns the highest saves 5.6 lakhs and invests it in RS. Chitra saves 25% of her annual income.
(iii) The annual income of Eshan is the least among the six. He saves one-twelfth of the amount saved by the person who invests in MF.
(iv) The sum of the annual incomes of the person who invests in Bonds and the person who saves 20% is equal to the sum of the annual incomes of Anuj and the person who saves 60%.
(v) Bindra invests in Shares. The person who saves 40% does not invest in FD.
Q39. What is the difference (in lakhs) between the savings of Eshan and Chitra?
(a) 2.2 (b) 3.3
(c) 4.8 (d) Cannot be determined
Q40. Who among the following invests his/her savings in Bonds?
(a) Anuj (b) Chitra (c) Dipanshu (d) Farhan
Q41. What is the annual income (in lakhs) of Farhan?
(a) 4 (b) 10 (c) 16 (d) None of these
My approach to questions 39-41: Analytical Reasoning – R2 questions.
Glanced thru the data, lots of numbers could be calculation intensive. Only one question has “Cannot be determined” – looks solvable.
Noted on the rough sheet under AR:
Q39-41, Numbers, high calculation, Attempt –Yes.
Q42. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
A virtue such as honesty or generosity is not just a tendency to do what is honest or generous, nor is it to be helpfully specified as a “desirable” or “morally valuable” character trait. It is, indeed a character trait — that is, a disposition which is well entrenched in its possessor, something that, as we say “goes all the way down”, unlike a habit such as being a tea-drinker — but the disposition in question, far from being a single track disposition to do honest actions, or even honest actions for certain reasons, is multi-track.
(a) It is concerned with many other actions as well, with emotions and emotional reactions, choices, values, expectations and sensibilities.
(b) In sum, to possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset.
(c) The most significant aspect of this mindset is the wholehearted acceptance of a certain range of considerations as reasons for action.
(d) An honest person cannot be identified simply as one who always tells the truth.
My approach: Para Completion – R2 Mark for review
Q43. The word given below has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.
TALK
(a) To sell his product he talked a good game.
(b) She talked her way out of doing the household chores.
(c) She has a habit of talking at you.
(d) She talks around her peers and puts on airs though her peers are more efficient than she is.
My approach: Vocabulary/usage – R1.
Choice (b) & (c) are correct.
Not sure about Statement (a) & (d)
Since I am sure that the answer is either Choice (a) or (d), I took a chance and marked the answer as Choice (a), Incorrect.
Directions for questions 44 to 46: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
According to the influential mid-19th-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Renaissance was the moment when the modern notion of ‘individuality’, indeed, the very concept of the self as an autonomous entity, first fully manifested itself, eventually giving rise to an ideal, multi-talented ‘Renaissance man’ or uomo universale. Since the publication of Burckhardt’s The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy in 1860, scholars have vigorously debated the merit of such broad and sweeping claims and have pointed out that well-rounded, self-aware individuals can be found in earlier periods as well. Although it is notoriously difficult to prove or disprove theories about a paradigm shift in the Weltanshauung, or ‘world view’, of a particular age, there is no doubt that the Renaissance did see an explosion in the production of painted and sculpted portraits of recognizable individuals. Of course, independent painted portraits of a very small number of kings and pontiffs had existed long before the Renaissance, with even some slightly lower-ranked members of the elite, such as bishops or high nobles, portrayed in effigy on their tombs. Likewise, donor portraits, in which the wealthy and powerful patron of a work, such as an altarpiece, would be depicted within or at the edge of a sacred scene, had also existed since the Middle Ages .Similar portrayals of the sacred and secular elite certainly continued to be produced throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. But beginning in the early 1400s, other categories of sitters, such as women, well-to-do merchants, and even artists, also began to be represented in ever-greater numbers in independent portraits. And even in portraits of the traditional elite, a growing interest in individual psychology and physiology is evident, thereby reflecting the period’s new approaches to depicting space, nature, and human anatomy increasingly naturalistically. The very interest in individual portraiture also reflected the Renaissance revival of Classical antiquity, since ancient writers had focused on the biographies of famous individuals, while ancient coins and marble busts of Roman emperors and their less exalted citizen-subjects still existed to be studied, admired, and used as models for new commissions by Renaissance patrons, collectors, and artists.
