QUESTION BANK : CL 15 08

Solutions of Mock CAT - 08 2015

QA, DI & LR
Verbal Ability

Sec 2

Directions for questions 51 to 54: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Economic liberalization and globalization have facilitated unprecedented movement of people across the borders, which demands a new theory of citizenship in order to formulate the aspirations of people who simultaneously inhabit a geographical space away from the homeland and maintain strong ties with it. Appadurai while describing the technological and cultural implication of globalization contends that the global cultural flows of ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes and financescapes – denoting a world characterized by people and objects in motion – enable "the plurality of imagined worlds", new ways of imagining ourselves outside and apart from the nation-state. This endeavor to imagine transnational conditions outside the nation-state has led to various theories of citizenship, such as post-national citizenship, transnational citizenship, multi-level citizenship, flexible citizenship, cosmopolitan citizenship and global citizenship.

Through the prism of Mira Nair's film, Namesake, and Sarah Gavron's film, Brick Lane, the ideals enshrined in the notions of 'transnational citizenship' or 'flexible citizenship' and the gamut of cultural conflict so beautifully encapsulated may be viewed with an ostensible aim to explain the underlying nuances. The choice of these two films is strategic as both films have women as their central character; both of them represent migration from the Indian sub-continent – however, Namesake captures Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli's migration to New York, whereas, Brick Lane depicts Mr Ahmed and Nazneen's transnational migration to England; both the films represent ethnic Bengali experiences of migration even though the commonality of ethnic Bengali culture has been ruptured by the partition of India (1947) – the Gangulis are from Calcutta, once the imperial capital of British India, whereas, the Ahmeds are from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Both the films have women as their central characters who accompany their husbands to a foreign land, and, eventually, recover their own subjectivity. The increased migration of women across borders in professional and non-professional sectors under the impact of globalization has resulted in terming the new trend as 'feminization of globalization.' The economic opportunities provided by globalization have allowed women from across the globe to transgress stereotypical gender roles by subverting domestic/public dichotomy. Women from the traditional societies have learned to negotiate the boundaries of domestic and public spaces by performing professional roles in the public sphere while, simultaneously, performing the typical gendered roles in the domestic sphere. Social scientists, Tastsoglou and Dobrowolsky write, "Women (im)migrants cross, contest and reconfigure borders problematizing not only the legal and political dimensions of citizenship, but also social, economic, and psychological ones (i.e. in terms of cultural belonging)." In both Namesake and Brick Lane, women protagonists often negotiate the uneven terrains of cultural citizenship in the host countries because the men have already empowered themselves as the sole protectors of political citizenship by virtue of their access to the public. Women in these films are embodiments of citizenship as practice, which demands a complex skill of negotiation, adjustment, and the cultivation of a sense of affective belonging. The sub-continental women in the diasporic space often embody the dual task of negotiating a patriarchal domestic space, which imposes the roles of ideal wives and mothers, and, also, negotiating hitherto uncharted, hostile public space replete with images of suspicion, racism, and discrimination. Ashima in Namesake and Nazneen in Brick Lane, trespass the boundaries of domestic space through the practice and performance of cultural citizenship, "the everyday experience of national belonging beyond legal citizenship."

Q.51
The passage suggests which of the following about immigration of women?

a Women immigration has brought changes only within the ambit of legal citizenship.

b Women immigrants have re-defined the concept of citizenship.

c In today's age, women from the entire world successfully maneuver through their personal and professional lives.

d The journey of transition from the domestic sphere to the public space has been relatively easy for women.

Solution:

In the third paragraph, the author quotes social scientists Tastsoglou and Dobrowolsky to demonstrate that women immigrants have changed the legal and political dimensions of citizenship along with social, economic and psychological facets of cultural belonging. Thus, it can be inferred that women immigrants have played a pivotal role in reshaping the definition of citizenship, making option (b) the correct answer.Option (a) is only partly correct as the author believes that women immigrants have reshaped the political dimension of citizenship also. Option (c) is incorrect because the author specifically takes into account women from "traditional societies" and the "sub-continent." Refer to the third paragraph. Option (d) is incorrect because the author mentions in the second last sentence of the passage that women often face hostile workplaces which are fraught with suspicion, racism and discrimination. Hence, the journey of transition for women is not easy.

Correct Answer : b

Q.52
The first paragraph performs which of the following functions in the passage?

a The paragraph provides a distinction between the different theories of citizenship and inclination to be outside the nation-state.

b The paragraph defines the various theories of citizenship.

c It explains the need for change in the definition of citizenship and offers new ways of defining it.

d A liberal economy has fuelled the aspirations of people towards attaining a legal citizenship of the host country.

Solution:

The first paragraph talks about the need to restructure citizenship from a singular entity into a pluralistic one. The author makes a list of the different theories of citizenship which have come into vogue in recent years. So, option (c) is the correct answer. Option (a) is wrong in the context of the passage. Refer to the last sentence of the paragraph where the author states that the aspiration to be outside the purview of the nation-state has led to the emergence of different theories of citizenship. Therefore, there is a close link between the two. Option (b) is factually incorrect because the author does not define the different theories of citizenship although he makes a list of the various forms of citizenship. Option (d) is again incorrect because even though economic liberalization has certainly helped people to migrate to different countries, the author states that migrants maintain a strong link with their homeland despite the fact that they work in a different country. Refer to the first sentence of the passage.

Correct Answer : c

Q.53
Which of the following options would the author most agree with?

a In the long run, cultural citizenship will be principally defined by women immigrants.

b Racism and discrimination against women will prove to be insurmountable stumbling blocks for women immigrants.

c Women remain subservient to their husband when the latter migrates to a foreign country.

d The women characters of Namesake and Brick Lane are very different from what we see in real life.

Solution:

The author certainly believes that women will play a pivotal role in the reshaping of cultural citizenship. To substantiate his view, the author quotes social scientists. He believes that women immigrants have successfully negotiated the personal and professional fronts after they have emigrated abroad. Option (b) is incorrect because although the author believes that racism and discrimination are there, he does not consider these obstacles to be insurmountable. Refer to the first sentence of the third paragraph where the author mentions that women immigrants have gradually built their own identity. So, option (c) is incorrect. Option (d) cannot be true because, the author believes that the two films - Namesake and Brick Lane are a reflection of our present pluralistic identity. The author cites the example of the two films in order to substantiate his own belief that women have successfully re-framed cultural citizenship. By quoting the social scientists like Tastsoglou and Dobrowolsky, the author intends to emphasize the universality of pluralistic identity among women immigrants.

Correct Answer : a

Q.54
According to the passage, Namesake and Brick Lane present.

a two dissimilar aspects of ethnic Bengali identity.

b two different scenarios of ethnic Bengali experiences before and after Independence.

c contradictory socio-economic circumstances of the characters.

d similar ethnic Bengali experiences of migration.

Solution:

According to the second paragraph, both the films reflect ethnic Bengali experiences although the two novels portray characters from two different countries – India and Bangladesh. We can assume that Ashima and Nazneen (of Namesake and Brick Lane) share similar ethnic experiences in the US and UK respectively. Refer to the third paragraph where the author clubs their experiences together in the first, sixth and last sentences. Option (a) is untrue because the women characters of the two films have many characteristics in common. Refer to the first, sixth and last sentences of the last paragraph. Option (b) is incorrect because the author mentions about the commonality of ethnic Bengali culture even though Partition had divided the Indian sub-continent. Refer to the last sentence of the second paragraph. Option (c) is incorrect because the author, in the first sentence of the third paragraph, draws attention to the fact that Ashima and Nazneen migrate to the West because their husbands relocate there. Thus, their socio-economic platform can be regarded as similar.

Correct Answer : d

Directions for questions 55 to 58: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

It is in this context that international students have come to be prized commodities. Typically, in the post World War II era, international students would head towards the United States as the traditional destination, a trend continuing till early 2000s. As the global race for skill heated up and states embarked on aggressive recruitment strategies, this scenario started shifting. Between 2001 and 2003, the inflow of foreign students increased by more than 36% in the United Kingdom, 30% in France, and 13% in Australia. During the same period, however, the number of incoming foreign students declined by 26% in the United States. Over the last decade, fast track entry systems in many OECD countries – not all of them traditional destination countries for international students – have further dispersed the global student traffic. Concerted efforts are being made on behalf of states to retain them as future skilled professionals.

Contemporary western economies are so dominated by discourses of mobile knowledge, talent and entrepreneurial innovation that anthropologist Aiwah Ong wrote how national citizenship in many of these countries is giving way to a contingent citizenship based on meritocracy. And yet, as many scholars of postwar western nationalism and citizenship practices have pointed out, while skilled professionals are welcome, by no means are they parts of 'traditional ethnos or demos'. Their welcome is always contingent and conditional upon a range of socioeconomic and political factors that are driven by both domestic and international power relations. It is important to keep in mind that many of the aforementioned states used to have exclusionary immigration and citizenship policies till, at least the 1960s, when, due to domestic labour needs and shifting postcolonial hierarchies of nation states, their 'gates' finally started opening up to professionals from the global South. While rising discourses of global knowledge economy would subsequently invest many such professionals with a form of honorary membership in states they were historically and conceptually excluded from, a gap between their formal passage of entry and their political membership will prove tenacious.

