Reading Comprehension - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions
The best way to prepare for Reading Comprehension is by going through the previous year Reading Comprehension omet questions. Here we bring you all previous year Reading Comprehension omet questions along with detailed solutions.
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On the first anniversary of his stall at the food court, Dileep reviews his customer base. Almost all of his customers are the hospital staff members. Though he wishes to serve the general visitors at the hospital, they avoid his stall. On enquiring, he discovers that visitors generally avoid his stall because it is majorly frequented by the hospital staff members, giving it a feel of a staff canteen.
Dileep realizes his best efforts have not given him any extra sales and the visitors can potentially increase his revenue by a considerable amount.
Which of the following options can BEST help Dileep in discouraging hospital staff members from visiting his stall while increasing his overall revenue?
- (a)
Charge the hospital staff members a premium to offset the losses due to their presence
- (b)
Request the hospital management to prohibit hospital staff from entering the food court
- (c)
Introduce a massive discount on price for the next two months to increase the footfall
- (d)
Appeal to the hospital management to give a space in the staff room where an exclusive dosa counter can be set up by Dileep
- (e)
Provide a discount to those hospital staff members who order on phone, and deliverfood in their staffroom
Solution
Discuss
ReportRead the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
A2Z is a state-funded leading engineering college in the country, renowned for its teaching and placements. Now, A2Z aspires to be a global leader in research as well. A2Z has, therefore, decided to push for better quality research from its newly recruited faculty members. In the past, a few faculty members were confirmed because of their exceptional teaching feedback even though their research output was below par.
Currently, the Dean, in consultation with the academic council, has included the quality of research as a mandatory requirement along with teaching excellence for the confirmation of the newly recruited faculty members. (The academic council comprises of the senior faculty members from different departments.)
Initially, newly recruited faculty members are put on probation for three years. Either they are confirmed or their probation is extended or their services are terminated, based on teaching and research contributions. Once confirmed, their job is secure along with other additional perquisites.
Aparna joined the social sciences department of A2Z two years back. She is amongst the many faculty members, recruited after the new norms for confirmation were introduced. She completed her doctorate from a reputed university in the USA, with a significant research contributions. However, after joining A2Z, Aparna got deeply involved in social outreach asCOVID-19 was spreading. Though her social outreach has given her immense satisfaction, she has nothing to show against research contributions; further, it has impacted her teaching effectiveness. Her confirmation is due in a year.
The Dean, during the annual appraisal of Aparna, realizes that her research contribution needs considerable investment of time and efforts. He is concerned that her performance could set a wrong precedent for the new faculty recruits. The dean wants to communicate to the new faculty recruits that research contribution is critical.
Which of the following actions will BEST help the Dean in achieving the objective, while being fair to Aparna?
- (a)
Appreciate Aparna’s social outreach, but advise her to focus on research and teaching contributions as they are essential for confirmation
- (b)
Extend Aparna’s probation period by an additional year, while reminding her about the research and teaching contributions needed for confirmation
- (c)
Increase her teaching and research requirements, while extending her probation period by two years
- (d)
Exhort Aparna to suspend her social outreach activities till the end of her probation, and to focus on research and teaching instead
- (e)
Suggest Aparna to start looking for a new job in the time available to her
One year on, Aparna continues with her social work. Gradually, she gets closer to the end of her probation and she has not much to show against her teaching and research contributions. However, her social work has been widely appreciated by the local media. The Chief Minister of the state wants Aparna to take a larger role in social outreach and assist the government.
The Dean is afraid that not confirming Aparna might prompt her to leave the institution, sending a wrong signal to the outside world. However, he also wants to send a message to the newly joined faculty members that teaching and research contributions are essential for confirmation.
Which of the following actions by the Dean is the MOST sustainable given the circumstances?
