Q.1 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent
paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of
the four numbers as your answer:
1. The trajectory of cheerfulness through the self is linked to the history of the word ‘cheer’ which
comes from an Old French meaning ‘face’.
2. Translations of the Bible into vernacular languages, expanded the noun ‘cheer’ into the more
abstract ‘cheerful-ness’, something that circulates as an emotional and social quality defining the self
and a moral community.
3. When you take on a cheerful expression, no matter what the state of your soul, your cheerfulness
moves into the self: the interior of the self is changed by the power of cheer.
4. People in the medieval ‘Canterbury Tales’ have a ‘piteous’ or a ‘sober’ cheer; ‘cheer’ is an
expression and a body part, lying at the intersection of emotions and physiognomy.
A. 2431
B. 3142
C. 2134
D. 2413
Detailed Analysis:
The given set of sentences talks about the concept of cheerfulness and how it can affect a person's internal
state. It discusses the history of the word "cheer," which originally referred to a person's facial expression,
and how it came to be associated with an abstract concept of positive emotion. The passage also notes
that translations of the Bible into vernacular languages helped to expand the meaning of "cheer" to include a
sense of cheerfulness or positivity as a quality of the self and a moral community. We note that sentences 1,
2 and 4 are part of the timeline the author traces, while statement 3 is a broad claim that would serve as an
apt introduction. The idea of cheerfulness and self that is mentioned in 3 is linked to the " trajectory of
cheerfulness through the self" highlighted in statement 1, allowing us to form the pair [3-1]. Note that 4
discusses how cheer came to be perceived as a trait at the intersection of emotion and a physical feature
[as highlighted in 1 - where it has been categorised as a facial feature]. Sentence 2 then extends on this idea
by how cheerfulness, over time, came to be considered as "an emotional and social quality." Hence, the
correct arrangement is 3142.
Q.2 There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which
blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: Most were first-time users of a tablet and a digital app.
Paragraph: Aage Badhein’s USP lies in the ethnographic research that constituted the foundation of
its development process. Customizations based on learning directly from potential users were critical
to making this self-paced app suitable for both a literate and non-literate audience. ___(1)___ The user
interface caters to a Hindi-speaking audience who have minimal to no experience with digital services
and devices. ___(2)___ The content and functionality of the app are suitable for a wide audience. This
includes youth preparing for an independent role in life or a student ready to create a strong
foundation of financial management early in her life. ___(3)___ Household members desirous of
improving their family’s financial strength to reach their aspirations can also benefit. We piloted Aage
Badhein in early 2021 with over 400 women from rural areas. ___(4)___ The digital solution generated
a large amount of interest in the communities.
A. Option 1
B. Option 2
C. Option 3
D. Option 4
Detailed Analysis:
The sentence "Most were first-time users of a tablet and a digital app " would fit best in blank 4 because it
provides information about the specific group of people who were involved in the pilot study for the app. The
preceding sentence mentions that the app was piloted in early 2021 with over 400 women from rural areas,
and the added sentence provides further detail about the specific experiences that these users had with
technology. This information helps to clarify that the pilot study for the app involved a group of people who
may be unfamiliar with digital devices and services, and it also helps to emphasize the potential impact that
the app may have had on these users.
Placing the sentence in blank 4 is logical because it provides relevant and specific information about the
pilot study for the app, which is the topic being discussed in that part of the paragraph. By contrast, placing the sentence in any of the other blanks would be less logical because it would be introducing information
that is not directly related to the main topic being discussed in those parts of the paragraph.
Hence, Option D is the correct choice.
Q.3 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent
paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of
the four numbers as your answer:
1. Women may prioritize cooking because they feel they alone are responsible for mediating a toxic
and unhealthy food system.
2. Food is commonly framed through the lens of individual choice: you can choose to eat healthily.
3. This is particularly so in a neoliberal context where the state has transferred the responsibility for
food onto individual consumers.
4. The individualized framing of choice appeals to a popular desire to experience agency, but draws
away from the structural obstacles that stratify individual food choices.