Take, for example, the case of Canada. The high skilled labour market in Canada has been a site dominated by discourses of skills and merit typical to a globalized knowledge economy. This reached a crescendo in early 2000s, when, following the publication of the 1st National Innovation Strategy, Canada actively started planning to partake in the global race for talent. In the following decade, riding on the tide of a research and development led global economy dictated by innovators and entrepreneurs in science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM), the Canadian government introduced a series of policies to stake a claim in the global talent pool. One among these policies is the Canadian Experience Class – an immigration program offering expedited residency to international students and high skilled temporary workers on the basis of their local Canadian experience (following Australia).

Establishing Canadian experience as a precondition for recruitment as skilled immigrant is a well thought-out response to the global race for skill. Not surprisingly, the Canadian government has recently published its first International Education Strategy (tellingly fore worded by the Ministry of International Trade and Finance). International education has been declared one among the 22 priority areas for revenue generation and the recruitment of international students has been intensified across Canadian post secondary institutions. The government recently also published the following statistics on the amount of revenue generated by students from top six countries and regions. These countries/regions are also identified as emerging markets in Canada's Global Market Action Plan.

Q.55
According to the passage, the situation of immigration policies in the West changed after 1960 when

a Western countries began to invite both skilled and unskilled people from the East.

b the Occident began to invite people from the Orient without any socio-economic and political motive.

c Western countries faced labour unrest.

d the exclusionary immigration policies gave way to an inclusive one.

Solution:

It is clearly stated in the fourth sentence of the second paragraph that Western countries started welcoming skilled professionals from the Global South or the East. Hence, their exclusionist immigration policies gave way to an inclusive one. So, option (d) is the correct answer.Option (a) is only partly correct because Western countries certainly favoured skilled professionals but the passage is silent about unskilled people.Option (b) is wrong. Refer to the third sentence of the second paragraph where the author mentions that the change in immigration policies is always dependent on a number of socioeconomic and political factors that are further guided by power relations. Option (c) is wrong as well because according to the fourth sentence of the second paragraph, labour needs and not labour unrest led to the change in immigration policies. "Labour needs" and "Labour unrest" are not similar.

Correct Answer : d

Q.56
The author defines international students as "prized commodities". Why does the author consider international students as "prized"?

a International students bring foreign exchange with them.

b International students bring high levels of skill and talent.

c International students are often responsible for inclusion of different linguistic influences in a country.

d International students make a country truly globalized.

Solution:

Refer to the last sentence of the first paragraph where the author mentions that host countries often try to retain the students because they consider the latter as "future skilled professionals". Option (a) is incorrect because there is no mention of foreign exchange anywhere in the passage. In the context of the passage, we are not sure about the veracity of options (c) and (d). Hence, they cannot be deemed as true.

Correct Answer : b

Q.57
It can be inferred that when the author refers to "contingent citizenship based on meritocracy", he means

a citizenship granted to meritorious students.

b citizenship granted to people who excelled in vocational subjects.

c citizenship granted to skilled people.

d citizenship granted to people coming from disadvantaged socio-economic background.

Solution:

If we read the first two sentences of the second paragraph, we come to know that some of those countries which demand skilled professionals, are willing to confer citizenship. So, option (c) is the correct answer. Option (a) is close because the passage starts by talking about international students. However, according to the passage, when international students become skilled professionals after completing their studies, they are often granted citizenship. Refer to the last sentence of the first paragraph. Option (b) is incorrect because there is no mention of vocational subjects being prioritized for the purpose of granting of citizenship on an individual. Option (d) is narrow in scope. The author does mention that grant of citizenship is often dependent on socio-economic and political factors. Refer to the third sentence of the second paragraph. However, we are not sure whether by socio-economic factors, the author refers to a disadvantaged background.

Correct Answer : c

Q.58
Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a reason for the introduction of policies favouring conferring of citizenship status, in Canada?

a A resurgent global economy influenced by radical new changes in the fields of science, medicine and technology

b To attract all international students from over the world

c To attract educated young people

d A vibrant economy marked by innovations in Social Sciences

Solution:

Refer to the fourth sentence of the third paragraph. The author mentions that the Canadian government changed its immigration policies because the global economy was led by research and development which was further characterized by rapid entrepreneurial advancements in STEM fields. Option (b) is incorrect. Refer to the last sentence of the third paragraph. Although the passage states that the policy of Canadian Experience Class was aimed to attract international students, it had a rider. Only students with local Canadian experience would be preferred. Hence, it is wrong to assume that the immigration policies targeted international students from all over the world. Option (c) is incorrect because the passage does not talk of educated young people but of skilled people. Option (d) cannot be correct because the author says that Canadian immigration policies were influenced by innovation in Science, Technology and other STEM fields and not Social Sciences.

Correct Answer : a

Q.59
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. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. They are unable to smile warmly as they used to, their skin taut, waxy and translucent – like glassine paper.
B. These are women who appear one day with startled expressions.
C. And there's the rub.
D. Arriving at some social events or work appointments, I find unfamiliar faces looking back at me from people whom I know well.
E. There shouldn't be anything unusual in that but, increasingly, I'm aware that I'm in the minority when I mix in certain circles.

a ABDCE

b DCEBA

c CEDBA

d AEDCB

Solution:

"There's the rub" is an idiom which refers to something when one is explaining what the difficulty is in a particular situation. Statement C introduces the context of the paragraph. Statement E explains what "the rub" is. Statement D further explains the problem. Statement B comes next. Note the demonstrative adjective "these." "These" refers to "unfamiliar faces" in statement D. Last comes statement A. "They" in statement A again refers to the "women" in B. The mandatory sequence here is DBA.

Correct Answer : c

Q.60
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. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. Only time will tell.
B. Can we go one up and make things happen on Tuesday?
C. Phoenix captain Andrew Durante said they had not expected Fiji to be a tough outfit and were caught off-guard.
D. Andrew's coach Ernest Merrick said Fiji showed very good skill levels, something they had not expected.
E. Buzzetti said he would be looking at making changes for the next game on Tuesday afternoon at Govind Park in Ba.

a CDEBA

b ACBDE

c EDABC

d CABED

Solution:

Statement C introduces the paragraph and of course, the topic. Statement D starts with Andrew Durante's coach while Statement E logically follows it with a response to the 'unexpected good skill levels'. Statement B is a question which is answered by statement A. Hence, statement B should be followed by statement A..

Correct Answer : a

Q.61
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. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. When you take something from one language and put it into another, there's a word for the activity: translate.
B. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the word to 1300, in a history book known as Cursor Mundi:
C. This has been the brief history of translation as a field of study.
D. "This same book is translated into English tongue to read."
E. It's a nice carry-across from Latin by way of French, and its components amount to just that: "across" for trans, "carry" for late.

a CABDE

b AEBDC

c DEBAC

d AEBCD

Solution:

Statement A introduces 'translation' to the readers. Statement E is an explanation of 'translation' as a field of study. Next comes statement B which mentions the origin of the word. Statement D comes next because 'this same book' refers to Cursor Mundi in statement B. Statement C sums up the discussion.

Correct Answer : b

Q.62
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. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.
A. "There is now a flyover over that."
B. With a particular temple, part of the base has been submerged by a tarmac road, says Taylor, who tries to be not too judgmental.
C. The exhibition's curator, Roger Taylor, professor emeritus, photographic history, De Montfort University in Leicester, indicates one heritage site and comments:
D. It would probably be a depressing exercise comparing the sites that Tripe photographed with their present condition - assuming they all exist.
E. But it is hard not to draw the conclusion that the British sometimes appear to care more about India's cultural heritage than Indians themselves.

a ACBED

b CABDE

c ABCDE

d CABED

Solution:

Statement C is the first sentence because it introduces the reader to the topic. Statement C ends with Roger Taylor's quotation and hence, statement A follows statement C. So, CA is a mandatory pair. Statement B is a continuation of what Taylor says and hence, the sequence becomes CAB. In statement B, Taylor tries not to be too judgmental. Statement E seems to be a logical continuation of statement B because it begins with the assertion that "it is hard not to draw the conclusion…" which appears to be based on what Taylor has said in the previous sentence. Statement D is the last sentence because it sums up the discussion effectively.

Correct Answer : d

Q.63
Given below are four sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar, usage, spellings and punctuation. Then, choose the most appropriate option.

A. "There needs to be a partnership between tourism, the economic and the local people", says Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto.
B. Speaking at a recent symposium on tourism and community development in Fiji at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, he said the one factor that made Fiji different from the rest of the world was that they were the "most warm people on earth".
C. "This is the key ingredient for tourism industry."
D. To keep them happy, you got to do a lot of things such as looking after them well, looking after their kids in terms of education, sanitation and so on," Mr Seeto said.

a A and D

b A and B

c A,B and C

d C and D

Solution:

In statement A, "economic" is wrong. It should be the noun form "economy." In statement B, "most warm" is incorrect. The superlative form "warmest" should have been used.

Correct Answer : b

Q.64
Given below are four sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar, usage, spellings and punctuation. Then, choose the most appropriate option.

A. In an effort to enhance the way buildings are waterproofed, Vinod Patel and Company Ltd. organised an event this week on its newest waterproofing range — Gripset Betta.
B. The event is aimed at creating awareness about the product's domestic and commercial market uses.
C. The company's chief operating officer, Rahul Amin, said the range had time saving features and it simplified many of the new challenge at volatile areas to provide a complete system to tackle the next waterproofing assignment.
D. Gripset Betta managing director Phil Scardigno said their research and development had continued to focus on producing high quality products that were easy and safe to use.

a C and D

b A and C

c A and B

d B and C

Solution:

There is an error in statement B. The tense should have been past because the first sentence is written in the past tense. Statement B should have been "The event was aimed at creating …" In statement C, "Many of the new challenge" is wrong. It should have been "challenges."