Q44. “Renaissance did see an explosion in the production of painted and sculpted portraits of recognizable individuals.” Which of the following statements (if true) best mitigates this claim?
(a) Discovery of painted portraits of kings and pontiffs belonging to a period prior to the Renaissance.
(b) Discovery of paintings made in early 1400 with sitters including, but not restricted to, women and merchants.
(c) Discovery of paintings depicting self-aware individuals belonging to a period prior to the Renaissance.
(d) Sitters including, but not restricted to, women and merchants featured prominently in many paintings prior to the Renaissance.
Q45. Jacob Buckhardt’s theory that Renaissance gave rise to the multi talented Renaissance Man is best supported by which of the following?
(a) A Renaissance portrait, assiduously considered for their visual and symbolic significance, is a straightforward depiction of what the person portrayed really looked like.
(b) In a Renaissance portrait of a Duke, his steady, steely gaze peering out from a light-coloured face that stands out against a generally dark background is clearly meant to attest to his courage and determination.
(c) In a Renaissance portrait Isabella d’Este, a 60 year old patron and collector, was depicted as a teenage girl.
(d) Art should strive to show the ‘movements of the soul’ through the ‘movements of the body’.
Q46. What is the primary purpose of the author in the passage?
(a) To show that it is difficult to prove or disprove theories about a shift in the world view of a particular age.
(b) To compare the renaissance period with the pre Renaissance period.
(c) To trace the revival of classical antiquity during the Renaissance period.
(d) To discuss how the concept of individuality manifested itself in Renaissance art.
My approach to questions 44-46: RC Passage – R2
Passage of average length but one big paragraph, I am uncomfortable with single paragraph passages. Glanced thru the passage, the word renaissance comes up many times and the words uomo universale, middle ages, 1400s, classical antiquity caught my attention. This appears to be a literary passage since I am not very comfortable with this kind passage, not sure if I should attempt this in R2.
Noted on the Rough sheet under RC:
Q 44-46, Lengthy okay, Subject – Literary, Attempt ?
Directions for questions 47 and 48: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.
There are five benches – B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5 – in a fast track court. On a particular day the five benches together heard 40 cases and the number of cases heard by each bench was between 4 and 12. The bench B2 and the one headed by Justice Binay heard an equal number of cases. It is also known that:
(i) The bench B5 heard 1 case more than the one headed by Justice Pakad.
(ii) The bench B1 heard 5 cases more than the bench B4.
(iii) The bench headed by Justice Kalra heard 7 cases.
(iv) The bench that heard the maximum number of cases was not headed by Justice Raunak.
(v) The number of cases heard by the bench B5 was 11.
Q47. How many cases were heard by the two benches together that heard an equal number of cases?
(a) 12 (b) 14 (c) 6 (d) 10
Q48. Which of the following combinations is correct?
(a) B1 – Pakad – 11 (b) B3 – Kalra – 7 (c) B5 – Binay – 10 (d) B4 – Raunak – 5
My approach: Analytical Reasoning – R2 questions.
Glanced through the data, no numbers, a data set on arrangement, to be attempted
Noted on the rough sheet under AR:
Q47-48, Data set on arrangement Attempt –Yes.
Q49. There are two gaps in the sentence/paragraph given below. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately.
Walker’s complaint was directed at the biggest remaining __________to everyday use of computers: the fact that a skilled programmer must often spend days reducing the __________of a problem to numerical or electronic code before he can hold even a brief conversation with his machine.
(a) stumble, relevance (b) obstacle, trappings
(c) impediment, elements (d) hindrance, sinters
My approach: Sentence completion – R1
1st blank, Stumble is incorrect, thus choice (a) is incorrect
2nd blank, Trappings & Sinters are not possible, thus choice (b) & (d) are incorrect.
Correct answer Choice (c), the remaining choice.
Q50. The word given below has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.
TAP
(a) She’ll tap her father for a couple of hundred.
(b) He tapped in the nails to hang an old painting.
(c) She tapped out a melodious sound.
(d) She tapped around the university’s private funds.
