Official Verbal Ability thread for CAT 2013

MBA CAT 2024
1741

333.

In each

question, there are five sentences/paragraphs.

The sentence/paragraph labelled A is in its

correct place.




A. Today complex numbers have such wide

spread practical use - from electrical

engineering to aeronautics - that few people

would expect the story behind their

derivation to be filled with adventure and

enigma. But such is the 2000-year-old

history of one of mathematics' most

elusive numbers, the square root of minus

one, also known as i.

B. By the time of Descartes, a theoretical

use for these elusive square roots - now

called 'imaginary numbers' - was

suspected, but efforts to solve them led

to intense, bitter debates.

C. In the first century, the mathematicianengineer

Heron of Alexandria encountered

i in a separate project, but fudged the

arithmetic; medieval mathematicians

stumbled upon the concept while grappling

with the meaning of negative

numbers, but dismissed their square roots

as nonsense.

D. In 1878, when two brothers stole a mathematical

papyrus from the ancient Egyptian

burial site in the Valley of Kings,

they led scholars to the earliest known

occurrence of the square root of a negative

number. The papyrus offered a specific

numerical example of how to calculate

the volume of a truncated square pyramid,

which implied the need for i.

E. The notorious i finally won acceptance

and was put to use in complex analysis

and theoretical physics in Napoleonic

times.

1) CBDE 2) CBED

3) CDBE 4) DBEC

5) DCBE

1742

330. Para completion


India's past investments in large water infrastructure

have yielded spectacular results

with enormous gains in food security and in

the reduction of poverty. However, much of

this infrastructure is now crumbling. Shortfalls

in financing have led to an enormous

backlog of maintenance. The implicit philosophy

has been aptly described as Build-Neglect-

Rebuild. Much of what currently masquerades

as 'investment' in irrigation or

municipal water supply is in fact a belated

attempt to rehabilitate crumbling infrastructure.

1) Today, 70 percent of India's irrigation

needs and 80 percent of its domestic water

supplies come from groundwater, a

commendable fact nevertheless.

2) Faced with poor water supply services,

farmers and urban dwellers alike have

resorted to helping themselves by pumping

out groundwater through tube wells.

3) A number of areas are already in crisis

regarding housing infrastructure: among

these are the most populated and economically

productive parts of the country.

4) Severe water shortages have already led

to growing political mudslinging in Parliament.

5) Estimates reveal that by 2020, India's

demand for water will exceed all sources

of supply.

1743

LAY and LIE


“Lay” is a transitive verb. It requires a direct subject and one or more objects.
Its present tense is “lay” (e.g., I lay the pencil on the table) and its past tense is “laid” (e.g., Yesterday I laid the pencil on the table).

“Lie” is an intransitive verb. It needs no object. Its present tense is “lie” (e.g., The Andes mountains lie between Chile and Argentina) and its past tense is “lay” (e.g., The man lay waiting for an ambulance).

The most common mistake occurs when the writer uses the past tense of the transitive “lay” (e.g., I laid on the bed) when he/she actually means the intransitive past tense of “lie" (e.g., I lay on the bed).


1744

Psychologists believe that most people judge others just like they would judge a book by its cover and in ninety percent of the cases most people are wrong. In fact, while judging someone on the basis of their looks or by first impression, most people fail to realize that the other person could be nervous or hesitant to open up. Most psychologists are of the view that adults are more afraid of being rejected or disliked by others, especially housewives who have limited social interaction and are constantly judged by their peers and in-laws. Assuming that the above argument is true, identify which of the following statements considerably strengthens the above argument?

a.Psychologists are of the view that personality tests should also include questions based on physical appearance as it reflects a person's attitude. €‹

b. Psychologists explain that when people meet someone for the first time, they are more courteous and careful so as to not judge the other instantly.

c. Many times people are inclined towards judging others on the basis of first impression or physical appearance because they are biased against people.

d. Some people undermine physical appearance and believe that good looks are highly overrated.



pls give explanation for your answer. 😃 (deliberately din't put it in question format)


1745

Difference between INEQUITY and INIQUITY ??

1746

Any one help :

where can i get the list of phrasal verbs ??
1747

this is the cat exam question please help me,solve it properly and show me answer,

Heer Enterprises needs someone to supply it with 225,000 cartons of machine screws per year to support its manufacturing needs over the next 7 years, and you've decided to bid on the contract. It will cost you $1,230,000 to install the equipment necessary to start production; you'll depreciate this cost straight-line to zero over the project's life. You estimate that in 7 years, this equipment can be salvaged for $75,000. Your fixed production costs will be $360,000 per year, and your variable production costs should be $13.20 per carton. You also need an initial investment in net working capital of $112,500, all of which will be recovered when the project ends. Your tax rate is 32 percent and you require a 13 percent return on your investment. What bid price per carton should you submit?

1748

Para completion

Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment. In all the higher forms this process cannot be kept up indefinitely. After a while they succumb; they die. ____________ OPTIONS a) As some species die out, forms better adapted to utilize the obstacles against which they struggled in vain come into being.

b) The creature is not equal to the task of indefinite self-renewal.

c) But continuity of the life process is not dependent upon the prolongation of the existence of any one individual.

d) Reproduction of other forms of life goes on in continuous sequence.

e) And though, as the geological record shows, not merely individuals but also species die out, the life process continues in increasingly complex forms


have some doubt in the question so please discuss your solution

1749

Directions: Identify the sentences or part of sentences that are incorrect in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency).

A. He is not such a good man who can help anyone

.B. The home team controlled the ball for a majority of the game,

C. One might suspect that osteoarthritis is a disease in relation to elder population only but surprisingly statistics reveal that it can strike at any age.