- (a)
Confirm Aparna, but freeze her increments and promotions until her research contributions are as per the expected standards
- (b)
Offer Aparna a five-year contractual position after which she has to leave irrespective of her contributions
- (c)
Declare that Aparna’s extraordinary achievement deserves to be treated exceptionally, and confirm her
- (d)
Extend Aparna’s probation by three years, and tell her that she would have to leave if her research and teaching do not improve in that period
- (e)
Offer to create a non-teaching position of outreach officer for Aparna, but terminate her from the teaching position
A few months later, Aparna, during an interview with the local media, inadvertently expresses her fear that she might be let go by A2Z because she has not met its teaching and research requirements.
Consequently, the academic council urges the dean to review the faculty confirmation policy.
The Dean, however, believes that any change in the policy will be a setback to the institute's aspirations of becoming a global leader in research.
Which of the following actions by the Dean will be the MOST appropriate, given the circumstances?
- (a)
Give an interview to a local newspaper and share Aparna’s lack of research and poor teaching feedback
- (b)
Confirm Aparna, but ask her to issue a public statement, acknowledging the importance A2Z gives to research contributions
- (c)
Convey to Aparna that the institute is eager to retain her; however, emphasize that she should focus on research to get confirmed
- (d)
Tell Aparna that she is being let go for insulting the college on a public platform
- (e)
Confirm Aparna, but make it clear that her future promotions will be tied to her research contribution and teaching feedback
Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Sundaresan was a professor of Corporate Responsibility at a premium management institution. As a requirement of his course, students had to synthesize sustainability challenges, faced by thermal power companies and submit an assignment on them. Though it was an individual assignment, some students
sought permission from Sundaresan to work on the assignment as a team. Sundaresan knew that collaboration fosters peer learning, and therefore, allowed them to work in teams. However, he mandated that a team should not exceed three members. While 15 students elected to work individually, another 15 formed teams of three each, and another 10 formed teams of two members each.
As assignment deadline came closer, Sundaresan was approached by Abbas Warram, who chose to work in a team of three members. He informed Sundaresan that Venkamma, his team member, distressed by the death of her grandmother, could not work on her bit of the assignment. Abbas requested for a deadline extension so that she could finish her part of the assignment. By then, many students who were working alone had already submitted their assignments.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate, given the circumstances?
- (a)
Give extra time to Venkamma to work individually and ask the other two to stick to the original deadline as a team
- (b)
Extend the deadline for the team while imposing a one-grade penalty for the deadline extension
- (c)
Warn Abbas that such issues should not be flagged to the professor and should be handled within the team
- (d)
Give the students a deadline extension, but add an extra assignment for the team as a new requirement
- (e)
Disband the team and ask each student to work individually
When Sundaresan was about to grade the assignments, he received a request from the class representative regarding the students who worked individually. The request was to give those students additional marks because they handled the entire workload. This would improve their course grade significantly.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action by Sundaresan to mark the assignments?
- (a)
Reduce marks for those who worked in teams by 10%
- (b)
Divide the total marks awarded to a team by the number of team members
- (c)
Give 10% extra marks to all those who worked individually
- (d)
Convert the assignment into a non-graded assignment because both the individuals and the teams worked on the same assignment
- (e)
Treat both individual work and team work equally
Sundaresan was going through the submitted assignments. Team 9, with three members, had impressive exhibits and charts. Later, he discovered that Team 13, with three members, also had the same exhibits and charts. He realized that one of the teams had copied from the other. Hence, he informed both the teams that he would award an F-grade (fail grade) to both the teams for copying.
Later that evening, Aashi from Team 9 called and admitted to sharing exhibits and charts with Aanvi of Team13. Further, she mentioned that Aanvi could not put enough efforts since she lost significant amount of time due to COVID-19. Therefore, Aanvi requested for help. However, Aanvi assured Aashi that she would not reproduce the shared content. Aashi requested Sundaresan to punish her and Aanviand spare others as they were not involved.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate?
- (a)
Ask both the teams to work on an extra assignment to avoid an F-grade.
- (b)
Award an F-grade to both Aashi and Aanvi, and spare others
- (c)
Spare both the teams as such a confession is rare
- (d)
Punish Aanvi with an F-grade and spare others
- (e)
Punish both the teams by giving F-grades
Read the passage carefully and answer the following question.
