Part 3:Reasoning Archives

Section 2:Past Years` Solved Questions from the XAT

3.XAT 2010

Directions for Questions 1-3:

These are based on a set of conditions. In answering some of the questions, it may be useful to draw a rough diagram. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

In a local pet store, seven puppies wait to be introduced to their new owners. The puppies, named Ashlen, Blakely, Custard, Daffy, Earl, Fala and Gabino, are all kept in two available pens. Pen 1 holds three puppies, and pen 2 holds four puppies.

If Gabino is kept in pen 1, then Daffy is not kept in pen 2.

If Daffy is not kept in pen 2, then Gabino is kept in pen 1.

If Ashlen is kept in pen 2, then Blakely is not kept in pen 2.

If Blakely is kept in pen 1, then Ashlen is not kept in pen 1.



    Ans .

    (d) Blakely, Custard, Earl, Fala


    1. Explanation :

      Solutions for Questions 1 to 3:

      The first two clues about Gabino and Daffy can be read as followsand they lead to the conclusions as listed below:

      CLUE 1: If Gabino is kept in Pen 1, Daffy is also kept in Pen 1.

      CLUE 2: If Daffy is kept in Pen 1, Gabino is kept in Pen 1.

      While interpreting these two clues together, you should realise that together they mean that if you were to keep one of the two in Pen 1, you would essentially need to put both in Pen 1.

      Thus, if you keep one of them in Pen 2, the other would also be in Pen 2 (because if you were to put the second person in Pen 1, then the first person cannot remain in Pen 2).

      In the same fashion we can try to interpret the clues about Ashlen and Blakeley: The third clue can be read as:

      CLUE 3: If Ashlen is kept in Pen 2, then Blakeley has to be put in the other Pen (i.e. Pen 1)

      CLUE 4: If Blakely is kept in Pen 1, then Ashlen is kept in Pen 2.

      The way you need to think from this point is: What if you put Blakeley in Pen 2? Where would Ashlen go? By clue 3, Ashlen would necessarily need to go into Pen 1 (because if you were to put Ashlen in Pen 2 too, then clue 3 basic condition kicks in and Blakeley would have to be put into Pen 1, but he has been placed in Pen 2; hence you are not really allowed to put Ashlen in Pen 2, if Blakeley is in Pen 2).

      Thus, what both these clues together are telling us is that Ashlen and Blakeley have to be put into different Pens.

      Armed with these two realisations we are now ready to look into the individual questions of the set.



      Before we look at the options for who can be feasibly placed in Pen 2, you should remember the two conclusions we have drawn above and how they work in the given situation.

      (i) Gabino and Daffy have to be in the same Pen. This means that either we put both of them in Pen 2 or we put neither of them in Pen 2.

      (ii) Ashlen and Blakeley have to be put in different Pens. This means that one of Ashlen and Blakely have to be put in Pen 2.

      Now let us move into the individual options in order to check the feasibility of each option and check for a possible arrangement of 4 puppies in Pen 2.

      Option (a): Rejected because neither Ashlen nor Blakeley is part of Pen 2.

      Option (b): Rejected because both Ashlen and Blakely are part of Pen 2.

      Option (c): Rejected because we have only Gabino and Daffy is not in the same Pen as Gabino.

      Option (d): Possible as we have kept Ashlen and Blakeley in different Pens, while at the same time both Gabino and Daffy are in Pen 1. Hence, this arrangement is correct.

      Option (e): Rejected as Gabino and Daffy are being kept in different Pens in this arrangement.

      Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.




    Ans .

    (b) Custard is in pen 2


    1. Explanation :

      If Earl and Fala are sharing a pen, they could either be sharing Pen 1 or Pen 2. This should be recognised as a multiple possibility situation and while considering what 'MUST BE TRUE' in such case, you have to look at what is consistently true in both the possibilities. Hence, in order to move forward in this case, you need to first look at the allocations of the 7 puppies in both possibilities and then see what is consistently true.

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      XAT 2010

      From the above two possible allocations and looking at the options we can select option (b) i.e., Custard is in Pen 2 as we can see clearly that in both allocations Custard is in Pen 2.

      If you look at the other options, the following thought chains should result:

      Option (a): Can be true but not necessarily true as this is not occurring in Possibility 1.

      Option (c): Need not be true as can be seen under Possibility 2.

      Option (d): Need not be true as Earl is in Pen 2 in Possibility 2.

      Option (e): Not necessary as we can put even Ashlen with Gabino

      Hence, Option (b) is correct.





    Ans .

    (e) Custard is in a higher-numbered pen than Fala.


    1. Explanation :

      Earl and Fala being in different Pens is also leading to a multiple possibility situation as follows:

      Possibility 1: Earl is in Pen 1, Fala is in Pen 2;

      Possibility 2: Earl is in Pen 2, Fala is in Pen 1.