A. 3421
B. 3412
C. 2341
D. 2431
Detailed Analysis:
The statements here discuss how the way we think about food often centres around individual choice, rather
than acknowledging the larger societal and structural factors that influence food choices. It also mentions
the role of neoliberalism in shifting the responsibility for food onto individual consumers and how this may
disproportionately impact women, who may feel a sense of responsibility to navigate and "mediate" an
unhealthy food system. Sentences 2 and 4 create a logical block since 2 highlights the framing of food
through the "lens of individual choice", and 4 extends on the impact of such a framing ["appeals to a popular
desire to experience agency, but draws away from the structural obstacles that stratify individual food
choices"]. "This" in statement 3 refers to the particular outcome of framing underlined in 4, allowing us to
create a logical block: [2-4-3]. Statement 1 can be placed at the end of this arrangement to emphasise how
women are perhaps disproportionately impacted by the elements discussed in 2-4-3. Hence, the correct
answer is 2431.
Q.4 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent
paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of
the four numbers as your answer:
1. From chemical pollutants in the environment to the damming of rivers to invasive species
transported through global trade and travel, every environmental issue is different and there is no
single tech solution that can solve this crisis.
2. Discourse on the threat of environmental collapse revolves around cutting down emissions, but
biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are caused by myriad and diverse reasons.
3. This would require legislation that recognises the rights of future generations and other species
that allows the judiciary to uphold a much higher standard of environmental protection than currently
possible.
4. Clearly, our environmental crisis requires large political solutions, not minor technological ones, so,
instead of focusing on infinite growth, we could consider a path of stable-state economies, while
preserving markets and healthy competition.
A. 2134
B. 2431
C. 2143
D. 3421
Detailed Analysis:
The statements discuss the complexity of environmental issues and the need for political solutions rather
than technological ones to address the threat of environmental collapse. The discussion focuses on the
various causes of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, such as chemical pollutants, damming of rivers,
and invasive species, and highlights that there is no single technological solution to address these issues.
The suggestion is that we should consider moving towards stable-state economies, which preserve markets
and competition while also recognizing the rights of future generations and other species and allowing for
stronger environmental protections. Statements 1 and 2 both address the complexity and diverse nature of
environmental issues. Statement 2 notes that while discourse often focuses on emissions, there are many
other factors contributing to environmental collapse, including biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse.
Statement 1 then adds to this by outlining specific examples of diverse causes of environmental problems,
including chemical pollutants, damming of rivers, and invasive species. Statements 4 and 3 offer
suggestions to combat the issues highlighted in 2 and 1. Hence, the correct arrangement is 2143.
Q.5 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the passage.
There's a common idea that museum artworks are somehow timeless objects available to admire for
generations to come. But many are objects of decay. Even the most venerable Old Master paintings
don't escape: pigments discolour, varnishes crack, canvases warp. This challenging fact of art-world
life is down to something that sounds more like a thread from a morality tale: inherent vice. Damien
Hirst's iconic shark floating in a tank - entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of
Someone Living - is a work that put a spotlight on inherent vice. When he made it in 1991, Hirst got
himself in a pickle by not using the right kind of pickle to preserve the giant fish. The result was that
the shark began to decompose quite quickly - its preserving liquid clouding, the skin wrinkling, and an
unpleasant smell wafting from the tank.
A. Museums are left with the moral responsibility of restoring and preserving the artworks since artists cannot preserve their works beyond their life.
B. Museums have to guard timeless art treasures from intrinsic defects such as the deterioration of paint, polish and canvas.
C. The role of museums has evolved to ensure that the artworks are preserved forever in addition to guarding and displaying them.
D. Artworks may not last forever; they may deteriorate with time, and the challenge is to slow down their degeneration.
Detailed Analysis:
The passage is about the 'inherent vice' or the natural tendency of certain artworks to deteriorate over time
due to various factors such as discolouration of pigments, cracking of varnishes, and warping of canvases.
The passage also mentions an example of Damien Hirst's artwork, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the
Mind of Someone Living, which began to decompose quickly due to the use of the wrong preserving liquid. In
this regard, Option D offers an apt summary of the passage because it accurately captures the main idea of
the passage, which is that artworks may not last forever and may deteriorate with time. Option A is incorrect
because the passage does not mention any moral responsibility of museums to restore and preserve
artworks. Similarly, Option B can be eliminated since the passage does not specifically mention museums guarding art treasures from intrinsic defects. Option C is also inaccurate because the discussion does not
present the evolution of the role of museums in preserving artworks forever.
Hence, Option D is the correct choice.
Q.6 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the passage.