D. At the head of thirty horsemen, he rode boldly to the gates of the castle.


A and B

B and C

C and D

A, B and C

A, B and D

€‹
1750

Directions: Identify the sentences or part of sentences that are incorrect in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency)

.A. You are very impatient with her; you should be a bit considerate.

B. It is a notion peculiar in ethics; that subjective end is subordinate to the objective end.

C. The optimist contends that, since men cannot foresee the future, worry about the future is futile, and that every thing is inevitably for the best.

D. All but he had fled away from the office when police raided.



A and B

B and C

C and D

A, B and C

A, B and D

1751

Directions: In the following question a few statements have been provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements.

A. But these may, and very often do, pass unnoticed for quite a long time by those who have had no scientific training.

B. The natural sciences have been more neglected in this country in the last fifty years, and that is saying a good deal.

C. All those who trade on the ignorance and prejudices of the public are having a good time and often employ it in writing the most appalling rubbish in reference to the important subject of nutrition.

D. Diminishing energy and power, decreasing endurance, slowing circulation, lessening blood colour, falling temperature, altered blood pressure, enlarging heart and liver, are some of the most obvious signs with which the physician is brought into contact in such cases.

DABC

BCDA

DCBA

ABCD

CDAB

1752

Google, the internet powerhouse, seeks to organize all the world's information. The company has told publishers it will delay until November its work on copyrighted texts and will not scan any items that the copyright owner does not want included. The Assn. of American Publishers was outraged by this offer, saying Google is trying to turn copyright law inside out. Google should have to ask permission to copy a book for its database, they say, it shouldn't be up to publishers to object. Google argues that it is making a fair use of the books.

The dispute could easily wind up in the courts. Building a guide to the contents of books is hardly the same as making bootlegged copies or plagiarizing. It's a monumental and costly task, and publishers have given no reason to believe they can do it for themselves. Unless their works are as well integrated with the Net as other forms of information and entertainment, they may be left waiting on the shelves for an audience that no longer bothers to walk through the stacks.

What succeeds the passage?

This has put both the internet search engine and the publishers on an unwarranted collision course.

Since the case might drag on for years to the detriment of both the parties, an out of court settlement is well advised.

Isn't it rather difficult, or even infructuous to protect copyright on published text in this internet age?

Perhaps both the parties ought to try and appreciate the other's viewpoint, as well as legitimate apprehensions, but with the overall goal of the public good in mind.

Meanwhile, Google should show more respect for publishers' rights — and publishers should not make the mistake of using the strictures of copyright law to tie their own hands.

1753

In the following question a sentence is fragmented into four parts and labelled 1,2,3 and 4. One of the fragments may carry a grammatical/usage error in the context of the sentence. Choose the INCORRECT part for your answer. ( If there is no error Choose 5).


The Club will be constructed (1)/ by the development of infrastructure (2)/and utilities within a demarcated piece of land (3)/ partly covered by natural vegetation.(4)/ No Error (5)

  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

0 voters

1754

Directions for Question : In the following question, there are four sentences. Identify the sentences that are incorrect in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then, choose the most appropriate option.

Q.

A. Reema is one of the girls who cheers on Sunday nights at the stadium.

B. Reema is one of the girls who cheer on Sunday nights at the stadium.

C. Reema is the only one of the cheerleaders who have a broken arm.

D. Reema is the only one of the cheerleaders who has a broken arm.

(A) B & D

(B) B & C

(C) A & D

(D) A & C

1755

PJ:

A. Because the media promoted images of women that reflected a patriarchal view of women's role in society, they were seen as reinforcing traditional stereotypes of feminity.

B. The debate about the impact of media images on the audience has since been broadened with the development of postmodernist approaches.

C. This claim was clearly related to the debate about effects, as it was assumed that long-term exposure to consistent images would lead the audience to absorb hidden messages.

D. Postmodernists stress the centrality of the media in the postmodern condition, arguing that the media are the main source of images of the world in which we live.

E. Feminists had a substantial impact on the sociological study of the media during the second half of the twentieth century, particularly with regard to the way in which women were portrayed by the media.


(1) BADCE

(2) EACBD

(3) DCBAE

(4) EBDAC

(5) DABEC


1756

#VAReasoning:

When the government found it difficult to build public infrastructure, some imaginative thinking took place and the notion of 'user pays' gained currency. In principle, there is no reason why everybody (or at least every tax payer) should pay for the roads or airports which only some people use; which is what happens when all infrastructure is built and paid for by the Government.

What could be the logical next step that the government should take?


(1) Allow the public to build infrastructure themselves.

(2) Permit private parties to build infrastructure and allow them to collect toll

from users.

(3) Collect a toll from those who use infrastructure built by the Government.

(4) Give the public access to infrastructure built by the government, at

concessional rates.

(5) Stop building roads till such time as the government has more funds to

invest in infrastructure.


😐

1758

If we want to refer to the coach of a football team then, i see 3 ways to do that.
Which one is Wrong?
1. Argentina football team coach ? // this would be correct if "Argentina football team" is name of the team.

2. Argentina's football team's coach ???
3. Argentina's football team coach ???

and whats the difference between the three ?.
1759

Unfortunately, the bank closed at three today.
Here today (Adverb) modifies which word ? Closed or Three

1760

Hello All,
I am new to this forum.Apart from reading editorials and memorizing words,is there an easier way to build vocabulary? Also wanted to know if there is any good book to practice RC in particular.

Thanks

1761

I had a doubt. In word usage questions (wherein we have to choose the option where the usage of a given word is incorrect), we check :

1. the prepositional errors (prepositions used before/ after the word for which the usage is being checked)

OR

2. that the word (its meaning and form) correctly fits in the sentence and whether or not some other word must've been used