      Let us explore each of the possibilities further:

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      Now for this question, we are trying to look for what 'MUST NOT BE TRUE' which in essence means that we are looking for what cannot happen under both possibilities. Thus, if something can be seen to occur in one of the two possibilities also, it would be rejected as an answer to this question. Checking the options from this point of time:

      Option (a): Can be true under possibility 2. Hence, this option is rejected.

      Option (b): Can be true under both possibilities. Hence, this option is rejected.

      Option (c): can be true under possibility 2. Hence, this option is rejected.

      Option (d): Can be true under possibility 2. Hence, this option is rejected.

      Option (e): Cannot be true under either possibility as we can see clearly that in both the possibilities, Custard is always in Pen 1. Hence, we cannot put Custard in a higher numbered pen than Fala.

      Hence, option (e) is the correct answer


Directions for Questions 4-6:

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. In calendar year 2008, there was turbulence in the air as Jet Airways Chairman pondered what course of action the airline should take. Air India was also struggling with the same dilemma. Two of India`s largest airlines, Air India and Jet Airways, had sounded caution on their fiscal health due to mounting operational costs. A daily operational loss of $2 million ( 8.6 crore) had in fact forced Jet Airways to put its employees on alert. Jet`s Senior General Manager had termed the situation as grave. Jet`s current losses were $2 million a day (including Jet-Lite). The current rate of Jet Airways domestic losses was $0.5 million ( 2.15 crore) and that of JetLite was another $0.5 million. International business was losing over $1 million ( 4.30 crore) a day.

The situation was equally grave for other national carriers. Driven by mounting losses of almost10 crore a day, Air India, in its merged avatar, was considering severe cost-cutting measures like slashing employee allowances, reducing in-flight catering expenses on short-haul flights and restructuring functional arms. The airline also considered other options like cutting maintenance costs by stationing officers at hubs, instead of allowing them to travel at regular intervals. Jet Airways, Air India and other domestic airlines had reasons to get worried, as 24 airlines across the world had gone bankrupt in the year on account of rising fuel costs. In India, operating costs had gone up by 30-40%. Fuel prices had doubled in the past one year to 70,000 per kilolitre, forcing airlines to increase fares. Consequently, passenger load had fallen to an average 55-60% per flight from previous year's peak of 70-75%. Other airlines faced a similar situation; some were even looking for buyers. Domestic carriers had lost about 4,000 crore in 2007-08 with Air India leading the pack. 'As against 27% wage bill globally, our wage bill is 22% of total input costs. Even then we are at a loss, an Air India official said. Civil aviation ministry, however, had a different take. Air India engineers go to Dubai every fortnight to work for 15 days and stay in five-star hotels. If they are stationed there, the airline would save ` 8 crore a year. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are several things we can do to reduce operational inefficiency. According to analysts, Jet Airways could be looking at a combined annual loss of around 3,000 crore, if there were no improvement in operational efficiencies and ATF prices. Against this backdrop, the airline had asked its employees to raise the service bar and arrest falling passenger load/



    Ans .

    (a) 1 and 2


    1. Explanation :

      It is clearly mentioned in the situation description that reduced passenger load (as a result of increased prices) and rising ATF prices (forcing airlines to raise prices) are both responsible for Jet Airways not doing well. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer,





    Ans .

    (b) 3,350 crore


    1. Explanation :

      The losses of Jet Airways (as mentioned in the paragraph) are in the range of 3000 Crore. Also, the losses of Air India are in the range of Rs.10 crore per day, which means an annual loss of approximately ` 3650 crore. Consequently, the losses of other airlines would be 10000 - 3000- 3650 = 3350 crore. Hence, option (b) is correct.





    Ans .

    (b) Data insufficient to reach decision


    1. Explanation :

      Reducing prices would definitely increase passenger load factors, but whether it would put the airlines in a better situation would depend on so many factors, not the least of which are: The amount by which the prices are reduced; The effect on the profitability per passenger mile if the prices are reduced; The actual elasticity of demand which would determine how much of an effect the reduction in prices would create on the passenger load factors etc. From the information given in the passage, we are not in a position to estimate these variables and hence, we really cannot say whether reducing prices would put the airlines in a worse or a better situation.

      Hence, the correct answer to this question would be that we do not have enough information to reach a decision.

      Option (b) is the correct answer.



Directions for Questions 7-11:

These questions are based on a set of conditions. In answering some of the questions, it may be useful to draw a rough diagram. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

Five colleagues pooled their efforts during the office lunch-hour to solve the crossword in the daily paper. Colleagues: Mr. Bineet, Mr. Easwar, Ms. Elsie, Ms. Sheela, Ms. Titli. Answers: Burden, Barely, Baadshah, Rosebud, Silence. Numbers: 4 down, 8 across, 15 across, 15 down, 21 across. Order: First, second, third, fourth, fifth.