One theory of accidents is what experts call the Swiss Cheese model. A slab of swiss cheese has several holes, randomly and unevenly distributed over its surface. If several slabs are stacked together, it would be impossible for something to slip through unless all the holes happen to line up.
If even one slab doesn’t align, the impending catastrophe will meet a layer of resistance, and the worst is averted. Aviation professionals will tell you that plane crashes never happen for a single reason.
There may be an identifiable primary factor, but it’s usually a chain of events, an array of circumstances neatly piling up.
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
- (a)
Averting catastrophe is actually easier than it seems
- (b)
Any historically relevant event is an accident because it involves a chain of preceding events
- (c)
Accidents cannot be averted since a chain of events have to be averted to avert accidents
- (d)
A catastrophe can be averted if the preceding array of events meets resistance
- (e)
Any disaster is a culmination of many events happening in a particular order
Read the passage carefully and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Stupidity is a very specific cognitive failing. Crudely put, it occurs when you don’t have the right conceptual tools for the job. The result is an inability to make sense of what is happening and a resulting tendency to force phenomena into crude, distorting pigeonholes.
This is easiest to introduce with a tragic case. British high command during the First World War frequently understood trench warfare using concepts and strategies from the cavalry battles of their youth. As one of Field Marshal Douglas Haig’s subordinates later remarked, they thought of the trenches as ‘mobile operations at the halt’: i.e., as fluid battle lines with the simple caveat that nothing in fact budged for years.
Unsurprisingly, this did not serve them well in formulating a strategy: they were hampered, beyond the shortage of material resources, by a kind of ‘conceptual obsolescence’, a failure to update their cognitive tools to fit the task in hand. In at least some cases, intelligence actively abets stupidity by allowing pernicious rationalisation.
Stupidity will often arise in cases like this, when an outdated conceptual framework is forced into service,mangling the user’s grip on some new phenomenon. It is important to distinguish this from mere error. We make mistakes for all kinds of reasons. Stupidity is rather one specific and stubborn cause of error. Historically, philosophers have worried a great deal about the irrationality of not taking the available means to achieve goals: Tom wants to get fit, yet his running shoes are quietly gathering dust. The stock solution to Tom’s quandary is simple willpower. Stupidity is very different from this. It is rather a lack of the necessary means, a lack of the necessary intellectual equipment. Combatting it will typically require not brute willpower but the construction of a new way of seeing our self and our world. Such stupidity is perfectly compatible with intelligence: Haig was by any standard a smart man.
Which of the following statements BEST summarizes the author's view on stupidity?
- (a)
Comprehending a problem by applying our existing world view is stupidity
- (b)
The inability to avoid forcing our current views on a new situation is stupidity
- (c)
Pushing our extant solution to fix an alien problem is stupidity
- (d)
The inability to comprehend what is happening around us is stupidity
- (e)
The novelty of the problem, in relation to our cognitive capacity, is the cause of stupidity
Which of the following statements BEST explains why stupidity for a smart person is“perfectly compatible with intelligence”?
- (a)
Intelligence is poorly defined, and is usually a perception, making it compatible with stupidity.
- (b)
A new phenomenon creates fear, rushing intelligent people to explain it to put others at ease.
- (c)
Past successes make us believe that we are intelligent and capable of explaining any new phenomenon.
- (d)
Intelligent people are scared to admit their lack of knowledge, and therefore, try to explain everything, including things they do not understand.
- (e)
Intelligence, when perceived through past successes, makes any rationalization of a new phenomenon acceptable.
Based on the passage, which of the following can BEST help a leader avoidstupidity?
- (a)
Be ready to discuss with everyone before taking a decision
- (b)
Being aware that our current answers are only applicable to the current context
- (c)
Being aware that we are short of the required resources
- (d)
Be cautious in taking a decision until the future unfolds
- (e)
Being aware that we must handle future with a different cognitive tool
Read the passage carefully and answer the THREE questions that follow.