My approach:Vocabulary/usage – R1
Went through the statements
Statement (d) is incorrect: “tapped into” not around
Correct answer Choice (d)
Q51. Five sentences are given below, labeled A, B, C, D and E. They need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. Now I find hidden somewhere away in my nature something that tells me that nothing in the whole world is meaningless, and suffering least of all.
B. It is the last thing left in me, and the best: the ultimate discovery at which I have arrived, the starting-point for a fresh development.
C. But while there were times when I rejoiced in the idea that my sufferings were to be endless, I could not bear them to be without meaning.
D. That something hidden away in my nature, like a treasure in a field, is Humility.
E. It has come to me right out of myself, so I know that it has come at the proper time.
(a) CADBE (b) ADBEC (c) CAEDB (d) ADECB
My approach: Para jumble – R1
Went through the statements:
DB is a mandatory pair, statement D ends with …is Humility and B starts with “It is the last thing in me….”.
Choice (d) does not have DB, hence incorrect.
Based on the remaining choices checked what made more sense – ADB or EDB
Statement A : “….hidden somewhere in my nature something that tells….” That Something is Humility in statement D. Hence ADB is preferred and Choice (c) is incorrect
Between Choice (a) and (b), the sequence ADBE is common the difference in the two choices is in the placement of statement C
Went through the statement sequence as in Choice (a) & (b) but unable to identify the correct sequence.
Difficult question, since I am sure that the answer is either Choice (a) or (b), I took a chance and marked the answer as Choice (a), correct.
Direction for questions 52 to 54: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
Women’s roles as patrons have attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent years. The role of the patron was crucial to art-making in the Renaissance. Indeed, one could argue that it was the patron who was the initiator of almost all significant artistic projects, and that it was the patron who determined an individual artwork’s most important features and characteristics, including what material it was made from, where it was displayed, the subject it depicted, its size, and even, to a certain extent, its style and composition. Although knowing about a work’s patron can never explain everything about an art object, understanding a patron’s circumstances can provide us with important insights into why a particular work was commissioned and why it has some qualities rather than others. This is of particular relevance in the case of elite women patrons. Although many of their habits and concerns as patrons parallel those of their male contemporaries, there were important differences as well. By far the largest number whose patronage can be documented in this period were widows, like Atalanta Baglioni who hired Raphael to produce an altarpiece commemorating her murdered son or nuns living in convents. The prevalence of widows and nuns as art patrons is quite simple to explain: only these women had the financial and social independence to pay for works of art themselves. As a young girl or a married lady, a woman was legally and financially under the control of first her father and then her husband. Indeed, it was only if a woman outlived her husband that she could finally decide whether and how to spend her money on commissioning works of art. Likewise, until joining a convent, a young nun would have been unable to exercise any kind of independent artistic patronage within her family home. Only upon joining a female religious community could collective decisions about commissioning art be made, although in many cases it was the abbess who was in overall charge of such projects. Sticking to the secular sphere, the most common artistic commissions for women involved the tombs of their deceased husbands. Renaissance widows were exhorted to follow the Classical model of Artemisia, a widowed queen whose fabulous tomb for her husband, King Mausolus, became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and has given us the word ‘mausoleum’. Like Artemisia, 15th- and 16th-century widows were also usually concerned first, foremost, and often solely, with commissioning an appropriate funerary monument for their husbands. Some, but not all, monuments included an effigy of the deceased spouse. Sculpted effigies of women were rare, although wives did sometimes appear as kneeling donors together with their husbands in painted altarpieces or frescos painted for funerary chapels as seen, for instance, in the portrait of Nera Corsi in the Sassetti Chapel – although in this case, the project was commissioned by her still-living husband . However, even if a widow did not make a personal appearance in her husband’s funerary chapel, she could remind posterity of her role as its patron through an inscription or by including her own coat of arms as well as that of her spouse. At the most elite levels, a very small number of women made much more impressive and longer-lasting marks thanks to their non-funereal artistic patronage.
Q52. Which of the statements given below contradicts the impression that the widows and nuns as art patrons left a deep impact?
(a) They had the time to spare for works of art and so could study art deeply.
(b) They had the money to spend on works of art and so could commission works of art.
(c) They had the financial and social independence to make decisions.
(d) None of the above
Q53. Which of the following is most true of the Renaissance widows?
(a) They wanted to make mausoleums that would be recognized as wonders of the world.