    1. Titli produced the answer to 8 across, which had the same number of letters as the previous answer to be inserted, and one more than the subsequent answer which was produced by one of the men.
    2. It was not Bineet who solved the clue to 'Burden', and Easwar did not solve 4 down.
    3. The answers to 15 across and 15 down did not have the same number of letters.
    4. 'Silence', which was not the third word to be inserted, was the answer to an across clue. 5. 'Barely' was the first word to be entered in the grid, but 'Baadshah' was not the second answer to be found.
    6. Elsie's word was longer than Bineet's; Sheela was neither the first nor the last to come up with an answer.
    7. The Fifth word to be worked out was an answer to an across clue


Ans .

(b) Silence


  1. Explanation :

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    XAT 2010
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    Sheela's word was SILENCE. Option (b) is correct





Ans .

(c) Rosebud


  1. Explanation :

    Titli's answer is ROSEBUD. Option (c) is correct





Ans .

(c) Third


  1. Explanation :

    Titli's order was third. Option (c) is correct





Ans .

(d) 15 down


  1. Explanation :

    Easwar's number was 15 down. Option (d) is correct





Ans .

(a) Barely


  1. Explanation :

    Bineet's word was BARELY. Option (a) is correct.



Directions for Questions 12 and 13:

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

An audit unearthed a financial scam in NWC Corporation. One or more among the 9 financial accountants of NWC Corporation are suspected to have fudged the accounts. Following are the statements made by the nine suspects.

Shrinivas: Nagraj fudged the accounts.
Datta: Shrinivas did not fudge the accounts.
Nagraj: Datta is lying and I did not fudge accounts.
Jose: Shrinivas is telling the truth.
Samuel: Exactly three of the suspects are telling the truth
Ejaz: Datta is lying and Shrinivas fudged the accounts
Chaudhary: Datta fudged the accounts.
Ganeshan: Datta is lying and Shrinivas is telling the truth
Panda: Samuel is lying.



    Ans .

    (a) Chaudhury and Datta are telling the truth


    1. Explanation :

      Solutions for Questions 12 and 13:

      The pivotal statement amongst the given 9 statements is Samuel's statement. If his statement is true, it is clear that in such a case 'exactly three statements amongst the nine would be true' and consequently the other six would be false.

      With this basic understanding of the situation, we can have a look at the individual questions in the set.

      12. Given that Samuel is telling the truth. In such a case, 3 out of the nine statements have to be true. One of the three obviously has to be of Samuel himself (as he is one of the 9 suspects). We need to think about how the other two true statements can be identified in this case. While doing so we can also take the help of the options to check which of the options fits the given situation.

      Checking for option (a): If Chaudhary and Datta are telling the truth: it means that the following conditions would be inserted as true into the problem situation.

      i. The accounts were fudged by Datta (according to Chaudhary's statement);
      ii. Shrinivas did not fudge the accounts. (according to Datta's statement being true).

      Thus, for false statements we are looking for any of the following conditions:

      (a) Anybody who says 'Samuel is lying'; 'Chaudhary is lying' or 'Datta is lying' would be lying himself in this case.
      (b) Anybody saying 'Datta did not fudge the accounts' is lying.
      (c) Anybody saying 'Shrinivas fudged the accounts' is also lying.
      (d) Anybody saying 'X is telling the truth' where X is neither Samuel, nor Chaudhary nor Datta would also be lying.
      (e) Anybody saying 'X fudged the accounts' where X is not Datta would also be lying.
      With this basic understanding if we were to look at the individual statements we need to see if we can prove that 6 statements are false in this case. Let us evaluate each of the statements in this case:
      Shrinivas: Has to be false based on condition (e) above;
      Nagraj: Has to be false based on condition (a) above;
      Jose: Has to be false based on condition (d) above;
      Ejaz: Has to be false based on condition (a) above;
      Ganeshan: Has to be false based on condtion (a) above;
      Panda: Has to be false based on condition (a) above.
      Thus, in this situation we are able to find 6 false statements and this option has to be correct. Just for your understanding we can take another option and test it to see (and to illustrate to you) how an option would get rejected under this situation.
      Let us say we are testing for option (b): Nagraj fudged the accounts. Let us see what chain of thought this leads to if we take this option to be true.
      Thus, for false statements we are looking for any of the following conditions:
      (a) Anybody who says 'Samuel is lying' would be lying himself in this case.
      (b) Anybody saying 'Nagraj did not fudge the accounts' is lying.
      (c) Anybody saying 'X is telling the truth' where X is not Samuel or anybody else who is proven to be true based on the above situation would also be lying.
      (d) Anybody saying 'X fudged the accounts' where X is not Nagraj would also be lying. At the same time anyone saying 'Nagraj fudged the accounts' has to be true. Also, anybody saying 'X did not fudge the accountsÒ where X is not Nagraj is also true.
      With this basic understanding if we were to look at the individual statements we need to see if we can prove that 6 statements are false in this case. Let us evaluate each of the statements in this case:
      Shrinivas: Has to be true;
      Datta: Saying that Shrinivas did not fudge the accounts would be true in this case;
      Nagraj: Has to be false since Datta is true;
      Jose: Has to be true because we can see that Shrinivas is actually true in this case.
      Also, since Samuel is already known to be telling the truth, we can see that there is an internal contradiction that the situation is throwing up for us. This contradiction is that in this chain of thought we already have 4 people telling the truth which makes Samuel's statement falsewhich cannot happen because we are told that Samuel is telling the truth.
      If you check the other options (c), (d) and (e) based on a similar logic string you would realise that each of these options leads to a similar situation where there would be an internal
      contradiction like the one shown above. Option (a) would be the only one which does not show an internal contradiction.
      The following thought processes would show you why options (c), (d) and (e) have internal contradictions:
      Checking option (c): Chaudhary and Jose are telling the truth. it means that the following conditions would be inserted as true into the problem situation.
      (i)The accounts were fudged by Datta (according to Chaudhary's statement); (ii)Shrinivas is telling the truth. (according to Jose's statement).
      However, if Jose's statement is true, so will be Shrinivas's statement and we get an internal contradiction as 4 people are telling the truth, viz: Shrinivas, Jose, Chaudhary and Samuel. Hence, option (c) gets rejected.
      Checking option (d): Shrinivas ad Datta are telling the truth; it means that the following conditions would be inserted as true into the problem situation.
      (i) The accounts were fudged by Nagraj (according to Shrinivas's statement);
      (ii) Shrinivas did not fudge the accounts. (according to Datta's statement).
      Then checking each of the other statements we get:
      Nagraj: false as he says that Datta is lying;
      Jose: True as he is saying that Shrinivas is true.
      This again leads to an internal contradiction as Samuel's statement says that there are 3 people who are telling the truth but in this situation we already have 4 people who are coming out to be true (viz: Shrinivas, Datta, Jose and Samuel).
      Hence, option (d) gets rejected.
      Checking option (e): Shrinivas fudged the accountÆ Datta is lying v Nagraj is true, Ejaz is true and Ganeshan is true as they are all saying that Datta is lyingv Internal contradiction as we again have 4 people telling the truth (Nagraj, Ejaz, Ganeshan and Samuel).
      Hence, option (e) is also rejected.