Today, many of the debates about behavioural control in the age of big data echo Cold War-era
anxieties about brainwashing, insidious manipulation and repression in the ‘technological society’. In
his book Psychopolitics, Han warns of the sophisticated use of targeted online content, enabling
‘influence to take place on a pre-reflexive level’. On our current trajectory, “freedom will prove to have
been merely an interlude.” The fear is that the digital age has not liberated us but exposed us, by
offering up our private lives to machine-learning algorithms that can process masses of personal and
behavioural data. In a world of influencers and digital entrepreneurs, it’s not easy to imagine the
resurgence of a culture engendered through disconnect and disaffiliation, but concerns over the
threat of online targeting, polarisation and big data have inspired recent polemics about the need to
rediscover solitude and disconnect.
A. Rather than freeing us, digital technology is enslaving us by collecting personal information and influencing our online behaviour.
B. With big data making personal information freely available, the debate on the nature of freedom and the need for privacy has resurfaced.
C. The role of technology in influencing public behaviour is reminiscent of the manner in which behaviour was manipulated during the Cold War.
D. The notion of freedom and privacy is at stake in a world where artificial intelligence is capable of influencing behaviour through data gathered online.
Detailed Analysis:
The passage discusses the ways in which big data and targeted online content can potentially influence and
manipulate behaviour, leading to concerns over freedom and privacy in the digital age. This is reflected in
the statements that "behavioural control" in the age of big data echoes Cold War-era anxieties about
"brainwashing" and "repression," and that the use of targeted online content can enable "influence to take place on a pre-reflexive level." The passage also mentions the fear that the digital age has not liberated us,
but rather exposed us by making personal and behavioural data available to machine-learning
algorithms. Option B accurately reflects this central theme of the passage by stating that the debate on the
nature of freedom and privacy has resurfaced due to the availability of personal information through big
data. Option A is incorrect because it goes beyond the scope of the passage by stating that digital
technology is "enslaving" us, which is not explicitly stated in the text. Similarly, Option C is inaccurate since
the author only mentions the Cold War as a reference point for similar debates on behavioural control, but
does not focus on the Cold War itself. Option D is wrong because the passage does not mention artificial
intelligence specifically, but rather machine-learning algorithms.
Hence, Option B is the correct choice.
Q.7 The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best
captures the essence of the passage.
Several of the world’s earliest cities were organised along egalitarian lines. In some regions, urban
populations governed themselves for centuries without any indication of the temples and palaces that
would later emerge; in others, temples and palaces never emerged at all, and there is simply no
evidence of a class of administrators or any other sort of ruling stratum. It would seem that the mere
fact of urban life does not, necessarily, imply any particular form of political organization, and never
did. Far from resigning us to inequality, the picture that is now emerging of humanity’s past may open
our eyes to egalitarian possibilities we otherwise would have never considered.
A. The lack of hierarchical administration in ancient cities can be deduced by the absence of religious and regal structures such as temples and palaces.
B. Contrary to our assumption that urban settlements have always involved hierarchical political and administrative structures, ancient cities were not organised in this way.
C. The emergence of a class of administrators and ruling stratum transformed the egalitarian urban life of ancient cities to the hierarchical civic organisations of today.
D. We now have the evidence in support of the existence of an egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities, where political and civic organisation was far less hierarchical.
Detailed Analysis:
The passage is about the political and civic organization of ancient cities. It states that some ancient cities
were organized along egalitarian lines, without any indication of temples or palaces (which suggests a lack
of a ruling class or administrators), and that in other cities, temples and palaces never emerged at all. Option
D correctly summarizes this information by stating that there was evidence of an egalitarian urban life in
some ancient cities, where the political and civic organization was less hierarchical. Option A is incorrect
because it only mentions the absence of temples and palaces, but does not mention the fact that some
ancient cities were organized along egalitarian lines. On a similar note, Option B presents an exaggeration
by suggesting that 'all' ancient cities were organized along egalitarian lines, which is not stated in the
passage. Option C is also inaccurate since it asserts that ancient cities were transformed from egalitarian to
hierarchical, but the passage only states that some ancient cities were egalitarian and does not mention any
transformation.
Hence, Option D is the correct choice
Q.8 There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which
blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: This was years in the making but fast-tracked during the pandemic, when "people started
being more mindful about their food", he explained.