(b) They were concerned with the commissioning of an appropriate funerary monument for their husbands.
(c) All monuments included effigies of their deceased spouses.
(d) They appeared only in painted frescos in funerary chapels.
Q54. According to the author the role of the patron was crucial to art making in the Renaissance period because of which of the following reason?
(a) Everything of the art object reflected the patron’s circumstances.
(b) The patron decided the most important characteristics and features of the artwork.
(c) The works of art were only financed by art patrons.
(d) It was the patron who was the initiator of all artistic projects.
My approach to questions 52-54: RC Passage – R2
Passage of average lengthy but again it is one big paragraph that I am uncomfortable with. Glanced thru the passage, the words women, renaissance, art, patron, nuns & convent caught my attention. This passage appears to be on “role of women” during renaissance. Appears to be attemptable, definitely better option than Passage 2.
Noted on the Rough sheet under RC:
Q 52-54, Lengthy okay, Subject-Role of women, Attempt Yes
Directions for questions 55 to 57: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.
An Indo-China joint venture by the name of Chindia Corp Ltd has eight board members – L, M, N, P, Q, R, S and T – four each from India and China. The four members from each country hold different posts among COO, CFO, CMD and CEO, in no particular order. During a board meeting, the eight members sit at a square table such that there are two members along each side of the table. It is also known that:
(i) No member has any of his fellow countrymen as neighbours.
(ii) No two members sitting along the same side of the table hold the same post in their respective countries.
(iii) L, who is a CFO, and P sit along the same side of the table.
(iv) The two neighbours of N are the Indian CFO and S.
(v) R is a COO and exactly one person sits between him and the Chinese CMD.
(vi) Q, who is a CFO, is the third person to the right of L.
(vii) M, who is a COO, sits diagonally opposite S. A CMD sits to the immediate right of S.
Q55. Who is the Chinese CEO?
(a) P
(b) T
(c) N
(d) Cannot be determined
Q56. Which two members among the given pairs cannot be neighbours?
(a) P and M (b) M and N (c) M and T (d) M and Q
Q57. If the two COOs are neighbours, which of the following is the correct combination of “name – post” of the third person to the left of T?
(a) P – CEO (b) L – CFO (c) Q – CFO (d) R – COO
My approach: Analytical Reasoning – R2 questions.
Glanced through the data, no numbers, data set on arrangement, to be attempted.
Noted on the rough sheet under AR:
Q 55-57 Arrangement set, Attempt – Yes.
Q58. Six balls – B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 – are arranged in a row, from left to right, not necessarily in this order. The distance between any two adjacent balls is equal. It is also known that:
(i) B2 and B5 are equidistant from B4.
(ii) The only ball between B1 and B3 is B4.
(iii) B5 is to the right of B2.
Which of the following balls cannot be at any of the ends of the row?
(a) B2 (b) B5 (c) B6 (d) None of these
My approach: Analytical Reasoning – R2 Mark for review.
Q59. There are two gaps in the sentence/paragraph given below. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately.
In its last days in office, the Eisenhower Administration _________that the Government would build the Upper Colorado power transmission lines, _________ because it believed that the Kennedy Administration would ultimately do so anyhow.
(a) mused, interestingly (c) promised, strangely
(b) enunciated, admittedly (d) decreed, presumably
My approach: Sentence completion – R1
1st blank, Mused is incorrect, thus choice (a) is incorrect
2nd blank, Strangely & Admittedly appear to be incorrect, thus choice (c) & (d) are incorrect.
Correct answer Choice (d) un-eliminated choice.
60. Given below are four sentences or parts of sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar and usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option.
1. Hidden in a basement, the worldwide cultural milieu of Sukiyabashi was brought forth thanks to its appearance on Anthony Bourdain’s TV show.
2. The recent release of the David Gelb feature-length documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi added to its popularity.
3. Rather than simply watch the mouth-watering food in Gelb’s documentary, I went a step further by traveling directly to the source.
4. Chef Jiro’s legendary technique that pairs fresh nigiri cuts from the Tsukiji fish market with warm and delicate rice.
(a) Only 1 (b) 2 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) 1 and 4
My approach: Grammar – R1
Went through the statements but was unable to identify error in any statements. Left the question un-attempted and did not mark an answer.