      Thus, option (a) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (d) Jose and Shrinivas are telling the truth.


    1. Explanation :

      If Panda is lying it means that Samuel is telling the truth which again gets us back to the situation as described in question 7. We have already solved that situation and seen that in such a case Samuel, Datta and Chaudhary are telling the truth. In such a case: Datta has fudged the accounts.

      Testing each of the options, option (a), (b), (c) and (e) can all be true and in fact are all true.

      The statement in option (d) which states 'Jose and Shrinivas are telling the truth' cannot be true since we already know the three people who are telling the truth as Chaudhary, Datta and Samuel.

      Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.



Directions for Questions 14-16:

These questions are based on a set of conditions. In answering some of the questions, it may be useful to draw a rough diagram. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

Seven bands were scheduled to perform during the weeklong music festival at XLRI. The festival began on a Monday evening and ended on the Sunday evening. Each day only one band performed. Each band performed only once. The organising committee had the task of scheduling the performances of the seven bands-Cactus, Axis, Enigma, Boom, Fish, Dhoom and Bodhi Tree. The festival schedule followed the following conditions: the performance of Bodhi Tree, the home band of XLRI, did not precede the performance of any other band.

Among the visiting bands three were rock bands and the other three were fusion bands. All three bands of the same genre were not allowed to perform consecutively. Boom, which was a rock band, refused to perform immediately before or after Fish. Meet, who was a lead vocalist with a rock band, refused to perform after Angelina. Angelina, the only female lead vocalist in the music fest besides Bony, was with the band Enigma. Angelina refused to perform after Thursday citing personal reasons. Ali, who was the lead vocalist of a rock band, was not with the band Dhoom, and did not perform on Saturday. Sid, the lead vocalist of the rock band Cactus, could perform only on Monday. Rupam, the only male among the lead vocalists of the fusion bands, was with Fish and performed on Wednesday. None of the bands performed in the absence of their lead vocalist



    Ans .

    (e) If Bony was the lead vocalist of Axis then Meet was the lead vocalist of Boom.


    1. Explanation :

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      Option (e) cannot be true because Meet cannot be the lead vocalist of Boom. Hence, option (e) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (c) Boom performed on Friday and Meet performed on Tuesday


    1. Explanation :

      From the table above we know that Boom performed on Friday and Meet performed on Tuesday. Option (c) must be true and is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (d) Cactus, Axis, Fish, Enigma, Boom, Dhoom


    1. Explanation :

      The only unknowns in the above solution grid is/are when Axis and Dhoom are performing (between Tuesday and Friday). The other four bands are already fixed in terms of the day on which they perform. Option (d) places Axis on Tuesday and Dhoom and is a plausible sequence of performances. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer



Directions for Questions 17-21:

These questions are based on a set of conditions. In answering some of the questions, it may be useful to draw a rough diagram. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

A BPO has assigned duty to nine operators-Abdulla, Ballal, Chandan, Dogra, Eshita, Falguni, Ganguli, Henri and Indra, on Monday, January 05, 2009 from 00:00 hours. Each operator commences duty at any of the following hours: 00:00 hrs, 04:00 hrs, 08:00 hrs, 12:00 hrs, 16:00 hrs and 20:00 hrs. At any point in time, at least one operator is required to take clients- calls. Each operator works continuously for eight hours. All operators located at any single location start work simultaneously. The operators took training in five different colleges-Abhiman College, Sutanama College, Gutakal College, Barala College and Khatanama College. These colleges are located in the cities Jamshedpur, Pune, Noida, Hyderabad and Mangalore, not necessarily in that order. The operators operate from the cities where their respective colleges are located.