What bullshit essentially misrepresents is neither the state of affairs to which it refers nor the beliefs of the speaker concerning that state of affairs. Those are what lies misrepresent, by virtue of being false. Since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its misrepresentational intent. The bullshitter may not deceive us, or even intend to do so, either about the facts or about what he takes the facts to be. What he does necessarily attempt to deceive us about is his enterprise. His only indispensably distinctive characteristic is that in a certain way he misrepresents what he is up to. This is the crux of the distinction between him and the liar. Both he and the liar represent themselves falsely as endeavoring to communicate the truth. The success of each depends upon deceiving us about that. But the fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we are not to know that he wants us to believe something he supposes to be false. The fact about himself that the bullshitter hides, on the other hand, is that the truth-values of his statements are of no central interest to him; what we are not to understand is that his intention is neither to report the truth nor to conceal it. This does not mean that his speech is anarchically impulsive, but that the motive guiding and controlling it is unconcerned with how the things about which he speaks truly are. It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it. When an honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he considers his statements to be false.
Which of the following statements can be BEST inferred from the passage?
- (a)
Both the liar and the bullshitter misrepresent the truth
- (b)
Both the liar and the bullshitter intend to deceive in their own ways
- (c)
Both the liar and the bullshitter are guided by the truth
- (d)
Both the liar and the bullshitter live in their own worlds of realities
- (e)
Both the liar and the bullshitter are not bound by any conviction
Why does the author say that the bullshitter’s intention “is neither to report the truthnor to conceal it?”
- (a)
Because bullshitters are not convinced about the truth
- (b)
Because bullshitters know the truth
- (c)
Because bullshitters do not like to deceive
- (d)
Because bullshitters do not find the truth useful
- (e)
Because bullshitters are respectful to the truth
When will a liar BEST turn into a bullshitter?
- (a)
When a liar stops responding to the truth
- (b)
When a liar stops worrying about the correct comprehension of reality
- (c)
When a liar focusses only on the outcome and not on telling lies
- (d)
When a liar lies to people about his intention
- (e)
When a liar stops misrepresenting the state of affairs
Read the passage carefully and answer the THREE questions that follow.
What does a good life look like to you? For some, the phrase may conjure up images of a close-knit family, a steady job, and a Victorian house at the end of a street arched with oak trees. Others may focus on the goal of making a difference in the world, whether by working as a nurse or teacher, volunteering, or pouring their energy into environmental activism. According to Aristotlean theory, the first kind of life would be classified as “hedonic”—one based on pleasure, comfort, stability, and strong social relationships. The second is“eudaimonic,” primarily concerned with the sense of purpose and fulfilment one gets by contributing to the greater good. The ancient Greek philosopher outlined these ideas in his treatise Nicomachean Ethics, and the psychological sciences have pretty much stuck with them ever since when discussing the possibilities of what people might want out of their time on Earth. But a new paper, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Review, suggests there’s another way to live a good life. It isn’t focused on happiness or purpose, but rather it’s a life that’s “psychologically rich.”
What is a psychologically rich life? According to authors Shige Oishi, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, it’s one characterized by “interesting experiences in which novelty and/or complexity are accompanied by profound changes in perspective.” Studying abroad, for example, is one way that college students often introduce psychological richness into their lives. As they learn more about a new country’s customs and history, they’re often prompted to reconsider the social mores of their own cultures. Deciding to embark on a difficult new career path or immersing one’s self in avant-garde art(the paper gives a specific shout-out to James Joyce’s Ulysses) also could make a person feel as if their life is more psychologically rich.
Crucially, an experience doesn’t have to be fun in order to qualify as psychologically enriching. It might even be a hardship. Living through war or a natural disaster might make it hard to feel as though you’re living a particularly happy or purposeful life, but you can still come out of the experience with psychological richness. Or you might encounter less dramatic but nonetheless painful events: infertility, chronic illness, unemployment. Regardless of the specifics, you may experience suffering but still find value in how your experience shapes your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Which of the following statements BEST contrasts Hedonic from Eudaimonic?