End of Round 1: A Quick Summary
I have thus attempted 7 questions: Q 34, 36, 43, 49, 50, 51 & 59.
I have marked 5 questions for review, without reading: Q 35, 37, 38, 42 & 58.
On the rough sheet, under RC I have noted the following:
Q 31-33, Lengthy, Subject – Pol Sc, Attempt – Yes
Q 44-46, Length okay, Subject – Literary, Attempt ?
Q 52-54, Length okay, Subject – Role of women, Attempt Yes
Based on the above table, my sequence of attempting the RC passages will be Q31-33 followed by Q52-54 and then if time is available I’ll consider attempting Q44-46.
On the rough sheet, under AR I have noted the following:
Q39-41, Numbers, high calculation, Attempt – Yes.
Q47-48 Arrangement set, Attempt – Yes.
Q55-57 Arrangement set, Attempt – Yes.
I will look at attempting all three sets of AR questions since I did not find anything objectionable in the three sets.
Round 2:
In Round 2, I will first attempt the 5 questions marked for review then attempt 2 RC passages (Q31 – 33 & Q52 – 54) and the 3 sets of AR questions.
Round 2:
Q35. Niret, Priya, Rehan, Soni and Usha appeared in two tests, one each of Physics and Chemistry. They were ranked 1 to 5 in each test based on their performances. None of them secured the same rank in the two subjects. In the Physics test, Rehan’s rank was better than that of Soni while Niret’s rank was the worst among the five. Usha was the only one who was among the bottom two in both the tests. Priya secured Rank 3 in the Chemistry test. The number of students who got ranks between Niret and Rehan was equal in the two tests. What was the rank of Rehan in the Chemistry test?
(a) 2 (b) 1
(c) 4 (d) Cannot be determined
My approach: Analytical Reasoning
Simple question, solved comfortably.
Correct answer Choice (c)
Q37. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Satire, always as sterile as it in shameful and as impotent as it is insolent, paid them that usual homage which mediocrity pays to genius – doing, here as always, infinite harm to the public, blinding them to what is beautiful, teaching them that irreverence which is the source of all vileness and narrowness of life, but harming the artist not at all, rather confirming him in the perfect rightness of his work and ambition.
(a) I call it our Renaissance because it is indeed a sort of new birth of the spirit of man.
(b) For to disagree with three- fourths of the British public on all points is one of the first elements of sanity, one of the deepest consolations in all moments of spiritual doubt.
(c) Because this love of definite conception, this clearness of vision, this artistic sense of limit, is the characteristic of all great work of art and poetry.
(d) ‘The heart contains passion but the imagination alone contains art,’ says Charles Baudelaire.
My approach: Para Completion
Read the paragraph, did not understand anything, read it again along with the choices without any improvement of understanding.
Left the question, not to be attempted.
Q38. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
The Bushmen used feathers or poccupine sticks to create these marvels. One of the more important sites of these paintings is the Bleeding Nose Shelter, which was probably a ceremonial site. Drawings of an eland, small antelopes and a whole range of humans standing, dancing and shooting with bows are spread over the rock walls. This site takes its name from a painting of a man in the shamanistic ‘trance’ state, with blood pouring from his nose.
(a) The Bushmen used natural pigments such as ochre, animal blood and plant juices to make their paintings.
(b) Clearly discernible pictographs have survived to serve as cultural markers, revealing the shamans’ visions, tribal dances and other spiritual rites.
(c) Sonya’s Cave shelters have tall male figures painted in red along with figures in black depicting giraffes and antelope.
(d) Another interesting fact was that important figures in the paintings were drawn over and over again.
My approach: Para Completion
The paragraph talks about cave paintings by Bushmen. First it talks about the equipment used for the paintings and then describes a specific site, Bleeding Nose Shelter. Checked the choices:
Choice (a): Incorrect. This refers to the type of colours used in the paintings and could have come immediately after the first line of the paragraph.
Choice (b): Not sure, if correct or incorrect.
Choice (c): Incorrect. This statement gives the details of paintings in another cave painting site without connecting to the site mentioned in the paragraph.