Indra operates alone from a city other than Mangalore and Jamshedpur. Operator(s) trained in Abhiman College will start working at 12:00 hrs. Only Dogra and Falguni operate from Pune, but they are not trained in Gutakal College. Three of the operators took training from Sutanama College, and they operate from Noida. The operator(s) from Jamshedpur will start working at 00:00 hrs. Abdulla and Henri operate together as a two member team from a single location. They do not operate from Mangalore. No operator(s) will join at 20:00 hrs. Ballal, who operates alone from his location, was not trained in Barala College, and will commence his duty four hours after the operator(s) trained in Gutakal College. The operator(s) trained in Barala College operate from Hyderabad. The number of operator(s) trained in Khatanama College is same as the number of operator(s) trained in Barala College.



    Ans .

    (b) Indra took training from Barala College.


    1. Explanation :

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      We have already identified that Indra is from Barala College. Hence, Option (b) is correct





    Ans .

    (c) Operators took training from Sutanama College and operate from Noida


    1. Explanation :

      Since nobody starts at 20:00 hours, the only operator(s) operating at 20:00 hours would be the one who started at 16:00 hours. We know that it could be either Indra or the group from Noida.
      Option (c) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (a) They are Abdulla and Henri, and work from Jamshedpur.


    1. Explanation :

      The Gutakal College operators are Abdullah and Henri, and they operate from Jamshedpur. Option (a) is correct





    Ans .

    (b) At most five operators will be working between 04:00 hrs to 08:00 hrs.


    1. Explanation :

      If Chandan, Eshita and Ganguli all started at 04:00 there would be 6 people working between 04:00 to 08:00. Note, if you do not take this interpretation then none of the options in this questions match. Thus, with this interpretation it is not necessary that the number of people working between 04:00 to 08:00 would be at most five. Option (b) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (e) The operators working between 20:00 hrs and 0:00 hrs are Chandan Ganguli and Eshita.


    1. Explanation :

      If there are exactly five operators working between 16:00 to 20:00 it means that the Noida group started working at 16:00 hours. Hence, between 20:00 to 00:00, the Noida group would be working alone, i.e. Chandan, Eshita and Ganguli would be working alone between 20:00 to 00:00. Option (e) is the correct answer





    Ans .

    (b) Conduct another test to confirm the diagnosis.


    1. Explanation :

      In the first paragraph it is clearly stated that Ms. Benita 'might have got' LAM. Clearly, the first thing the doctor should do is to confirm the diagnosis by conducting another test. Option (b) is the correct answer.



Read the following case and choose the best alternative (Question No. 23-26):

Guruji's guidance Bhola, an avid nature lover, wanted to be an entrepreneur. He dreamt of establishing a chain of huts in Chatpur region to cater to tourists, who came attracted by the beauty and splendour of the Himalayas. However, he was appalled the current degradation of the Himalayan environment. He remembered the early times when everything was so green, clean and peaceful. Now, greenery was replaced by buildings, peace was shattered by honking of vehicles and flocking of tourists, and cleanliness was replaced by heaps of plastics.

Bhola had a strong sense of right and wrong. On speaking to a few locals about the issue, he realised that the locals were aware of these issues. However, they pointed out the benefits of development: pucca houses for locals, higher disposable income and with that, ability to send their children to better schools and colleges, better road connectivity, and access to latest technology in agriculture. Most locals wanted the development to continue.

Saddened by the lack of support from the locals, Bhola took up the issue with the government. He met the chief minister of the state to find out if government could regulate the developmental activities to prevent environmental degradation. However, the chief minister told Bhola that such an action would slow down the economic progress. That also meant loss of substantial tax revenues for the government.

Bhola needed to resolve the dilemma. Bhola always wanted to be an entrepreneur, who could contribute to the society and earn money as well. However, his business would also be responsible for destroying environment. If he did not set up us business, he would not be able to earn money and contribute to the society.

After mulling over the issues, he went to his mentor 'Guruji'. Guruji realised that it was really a difficult puzzle-if one saves the environment, there seems to be no development and if the people and the government sought development, the environment and hence future of this planet and human beings was at stake. After careful thought, he felt that dilemma could be resolved. He fixed up a meeting with Bhola to answer Bhola's queries.