Paragraph: For millennia, ghee has been a venerated staple of the subcontinental diet, but it fell out of
favour a few decades ago when saturated fats were largely considered to be unhealthy. ___(1)___ But
more recently, as the thinking around saturated fats is shifting globally, Indians are finding their own
way back to this ingredient that is so integral to their cuisine. ___(2)___ For Karmakar, a renewed
interest in ghee is emblematic of a return-to-basics movement in India. ___(3)___ This movement is
also part of an overall trend towards "slow food". In keeping with the movement's philosophy, ghee
can be produced locally (even at home) and has inextricable cultural ties. ___(4)___ At a basic level,
ghee is a type of clarified butter believed to have originated in India as a way to preserve butter from
going rancid in the hot climate.
A. Option 1
B. Option 2
C. Option 3
D. Option 4
Detailed Analysis:
We can easily eliminate Options A and B since the given sentence " This was years in the making but fasttracked
during the pandemic, when "people started being more mindful about their food", he explained"
uses the pronoun "he," which must refer to "Karmakar." The sentence should take the spot of blank 3 since it
fits in well with the idea that ghee is part of a "return-to-basics movement in India", as it mentions that the
renewed interest in ghee has been developing for a while but was accelerated during the pandemic when
people became more conscious about their food choices. Additionally, the idea that this movement is part of
an overall trend towards "slow food" is also mentioned in the sentence, as it talks about people being
mindful of their food. By contrast, placing the sentence in any of the other blanks would be less logical
because it would be introducing information that is not directly related to the main topic being discussed in
those parts of the paragraph.
Hence, Option C is the correct choice.
Q.9 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent
paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of
the four numbers as your answer:
1. Complex computational elements of the CNS are organized according to a “nested” hierarchic
criterion; the organization is not permanent and can change dynamically from moment to moment as
they carry out a computational task.
2. Echolocation in bats exemplifies adaptation produced by natural selection; a function not produced
by natural selection for its current use is exaptation -- feathers might have originally arisen in the
context of selection for insulation.
3. From a structural standpoint, consistent with exaptation, the living organism is organized as a
complex of “Russian Matryoshka Dolls” -- smaller structures are contained within larger ones in
multiple layers.
4. The exaptation concept, and the Russian-doll organization concept of living beings deduced from
studies on evolution of the various apparatuses in mammals, can be applied for the most complex
human organ: the central nervous system (CNS).
A. 1243
B. 2431
C. 2341
D. 2143
Detailed Analysis:
Statement (2) introduces us to certain evolutionary influences in the bodily mechanisms of animals, especially mammals (bats). Statement (4) continues on the observed influence on the various apparatuses in mammals, specifically in the case of the most complex human organ: the central nervous system (CNS). The author mentions that the example of exaptation and Russian dolls serve to assist in our understanding of this complex organ (CNS). The significance of the Russian dolls is elaborated in Statement (3), specifically with regard to its structural implications: " smaller structures are contained within larger ones in multiple layers"—this portryas the presence of some structural hierarchy that can be observed in such complex apparatuses. Statement (1) highlights how the complex elements in the CNS are organised in a “nested hierarchic criterion", thereby, serving as a continuation to (3). Therefore, (2)-(4)-(3)-(1) forms a coherent paragraph.
Q.10 The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent
paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of
the four numbers as your answer:
1. It advocated a conservative approach to antitrust enforcement that espouses faith in efficient
markets and voiced suspicion regarding the merits of judicial intervention to correct anticompetitive
practices.
2. Many industries have consistently gained market share, the lion’s share - without any official
concern; the most successful technology companies have grown into veritable titans, on the premise
that they advance ‘public interest’.
3. That the new anticompetitive risks posed by tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon,
necessitate new legal solutions could be attributed to the dearth of enforcement actions against
monopolies and the few cases challenging mergers in the USA.
4. The criterion of ‘consumer welfare standard’ and the principle that antitrust law should serve
consumer interests and that it should protect competition rather than individual competitors was an
antitrust law introduced by, and named after, the 'Chicago school'.
A. 4123
B. 3241
C. 1234
D. 2314
Detailed Analysis:
Statement (4) opens the discussion by mentioning an "antitrust law" and a few essential features attached to it. Statement (1) further describes this provision {"...It advocated..." }: the move to support an efficient market and curb anti-competitive practises. Statement (2) then elaborates on the latter point of anticompetitive practices and subsequently, highlights the relevance of this provision. Statement (3) further emphasises the necessity of "new legal solutions" to deal with the elements discussed earlier {in (2) and (3)}. Hence, (4)-(1)-(2)-(3) forms a logical arrangement.