Choice (d): Incorrect. This should have come along with the description of the paintings in the paragraph
Choice (a), (c) & (d) are incorrect, thus correct answer is Choice (b)
Q42. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
A virtue such as honesty or generosity is not just a tendency to do what is honest or generous, nor is it to be helpfully specified as a “desirable” or “morally valuable” character trait. It is, indeed a character trait — that is, a disposition which is well entrenched in its possessor, something that, as we say “goes all the way down”, unlike a habit such as being a tea-drinker — but the disposition in question, far from being a single track disposition to do honest actions, or even honest actions for certain reasons, is multi-track.
(a) It is concerned with many other actions as well, with emotions and emotional reactions, choices, values, expectations and sensibilities.
(b) In sum, to possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset.
(c) The most significant aspect of this mindset is the wholehearted acceptance of a certain range of considerations as reasons for action.
(d) An honest person cannot be identified simply as one who always tells the truth.
My approach: Para Completion
Choice (a): Could be correct. Paragraph ends with “multi-track” which this choice explains.
Choice (b): Not sure, move on to next statement.
Choice (c): Incorrect. This statement is very general and does not take forward the concept of “multi-track”.
Choice (d): Incorrect. This statement could be the opening statement of the paragraph as it is giving the generally accepted definition of an honest person.
Read Choice (a) & (b) again, rejected Choice (b) as this statement is summing the paragraph without explaining “multi-track”.
Correct answer: Choice (a)
Q58. Six balls – B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 – are arranged in a row, from left to right, not necessarily in this order. The distance between any two adjacent balls is equal. It is also known that:
(i) B2 and B5 are equidistant from B4.
(ii) The only ball between B1 and B3 is B4.
(iii) B5 is to the right of B2.
Which of the following balls cannot be at any of the ends of the row?
(a) B2 (b) B5 (c) B6 (d) None of these
My approach: Analytical Reasoning
Simple question, solved comfortably.
Correct answer Choice (d)
Direction for questions 31 to 33: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
The case for constituting political authority democratically rested on two basic assumptions: first, that no person was naturally superior to another, so any relations of authority between them stood in need of justification – in other words, each person should enjoy equal political rights unless it could be shown that everyone gained from having inequality; second, that the interests of the people were best safeguarded by making them the final repository of political authority – anyone entrusted with special powers must be accountable to the people as a whole. But this still left open exactly what role the people as a whole should play in government. Should they be directly involved in legislating, as Rousseau argued in his Social Contract, and if so how? Or should they only be involved at one step removed, by choosing representatives who would wield authority on their behalf.
In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government. They are entitled to vote at periodic elections, they are occasionally consulted through a referendum when some major constitutional question has to be decided, and they are allowed to form groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them, but that is the extent of their authority. Real power to determine the future of democratic societies rests in the hands of a remarkably small number of people – government ministers, civil servants, and to some extent members of parliament or other legislative assembly – and it is natural to ask why this is so. If democracy is the best way to make political decisions, why not make it a reality by letting the people themselves decide major questions directly? One answer that is often given at this point is that it is simply impractical for millions of ordinary citizens to be involved in making the huge number of decisions that governments have to make today. If they were to try, not only would government be paralyzed, but they would leave themselves no time to do all those other things that most people think are more important than politics. But this answer is not adequate, because it is not difficult to envisage citizens making general policy decisions whose detailed implementation would then be left to ministers and others. The electronic revolution means that it would now be quite easy to ask citizens for their views on a wide range of issues ranging from war and peace through taxation and public expenditure to animal welfare and environmental issues. So why is this done only on those rare occasions when a referendum is called?
The reason is that there is a widespread belief that ordinary people are simply not competent to understand the issues that lie behind political decisions, and so they are happy to hand these decisions over to people they regard as better qualified to deal with them. An uncompromising statement of this point of view can be found in Joseph Schumpeter’s book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1943), where it is argued that the citizen’s job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him or her, not to attempt to decide issuesdirectly. Schumpeter claims that whereas in economic transactions,for instance, people experience the results of their decisionsdirectly – if they buy a defective product, they soon discover theirmistake – in the case of political decisions there is no such immediate feedbackmechanism.
Q31. Which of the statements given below best supports the view of the author as inferred from the passage?
(a) The interests of the people are best safeguarded by making them the final repository of political authority.
(b) Democracy is the best way to make political decisions and this can become a reality only by letting the people themselves decide major questions directly.