    Ans .

    (c) Yes, Bhola should do business while ensuring no environmental damage is done


    1. Explanation :

      The most logical solution to the dilemma in this case is that Bhola should do his business, without damaging the environment. In case there is damage to the environment in the course of dong his business, he should make sure that he minimises his impact and compensates for the damage by taking pro-environmental steps (as is the norm). This is called sustainable development, worldwide people do not stop doing business, neither do they stop thinking about the environment.

      The closest option to the ideal course of action in this case is is the third option.

      Hence, option (c) is correct





    Ans .

    (d) Suggest that the government should promote eco-tourism with public private partnership with the involvement of NGO's, so that there are checks and balances for inefficiencies and promotion for synergetic efforts between government and private entrepreneurs.


    1. Explanation :

      Promotion of eco-tourism for improving the tourism in the region would be an attractive step to generate business revenues as well as ensuring the well being of the people involved. Hence, we have to choose between options (c) and (d). Between these two, option (d) is better because, it talks about the involvement of all stakeholders (including NGO's etc) to create the right checks and balances in the system. Hence, option (d) is correct.





    Ans .

    (b) Charge cess from anyone who pollutes the environment, be it the citizens or industries and reward those who have contributed to afforestation the most


    1. Explanation :

      Option (b) is the most logical step to take in this situation as it rewards the people who are doing good for the environment and penalises those who are harming it. Hence, it creates an incentive for people to take care of the environmental concerns. At the policy level, that is the main role the government should take. Hence, option (b) is correct





    Ans .

    (c) Compare the unemployment levels since the implementation of the pro-environment policies and if they are less, accuse the opposition of making baseless charges.


    1. Explanation :

      The attack the opposition is making on Bhola's governance is centered on his 'anti- developmental'stance leading to 'unemployment' which causes hardships to people. The most appropriate response against this attack would be obviously to show that unemployment rates have not actually gone up due to the implementation of the pro-environmental policies. In fact, if unemployment can be shown to have dropped down under the pro-environmental policies of his government, it would be a much better rebuttal of the attack on the policies. Option (c) talks about this exact logic and hence is the correct answe





    Ans .

    (b) No, they have no justification for damaging other people's Property


    1. Explanation :

      The activities of the arsonists are clearly not ethical. Hence, the correct answer has to be amongst options (b), (c) or (d). Options (a) and (e) can be rejected because (a) agrees that the actions are ethical, while (e) does not answer the question at all. (The question asks whether the arsonists activities are ethical which elicits a yes or no response; option (e) does not answer the question either through yes or no).

      Amongst Option (b), (c) and (d), option (b) is the strongest because damaging other prople's property can never be ethical and can never have any justification. Hence, option (b) is correct



Read the following case and choose the best alternative (Question No. 28-30):

Ranjan Tuglak, the youngest cabinet minister of the newly elected coalition, glanced through the notes prepared by his secretary regarding the recent controversies on racket, the most popular game of the country. While International Racket Association (IRC) has agreed to implement Drug Testing Code (DTC) promoted by World Athletic and Gamer Federation, Racket Club which controls the entire racket related activities (unlike any other sports and games of the country) had some reservations regarding the initiative. Majority of the citizens waited for the international competitions eagerly and were fanatical about their country's participation in them. As a result of the popularity of the game 70% of the total revenue associated with the game originates from the country. Hence Racket Club has high bargaining power with IRC and can change any decision that is not aligned with its interests. Three most popular and senior players, including the captain, are against the application of DTC citing security reasons. A decision against the interests of these players may result in law and order problems throughout the country. Other players support the decision of their senior colleagues and if Racket Club refuses to agree, players may support Counter Racket Club, a new national level initiative. Counter Racket Club may threaten the monopoly of Racket Club, if it succeeds to attract some popular racket players.

Ranjan's father had been forced to resign from politics due to alleged corruption charges. Ranjan had completed his entire education from abroad before returning to join politics. He is a great soccer player and has major reservations against racket. According to him, racket has negative influence on the country's youth and diverts their attention from productive work. He also considers drug testing as an essential feature for any sports and games across the world. As the new cabinet minister for Youth and Sports he needs to take some important decisions on this controversial issue.



    Ans .

    (b) Provide adequate security protection to the satisfaction of players nominated by Racket Club before enforcing drug testing.


    1. Explanation :

      Since Ranjan has two objectives, his course of action should meet both the objectives for him. If we now consider each of the options as his course of action:

      Option (a) would present him as a dictatorial politician and hence would not be good for his image; Option (c) and (e) would not be popular decisions for him as the country is passionate about racket and anybody going against the sport in general and the top stars of the sports in particular would not be creating a good image for himself. Option (d) sidesteps the main issue at hand and hence is not the correct way to go if he wants to create a lasting impact. Option (b) would ensure that he gets the sympathy of the top racket playing stars, thus creating a good image for himself and also create a lasting positive impact as it solves the issue at hand.

      Hence, option (b) is the correct answer





    Ans .