Correct Answer : d

Q.65
Given below are four sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar, usage, spellings and punctuation. Then, choose the most appropriate option.

A. Almost six months ago, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has announced plans to build an NFL stadium in Inglewood on the site of the old Hollywood Park racetrack.
B. The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders responded with a competing plan of their own, a proposal for a shared stadium in Carson.
C. Both stadium visions cleared all the necessary entitlement hurdles with blistering speed.
D. Suddenly, the Los Angeles market, the NFL's most glaring vacancy for the past 20 years, was flush with many an options.

a A and D

b A and B

c B and C

d B and D

Solution:

The tense in statement A is wrong. It should have been "Stan Kroenke announced …". Statement D is wrong. "Many an options" is wrong. "Many a/an" is always followed by the singular number. Hence, it should have been "many an option" or simply "many options".

Correct Answer : a

Q.66
Four sentences are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Of these, three sentences need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the one that does not fit the sentence.

a The Met Service says the ferocious winds are caused by a persistent ridge over Australia and the Tasman Sea, which will push a strong west to southwest flow over the country for the next few days.

b Global warming is one of the reasons for tornadoes.

c Because the westerly gales stretch from the Indian Ocean to New Zealand, significant swells are forecast for western and southern coastal areas this week. North of Raglan they are forecast to rise to four metres today and tomorrow.

d They get larger heading south, with eight-metre swells expected to at times batter Fiordland and the southern coastline until Wednesday morning.

Solution:

The correct sequence is acd. In statements acd, we cannot infer that a tornado is being referred to. Hence, statement (b) is out of place. Statement (a) talks about strong winds which are expected to hit the country in the next few days. Statement (c) explains the stretch of the winds and it also mentions about the forecast. Statement (d) is a continuation of (c).

Correct Answer : b

Q.67
Four sentences are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Of these, three sentences need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the one that does not fit the sentence.

a The Select Committee considering the process for the referendum on the flag has rejected calls for voters to be asked if they want to change the flag up front rather than waiting until a second referendum.

b The Committee will be reconstituted soon.

c The Committee has reported back on the bill with few amendments.

d Many submitters had asked for the first of the two referendums, due to be held later this year, to ask whether voters wanted a new flag rather than wait until the second referendum when the new flag will go up against the most popular alternative.

Solution:

Statements (a), (c) and (d) are in order. Statement (a) talks about a committee which has been formed to consider the process of referendum. Statements (c) and (d) are a continuation of statement (a) and discusses the role of the committee. Statement (b) is out of context. The fact whether the committee will be reconstituted does not fit into the sequence of the other statements. The other statements discuss the referendum.

Correct Answer : b

Q.68
Four sentences are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Of these, three sentences need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the one that does not fit the sentence.

a An article in The Conversation recently argued universities should ban PowerPoint because it makes students stupid and professors boring.

b PowerPoint is mostly used in Social Science projects.

c Overreliance on slides has contributed to the absurd belief that expecting and requiring students to read books, attend classes, take notes and do homework is unreasonable.

d However, most universities will ignore this good advice because rather than measuring success by how much their students learn, universities measure success with student satisfaction surveys, among other things.

Solution:

Statements (a), (d) and (c) are in order. The statements reflect the author's dislike for PowerPoint presentations. Statement (b) is out of place because the fact that PowerPoint is mostly used in Social Science projects is in no way connected to the thematic content of the other three statements.

Correct Answer : b

Q.69
Four sentences are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Of these, three sentences need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the one that does not fit the sentence.

a Killer whales were first hunted in the early nineteenth century when Europeans started arriving in New Zealand.

b Scientists have uncovered fascinating new insights about the commuting habits of Antarctic killer whales, finding that a specific group of orca are making regular trips between the frozen continent and comparatively warmer waters off the coast of Northland.

c Most of the killer whales found near Scott Base were found to belong to a group called Type-C, which are common in the Ross Sea and thought to prefer fish prey, including Antarctic tooth fish.

d Dr Regina Eisert, of the University of Canterbury's Gateway Antarctica, led a research team during the last Antarctic summer which looked at patterns of the killer whales as part of a wider research programme on the Ross Sea.

Solution:

Statements bdc are in order. The statements talk about a particular study conducted by Dr. Regina Eisert to study killer whales. The three statements discuss the research conducted on killer whales while statement (a) talks about killer whales being hunted. Thus, statement (a) is out of place.

Correct Answer : a

Q.70
The following text is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the text.

Millions of Americans could see a boost in wages or reduced workload as a result of new federal regulations on overtime pay the Obama administration is unveiling this week. The change is likely to please labor advocates who had called on the administration to consider raising the threshold to salaries of at least $42,000 per year. They say an increased threshold could help stimulate the economy by boosting middle-class workers' wages or triggering new hiring to prevent the need for paying the higher overtime rate.

a Salary hike: Boon for the working class in the USA

b Quantum jump witnessed in the salary structure in the USA

c Salary hike and its positive effect on the US economy

d Labor advocates' demands have been met by Obama

Solution:

Option (c) covers the entire topic. Option (c) includes the topic of salary hike as well as its positive effect on the American economy as predicted by labor advocates. Options (a) and (b) are very close and partly correct. However, they do not include the demands of the labor advocates. Again, option (d) covers only the last part of the passage. It does not talk about the hike in wages declared by the Obama administration.

Correct Answer : c

Q.71
The following text is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the text.

After the seminal work of Edward Said on Orientalism in 1978 there have been many interpretations of this subject by various authors. Emphasis has been changing according to the researcher, unlike the earlier authors for whom the cultural influences and ecclesiastical efforts were the basic drivers of gathering knowledge. This process of acquiring knowledge of the East kept changing in the centuries after the Portuguese first entered the west coast of India, as initially the Portuguese intention was just trade and the accompanying missionaries served the religious need of sailors and others who came with them.

a Study on orientalism and its methodology changed after the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism and this process has seen change ever since the Portuguese entered India.

b Knowledge gathering has been on the rise ever since the Portuguese entered India.

c Missionaries often accompanied the Portuguese sailors to spread Christianity.

d Modern scholars have started to follow the parameters of study other than cultural influences and ecclesiastical efforts.

Solution:

Option (a) covers the entire passage. The passage talks about the changing patterns of study after Said's Orientalism was published in 1978. Furthermore, the passage discusses the process of acquiring knowledge after the Portuguese entered India in the guise of traders. Options (b), (c) and (d) cannot be considered as the summary of the entire text because they cover only parts of the passage.

Correct Answer : a

Q.72
The following text is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the text.

While women's general social status in Pakistan is clearly reflected in the country's social indicators such as education, health and employment, it is the rural women who in particular perform poorly and lag far behind their urban counterparts. The national female labour force participation rate in Pakistan indicates the country's inadequate efforts to bring women into the economic mainstream — rural women not only experience discrimination but also suffer invisibility because their economic participation is greatly underestimated. National statistics on women's labour force participation reflect two important phenomena that further effect women's participation and bar them from entering labour markets. First, the stigma attached to their employment discourages women from working outside their homes, and, therefore, most tend not to go out for paid work. This not only hampers women's participation but also widens the large gap between men's and women's employment. Unfortunately, this situation further reinforces the perception that paid work is not appropriate for women.

a Pakistani labour force discourages women from being a part of it.

b Rural women suffer immensely because they often do not enter the workforce because of various reasons.

c Urban women are better positioned in the society than their rural counterparts.

d Rural women often do not enter the workforce because paid work is seen as a taboo in Pakistan.

Solution:

Option (b) covers the entire topic since the passage is about the suffering of rural women due to their non-participation in the labour workforce. Options (a), (b) and (c) are factually correct according to the passage but they do not cover the entire essence of the passage.

Correct Answer : b

Q.73
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

As a big cat native to the icy trans-Himalayan ranges, the snow leopard is an elusive and intriguing species. Uncia uncia is a graceful golden-eyed animal with thick fur, padded paws that help it move noiselessly on rocky slopes, and a gloriously long tail that provides balance on the tricky terrain. Like the tiger, the snow leopard is a keystone carnivore species whose future is clouded by conflicts with people — in this case, high-altitude pastoral communities. Although these peaceable folk have historically co-existed with the snow leopard in a dozen range countries, the increase in livestock numbers in recent times has resulted in depredation and retaliatory killing of the animal.

Which of the following statements can be concluded from the given paragraph?

a Humans and animals can co-exist peacefully only if the existence of one does not threaten the existence of the other.

b Humans cannot overcome the power of these beasts that are much faster than most beings on this planet.

c The high-altitude pastoral communities need to form a committee that will look into the matter and remove the animal from human habitation.

d Humans are unable to understand animals even though they are harmless creatures.

Solution:

There is no evidence present in the paragraph that can justify option (b). The paragraph does not discuss the snow leopard's natural faculties. Option (c) presents a solution for the above mentioned problem. Option (d) assumes that these animals are harmless. Option (a) pertains to the peaceful coexistence of humans and leopards that is justified by the example given above.

Correct Answer : a

Q.74
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Having discovered the virtues of market economy, thanks primarily to the imported wisdom, corporate India has never fought shy of using every forum to push the reform agenda. As policy-planners in the Government work in concert with the corporate captains to disembark the socialist path of the growth, the sensitivity and sentiment of a largely unarticulated but a significant majority of the population have been ignored. This 'ignored constituency' is now silently re-asserting its rights.