(c) Citizens should make general policy decisions and leave their implementation to ministers and others.
(d) In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government.
Q32. Why does the author discuss the fact that referendums are rarely called?
1. To underline that such an exercise needs to be justified.
2. To demonstrate that the citizen’s job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him and not to decide issues directly.
3. To explain that the ordinary citizen is disinterested in decision-making.
4. To describe the popular belief that ordinary people are not competent enough to understand political decision-making.
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 4 (c) Both 2 and 4 (d) Both 3 and 4
Q33. How does the author conclude that democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in government?
(a) Citizens are occasionally consulted on issues through a referendum.
(b) Citizens only form groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them.
(c) Real power lies in the hands of a small group of government ministers, civil servants and members of parliament.
(d) All of the above
My approach to questions 31-33: RC passage – Political Science
Read the passage, easy to read. I did not have any problems in understanding the passage as Political Science is in my area of interest.
Q31. Correct answer: Choice (d)
Q32. Correct answer: Choice (b)
Q33. Correct answer: Choice (d)
Direction for questions 52 to 54: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
Women’s roles as patrons have attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent years. The role of the patron was crucial to art-making in the Renaissance. Indeed, one could argue that it was the patron who was the initiator of almost all significant artistic projects, and that it was the patron who determined an individual artwork’s most important features and characteristics, including what material it was made from, where it was displayed, the subject it depicted, its size, and even, to a certain extent, its style and composition. Although knowing about a work’s patron can never explain everything about an art object, understanding a patron’s circumstances can provide us with important insights into why a particular work was commissioned and why it has some qualities rather than others. This is of particular relevance in the case of elite women patrons. Although many of their habits and concerns as patrons parallel those of their male contemporaries, there were important differences as well. By far the largest number whose patronage can be documented in this period were widows, like Atalanta Baglioni who hired Raphael to produce an altarpiece commemorating her murdered son or nuns living in convents. The prevalence of widows and nuns as art patrons is quite simple to explain: only these women had the financial and social independence to pay for works of art themselves. As a young girl or a married lady, a woman was legally and financially under the control of first her father and then her husband. Indeed, it was only if a woman outlived her husband that she could finally decide whether and how to spend her money on commissioning works of art. Likewise, until joining a convent, a young nun would have been unable to exercise any kind of independent artistic patronage within her family home. Only upon joining a female religious community could collective decisions about commissioning art be made, although in many cases it was the abbess who was in overall charge of such projects. Sticking to the secular sphere, the most common artistic commissions for women involved the tombs of their deceased husbands. Renaissance widows were exhorted to follow the Classical model of Artemisia, a widowed queen whose fabulous tomb for her husband, King Mausolus, became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and has given us the word ‘mausoleum’. Like Artemisia, 15th- and 16th-century widows were also usually concerned first, foremost, and often solely, with commissioning an appropriate funerary monument for their husbands. Some, but not all, monuments included an effigy of the deceased spouse. Sculpted effigies of women were rare, although wives did sometimes appear as kneeling donors together with their husbands in painted altarpieces or frescos painted for funerary chapels as seen, for instance, in the portrait of Nera Corsi in the Sassetti Chapel – although in this case, the project was commissioned by her still-living husband . However, even if a widow did not make a personal appearance in her husband’s funerary chapel, she could remind posterity of her role as its patron through an inscription or by including her own coat of arms as well as that of her spouse. At the most elite levels, a very small number of women made much more impressive and longer-lasting marks thanks to their non-funereal artistic patronage.
Q52. Which of the statements given below contradicts the impression that the widows and nuns as art patrons left a deep impact?
(a) They had the time to spare for works of art and so could study art deeply.
(b) They had the money to spend on works of art and so could commission works of art.
(c) They had the financial and social independence to make decisions.
(d) None of the above
Q53. Which of the following is most true of the Renaissance widows?
(a) They wanted to make mausoleums that would be recognized as wonders of the world.
(b) They were concerned with the commissioning of an appropriate funerary monument for their husbands.
(c) All monuments included effigies of their deceased spouses.
(d) They appeared only in painted frescos in funerary chapels.
Q54. According to the author the role of the patron was crucial to art making in the Renaissance period be