    (b) The next World cup is scheduled to be held in a country which has adopted DTC as the guiding principle.


    1. Explanation :

      If the next world cup is in a country that has adopted the DTC, there might be a danger that a country not adopting the DTC would not be allowed to participate in the world cup. This would lead to various negative ramifications in the country as the fanatical fans might not take it too well. Hence, in such an event, Ranjan would be forced to take a decision in favour of IRC





    Ans .

    (d) It is difficult to provide adequate security coverage in large stadiums where racket is played


    1. Explanation :

      Looking at the options you should be able to reason out that the issue of 'security in large stadiums' should be left out of the purview of the discussions from the players' perspective as that would be an irrelevant issue in the current discussion. The core discussion is centered around the sharing of the movements of the players during their personal time. If they are in a large stadium playing a match, it would be natural to expect that their whereabouts would be known at that point of time. Hence, raising the point of security at large stadiums is an irrelevant issue to be brought up in this case. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer



Analyse the following transcript (from the movie Matrix) and provide an appropriate answer for Questions 31 and 32 that follow. Neo: Morpheus, what's happened to me? What is this place?
Morpheus: More important than what is when.
Neo:When?
Morpheus: You believe it's the year 1999 when in fact it's closer to 2199. I can't tell you exactly what year it is because we honestly don't know. There's nothing I can say that will explain it for you, Neo. Come with me. See for yourself. This is my ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. It's a hovercraft. This is the main deck. This is the core where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix. Most of my crew you already know.
(Next Scene: Construct)
Morpheus: This is the construct. It's our loading programme. We can load anything from clothing, to equipment, weapons, training simulations, anything we need.
Neo Right now we're inside a computer programme?
Morpheus: Is it really so hard to believe? Your clothes are different. The plugs in your arms and head are gone. Your hair is changed. Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection of your digital self.
Neo: This...this isn't real?
Morpheus: What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. ...This is the world that you know. The world as it was at the end of the twentieth century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the Matrix. You've been living in a dream world, Neo.
This is the world as it exists today. Welcome to the Desert of the Real. We have only bits and pieces of information but what we know for certain is that at some point in the early twenty-first century all of mankind was united in celebration. We marvelled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.
Neo: AI? You mean artificial intelligence?
Morpheus: A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don't know who struck first, us or them. But we know that it was us that scorched the sky. At the time they were dependent on solar power and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate it seems is not without a sense of irony. The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTU's of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion the machines have found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields, endless fields, where human beings are no longer born, we are grown. For the longest time I wouldn't believe it, and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watch them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realise the obviousness of the truth. What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this
Neo: No. I don't believe it. It's not possible.
Morpheus: I didn't say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth.
Neo: Stop. Let me out. Let me out. I want out.



    Ans .

    (d) the development of artificial intelligence by human beings.


    1. Explanation :

      The status of the human beings at the point mentioned in the question is clearly stated in the conversation, is due to their loss of control over the machines they built. These machines had AI which became superior to the human mind and these machines started controlling human lives. Hence, the development of AI by human beings is the key reason responsible for their status in the latter part of the 22nd century. Thus option (d) is correct.





    Ans .

    (b) A war between human beings and machines has been going on for some decades


    1. Explanation :

      Option (a) can be inferred from Morpheus's starting statements (where he says-this is the core where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the matrix). Similarly, option (c) can be inferred-as the machines clearly get their power from the human body, while the source of power of the human body is naturally going to be different. Options (d) and (e) are also inferable.

      Only option (b) cannot be inferred as the period of conflict is likely to be a couple of centuries, while option (b) states it to be a few decades, which is not something that one would agree to if one reads and infers the time frame from the passage. Hence, option (b) is correct.





    Ans .

    (d) Modify the pedagogy to have knowledge of theory and application in parallel.


    1. Explanation :

      The right mix of theory and practical application is the need of the day and this, needs to be implemented in the curriculum of the Business Schools to reduce the lop-sided teaching and hence improve the overall scenario. Option (d) is the correct answer as other options offer either incorrect or partial answers. For instance, option (a) talks only about the use of illustrations of real life problems in classrooms. It does not clearly show the way about what one needs to do with the theory that is being taught currently in B-Schools. Similarly, option (b) is a shooting in the dark approach, as 'sending students to find business problems' is a very vague step and one does not know what kind of problems the students would be able to find on their own. Giving business education only to those with work experience (option c) or removing theoretical inputs altogether from the classroom (option e) are also impractical steps and hence should be rejected as the solution.
      Option (d) is hence the correct answer.



Analyse the following passage and provide an appropriate answer for Questions 34 and 35 that follow.