- (a)
Hedonic focuses on the emptiness from seeking pleasure, while Eudaimonic focuses onthe fulfilment by giving pleasure to others
- (b)
Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on whathe/she believes benefits the society
- (c)
Hedonic believes that pleasure leads to fulfilment while Eudaimonic believes thatfulfilment leads to pleasure
- (d)
Hedonic believes in seeking pleasure while Eudaimonic focuses on depriving oneself of pleasure
- (e)
Hedonic focuses on pleasure to self while Eudaimonic focuses on pleasure to the other
Which of the following statements BEST defines a “psychologically rich life”?
- (a)
A life that offers interesting experiences that makes you question what life is
- (b)
Any novel experience that affects us cognitively makes us psychologically rich
- (c)
A life that is filled with learning opportunities that makes us an expert in a particular area
- (d)
A life that is filled with novel experiences which changes our view of what a good life is
- (e)
A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
- (a)
A psychologically rich life is a good life.
- (b)
A bad experience can enrich someone psychologically.
- (c)
An unpleasant experience can enable a good life.
- (d)
A good life should not be seen in binary terms.
- (e)
Life need not be good, but can still be psychologically rich.
Read the passage carefully and answer the THREE questions that follow.
What Arendt does for us is to remind us that our “publicness” is as important to our flourishing as our sociability and our privacy. She draws a distinction between what it means to act “socially” and what is means to act “politically.” The social realm for Arendt is both the context where all our basic survival needs “are permitted to appear in public” and also the realm of “behaviour.” One of the things she fears about modern societies is that society - focused on how we behave and what we will permit for ourselves and others -becomes the realm of conformism. This is worrying not just because we don’t really get vibrant societies out of conformism and sameness, but also, Arendt says because there is a risk that we think this is all there is to our living together. We lose ourselves in the tasks of managing behaviour and forget that our true public task is to act, and to distinguish ourselves in doing so. The risk, says Arendt, is therefore that we confuse behaviour with action , that in modern liberal societies “behaviour replaces action as the foremost mode of human relationship.” This confusion can happen in any area of our modern lives and institutions, secular or faith-based. None is immune.
Arendt wants to drive home the point that the healthy public life requires that we do not just see ourselves as social actors but also as fully public persons, committed to judging and acting as members of a common world we want to inhabit and pass on. Arendt tells us that public action is action in which we stand out, are individuated, become in some way excellent in a manner that is of service to others and a greater good. This is the space where we take risks, subject our common life to scrutiny, seek justice (that sometimes requires us to transgress what seem like accepted laws) in order to be increasingly open to the claims and needs of other humans - ones who are not our household and our kin.
According to the passage, who can be BEST categorised as a “public person”?
- (a)
An NGO employee who was tasked to lead a campaign against tribal land acquisition.
- (b)
A wildlife photographer who highlighted the plight of poverty-stricken migrants by posting their pictures.
- (c)
An online fraud victim who ran a campaign against online fraudsters.
- (d)
A parent who organized protests against the random fee hike by a local school.
- (e)
A local politician who filed RTI applications to unearth financial scams by a village panchayat.
Based on the passage, which of the following options BEST describes “public action”?
- (a)
Acting based on our core beliefs while being mindful of what society thinks
- (b)
Acting for a just cause regardless of what society thinks about it
- (c)
Acting in a way that is perceived to be anti-social
- (d)
Acting based on our conviction regardless of what society thinks
- (e)
Acting in a way that is seen as acceptable to the society
Which of the following is the BEST reason for focusing on behaviour instead of acting in public?
- (a)
We are dependent on each other, leading to focus on what is accepted by others
- (b)
Our fear of being called out on our imperfect thoughts leads us to behave
- (c)
Our focus is to survive and not to flourish
- (d)
To survive is not to distinguish ourselves from others
- (e)
The foundation of any vibrant society is based on cooperation and not confrontation
Read the poem carefully, and answer the TWO questions that follow.
It hurts to walk on new legs:
The curse of consonants. The wobble of vowels.
And you for whom I gave up a kingdom
Can never love that thing I was.
When you look into my past
You see
Only weeds and scales.
Once I had a voice.
Now I have legs.
Sometimes I wonder
Was it a fair trade?
Which of the following statements BEST reflects the theme of the poem?
- (a)
Our concern for loss is more than what we gain.
- (b)
Our quest for love is accompanied with pain.