Which of the following statements can be concluded from the given paragraph?

a Corporate India needs to further push the reform agenda in order to reap the benefits in the presence of the ruling left wing party.

b It is time that the policy makers as well as corporate India stopped evading the demands of the 'ignored constituency' and began looking for solutions that are mutually agreeable to all parties.

c Policy makers in the country should only listen to the 'ignored constituency' if they want to continue to rule the country.

d It is only a matter of time before the 'ignored constituency' is silenced forever by use of coercive methods.

Solution:

The reasons given in options (a), (c) and (d) provide reasons that are out of context. Only option (b) strictly pertains to the subject matter of the paragraph. It provides a possible solution to the problem that is based on the information given in the paragraph.

Correct Answer : b

Q.75
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Personal, organizational, and cultural values can create a difficult problem when trying to make a business decision that includes all the previously stated. Personal values are what each individual holds dear to them while living the types of lives that he or she likes and would like to lead. Organizational values are what are best for the company to maintain a good public image and employee guidance. Cultural values are set on traditions handed down from generation to generation to preserve a way of living that each culture holds dear and true to them. Trying to intertwine these types of values when making professional and personal decisions in one's life can create a very stressful situation.

Which of the following statements is an underlying assumption made by the author?

a Personal, organizational and cultural values exist; however, human beings are free to choose and make their decisions by keeping in mind one, two or all of these values.

b Stressful situations are caused only when humans try to please everyone – themselves, organization and society.

c No such values can interfere with our decision making unless we allow them to.

d It does not matter what values you have unless your organization is making profits.

Solution:

Option (b) is completely out of scope. The idea of 'pleasing' has not been mentioned in the passage. Options (c) and (d) deny the importance of values which completely contradicts the views presented in the above paragraph. Option (a) conforms to the idea given in the paragraph and relates to the right to choose that is inherent to each human being.

Correct Answer : a

Q.76
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Without music, the world would seem naked, cold, and quiet. Music can set the rhythm for a long day of work, the mood for a date, a party or even one's entire life. It can comfort you when you feel nothing else can. It has the ability to make you dream bigger dreams than you have ever imagined. It can also remind you of the happiest moments in your life or the saddest. Music is a vehicle for expressing love, telling a story or showing happiness.

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above paragraph?

a Music can stimulate the human mind and produce dramatical effects.

b Dreams are normally guided by music that one may have previously heard somewhere.

c According to psychologists, music sometimes fails to produce a calming effect on their patients.

d Music can divert the mind and fix one's thoughts on the more unimportant things in life.

Solution:

Options (b) and (c) are out of scope. Option (b) and (c) pertain to a specific element of 'dreams' or the point of view of the 'psychologists'. However, there is no basis on which one can deduce these options as conclusions. Option (d) talks of 'unimportant things'. The status of the things that are thought about is not in question here. Option (a) conforms to the function of music that is presented above.

Correct Answer : a

Directions for questions 77 to 80: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

That could also more or less be the thesis of "Martin Wong: Painting is Forbidden", currently up at the Wattis Institute in San Francisco. Organized by members of the Curatorial Practice program at the California College of the Arts, the modest but wide-ranging show brings together some 150 pieces, both works by the artist and previously unseen ephemera. It shows an overlooked side of a major figure, but also, through his story, offers a glimpse of the now-passed creative world of 1960s and 70s counterculture that formed him.

These days, Wong has a kind mythic cachet connected to his life "where he ended up", that is, the Lower East Side in its gritty-glamorous 70s and 80s phase (a few years after that talk at the San Francisco Art Institute, Wong returned home to the Bay Area, where he would die of an AIDS-related illness in 1999). He amassed one of the great collections of classic New York graffiti art, which was displayed at the Museum of the City of New York's "City as Canvas" show this past year, and is burned into the memory of the era through his defiantly colorful, cowboy-hatted persona.

Artistically, Wong's paintings cast a long shadow over everything else (a selection was featured as part of the show-within-a-show at the Whitney Biennial last year). His self-taught but savvy style channels the look of urban folk art, with his own quirky set of leitmotifs: desolate landscapes of brick walls and chain link fences that evoke the era's disarray; rows of cartoon hands spelling out phrases in American sign language; kissing firemen; images of, or inspired by, the life and art of Miguel Piñero, the playwright and founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, as well as Wong's lover and sometimes collaborator.

The Wattis show, sadly, does not give a true sense of Wong's abilities as a painter. It features only one large canvas, the diptych Sweet 'Enuff(1988), on loan from the de Young Museum. On the left panel, a pair of firemen observe a man, collapsed or asleep, hunched over a boombox. In the facing panel, three youths are suspended in the air in a heroic moment of skateboarding derring-do, sailing improbably towards freedom over the crest of a barbed-wire fence. At the top of the canvas is one of Wong's classic romantic touches: the sky is webbed with gold, forming the outlines of hands spelling out the painting's title in sign language, and tracing the constellations in the sky, each of them labeled—Leo, Virgo, Ursa Major.

Most of the Wattis show is dedicated to Wong's more peripheral material, much of it from before he moved to New York in 1978: small early ceramics, some of angels and monsters, from his student days at Humboldt State University in Eureka, California; sketchbook pages; and a large selection of scroll-like text paintings rendering his febrile poems in dense, spidery calligraphy. The text paintings capture a very characteristic tension in Wong's whole artistic approach: his writing radiates passionate and urgent need to say something; but the stylized-to-the-point-of illegibility style puts up a barrier, making that something hard to access.

It is the trove of artifacts related to his early-70s stint with the queer performance troupe the Angels of Light that most fires the imagination here. The Angels had emerged in 1970 as a particularly intense manifestation of the era's countercultural experimentation, a split from the successful underground psychedelic drag theatre group the Cockettes, which they believed had already become too slick. The Angels staged their free-heeling extravaganzas in the street or donated spaces, giving them campy names like Last of the Red Hot Llamas, Tibetan Look of the Bed, and Peking on Acid.

Q.77
Which of the following has not been described as a feature of Wong's artistic style?

a The artist is self-taught but has a confident style.

b The artist is very highly studied despite being self-taught.

c The artist believed in sexual expression in his work.

d The artist used symbols of everyday life in his art.

Solution:

Refer to the second sentence of the third paragraph. It can be inferred that while the artist was self-taught, he has a savvy (confident) style. Option (a) can thus be inferred. Option (b) indicates that the artist wasstudied by many. However, there is no information in the passage to indicate if the artist was highly studied.Hence,option (b) cannot be inferred. Option (c) can be inferred from the last few lines of the third paragraph (kissing firemen). Option (d) can be inferred from the third paragraph (desolatelandscapes of brick walls and chain link fences) and from the fourth paragraph (three youths are suspended...moment of skateboarding, a pair of firemen observes a man...).

Correct Answer : b

Q.78
From the information in the passage, which of the following cannot be inferred about Martin Wong, as an artist and a person?

a Wong used idiosyncratic symbols in his work.

b Wong brought in complexity into his artistic work.

c Wong was many a time deeply involved in his subject matter.

d Wong's work is good-humoured.

Solution:

The artist used certain characteristic (idiosyncratic) elements in his work. This can be inferred from the last sentence of the fourth paragraph (At the top of the canvas is one of Wong's classic romantic touches... Leo, Virgo, Ursa Major). Option (a) can thus be inferred. Option (b) can be inferred from the third and last paragraphs. Both indicate the complexity of elements that Wong's work included. Option (c) can be inferred from the last sentence of the third paragraph (images of, or inspired by, the life and art of Miguel Piñero... Wong's loverand sometimes collaborator) and from the last paragraph(It is the trove of artifacts related to his early-70s stint with the queer performance troupe the Angels of Light...). This reference indicates that Wong many a time was personally involved with his subject matter (Miguel Piñero and the Angels of Light). Option (d) cannot be inferred because the author fails to establish the fact that Wong's work is cheery, affable or pleasant.

Correct Answer : d

Q.79
Which of the following statements would the author most agree with?

a Wong's interest in gay iconography is signalled in much of his work.

b Wong documented the world around him with a directness and idiosyncratic vision that made him truly original in the New York art scene of the 1980s.

c Wong's work could be turned into practical needs such as making menus, calendars, and posters for events.

d Since Wong was self-taught, his techniques had a deliberate amateurism about them.

Solution:

Wong's gay iconography is only referred to through the image of the kissing firemen (refer to the third paragraph). There is an implication of gay iconography in the last paragraph too (his stint with the queer performance troupe the Angels of Light). However, this is not evidence to conclude that Wong's interest in gay iconography is reflected in much of his work. Option (a) can thus be ruled out. Option (b) can be inferred from the third paragraph - Wong reflected images from everyday life (documented). There was a directness in him - the third and last paragraphs refer to Wong's works as manifestations of the era that they were created in. And an idiosyncratic vision or imagery can be inferred from the passage with phrases like'own quirky set of leitmotif' (third paragraph), ' one of Wong's classic romantic touches... spelling out the painting's title in sign language' (fourth paragraph), 'the text paintings capture a very characteristic tension ...but the stylized-to-the-point-of illegibility style puts up a barrier' (fifth paragraph). The passage also discusses the fact that Wong was a class ahead of others (first sentence of the third paragraph). Option (b) is thus the answer. Option (c) cannot be inferred as there is no basis for it in the passage. Option (d) cannot be inferred from the information in the passage.