Silver is especially and repetitively savage about what he sees as the extravagant claims made for particle physics, arguing that once the proton, neutron, and electron were found and their properties experimentally confirmed, the very expensive searches for ever more exotic particles, such as the Higgs Boson, were increasingly harder to justify other than by their importance to particle physicists. Most of the particles resemble ecstatic happiness: They are very short-lived and have nothing to do with everyday life. His repeated assault goes to the level of sarcasm: 'Finding the Higgs Boson will be a magnificent technical and theoretical triumph. Like a great Bobby Fisher game'. Of course, this is a tad unfair, even if some of the claims of its practitioners invite such assaults on their field.


    Ans .

    (c) Knowledge has preceded application in all spheres of science.


    1. Explanation :

      The argument here is that it is unnecessary to try and find exotic particles because there is no direct use of these things. To weaken this argument we need to show that all the things that eventually are useful need to be discovered first and consequently they are used to find some practical application. So criticizing something at the stage of discovery is not correct. Thus, if we can show that 'Knowledge has preceded application in all spheres of science' we would be able to best weaken the argument.

      Thus option (c) is the best choice to weaken the argument





    Ans .

    (e) Only I and IV


    1. Explanation :

      It is clear from the passage that Silver is a critic of the new theories and that these new researches are very expensive. Option (e) has both these statements included in it. Thus, option (e) is correct



Analyse the following passage and provide an appropriate answer for questions 36-38 that follow.

When we speak of the 'probability of death', the exact meaning of the experience can be defined in the following way only. We must not think of an individual, but of a certain class as a whole, eg., 'all insured men forty-one years old living in a given country and not engaged in certain dangerous occupations.' A probability of death is attached to the class of men or to another class that can be defined in a similar way. We can say nothing about the probability of death of an individual even if we know his condition of life and health in detail. The phrase 'probability of death', when it refers to a single person, has no meaning at all.


    Ans .

    (b) 2 only


    1. Explanation :

      The passage has specifically informed us that a probability of an event can be attached to a class/category of individuals but we cannot predict the probability of a specific event based on the estimation of probability of that event occurring for a class/category of people. Thus, we can attach a numerical value to 'the probability of death' for a 40-year old adult with general health condition but we cannot attach a numerical value to the 'probability of death' of a particular individual.

      Statement (1) is therefore false, as it says that we can attach a probability to a singular non- replicable event-which in effect means to say that we can attach a probability to a particular event. On the basis of this judgement, we can remove options (a), (c) and (e) as they include statement 1 as true.

      Statement (3) is also clearly false, because it says that the data about a class of events can be used to predict the future of any 'specific event'. This in effect is saying that we can use the data for the probability of death of 40 year old people to predict the exact probability of death of a particular 40-year old individual. The whole passage is talking against this logic. Statement (2) is true as probability calculations are indeed based on the data of a class of people/events.

      Hence, option (b) is the correct answer





    Ans .

    (b) by analysis of outcomes of the fights between the boxers belonging to the two clubs


    1. Explanation :

      The author is clearly arguing that the probability of an individual specific event cannot be assigned a numerical value based on the numerical value for the probability of the 'class of events'.

      In the case, that we try to assign the probability of an individual boxer winning a specific fight between two boxers, based on the analysis of outcomes of fights between the boxers of two clubs, we are doing exactly what the author says we cannot do. In other words, we are assigning a numerical probability to the outcome of a specific event (in this case the specific event is the outcome of the fight between Joe and Mark), based on the numerical probability of the class of events (the class of events being the fights between boxers of that club). Hence, the author would disagree if we analyse the outcome of a boxing match based on the analysis of fights between boxers of two clubs. Option (b) is correct.





    Ans .

    (b) by analysis of outcomes of the fights between the boxers belonging to the two clubs


    1. Explanation :

      Current fitness levels and strengths of the individual boxers would be a better way to predict the outcome of a boxing match than by trying to assess it based on a series of previous events. Hence, the author is most likely to agree to the statement in option (a). Option (a) is correct





    Ans .

    (a) Retaining one's dignity is impossible without introducing upon another's liberty


    1. Explanation :

      Option 1.[[[[please correct the language of the option 1 replace "author's liberty" by "another's liberty"]]]]

      Here the conclusion of the author is that one cannot maintain one's dignity without encroaching upon the liberty of another. Thus option (a) is correct.





    Ans .

    (b) foliage is to fodder


    1. Explanation :

      Option (b) is correct.





    Ans .

    (c) A cure to indigestion


    1. Explanation :

      The claims made are about a restful sleep, being refreshed and energised. No claims are made about curing indigestion. Thus option (c) is correct





    Ans .

    (c) Films are solely built upon visual and eye- catching scenes.


    1. Explanation :

      The paragraph starts with an idea about the importance of visuals in a film, but changes by the example about the films being made on stage plays and being successful. Now to oppose the idea we have to find an idea which focuses on the visual aspect. Thus option (c) is correct





    Ans .

    (e) The financial savings from purchasing bulk packages may outweigh the inconvenience of being unable to purchase in any number of units that suits the customer needs.


    1. Explanation :

      The assumption here must be that the advantage due to saving done by buying in the super market is much more than the inconvenience being caused by not being able to buy single units. Thus, option (e) is correct.




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