- (c)
Our loss of identity is irreparable.
- (d)
As the future unfolds, our distant past looks pleasant.
- (e)
Nostalgic recollection undermines materialistic gains.
What does the author BEST mean by “Once I had a voice. /Now I have legs?”
- (a)
The poet is contemplative of his/her identity
- (b)
The poet has lost his/her speech
- (c)
The poet puts less value on the new world
- (d)
The poet’s actions speak louder than his/her words now
- (e)
The poet is indecisive about choosing between the two worlds
Which of the following conditional sentences are grammatically INCORRECT?
1. If Sandhya had started from the hotel on time, she would have not missed the flight.
2. The students wouldn’t have completed their assignment even if the professor would have been there.
3. I had travelled across Europe if I weren’t afraid of airplane crashes.
4. Saurav won’t join music classes unless his father will ask him.
5. Should you wish to join the party, you must let me know by this evening.
6. We would be stupid if we shared our strategy with her.
- (a)
4, 5, 6
- (b)
1, 5, 6
- (c)
2, 3, 4
- (d)
3, 4, 5
- (e)
1, 2, 3
Read the passage carefully and answer the following question.
Labouring is simply what we do to survive. We labour to eat. To keep our bodieshealthy. To keep roof over our heads, and to keep life reproducing. All animalslabour, with or without coaxing…. There’s nothing special about labour, save for thefact that without it we would die.
Work, on the other hand, gives collective meaning to what we do. When we work toproduce something we both put something into and leave something lasting in theworld: a table, a house, a book, a car, a rug, a high precision piece of engineeringwith which we can order the days into time, or keep a body breathing.
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
- (a)
Labour enables us to survive while work makes survival meaningful
- (b)
Doing what is asked of a role is labour, while going beyond the role is work
- (c)
Unacknowledged work is labour, while acknowledgement makes it work
- (d)
To be healthy needs labour, while making others healthy is work
- (e)
Terrace gardening is labour, while producing a vaccine is work
Read the following passage and answer the three questions that follow.
Multitasking has been found to increase the production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as the fight-or flight hormone adrenaline, which can overstimulate your brain and cause mental fog or scrambled thinking. Multitasking creates a dopamine addiction feedback loop, effectively rewarding the brain for losing focus and for constantly searching for external stimulation. To make matters worse, the prefrontal cortex has a novelty bias, meaning that its attention can be easily hijacked by something new—the proverbial shiny objects we use to entice infants, puppies, and kittens. The irony here for those of us who are trying to focus amid competing activities is clear: The very brain region we need to rely on for staying on task is easily distracted. We answer the phone, look up something on the Internet, check our email, send an SMS, and each of these things tweaks the novelty-seeking, reward-seeking centers of the brain, causing a burst of endogenous opioids (no wonder it feels so good!), all to the detriment of our staying on task. It is the ultimate emptycaloried brain candy. Instead of reaping the big rewards that come from sustained, focused effort, we instead reap empty rewards from completing a thousand little sugarcoated tasks.
In the old days, if the phone rang and we were busy, we either didn’t answer or we turned the ringer off. When all phones were wired to a wall, there was no expectation of being able to reach us at all times—one might have gone out for a walk or be between places, and so if someone couldn’t reach you (or you didn’t feel like being reached), that was considered normal. Now more people have cell phones than have toilets. This has created an implicit expectation that you should be able to reach someone when it is convenient for you, regardless of whether it is convenient for them. This expectation is so ingrained that people in meetings routinely answer their cell phones to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk now, I’m in a meeting.” Just a decade or two ago, those same people would have let a landline on their desk go unanswered during a meeting, so different were the expectations for reachability.
According to the passage, why do people in meetings routinely answer their cell phones to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk now, I’m in a meeting.”?
- (a)
Because, it is convenient for people to send a message.
- (b)
Because, it conveys that the receiver is a busy person.
- (c)
Because, people don’t mind if somebody takes a brief phone call.
- (d)
Because, in meetings, cell phones allow people to multitask.
- (e)
Because, if you carry a cell phone, you have to reply.