Correct Answer : b

Q.80
Which of the following options best captures the central idea of the passage?

a A critique of Martin Wong and his artistic style

b An analysis of Wong's influence in the American art world

c An understanding of the various elements that contributed to Wong's artistic style

d Analysis of the curation of Wong's works at Wattis as well as Wong's artistic style

Solution:

The passage starts by bringing out the details of a show of Martin Wong's works and collection of other works at the Wattis Institute. The passage, however, goes on to critically analyse the works of Wong - a brief history (second paragraph), subject matter of his works (third paragraph), and a description of a work by Wong (fourth paragraph). The passage also criticises the Wattis show (fourth paragraph), enlists the types of artistic works by Wong that are displayed at the show (fifth paragraph), and mentions the highlight of the show (the artifacts related to Wong's stint with the Angels of Light - last paragraph). The passage thus analyses the curation of Wong's works at the Wattis show as well as gives the reader an understanding of Wong's artistic style. Option (d) is the answer. Option (a) is incorrect because it makes no reference to the Wattis show. Options (b) and (c) can be ruled out because they are too specific and do not include the analysis of the curation of Wong's works at Wattis.

Correct Answer : d

Directions for questions 81 to 84: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

To the unaware, Plato's dialogues appear to be mere verbal discussions of philosophical terms by Socrates and his fellow participants.

They're actually disguised dynamos containing hidden potency: fundamental realities constitutive of human existence, such as goodness, beauty, and virtue (truth, justice and the American way included). Plato's writings help us to understand that the chasm between us and arcane reality is not entirely bridgeable by ordinary sensation. Naive realism assumes that we see, hear, feel, touch, or taste this reality and thereby know it's true and complete essence. This view fails to take into cognizance the many "filters" between us and the enigmatic reality.

Part of what each of Plato's dialogues reveals is how widespread ignorance of reality actually is, how extensive and common the delusion is that we understand reality because we sense something we call "the external world" and act on it in ways which seem to prove our complete grasp of its essence. We fail to recognize the myriad distorting elements between us and reality, assuming that our naive grasp of the external world brings complete comprehension.

Plato's dialogues only make sense to persons who have committed themselves to the search for wisdom (philosophy), because they've recognized that there are vast continents of ignorance within their psyche which they need to illuminate and eradicate. Only if they have an intense desire to understand the veiled aspects of reality will Plato's philosophy have any appeal for them.

Throughout the dialogues, Socrates claims that he is ignorant of the concepts and entities being investigated. Academic pedants, pretending to understand what Plato is doing in this regard, misinterpret Socrates as merely pretending to be ignorant when he isn't pretending at all.

"We should recognize that Socrates is being ironic when he feigns ignorance about moral matters. He is simply pretending not to understand in order to draw out the person with whom he is arguing. By posing as ignorant, Socrates is able to seduce others into making moral claims, and then is able to show them how little they actually know about the topic being discussed."

Socrates did not pretend to be ignorant; he maintained that his means of investigation--dialectic--led him to discover ever larger areas of reality which he didn't understand. In his defence at his trial for his life, Socrates stated that what set him apart from others is that he recognized that he didn't know when he didn't know, whereas others assumed they knew things which they didn't actually know.

This was not some ironic pretence of ignorance. When we honestly seek wisdom--beyond mere sensory information--then we constantly discover how much more there is that we don't know. We may achieve an understanding of a particular area of reality (a spot of light in a forest), but this also involves our becoming aware of how much more there is about us that we don't yet understand (the forest surrounding the spot of light).

When Socrates claims ignorance he is doing several things: Saying: "I do not know the answer to the question you are assuming is the goal of this inquiry; you must get an answer to such questions from those who specialize in those kinds of issues: the sophists or the popular artists (like Homer)." Saying: "I am constantly seeking (through dialectic) to understand mysterious and transcendent realities, so I cannot claim to already understand them."

Q.81
Which of the following statements about comprehension of Plato's dialogues would the author most agree with?

a His view fails to take into cognizance the many "filters" between us and the enigmatic reality.

b The difference between us and reality that is esoteric can only be truly understood if one acknowledges this difference in the first place.

c Realism assumes that we see, hear, feel, touch, or taste this reality and thereby know it's true and complete essence.

d The disgraceful misunderstanding of Plato is a clear symptom of the low level of intelligence that exists in society.

Solution:

The question specifically asks about what the author would agree with when referring to comprehension of Plato's dialogues. Option (a) is an incorrect statement and is disproved by the third paragraph. Option (c) is incorrect because this statement is true for Naive Realism and not Realism itself. Please refer to the second sentence of the third paragraph. Option (d) is incorrect because it is a judgement, on the levels of intelligence in society, that cannot be corroborated by the passage. None of the above mentioned options make a statement about the understanding of Plato's dialogues. Option (b) explains how it is possible to understand Plato's dialogues. By first acknowledging that there is a difference between us and arcane (esoteric) reality. This can be inferred from the first sentence of the fifth paragraph. Option (b) is thus the answer.

Correct Answer : b

Q.82
Which of the following options would best help explain the argument that the author makes in the fourth paragraph?

a There is a widespread misunderstanding of what constitutes reality.

b Reality is a mystery that needs to be explored at leisure and without cognitive disruption.

c There are numerous distortions in the quest to understand reality.

d Just because we understand something in a certain way it does not mean that it must be so.

Solution:

In the fourth paragraph, the author states that Plato's dialogues help us realise that our understanding of what constitutes reality is not correct. We do not realise that there are various elements that can change our understanding of reality. Instead, we mistakenly feel that what we understand about the external world is correct and is real. Just because we believe it is so. According to Plato's dialogues, this is an incorrect notion. Option (d) is thus the answer. Option (a) is incorrect because it only states the result and not the cause or the symptom. The question searches for a reason and not the effect. Option (b) is incorrect because the argument does not explore the concept of reality. Option (c) can be ruled out because it does not present the crux of the argument. The option itself is a premise but not an argument.

Correct Answer : d

Q.83
What is the significance of Socrates' claim of ignorance?

a He did not pretend to understand things when he didn't.

b He did this to help others make claims that he would then illuminate as not knowledgeable enough.

c He was a true seeker and hence understood the fact that the more he knew the more there was to know.

d He understood the reality of things and knew that one could never really truly understand anything.

Solution:

The eighth and ninth paragraphs refer to Socrates' claim of ignorance. The claim is mentioned in the eight paragraph and explained in the ninth. This paragraph states that Socrates did not pretend to be ignorant. This rules out option (b). Instead, every time he understood something about reality he would realise that there was much more to understand about reality (spot of light and the forest surrounding it). This has been attributed to be the sign of one who honestly seeks wisdom. Refer also to the last sentence of the passage. Option (c) is thus the answer. Option (a) only states the claim of ignorance and does not explain it. Option (d) is incorrect because it has a negative connotation on the quest for knowledge - that one could never really understand anything. The passage however, has a positive connotation on this quest and indicates that as one learns one discovers that there is even more to learn.

Correct Answer : c

Q.84
Based on the information in the passage, which of the following would not be true about Socrates?

a He was honest about the amount of knowledge he had and had the courage to openly accept it.

b In stating his ignorance, Socrates distanced himself from Plato's dialogues on reality.

c Socrates was honest about his ignorance.

d Socrates' philosophy and verbal discussions have found a position in Plato's writings .

Solution:

Option (a) can be inferred from paragraphs eight and nine. Option (c) can be inferred from the eighth paragraph. Socrates states that he recognized that he didn't know when he didn't know. Option (b) is incorrect because the first sentence itself indicates that Plato's dialogues appear to be the verbal discussions by Socrates and his fellow participants. The first sentence of the fifth paragraph also indicates that in these dialogues Socrates claims that he is ignorant of concepts being investigated. Socrates is mentioned in Plato's dialogues and hence it is Plato who could comment on these dialogues and not Socrates. Hence, Option (d) can also be inferred.

Correct Answer : b

Q.85
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.

In an abrupt surge of violence, Boko Haram insurgents killed around 200 people in Nigeria over the past week. The group, which swore allegiance to the Islamic State in March, targeted mosques, a church and a restaurant, in much the same fashion Islamists linked to IS have attacked people elsewhere in Africa and West Asia recently. The attacks have sent a deadly message to both the Nigerian government and the rest of the world: that notwithstanding recent military setbacks Boko Haram remains capable of carrying out large-scale strikes.

a From its beginnings in 2002 as a peaceful Islamist movement, it has transformed itself into one of Africa's deadliest terror machines.

b A multinational force, last year, drove Boko Haram fighters out of towns and villages they had held for months.

c In April 2014, from a school in Chibok in Borno state, a Boko Haram stronghold, 3 female students were abducted, triggering an outrage.

d Since its very inception, Boko Haram has not let Nigeria experience relief from violent terrorist attacks.

Solution:

The passage talks of Boko Haram and its terrorist activities in Nigeria. The last line states that despite the military setbacks, Boko Haram retains the capability to carry out large-scale attacks. Option (b) is incorrect because the last line of the passage talks of recent military setbacks while the option talks of what the force did last year. Option (c) is negated because the last line talks of large-scale attacks while the option talks of an abduction of only 3 students. Option (d) is ruled out because it talks of continuous violence while the passage, in the first line, talks of an abrupt surge of violence.

Correct Answer : a

Q.86
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.

First things first: "Beauty is in the ear of the beholder," Marc Devokaitis, of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, says via email. While it's true many species aren't what you'd call melodious, they still make amazing sounds. Take the "otherworldly" call of the barred owl, or the endless tunes that might come from a common raven, which has 33 types of calls in its repertoire, Devokaitis says.

a Though tanagers are among the most elaborately coloured passerines, "they have pitiful songs," Remsen says, whereas drably colored wrens "have some of the most amazing sounds."

b But, many birds that make highly involved songs are also intelligent, Dan Mennill, a biologist at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, notes by email.

c Some birds are tiny, like the hermit thrush, which weighs about an ounce (28 grams) and has what Devotaikis calls a "euphonious" song.

d That said, "small birds have the anatomy and vocal behavior that happens to sync up well with humans' perceptions of 'song'", he says.

Solution:

Options (a) and (c) suddenly introduce colour and size, respectively, in the terms of which birds are considered melodious. These are not in line with the passage which talks of some birds, which even though are not melodious, make amazing sounds. Option (c) is also logically incorrect because the last line of the passage talks of birds that make amazing sounds but cannot be called melodious while the given option talks of a bird which has a euphonious or melodious song. Option (b) is negated because the 'but' suggests a contrast while the last line of the passage does not give contrasting information. Option (d) is the correct answer which introduces the new factor 'size' with the words 'That said'. This suggests a smooth flow of thought and this option also gives a reason as to why small birds are considered melodious.

Correct Answer : d

Q.87
The word given below has been used in the given sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

Go

a How can we go about solving this problem?

b Walter Mondale had a similar idea, and he went down in a landslide defeat at the hands of the last Republican president to be re-elected.

c How many companies have gone to liquidation during the current recession?

d The cops threatened to bust everyone for indecent exposure if they went through with the performance, but failed to show up when the 'exhibit' actually took place.

Solution:

'To go about doing something' is to deal with something or undertake something. 'To go down' is to be defeated in a contest. 'To go to' is to go out to some place but 'to go into' is to start an activity or start to be in a particular state or condition. 'To go through with something' is to complete an action despite difficulty or unwillingness.

Correct Answer : c

Q.88
The word given below has been used in the given sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

Pass

a They watch the corporate owned media and accept the garbage passed as news.

b As if to allow their predictions to come true, the international community has presided over the coming to pass of a deteriorating socio-economic climate for young people.

c It is easy enough to say 'Pass' at once when I know that I don't know and have never known the answer to a question.

d He knew the treaty would never pass a muster with the Senate.

Solution:

To pass as/for' is to be accepted as or taken for. 'Come to pass' is to occur. 'Pass' is used as an exclamation when one does not know the answer to a question. 'To pass muster' is to be accepted as adequate or satisfactory.

Correct Answer : d

Q.89
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Britain's gender pay gap has narrowed in recent years for all the wrong reasons. A report by the Resolution Foundation thinktank in 2012 found that it was a collapse in male wages that accounted for the squeeze. Men working in better paid manufacturing jobs or white-collar middle management found their wages frozen at best and their jobs redundant at worst, dragging down the average pay for their gender.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument about the gender pay gap?

a Women are still working in badly-paid areas of the economy.

b Women broke gender barriers and entered new segments which earlier had only male workers.

c More women are reaching higher positions as they make career their priority.

d More women have started working in better-paid segments of the economy which were earlier male-dominated.

Solution:

The argument in the passage is that the gender pay gap has decreased only due to wrong reasons as the average pay for the males have fallen. Option (a) supports the argument as it suggests that the average pay of women has not changed. Option (b) does not talk about pay but only about entering new segments of the economy. Option (c) talks about reaching higher positions but does not talk about higher pays. These women might still not be able to increase the average pay of women. Option (d) weakens the argument as it suggests that women are being better-paid now and that is one of the 'right' reasons for the reduction in gender pay gap.

Correct Answer : d

Q.90
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Lloyds Bank is to "derecognise" its biggest union, which represents more than 25,000 staff, in a remarkable breakdown in industrial relations at Britain's biggest retail bank. Lloyds Trade Union (LTU), which has represented staff for more than a century, has accused the bank of seeking revenge following recent actions by the union. The LTU strenuously opposed changes to the Lloyds pension scheme, calling an industrial ballot, and has won millions of pounds for 10,000 female staff following a lengthy legal battle.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken LTU's argument?

a Lloyds Bank has a history for taking care of its employees.

b Lloyds Bank plans to give exclusive recognition to a new Trade Union which comprises a good ratio of present as well as ex-employees while LTU has only ex-employees as members.

c LTU office bearers had demanded a cut for themselves in order to approve the changes to Lloyds pension scheme which was refused by Lloyds Bank.

d LTU is dominated by female office bearers who are facing gender discrimination in the Bank.

Solution:

LTU's argument is that the Bank is derecognizing the union because they opposed changes to the Lloyds pension scheme and won a lengthy legal battle against the Bank for the staff. Options (a), (c) and (d) do not weaken the argument because irrespective of these, the Bank could still derecognize the union for the strong stand taken by it, against the Bank. Option (b) is the correct answer because it gives an alternate reason for the Bank to derecognize LTU.

Correct Answer : b

Q.91
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Wildlife smuggling is a global epidemic. Worth billions of dollars a year, the illicit trade is driving animals such as rhinos, elephants, pangolins, abalone, and sharks toward extinction.

All of the following statements strengthen the argument presented above. Which of the following would most strengthen the given argument?

a Only those wild animals are smuggled which are already on the endangered list.

b The animals which are nearing extinction are mostly protected in wildlife reserves but that is the prime point from which these animals are smuggled.

c The wild animals are smuggled for their fur/skin, teeth, horns and/or organs which invariably lead to them being tortured or killed.

d Wildlife smuggling is the highest contributor to the depletion of numbers of the wild animals nearing extinction.

Solution:

The argument states that wildlife smuggling is driving some wildlife animals toward extinction. Options (a), (b) and (c) do strengthen the argument but they are silent on the intensity of the impact smuggling has on these animals. Option (d) is the best answer as it states that smuggling is the main reason for reduction in the number of wildlife animals that are nearing extinction.

Correct Answer : d

Q.92
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 a scenario where European union members who were once considered _________ supporters of Israel, voted against it; India's abstention stands out as a sore _______, and will send a confusing signal.

a irresolute, point

b steadfast, thumb

c staunch, eye

d skittish, spot

Solution:

The sentence talks of a contrast about members who once used to strongly support Israel but have now voted against it. So, we can negate options (a) and (d). 'Irresolute' describes someone who is not able to decide what to do while 'skittish' describes someone who is not very serious and whose ideas keep changing. A 'sore eye' is incorrect while 'sore eyes' refer to conjunctivitis. 'To stick/stand out as a sore thumb' is to be very noticeable in an unpleasant way.

Correct Answer : b

Q.93
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.
Yet, it was unlikely that the grandeur of the Potala Palace — sharpened by the late evening illumination — and the accompanying atmosphere of ________, would have erased from public memory the horrific spurt of _______ that have periodically rocked parts of the TAR.

a nostalgia, murder

b meditation, terrorism

c jubilation, genocide

d serenity, suicides

Solution:

The sentence talks of how the illumination and the atmosphere of Potala Palace have erased some horrific public memories. So, we can clearly deduce that the first blank will be filled with a positive word that can describe the atmosphere while the second word should be about a negative action that can be called horrific. Options (a) and (b) can be negated because the atmosphere is supposed to make one forget the horrific memories and not make one feel sad or thoughtful. Option (c) is grammatically incorrect because the word 'genocide' is a singular subject which should be followed by a singular verb.

Correct Answer : d

Q.94
Given below are five sentences. Each sentence has a pair of words that are italicized. From the italicized words, select the most appropriate words (A or B) to form correct sentences. The sentences are followed by options that indicate the words, which may be selected to correctly complete the set of sentences. From the options given, choose the most appropriate one.

I. But modern life has moved beyond such administrative units as boroughs (A)/ burrows (B) and as a result, the need for wardens has diminished.
II. Similarly cheers and acclamation (A)/ acclimation (B) punctuated the famous speech of the young senator on man's rights and dignity.
III. There were immense black plumes at each corner and a black velvet pawl (A)/ pall (B) covered the coffin.
IV. Forgiveness was selected as one of the opening films and will screen its international premier (A)/ premiere (B) at the festival.
V. He offers this simple tenderloin - quickly sautéed to sear (A)/ seer (B) the outside but not melt the marbling inside - for a special holiday meal.

a AABBA

b ABBAA

c BAABB

d BBAAB

Solution:

'Borough' refers to a town or district which is an administrative unit in particular while a 'burrow' refers to a hole or tunnel dug by a small animal, especially a rabbit. 'Acclamation' refers to loud and enthusiastic approval while 'acclimation' refers to adaptation. A 'pall' refers to a cloth spread over a coffin, hearse or tomb while a 'pawl' refers to a pivoted curved bar or lever whose free end engages with the teeth of a cogwheel or ratchet so that the wheel or ratchet can only turn or move one way. 'Premier' refers to the most important, famous or successful while a 'premier' refers to the first performance of a play or the first showing of a film. 'Sear' is to fry food quickly at a high temperature so that it will retain its juices in subsequent cooking while 'seer' refers to dry or withered vegetation.

Correct Answer : a

Q.95
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.

More than $280bn of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects being planned over the next decade risk becoming "stranded" if global action is taken to limit climate change to 2C, according to a report by the thinktank Carbon Tracker. LNG projects allow gas to be compressed into tankers and sold around the world, making it key to hopes in the US, Canada and Australia of fully exploiting their gas reserves.

a The analysis found Shell's agreed takeover of BG makes it by far the biggest player in the market and $85bn of the combined company's potential LNG projects would not be needed.

b The report concludes that over the next 10 years $82bn of LNG plants in Canada would be surplus to requirements, $71bn in the US and $68bn in Australia, with the rest of the world, accounting for the remaining $59bn.

c But the new analysis shows that if emissions are cut to keep global temperature rise below the internationally agreed target many LNG projects being considered will not be needed.

d Carbon Tracker has pioneered this analysis, which has been backed by the Bank of England and the World Bank.

Solution:

Options (a) and (d) are related with the analysis but are not at all in line with the second sentence of the passage which talks of the importance of LNG projects for certain countries. Option (b) talks of a conclusion by the report while the given passage does not suggest the given conclusion. Option (c) is the correct answer as it contradicts the second line of the passage. It says that irrespective of the importance of LNG projects, they might not be needed if the emissions are cut as there will be a surplus of fuel.

Correct Answer : c

Q.96
Read the following argument and answer the question that follows.

Families with a single working partner have more purchasing power than families with the same income level but with both husband and wife working. The later kind of families have to use a part of their income for expenses absent in the former, which thus have more to spend on other household needs.

Which of the following inferences is best supported by the above statement?

a Families where both partners are working spend more on certain things, which can be avoided by families where only one partner is working.

b The income in families with both husband and wife working is less than those families where only one partner is working.

c The families in which only one partner is working, are smaller.

d With both husband and wife working, there is no control on the amount they spend on their own needs.

Solution:

Option (b) is wrong as it contradicts the fact given in the passage that both kinds of families have same income level. Option (c) has no supporting evidence in the passage. Option (d) is again an assumption that has no proof. Option (a) is the best option as it implies that expenses in families where both husband and wife work are more than the families where only one of them works. So the latter have more money left after all the usual expenses have been taken care of, and hence have more purchasing power.

Correct Answer : a

Directions for questions 97 to 100: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Imagine you are standing in front of a pointillist shoreline of clear waters beneath an opalescent sky. Tiny waves stir the surface, which is composed of thousands of bright dots of sea green, white and ultramarine. Now imagine the most obvious soundtrack anyone could possibly come up with in response to such a painting. If you guessed a spray of little digitised plinky-plonk droplets then you win the prize – in this case, the chance to see some other exhibition.

Soundscapes is the worst idea the National Gallery has come up with in almost 200 years. It is feeble, pusillanimous, apologetic and, even in its resolute wrong-headedness, lacks all ambition. Invite a sound artist to compose a work in response to a masterpiece from the collection and you might expect something original, given all the precedents in music alone, from Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition to Philip Glass's piano portrait of Chuck Close. But instead this show feels more like the ambient soundtrack on a pair of National Trust headphones. Chris Watson, founder member of Cabaret Voltaire, is a wildlife recording artist of shining renown, winning Baftas for his soundtracks to David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and Frozen Planet. He has chosen to do exactly what he does; he has chosen exactly the right image for the task. Here is that gorgeous crowd-pleaser and Christmas card favourite Lake Keitele, by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, its glassy waters spotlit in a dark and soundproofed gallery.

And here is birdsong, and passing breezes, and shivering trees. Sure enough, we are exactly where the picture has already taken us, by the lake in Finland.

How about the 14th-century Wilton Diptych, so elegant and mysterious, with its azure virgin and child, its eerie saints and graceful gazelle? Nico Mulhy may be one of the most unusual cross-disciplinary composers at work today, writing opera for the Met and the ENO, scores for ballets and arrangements for indie band Antony and the Johnsons, but faced with this medieval masterpiece he has produced a piece for viola da gamba that could hardly be more ordinary – a little bit dissonant, a little bit heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional.

It doesn't hold you there before the painting. It doesn't alter the experience of looking or throw the focus in some new direction so that the diptych casts a different spell. If anything, the music pushes the painting back in time, diverting attention from its extreme singularity by evoking familiar plainsong and fusty old churches.

As an admirer of their work it gives me no pleasure to report that Canadian art duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's soundscape is just ludicrous – a loud melodrama of whinnying horses, barking dogs, pouring rain and clattering feet accompanying a massive 3D reconstruction of Antonello da Messina's exquisite little scene of Saint Jerome in His Study, accompanied by his emblematic lion.

Antonello's painting depicts devotion as a chamber of the mind. It is an image of – and an image made with – pure and silent concentration. To see it sidelined in a corner of the gallery is heart-sinking, although at least it's away from the attention-seeking model and the worst of the noise; amazing Cardiff and Miller didn't include the MGM lion.

The Turner prize-winning sound artist Susan Philipsz has chosen Holbein's The Ambassadors, and her score does draw something out of the work, as well as adding to it. Air on a Broken String is a searingly beautiful sequence of violin notes, sometimes abrupt, sometimes drawn out, which hover in the air, sustaining that sense of the mortal present which the masterpiece embodies.

Q.97
Which of the following options best represents the central idea of the passage?

a Soundscapes could have been better had the National Gallery made a strong attempt to choose better artists.

b The National Gallery has had many bad ideas over the years but Soundscapes has been the worst.

c Soundscapes would have created a stir if it had not played safe and delivered more than the usual to the viewer.

d The exhibition, Soundscapes can be critiqued on various aspects and its shortcomings can be used for future learning.

Solution:

The second paragraph presents the main criticism of the exhibition - that it is weak and not ambitious. The last line of the fifth paragraph and the sixth paragraph indicate that Soundscapes has failed because it does not add anything of value to the paintings itself. Or, the soundtrack manages to relegate the painting to the background (eighth paragraph) and does not highlight it like it should. Hence, option (c) is the answer. Option (a) is incorrect because the author does not once suggest that the exhibition displays artists who are not good enough. Option (b) is incorrect because the first sentence of the second paragraph suggests that Soundscapes is the worst idea that the National Gallery has come up with in 200 years. However, this does not indicate that it is the worst idea in totality. Also, the passage does not focus on the degree to which the exhibition fails to deliver but on the reasons why it does not perform. Option (d) is incorrect because the passage is not a detailed analysis (critique) of the exhibition but a criticism of it.

Correct Answer : c

Directions for questions 97 to 100: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Imagine you are standing in front of a pointillist shoreline of clear waters beneath an opalescent sky. Tiny waves stir the surface, which is composed of thousands of bright dots of sea green, white and ultramarine. Now imagine the most obvious soundtrack anyone could possibly come up with in response to such a painting. If you guessed a spray of little digitised plinky-plonk droplets then you win the prize – in this case, the chance to see some other exhibition.

Soundscapes is the worst idea the National Gallery has come up with in almost 200 years. It is feeble, pusillanimous, apologetic and, even in its resolute wrong-headedness, lacks all ambition. Invite a sound artist to compose a work in response to a masterpiece from the collection and you might expect something original, given all the precedents in music alone, from Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition to Philip Glass's piano portrait of Chuck Close. But instead this show feels more like the ambient soundtrack on a pair of National Trust headphones. Chris Watson, founder member of Cabaret Voltaire, is a wildlife recording artist of shining renown, winning Baftas for his soundtracks to David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and Frozen Planet. He has chosen to do exactly what he does; he has chosen exactly the right image for the task. Here is that gorgeous crowd-pleaser and Christmas card favourite Lake Keitele, by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, its glassy waters spotlit in a dark and soundproofed gallery.

And here is birdsong, and passing breezes, and shivering trees. Sure enough, we are exactly where the picture has already taken us, by the lake in Finland.

How about the 14th-century Wilton Diptych, so elegant and mysterious, with its azure virgin and child, its eerie saints and graceful gazelle? Nico Mulhy may be one of the most unusual cross-disciplinary composers at work today, writing opera for the Met and the ENO, scores for ballets and arrangements for indie band Antony and the Johnsons, but faced with this medieval masterpiece he has produced a piece for viola da gamba that could hardly be more ordinary – a little bit dissonant, a little bit heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional.

It doesn't hold you there before the painting. It doesn't alter the experience of looking or throw the focus in some new direction so that the diptych casts a different spell. If anything, the music pushes the painting back in time, diverting attention from its extreme singularity by evoking familiar plainsong and fusty old churches.

As an admirer of their work it gives me no pleasure to report that Canadian art duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's soundscape is just ludicrous – a loud melodrama of whinnying horses, barking dogs, pouring rain and clattering feet accompanying a massive 3D reconstruction of Antonello da Messina's exquisite little scene of Saint Jerome in His Study, accompanied by his emblematic lion.

Antonello's painting depicts devotion as a chamber of the mind. It is an image of – and an image made with – pure and silent concentration. To see it sidelined in a corner of the gallery is heart-sinking, although at least it's away from the attention-seeking model and the worst of the noise; amazing Cardiff and Miller didn't include the MGM lion.

The Turner prize-winning sound artist Susan Philipsz has chosen Holbein's The Ambassadors, and her score does draw something out of the work, as well as adding to it. Air on a Broken String is a searingly beautiful sequence of violin notes, sometimes abrupt, sometimes drawn out, which hover in the air, sustaining that sense of the mortal present which the masterpiece embodies.

Q.98
What does the author mean when he suggests that the 'show feels more like an ambient soundtrack'?

a The show fails to produce compositions that can be linked to an individual masterpiece on display.

b The show has curated pieces from various artists and hence it has been difficult for any composer to reflect the individuality of a piece.

c The show has brought together various artists of the same genre and hence their individuality is of no consequence.

d The show allows for individual deviations in the music but even these have not been experimental enough.

Solution:

The second paragraph indicates that while one may have expected something original from Soundscapes, the show has failed to deliver in this regard. The last sentence indicates that the soundtrack in the show is of an ambient (all encompassing) nature and hence does not link with any one piece. This argument is repeated in the following paragraphs which suggest that the soundtrack for an individual artwork is either unassuming or relegates the artwork. The soundtrack is lazy (second sentence of the second paragraph). Option (a) is thus the answer. Option (b) is incorrect because the passage does not argue on the individuality of each artwork. This also helps rule out Option (c). Option (d) is incorrect because the passage indicates that the soundtrack in the show is not individualistic enough. It does not reflect the artwork, it is attached to. Hence, the level of experimentation aside, the first part of the option itself is highly debatable.

Correct Answer : a

Directions for questions 97 to 100: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Imagine you are standing in front of a pointillist shoreline of clear waters beneath an opalescent sky. Tiny waves stir the surface, which is composed of thousands of bright dots of sea green, white and ultramarine. Now imagine the most obvious soundtrack anyone could possibly come up with in response to such a painting. If you guessed a spray of little digitised plinky-plonk droplets then you win the prize – in this case, the chance to see some other exhibition.

Soundscapes is the worst idea the National Gallery has come up with in almost 200 years. It is feeble, pusillanimous, apologetic and, even in its resolute wrong-headedness, lacks all ambition. Invite a sound artist to compose a work in response to a masterpiece from the collection and you might expect something original, given all the precedents in music alone, from Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition to Philip Glass's piano portrait of Chuck Close. But instead this show feels more like the ambient soundtrack on a pair of National Trust headphones. Chris Watson, founder member of Cabaret Voltaire, is a wildlife recording artist of shining renown, winning Baftas for his soundtracks to David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and Frozen Planet. He has chosen to do exactly what he does; he has chosen exactly the right image for the task. Here is that gorgeous crowd-pleaser and Christmas card favourite Lake Keitele, by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, its glassy waters spotlit in a dark and soundproofed gallery.

And here is birdsong, and passing breezes, and shivering trees. Sure enough, we are exactly where the picture has already taken us, by the lake in Finland.

How about the 14th-century Wilton Diptych, so elegant and mysterious, with its azure virgin and child, its eerie saints and graceful gazelle? Nico Mulhy may be one of the most unusual cross-disciplinary composers at work today, writing opera for the Met and the ENO, scores for ballets and arrangements for indie band Antony and the Johnsons, but faced with this medieval masterpiece he has produced a piece for viola da gamba that could hardly be more ordinary – a little bit dissonant, a little bit heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional.

It doesn't hold you there before the painting. It doesn't alter the experience of looking or throw the focus in some new direction so that the diptych casts a different spell. If anything, the music pushes the painting back in time, diverting attention from its extreme singularity by evoking familiar plainsong and fusty old churches.

As an admirer of their work it gives me no pleasure to report that Canadian art duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's soundscape is just ludicrous – a loud melodrama of whinnying horses, barking dogs, pouring rain and clattering feet accompanying a massive 3D reconstruction of Antonello da Messina's exquisite little scene of Saint Jerome in His Study, accompanied by his emblematic lion.

Antonello's painting depicts devotion as a chamber of the mind. It is an image of – and an image made with – pure and silent concentration. To see it sidelined in a corner of the gallery is heart-sinking, although at least it's away from the attention-seeking model and the worst of the noise; amazing Cardiff and Miller didn't include the MGM lion.

The Turner prize-winning sound artist Susan Philipsz has chosen Holbein's The Ambassadors, and her score does draw something out of the work, as well as adding to it. Air on a Broken String is a searingly beautiful sequence of violin notes, sometimes abrupt, sometimes drawn out, which hover in the air, sustaining that sense of the mortal present which the masterpiece embodies.

Q.99
Which of the following excerpts from the passage, does not criticize the exhibition?

a We are exactly where the picture has already taken us, by the lake in Finland

b A little bit dissonant, a little bit heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional

c It's away from the attention-seeking model and the worst of the noise

d If you guessed a spray of little digitised plinky-plonk droplets then you win the prize

Solution:

The question searches for the context of each of the excerpts. Hence, it is essential to refer to the passage and the lines surrounding these excerpts in order to judge which one of them was not written to criticize. Option (a) is a criticism of the soundtrack surrounding the art work Lake Keitele (third paragraph). The fourth paragraph describes the soundtrack linked with this artwork but indicates that it does not add any value to the Art (...we are exactly where the picture has taken us, by the lake in Finland). Option (b) itself brings in negative connotations (dissonant, heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional) to reflect criticism. The excerpt criticizes the soundtrack linked with the artwork Wilton Diptych (fifth paragraph). Option (c) refers to a positive aspect (refer to the eighth paragraph) of the soundtrack by Cardiff and Miller produced for the artwork Saint Jerome in His Study. Option (d) criticizes (refer to the first paragraph) the soundtrack related to an artwork that illustrates a waterbody. The use of the term plinky-plonk and the reference to the chance to see another exhibition instead of the current one are both criticisms of the soundtrack.

Correct Answer : c

Directions for questions 97 to 100: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Imagine you are standing in front of a pointillist shoreline of clear waters beneath an opalescent sky. Tiny waves stir the surface, which is composed of thousands of bright dots of sea green, white and ultramarine. Now imagine the most obvious soundtrack anyone could possibly come up with in response to such a painting. If you guessed a spray of little digitised plinky-plonk droplets then you win the prize – in this case, the chance to see some other exhibition.

Soundscapes is the worst idea the National Gallery has come up with in almost 200 years. It is feeble, pusillanimous, apologetic and, even in its resolute wrong-headedness, lacks all ambition. Invite a sound artist to compose a work in response to a masterpiece from the collection and you might expect something original, given all the precedents in music alone, from Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition to Philip Glass's piano portrait of Chuck Close. But instead this show feels more like the ambient soundtrack on a pair of National Trust headphones. Chris Watson, founder member of Cabaret Voltaire, is a wildlife recording artist of shining renown, winning Baftas for his soundtracks to David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and Frozen Planet. He has chosen to do exactly what he does; he has chosen exactly the right image for the task. Here is that gorgeous crowd-pleaser and Christmas card favourite Lake Keitele, by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, its glassy waters spotlit in a dark and soundproofed gallery.

And here is birdsong, and passing breezes, and shivering trees. Sure enough, we are exactly where the picture has already taken us, by the lake in Finland.

How about the 14th-century Wilton Diptych, so elegant and mysterious, with its azure virgin and child, its eerie saints and graceful gazelle? Nico Mulhy may be one of the most unusual cross-disciplinary composers at work today, writing opera for the Met and the ENO, scores for ballets and arrangements for indie band Antony and the Johnsons, but faced with this medieval masterpiece he has produced a piece for viola da gamba that could hardly be more ordinary – a little bit dissonant, a little bit heraldic and ever so period-piece conventional.

It doesn't hold you there before the painting. It doesn't alter the experience of looking or throw the focus in some new direction so that the diptych casts a different spell. If anything, the music pushes the painting back in time, diverting attention from its extreme singularity by evoking familiar plainsong and fusty old churches.

As an admirer of their work it gives me no pleasure to report that Canadian art duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's soundscape is just ludicrous – a loud melodrama of whinnying horses, barking dogs, pouring rain and clattering feet accompanying a massive 3D reconstruction of Antonello da Messina's exquisite little scene of Saint Jerome in His Study, accompanied by his emblematic lion.

Antonello's painting depicts devotion as a chamber of the mind. It is an image of – and an image made with – pure and silent concentration. To see it sidelined in a corner of the gallery is heart-sinking, although at least it's away from the attention-seeking model and the worst of the noise; amazing Cardiff and Miller didn't include the MGM lion.

The Turner prize-winning sound artist Susan Philipsz has chosen Holbein's The Ambassadors, and her score does draw something out of the work, as well as adding to it. Air on a Broken String is a searingly beautiful sequence of violin notes, sometimes abrupt, sometimes drawn out, which hover in the air, sustaining that sense of the mortal present which the masterpiece embodies.

Q.100
Based on the passage, which of the following options, if true, would help criticize the soundtrack for The Ambassadors?

a It is esoteric

b It is all encompassing

c It is too sophisticated

d It overshadows the other soundtracks

Solution:

The last paragraph states that the soundtrack of The Ambassadors actually adds value to the work it is attached to and also draws something from it. This is a deviation from the criticism that the author makes about the other soundtracks in the show. Option (a) can be ruled out because there is no case made for or against how easy it is to understand a particular soundtrack. The focus lies more on whether the soundtrack reflects the artwork and whether it is original enough and not ambient (all-encompassing). Option (b) is a possible criticism as it has been used as a criticism for the entire show (refer to the last sentence of the second paragraph). Option (c) is incorrect because there is no information to infer that the soundtrack for The Ambassadors is a sophisticated piece and that this is not acceptable by show standards. Option (d) could be an advantage and not a criticism because it indicates originality/individuality (overshadows the other soundtracks) both of which the author asserts are lacking in the soundtracks used in the show. Option (b) is thus the answer.

Correct Answer : b

QUESTION BANK

Wednesday 4 November 2015

CL 15 08

Solutions of Mock CAT - 08 2015

Sec 1

Sec 2

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